Arumakani Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 At the moment I'm driving a Saab 9-3: I'm giving that to my father and am looking for a good car in the small executive sector. I've narrowed it down to either the BMW 3 series: I'm looking at either 318i, 320 i or the 320d And the new Lexus IS250: Has anyone got these and can tell me their experiences or anything that may be of use? I know all the car sites like Parkers' etc, just want to know personal experience. Quote ZylonBane's confession about himself: "What can I say, I'm a jerk. A three times all American Jerk, from Jerksville, Kentucky. Yee Haw" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparhawk Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 I more the Mercedes type. Always liked driving it. The only time I drove BMW I didn't really like it. I drove the 5 series and the 7 series, but I always found the Mercedes much nicer. I had 123series 300 Diesel and a 280SE which was like flying. Quote Gerhard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arumakani Posted September 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 My father had the C class Kompressor and it was really nice. Very smooth gear changes from the automatic gearbox. My brother bought it off him. Thing is I prefered driving the SAAB. The BMW is very responsive. Not as smooth gear changes as the Mercedes. The Lexus looks beautiful in the flesh and it's even more reliable then the German Cars. I prefer the last generation 3 series to the new one. Quote ZylonBane's confession about himself: "What can I say, I'm a jerk. A three times all American Jerk, from Jerksville, Kentucky. Yee Haw" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparhawk Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 From the images the Lexus also looks fine. I think the BMW feels more like a sportscar, which I don't particularly like. I'm more with limousines, trucks, pickup or cross country style cars. Currently I have a Nissan bus because of the kids, which is great. I always like it to sit higher then my fellow car drivers. Feels more comfortable this way.I once drove a Citroen CX (like this one http://www.caradisiac.com/media/images/col.../citroen_cx.jpg ). The one which is lowering itself down even more when the engine is stopped. Can't say that I liked this. It always felt as if I have to roll on the floor just to get in or out. Some people like this kind of placement, but I don't. The car that I really would like to buy next would be a Nissan Pajero, Terrano or similar, like a Ranger. My favourite is the Pathfinder. Edit: Now that you mention it, I had both of the 300 Diesel. One with automatic and one with manual gear (it was my first car). But I never really liked the automatic on the Diesel. On the normal fuel it was quite smooth, but the diesel engine was more poerfull and when it switched gear it usually was pretty hard. But this was about 15 years ago, so I guess this has changed by now as well. Quote Gerhard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arumakani Posted September 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 I too love the Pathfinder, really rugged, muscular looking vehicle. I like most 4X4's. I just have no use for it. British roads are small, don't go across country and the fuel here is a rip off. I was considering a Audi A4 quattro, but thought against it. You ever drove a Saab? The mid range pull is phenomenal. I had the 150 BHP one and it really goes like mad. The Aero goes from 40 to 70 faster than a Porsche 911 apparently !!! Quote ZylonBane's confession about himself: "What can I say, I'm a jerk. A three times all American Jerk, from Jerksville, Kentucky. Yee Haw" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparhawk Posted September 19, 2006 Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 I wanted to buy a Saab once, but never did. Only had Mercedes, Citroen and Nissan. Quote Gerhard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arumakani Posted September 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 The mechanicals of the Saab are excellent, it's only let down by the electrics, but it's not a huge problem. Apparently future Saab cars are going to be made in Germany. What's a Nissan Bus? Quote ZylonBane's confession about himself: "What can I say, I'm a jerk. A three times all American Jerk, from Jerksville, Kentucky. Yee Haw" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparhawk Posted September 19, 2006 Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 Not sure if 'Bus' is the correct term in english. I think it's a van in english. This is the one. Even the same colour I think. Should be green. Quote Gerhard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrbWeaver Posted September 19, 2006 Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 That's a "people carrier". Quote DarkRadiant homepage ⋄ DarkRadiant user guide ⋄ OrbWeaver's Dark Ambients ⋄ Blender export scripts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arumakani Posted September 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 So what do you drive Orb? Bet it's a Z4 Quote ZylonBane's confession about himself: "What can I say, I'm a jerk. A three times all American Jerk, from Jerksville, Kentucky. Yee Haw" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrbWeaver Posted September 19, 2006 Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 Being just a poor wage slave, I have a Ford Fiesta. I'd quite like a Jaguar X type but even if I could justify the purchase expense, I wouldn't be happy with the much lower fuel efficiency I would get out of it. Quote DarkRadiant homepage ⋄ DarkRadiant user guide ⋄ OrbWeaver's Dark Ambients ⋄ Blender export scripts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arumakani Posted September 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 I would like the X Type, but it reminds me so much of Volvo and Honda's image of middle aged person's car. Having said that the Volvo S40 is really nice. Quote ZylonBane's confession about himself: "What can I say, I'm a jerk. A three times all American Jerk, from Jerksville, Kentucky. Yee Haw" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SneaksieDave Posted September 19, 2006 Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 With the recent price gouging, I've kinda grown tired of the gas guzzling of my current ride (and no, that's not a scratch on the door, it's a reflection off my damn neighbor's lame piece of crap which he always parks too close to my spot). Besides, it seems so... compensatory. I need to tighten my belt a bit. Besides, anyone with any skill at all knows it's not the car, it's the driver. So naturally, I've got my eyes on this upgrade! (image shrunken so that no one scoops my find... hands off, kk?). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrbWeaver Posted September 19, 2006 Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 That "upgrade" looks similar to my Fiesta, except older and red. Quote DarkRadiant homepage ⋄ DarkRadiant user guide ⋄ OrbWeaver's Dark Ambients ⋄ Blender export scripts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arumakani Posted September 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2006 Sneaksie does your friend either have a Mitsubishi GTO or a Toyota Celica isn't it? Quote ZylonBane's confession about himself: "What can I say, I'm a jerk. A three times all American Jerk, from Jerksville, Kentucky. Yee Haw" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obscurus Posted September 21, 2006 Report Share Posted September 21, 2006 Scratch those crappy cars, get a Toyota Camry hybrid, or just about any other hybrid electric car for that matter. Toyotas are the most reliable cars you can get (in my experience). Don't get a Prius though, as they are poorly designed in terms of rear window visibility. If you have loads (and I mean loads) of money to splash out, get one of these: http://www.venturi.fr/us/fetish/specs/specs.php3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arumakani Posted September 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2006 Do you Americans use diesel cars aswell as petrol or do you guys just stick with petrol? Quote ZylonBane's confession about himself: "What can I say, I'm a jerk. A three times all American Jerk, from Jerksville, Kentucky. Yee Haw" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Komag Posted September 21, 2006 Report Share Posted September 21, 2006 Diesel cars are VERY rare but a few are around. I don't think any cars made here use deisel, so the only ones around are imports, but I could be wrong (I'm not talking about big pickup trucks - we have some of those using deisel) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arumakani Posted September 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2006 Can you get diesal at all filling stations? Also is it cheap? In the UK Diesal is almost a £1. Quote ZylonBane's confession about himself: "What can I say, I'm a jerk. A three times all American Jerk, from Jerksville, Kentucky. Yee Haw" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrbWeaver Posted September 21, 2006 Report Share Posted September 21, 2006 All gas is cheap in the US, they complain about having to pay 2 dollars a GALLON (equivalent to about 28p a litre here if I've done the maths right). However their cars are notoriously inefficient -- the advantage of diesel is that it gives you about 40% more miles to the gallon than petrol. Quote DarkRadiant homepage ⋄ DarkRadiant user guide ⋄ OrbWeaver's Dark Ambients ⋄ Blender export scripts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SneaksieDave Posted September 21, 2006 Report Share Posted September 21, 2006 $3, actually, and that's up from $1 just years ago; that's why it gets so much complaint. A 200% increase over a few years is significant. What are gas prices over there (whatever "there" might be)? I really have no idea for comparison. You can bet we will be seeing much more efficient american cars soon though, because the monkey in charge recently said so! Over here, it's just bigger and bigger and bigger... everyone has a $50k+ monster sized SUV which gets 12 miles a gallon, so everyone else has to get one too, of course, or they'll be the one killed in the accident. I hate going down the turnpike to get to work and driving past 103-pound woman, driving alone, in a Cadillac Escalade (what is that thing, 5 tons? seats 9 comfortably without using the cargo space?), going down the HOV lane at 85 MPH. She might as well just rent a Greyhound bus to go buy some milk. This is not only not rare, not only common - it is the norm. I'd say diesel is available at maybe 20% of stations. Then again, maybe I just don't notice it much, as it is shuffled off to the back, on hidden, old pumps. The only diesel cars I can think of on the road are the very few pre-80's mercedes, but then again I'm probably wrong - I'm going on sound alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrbWeaver Posted September 21, 2006 Report Share Posted September 21, 2006 $3, actually, and that's up from $1 just years ago; that's why it gets so much complaint. A 200% increase over a few years is significant. What are gas prices over there (whatever "there" might be)? I really have no idea for comparison. I filled up this morning and the prices was £0.88/litre, which works out at $6.26 for a US gallon. Most of that is tax, which I support as long as it is used for environmental purposes. In addition to the fuel tax, we also have an emissions tax which is based on the amount of CO2 emitted per mile. This means that a standard annual tax of around £110 ($206) can become £210 ($395) if you insist on driving a gas guzzler (with hints that this could increase significantly in the future). Quote DarkRadiant homepage ⋄ DarkRadiant user guide ⋄ OrbWeaver's Dark Ambients ⋄ Blender export scripts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SneaksieDave Posted September 21, 2006 Report Share Posted September 21, 2006 Holy shit. There'd be rioting in the streets at that price.* That emissions tax is a neat idea. I await the day when they start making sensible luxury penalties. Expect no good programs over here. Our government is just a bunch of monkeys. *Not really. People would be "outraged!!!", bitch about it for a while, and then bend over and accept it. Worse, there is an attitude of "let someone else worry about fixing it, I can afford it." Which is why nothing is done right and nothing ever gets fixed, but that's a whole different topic... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vadrosaul Posted September 21, 2006 Report Share Posted September 21, 2006 In Venezuela they are practically giving it away for free, something like 25 cents per gallon Quote Loose BOWELS are the first sign of THE CHOLERA MORBUS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Komag Posted September 21, 2006 Report Share Posted September 21, 2006 I see deisel offered most places, probably 2/3 of stations I think. I don't mind gas prices of $3. People complain a lot since it was about $2 just a year or two ago. (plus my motorcycle gets about 75 mpg, and I ride it a lot instead of the car) My older sister and her family now spend about $450 a month on gas, when it used to be around $300. So I'm thinking, if $150/mo is breaking your bank, then you are living too closee to the edge of your means! If you make $4000/mo you shouldn't be spending $3800 of it. You should be spending more like $3000 and investing/saving the other $1000. That way when gas goes up you can easily absorb the extra $150. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i can send you the package via ftp or make a temporary link avaliable on my old site but it would be taken down within a day so let me know when you are ready.· 3 replies
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