What did you drive today?

[Heldenzeit]

249whp, ~2400lbs.

 

[homeforsummer]

Long story how it got to that point, but I ended up test-driving a mid-2000s Pontiac Grand Prix today. 4/10 would not buy. The steering was light but not particularly quick and didn't seem to have a lot of feel. I was actually impressed by how smoothly it rode and operated but would likely get bored with a boaty AT sedan quickly.

That's not the real problem though.

THE BLIND SPOTS. ARE. GIGANTIC. Forget looking over your shoulder to change lanes or merge, you'll just be looking at the inside of your own car. Really frightening in heavy traffic.

This may be a silly question, but given your penchant for manual/rear-drive/old-school, why were you testing a generic mid-2000s automatic sedan in the first place? Curiosity, or is the Sunbird on its last legs?

Try a 2008 Grand Prix. I have one and I like it. Mine had 74k miles on it when we bought it. The seats are nice and it drives good.

Unless I'm mistaken a 2008 is pretty much the same as a mid-2000s one, isn't it? Not different enough that it would have different blind spots or steering feel, anyway.

 

[Clark]

249whp, ~2400lbs.

You need to take your wheels back

 

[Heldenzeit]

You need to take your wheels back

I need to just buy this whole car...

 

[Gotbeefboy564]

This may be a silly question, but given your penchant for manual/rear-drive/old-school, why were you testing a generic mid-2000s automatic sedan in the first place? Curiosity, or is the Sunbird on its last legs?

Unless I'm mistaken a 2008 is pretty much the same as a mid-2000s one, isn't it? Not different enough that it would have different blind spots or steering feel, anyway.

Think it's has a different body style and is a bit bigger than the mid 2000s Grand Prix.

 

[White & Nerdy]

This may be a silly question, but given your penchant for manual/rear-drive/old-school, why were you testing a generic mid-2000s automatic sedan in the first place? Curiosity, or is the Sunbird on its last legs?

I was in Anchorage for other reasons which wrapped up far more quickly than expected. Needed something to waste the time 'till dinner. Stopped at a Chevrolet/Buick/Cadillac/Pontiac dealer because I figured I'd find it interesting, and I may have been entertaining thoughts of BSing my way into a test drive of a Buick Encore simply out of morbid curiosity. After some time a salesperson latched on to me and eventually railroaded me into giving them a price range and taking a test drive (even the fact that I just lost my Three Bears job wouldn't dissuade them, and in fact I almost tripped over a new job while there). They had four cars under $5K: A GMC Jimmy, the Grand Prix, a Toyota Camry, and something that couldn't have been very interesting because I don't even remember what it was. Being a Pontiac fanboy and an SUV hater, I took the Grand Prix out.

Unless I'm mistaken a 2008 is pretty much the same as a mid-2000s one, isn't it? Not different enough that it would have different blind spots or steering feel, anyway.

I wonder if the people talking about later models aren't actually thinking of the G8, which would be right up my alley if only it weren't so expensive still. AFAIK the ~2005 Grand Prix was of the last generation they built and sold as Grand Prixs.

Speaking of GM, I think their interiors have got worse in the process of getting better. My Sunbird actually had a more appealing interior than many of the cars in that showroom, with their hard, scratchy, tightly-stretched cloth upholstery, steering wheels wrapped in what appears to be the same thin, hard, rough leather used on Logitech wheel controllers, and, on the Spark and Sonic, flimsy-looking, almost toy-grade gauge clusters trimmed in fake-brushed-aluminum plastic that almost looks like it actually did come off a toy. Not that it's that big a deal, especially in small cars, but... how is that supposed to be better? The Spark and Sonic almost are bad enough to make it a big deal.

 

[Johnny_Clash]

Trip for business today, so I got a Zipcar. Was a 2014 Hyundai Elantra GT which is the sportier, hatchback version of the rather pedestrian sedan. Pretty nice interior, good power, respectable handling. I was pleasantly surprised and quite liked it. However, the transmission seemed to get confused sometimes, and it didn't always downshift quickly when using manual mode.

