Jump to content
IGNORED

Owner of a sexy, grey, lifted Lexus GX 470 that rides Brushy


Recommended Posts

I buy new but keep them at least 10 years (current car at 12 years, and previous car at 11 years).  I'm keeping a spreadsheet (no surprise for those that know me) of what my current car (2007 Mazdaspeed3) is costing me, including fuel (I don't drive it a lot), depreciation, repairs, maintenance, etc.  It's working out to be about $300 a month not including insurance (it was expensive when I still had comprehensive coverage b/c of special speed3 parts) and I've done a lot of the maintenance and repairs including a clutch job (never doing a FWD turbo clutch job again..I should have just paid to have it done).  I'm thinking of picking up a used 2012 Leaf since I pretty much drive only around town and we use my wife's car for  trips, and she wouldn't mind trading cars if I wanted to ride out of town.   I could afford a nicer/better car but I can't see myself spending so much money on a car again.  I still love driving my car and it will make a fun reliable car for some high schooler in the near future, but I'm ready for not having to deal with so much maintenance.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had my last car for 18 years and never got to 85k miles.  That being said, you only live once and I think that getting from point A to point B should be part of the experience.  I opted for a fun car when I had to get another one and saved accordingly.  Picked up a Focus RS last year and slapped my One-up on the back.  Getting to the trail head is something I enjoy and when I get back to the parking lot I don't dread heading back out on the road. 

If you don't like driving, you're waiting for the days of autonomous vehicles or Lyft drivers so you can surf the web while you're whisked to your destination.  Me, I'm using that right foot to burn some dinosaur bones and give me that satisfaction that comes with a machine doing something that you can feel in your soul.  If that sounds weird, you won't get it and I'm cool with that.  I know that I dread having to get an electric car for those reasons.

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, Tree Magnet said:

I had my last car for 18 years and never got to 85k miles.  That being said, you only live once and I think that getting from point A to point B should be part of the experience.  I opted for a fun car when I had to get another one and saved accordingly.  Picked up a Focus RS last year and slapped my One-up on the back.  Getting to the trail head is something I enjoy and when I get back to the parking lot I don't dread heading back out on the road. 

If you don't like driving, you're waiting for the days of autonomous vehicles or Lyft drivers so you can surf the web while you're whisked to your destination.  Me, I'm using that right foot to burn some dinosaur bones and give me that satisfaction that comes with a machine doing something that you can feel in your soul.  If that sounds weird, you won't get it and I'm cool with that.  I know that I dread having to get an electric car for those reasons.

I have no idea what you mean, but if it is acceleration, electric cars are much faster with very high torque.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, crazyt said:

I have no idea what you mean, but if it is acceleration, electric cars are much faster with very high torque.

Perhaps you should take into account that electric and autonomous are not necessarily synonymous. (say that ten times quickly) :classic_biggrin:

Edited by Ridenfool
Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 minutes ago, Tree Magnet said:

I had my last car for 18 years and never got to 85k miles. 

I tend to buy used with 50K to 75K miles on the clock. Usually will get rid of the car at somewhere between 150K and 200K miles. Generally this is about five to as high as seven years, depending on whether I have one or two vehicles in play at a the same time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Tree Magnet said:

I had my last car for 18 years and never got to 85k miles.  That being said, you only live once and I think that getting from point A to point B should be part of the experience.  I opted for a fun car when I had to get another one and saved accordingly.  Picked up a Focus RS last year and slapped my One-up on the back.  Getting to the trail head is something I enjoy and when I get back to the parking lot I don't dread heading back out on the road. 

If you don't like driving, you're waiting for the days of autonomous vehicles or Lyft drivers so you can surf the web while you're whisked to your destination.  Me, I'm using that right foot to burn some dinosaur bones and give me that satisfaction that comes with a machine doing something that you can feel in your soul.  If that sounds weird, you won't get it and I'm cool with that.  I know that I dread having to get an electric car for those reasons.

Agreed,  went from 4x4 trucks for 20yrs to my VW GTI last year. Damn, didnt know driving could actually be fun

Edited by larlev
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like machines. Whether it's bikes, cars, trucks, or tanks. I think it's fascinating the things man can create using his creativity and intelligence. This is why I love to drive. Seeing how much performance you can squeeze out of whatever it is is part of the fun. So when I see guys obsessing about what lift they want to add to a Lexus so that they can make it the most useful for them, I completely understand. More power to them. I spend just as much time evaluating my tire choice and suspension tune...on old equipment. Cars just like bikes have a strange affect on people and how they attach their identities to them. Car culture has been a thing for almost as long as cars have been around.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, AustinBike said:

No need, "sexy" will get that person's attention.

Once I got the "car" thing out of my system with a BMW I have become more realistic, probably more like ATXZJ. My car gets me to and from the trailhead and that is about it.

