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Subdude

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The 4c is awesome.

 

If I ever have the funds to afford a fun weekend car in the 75-100k range, this will be it, real manual or not.

 

Likewise. Even with a healthy amount of options, the 4C would come out at well under 75K, closer to the mid-60s (at least the coupe - the spyder's a bit more).

 

I think the only other manufacturer making a comparable pure driver's sports car in a similar price range right now is Lotus. The Fiat Abarth always gets referred to as being a "baby Ferrari", but the 4C is much closer to being the real deal. 

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Speaking of Nissan, quick update on my 2012 Leaf I bought the other month. So far it's the best car I've ever owned (and it only cost me $10,800 w/ 11k miles). We live in the loop and it takes care of 90% of our driving needs. No oil, gas, transmission to worry about... and it's a full size so there's plenty of legroom in the back row(I'm 6'2" and easily fit in the back).

 

After driving an EV, I've grown accustomed to the car being completely silent and find myself thinking other cars I get in are having engine problems. Charging is simple and fast since I installed a 220v (L2) charger on my garage... but I can also charge at any 110 outlet. As an example, I drove my Leaf out to my parents (30 miles to Cypress), charged using a 110 outlet for 7 hours, and drove back that night w/out range issues. Freeway speeds are what really kill range, so driving faster than 60mph starts to reduce where you can go. If you live in the burbs and expect to commute at slower rush hour speeds, it can go further cruising at 35 mph.

 

The #1 question I'm asked is how much my electric bill went up. I honestly haven't noticed a change since I charge 1-2 times a week, and it's the equivalent of running an electric dryer for 6 hours at a time. I pay about .09 cents per kwh for my wind plan, and average 4.2 miles per kwh... so it costs me a little more than 2 cents per mile that I drive. 

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ha, so Acura saw that hideous Lincoln concept and decided to give up their contest to try and have the ugliest car lineup? Good for them.

I personally hate cars that don't have names. Naming a car after letters and numbers is silly. I know everyone does it in emulation of BMW, but they should stop now.

The Acura Legend was a terrific name, Acura TL, that means nothing, but Legend, that's special.

The one exception is the Mark series name, Lincoln Mark vii just sounded like something I wanted to know more about.

Ferrari Testarossa, that name evokes many more things in my mind than Ferrari 458 (although I would enjoy owning a 458, as it is the sexiest car I believe I've ever seen).

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My brother waited in line for 3 hours in SF to put his refundable deposit down (i guess if you went in person you got earlier in the delivery queue).

If Texas would include this model in the $2500 tax incentive this model would be $35K minus $7.5K federal incentive plus a potential state incentive.

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But the federal tax incentive starts quickly falling apart after 200,000 cars are sold. With 115,000 last announced, there's only one quarter after 200,000 cars where the tax incentive stays in place.

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So Mercedes-Benz is bringing back the SEC model name of the 80s and 90s by basically, putting the front and rear of an S-class coupe to an S-class sedan and having a car that will in essence, be like a big CLS.

http://www.carbuzz.com/news/2016/4/7/Mercedes-Is-Bringing-Back-The-SEC-Name-In-A-Big-Way-7732935/

 

I wouldn't have brought back the SEC model name to a car that isn't a coupe. I don't care, 4 doors isn't a coupe! But, since the CLx naming scheme seems to be reserved for those 4-door MB vehicles with sleek, couple style roofs (CLA, CLS), this is what I would do. Keep the CLA name for the small car. Rename the present CLS "CLE" with the E denoting its E-class size, and applying the CLS name to the biggest car, denoting its S-class size.

 

This isn't the first time Mercedes-Benz will apply an old name to a new car that's pretty removed from the car that bore the original name. They brought back the SLC name as a new name for the little two-seater SLK roadster this model year. The original SLC was a two door hardtop with a normal rear seat based on the 107 chassis SL built from 1971 to 1981. There's a connection to the SLC and SEC model names as the original SEC replaced the SLC in 1981. During the second generation (140 chassis), the SEC became the S-class coupe in 1993, and then was renamed CL-class around 1998. A few years ago, the CL-class became the S-class coupe again. Not to be a crotchety old man, but it was easier to keep up with MBs when all you had was the 190, 240D, 300D/CD/TD, 300SD, 380SE/SEL, 380SL, and 500SEL. When you heard those model names, you knew for the most part what size the car was, the engine size, and the fuel type. Now, we're in a day where Mercedes-Benz sells two SUVs called the GLE, but one is referred to as a coupe despite having 4 doors! I guess I'll go yell at a cloud.

Edited by JLWM8609
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I got to drive a Cadillac CT6 last Saturday during Cadillac's Truth + Dare event at NRG. I also had a chance to try some of their other offerings like the ATS-V coupe which is a pure rocket! The CT6 is the new flagbearer and the first big rear wheel drive vehicle from them in 20 years. It's almost as big as a Mercedes-Benz S-class yet lighter than a CTS due to its aluminum construction. You can feel its featherweight while putting it into a curve. On the ramp from 610E to 288S, I kept the speed up and it felt like a lighter car and handled well. I also got to ride in an XT5 which will likely be Caddy's bread and butter vehicle over the next few years given the popularity of its SRX predecessor. The XT5 felt like a highly optioned Chevy to me. The CT6 didn't have that feeling, and that's good. I hope the CT6 does well and I'm hoping GM will offer a 4.2L twin turbo V8 down the line as they've promised and not chicken out.

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