 

[Tunerguy21]

249whp, ~2400lbs.

Wasn't this NB featured on Speedhunters? Having recently fallen in love with NB Miatas, and looking into buying one myself, this is how I'd do it. Love the overfenders and Wats!

 

[Heldenzeit]

Wasn't this NB featured on Speedhunters? Having recently fallen in love with NB Miatas, and looking into buying one myself, this is how I'd do it. Love the overfenders and Wats!

Indeed it is the car that was featured. Lovely car.

 

[MedigoFlame]

Another SRT Grand Cherokee! This time for the showroom.

 

[Astroboy2215]

I got a chance to test drive my dream car today, even though it was a different year. All I can say is that it made me want one even more, I cried when I had to give the keys to the Evo back lol

 

[Doog]

The first convertible and first Mercedes I've driven. The wind in your hair feels great, but that's pretty much the highlight of it. Otherwise it's a relatively non-sporting cabrio with a surprisingly stiff ride and an diesel-like exhaust note. It's a nice car, though.

 

[kikie]

This is a bit off topic but a few days ago I "rode" this.

It was the most scariest experience in my entire life (driving or riding a "vehicle"). Riding at 35mph in a straight line is not a problem but when I had to turn, it was a very "alien" and scary feeling. Every bump, every inclination in the road surface gave me the feeling that I was going to flip over.


Summary: >>>>

 

[homeforsummer]

The first convertible and first Mercedes I've driven. The wind in your hair feels great, but that's pretty much the highlight of it. Otherwise it's a relatively non-sporting cabrio with a surprisingly stiff ride and an diesel-like exhaust note. It's a nice car, though.

You've pretty much summed it up. I quite like the SLK but it's not really a sports car - just a sporty convertible that's built well and has the neat hard top/open top party trick.

The one I drove had a diesel-like exhaust note too, because it was actually a diesel

 

[MedigoFlame]

Barely got to drive the owner of the dealership's Challenger T/A.

 

[Johnny_Clash]

Barely got to drive the owner of the dealership's Challenger T/A.

So jealous...I've driven a couple E-bodies, but never a T/A or AAR. You should see if he'll take you out for a proper ride in it.

 

[Xilor]

Drove a nice assortment of cars tonight

The highlight was this awesome Mazda RX8 (sorry for crappy image editing, these are clients' cars)

Every time I drive an RX8, I fall in love with it more and more. It looks great, it handles amazing, and the rotary engine is just beyond belief. At 5k-6k RPMs, it feels like 2k RPMs in any other car. But what I love the most is the driving position, everything is centered around the driver, and the Recaro seats wrap around you and hold you in place beautifully. It really gives you the feeling of being in the cockpit of a proper sports car.

Also drove the excellent Ford Fusion

Love pretty much everything about this car....except the DSG gearbox. Honestly, Ford is my favourite manufacturer, but I can't believe they're putting a car out on the market like this. That gearbox is as smooth as falling down a flight of stairs.

Finally, drove the refreshed GMC Acadia. I drove it through downtown, with the windows down and rap music blaring out of the stereo, felt like a boss. Otherwise it was quite forgettable though.

 

[MedigoFlame]

How much of a crime is it for an Asian guy to roll coal in a modified F-250 King Ranch?

 

[ilikewaffles11]

Got to drive this absolutely beautiful Cressida today!

What an awesome car! I babied it, so don't know how fast it is or anything, but holy crap is it comfortable. The seats are incredibly comfy, not to mention it rides REALLY smooth. If I didn't need a winter beater, I'd buy one of these in a heartbeat.

There's two things I don't like about it, one of which is the automatic seatbelts. The other is the steering, it doesn't have rack and pinion steering so it's kinda of crappy... But this isn't about handling, it's all about comfort and cruising. Of which it does brilliantly!

 

[MedigoFlame]

Got to drive this absolutely beautiful Cressida today!

View attachment 191617 View attachment 191618

What an awesome car! I babied it, so don't know how fast it is or anything, but holy crap is it comfortable. The seats are incredibly comfy, not to mention it rides REALLY smooth. If I didn't need a winter beater, I'd buy one of these in a heartbeat.