As I've discovered this past week, getting to and from work works ok on motorcycle, but I had to sign up and use HEB's delivery service for groceries. I did manage to ride to Walnut and ride a bit, but too much street between me and either brushy or walnut to be much fun...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, Tree Magnet said:

I had my last car for 18 years and never got to 85k miles. 

I have yearly challenges that I give myself. One year I challenged myself to ride more miles on my bike than I drove in my car. Even though I had an office job I commuted to work by bike and ended up putting under 5K on the car with ~6K on the bike. Current car is ~3 years old and I am semi-retired. Even with a Colorado road trip on it I still have only ~17K miles. Haven't looked at my bike mileage for the past few years but I would bet I am pretty close to that 17K since buying the car. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, Tree Magnet said:

If you don't like driving, you're waiting for the days of autonomous vehicles or Lyft drivers so you can surf the web while you're whisked to your destination.  Me, I'm using that right foot to burn some dinosaur bones and give me that satisfaction that comes with a machine doing something that you can feel in your soul.  If that sounds weird, you won't get it and I'm cool with that.  I know that I dread having to get an electric car for those reasons.

I like driving...just not in heavy traffic with a bunch of idiots on the road.  15-6 years ago I was contemplating getting an M3, but I just couldn't see myself not getting in trouble with such a street car.  I decided I'd take that extra cash and build a race car and go racing instead.  Best decision ever.  I don't do that any more but I still go get my kicks in at K1 Speed if I feel the need.  I wouldn't track my street car because it doesn't have a roll cage.  I do have one little spot on my way to work where I'd be the only one getting damage if I get it wrong...I do this fairly often.  Yeah, I miss racing a lot.

To me, there's nothing sadder than seeing some awesome fast car in stop and go traffic (recently saw an older GTR on MOPAC) or a fast car being put putted around by some old guy.


These days, extra cash goes for travel and bikes.  

Disclosure:  I also own a NA Miata so that's still there for fun and tinkering.  It's always possible I could slap a cage on it and go track it at some point, but for now I'm content with what I'm doing.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

These were my most fun driving days - mid-life crisis in my early 40s. Got divorced and bought a 2000 Z28. Added Borla exhaust and racing air intake but still got beat by a Ford Lightning pickup. So I added a 2001 Ford Lightning to the stable. Then I got beat by a Honda S2000 and decided that I was spending way too much money to keep getting beat. Been driving conservative, luxury SUVs ever since.
  

CARS 001 (2017_07_18 13_09_01 UTC).JPG

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I won't ever have a fast car because I would definitely get my self in to trouble with the law and my insurance(health and auto). I would go the other direction, getting myself in trouble off-road. Currently I like the idea of taking arguably the most practical car on the road and modifying it to find that perfect balance of road trip practicality and off-road adventure capability.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Those Lightnings were fun trucks, a friend of mine used to own one.  I'm wondering if Ford will eventually produce a new Lightning. The Rivians are cool as well, and Tesla will be announcing their pickup truck later this year.  I'm sure the Rivian is ratcheting up the pressure for them on that front.  

I've never owned a truck or SUV, but I've had some fun cars.  My current car is a Model 3 Performance, which is a blast to drive and will beat most anything off the line, with absolutely zero delay when you stomp on the throttle.  I still have a Focus ST modified with a Cobb Stage 3 kit (larger cold-air intake, intercooler, downpipe with high-flow cat, new cat-back exhaust, and AccessPort that lets you upgrade the ECU with tunes designed for this hardware), anti-sway bars and some other less interesting mods (like stiffer motor mounts).  It's also a blast to drive, but feels like a dinosaur compared to the Tesla.  Need to get rid of that car.  If Tesla wasn't a thing, I'd probably have a Focus RS now.  😄

Previously I had a Model S, which was great as it had a cavernous amount of space and an enormous hatchback.  Didn't even bother with a hitch or roof rack for that car as it was easy to just throw the bike and gear in the back.  But the Model 3 has a regular trunk, so I bought the Tesla roof rack for the car and some Yakima HighRoad bike trays and that's worked well so far.  And the rack is fairly quiet even at highway speeds with no bikes loaded.  The Model 3 drives much better and isn't a land yacht like the S, plus has all the hardware for full autonomy.  Car can now navigate onramp to offramp if you have a destination selected, without any input from me.  Will get on the highway, change lanes automatically (to pass slower traffic, go back into another lane after passing said traffic, get in appropriate lanes to take ramps to other highways, and will take your destination exit automatically).  Fun to watch how this is evolving.  It will periodically nag you to keep your hands on the steering wheel.  Driving in traffic on Mopac or 35 doesn't bother me as much, as the car does very well with Autopilot on in heavy traffic.  I've driven from San Marcos to Round Rock, through terrible traffic on 35, without having to touch the pedals or do any steering.  