There's two things I don't like about it, one of which is the automatic seatbelts. The other is the steering, it doesn't have rack and pinion steering so it's kinda of crappy... But this isn't about handling, it's all about comfort and cruising. Of which it does brilliantly!

That is beautiful. Now...it just needs to be the wagon.

Someone traded in this GX470. If I was into offroaders...I would buy one. Love these things despite the fact that most are used for shopping malls.

But if I had money to throw...I would buy it and make it like this one I saw at the NEFR event.

 

[ilikewaffles11]

That is beautiful. Now...it just needs to be the wagon.

I know! I'd kill for a Cressida wagon, especially the next body style, I think '85-89? Could be wrong on those years.

Tempted to buy a Cressida sedan though, found one for $950 in New York, nice interior, good engine, just rusty. Would make a nice companion for my Supra. If I remember right it's an '82.

 

[Davis]

Spent some quality time in my favorite canyon with this today.

 

[Clark]

Good god it's slow.

 

[MedigoFlame]

Working in reconditioning, my job mainly consists of driving around a parking lot. Which obviously doesn't give that much of a feel for the car. However, today was different. Four vehicles were picked to go to an art show that was sponsored by the dealership I work at. They were left there on Friday and had to be picked up today. So some employee's were being picked and I was one of them. Nothing too special, just whoever didn't have too much work to do.

Anyways, I had a choice of...a 2013 Dodge Challenger V6 automatic, 2014 Jeep Cherokee, 2014 Jeep Wrangler AEV (with the 6.4L HEMI), and...the 2015 Chrysler 200C. So...I decided to choose the 200C as it was the newest car and I didn't feel to comfortable behind the wheel of a large lifted Wrangler. Drove it through the city in which the event was hosted and onto the highway. Afterwards, through the industrial park near the dealership.

Overall, it wasn't a bad car. However, I wouldn't take my opinion very seriously as I really didn't have much basis to compare with as I really haven't driven a new car since...my brother's 2013 Suzuki SX4 when he bought it last year. Anyways, the steering felt a little numb at low speeds and the ride was not quite soft or sporty. But the one thing that bothered me the most has to be the 9-speed transmission. Constantly shifting and trying to figure out what gear to be in whilst I was driving through the city. Felt clunky and sluggish in start-stop traffic. The highway was just fine cruising along and the handling was ok enough through the twisty roads in the industrial park. Overall it's not a bad car, but I just feel that the transmission...could be better. Heck, it'd be better as a CVT instead.

 

[Gotbeefboy564]

Didn't get to drive it but I got to sit in this hot rod today. The owner asked if I wanted to sit in it.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Pics later, but I rode in my friends street port, big single turbo 2nd gen RX-7 tonight, then drove her C5 Z06. They were about the same in terms of speed, but that Z06 is just a monster. I must have one. Must.

 

[ilikewaffles11]

Got to take another shot at driving my dad's Triumph TR7, this time in some backroads. The first time I did it, I was still practicing driving stick and stalled it, a lot. This time though, it went much better.

Old pic for reference

The clutch is actually really easy to get used to. But good god is the build quality abysmal. It's kinda comical how everything from the speedometer to the hood shakes violently on rough roads.

Plus the brakes are awful and 2nd gear is a bit wonky. The lack of power steering at speed felt pretty awesome though. Still a really fun car, it's completely different from driving anything new.

 

[LeadFootLiam]

Drove my amazing Miata.

 

[MedigoFlame]

Always had a soft spot for FJ Cruisers. This one was traded in a couple of weeks ago, put on our lot, then sold.

Also drove this sofa on wheels around the lot.

 

[ilikewaffles11]

Got to drive my friends new '97 Subaru Impreza L a bit today. Not bad, but nothing really that stands out. Would be fun with a 5 speed probably.

Couldn't get any pictures myself, but here's one of his. I'll post some good pictures and maybe a but more in depth about the car whenever I get to take it out on some back roads.