 

focusst.thumb.jpg.7e4dc40a5cf99b80bfce18c749acaa9e.jpg

models_1.thumb.jpg.d92523235be1239fc23c30c4dc785218.jpg

models_2.thumb.jpg.ad0a390ddd391368df4a6020f4c92aa3.jpg

 ..Al

 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I definitely see the advantage of having the car do the driving where it's no fun to actually drive (I-35 in rush hour traffic) but I want to drive Lime Creek road even if I'm slower.  I also recognize that an electric car is going to be faster especially with all wheel drive and probably be more reliable (less moving parts).  I really wanted to love an electric car when I was in the market but I don't like the idea of being a passenger even when I'm the driver.  Does that make sense?  I guess I'm holding on to that last non-technology driven aspect of my life that doesn't need a firmware update every few months.  Even my Focus has Apple Carplay and needs a USB stick every so often.

If I could get an old Triumph or something fun to drive, dead nuts simple to operate, and at least slightly practical, I'd do it.  

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can still drive, of course, and I still very much consider myself a driving enthusiast.  But for road trips on the highway or driving in bumper-to-bumper traffic, letting the car do the work is nice.  Especially on long road trips, of which I did many in the Model S (to Portland twice, Michigan, California, Florida twice).  It greatly reduces fatigue, both physically and mentally, so you can cover more ground in a day without being as tired at the end.  But give me a twisty road  and I'm going to engage that myself.  And day-to-day driving on surface streets you're still going to be doing the driving, for now.

I do look forward to the day when most cars are fully autonomous, as that should greatly cut down on the number of serious accidents on roads.  There are already many videos on YouTube showing how Teslas with Autopilot enabled has prevented accidents.  For instance, at around 45 seconds in this video you can see the car abruptly change to an adjacent lane as an SUV encroached upon its lane:

This was an action taken by the car, and the driver didn't even realize what happened until he reviewed the video later.  The video is from one of the car's side cameras that faces backwards.  The car has dashcam software built in that lets you save video from one of the front cameras and both of these side cameras (there are seven cameras in total).  It also has a "sentry" mode that you can leave enabled that saves video from the cameras when someone or something gets too close to the car, tires to open a locked door, backs into your car, etc.  If the person persists or is aggressive enough (or gets into the car), it'll sound the alarm and play some classical music (don't recall the songs) at full volume to draw attention to the car.  This has already caught many thieves as well as people keying cars, slamming their door into cars, hit and runs, etc.

 ..Al

Link to comment
Share on other sites

40 minutes ago, Tree Magnet said:

I guess I'm holding on to that last non-technology driven aspect of my life that doesn't need a firmware update every few months.

Oh, with regards to this, Tesla releases new software updates fairly regularly, they are free, they are downloaded wirelessly, and they often introduce new features to the cars.  The above-mentioned Dashcam and Sentry features are two such things, and both of these were features that were heavily requested by customers.  Other things include a Dog mode that lets you maintain a set temperature in the car when you're away and displays an animated dog on the screen with an easily legible message with the current interior temperature of the car so people won't try breaking in to save your animal(s). 

Another is leaving current climate control settings enabled when you exit the car (which came before "Dog" mode), which is especially nice here in Texas if you park outside at a store or somewhere in the blistering heat. They've even released software updates that have improved the car's breaking, enabled additional power, and extended range (depending on the car).  And there are a whole slew of easter eggs, including several Atari arcade games you can play on the screen (which you can even use a USB controller with).  Here's a subreddit on Reddit that tracks these changes.  

 ..Al

Link to comment
Share on other sites

49 minutes ago, Albert said:

You can still drive, of course, and I still very much consider myself a driving enthusiast.  But for road trips on the highway or driving in bumper-to-bumper traffic, letting the car do the work is nice.  Especially on long road trips, of which I did many in the Model S (to Portland twice, Michigan, California, Florida twice).  It greatly reduces fatigue, both physically and mentally, so you can cover more ground in a day without being as tired at the end.  But give me a twisty road  and I'm going to engage that myself.  And day-to-day driving on surface streets you're still going to be doing the driving, for now.

I do look forward to the day when most cars are fully autonomous, as that should greatly cut down on the number of serious accidents on roads.  There are already many videos on YouTube showing how Teslas with Autopilot enabled has prevented accidents.  For instance, at around 45 seconds in this video you can see the car abruptly change to an adjacent lane as an SUV encroached upon its lane:

This was an action taken by the car, and the driver didn't even realize what happened until he reviewed the video later.  The video is from one of the car's side cameras that faces backwards.  The car has dashcam software built in that lets you save video from one of the front cameras and both of these side cameras (there are seven cameras in total).  It also has a "sentry" mode that you can leave enabled that saves video from the cameras when someone or something gets too close to the car, tires to open a locked door, backs into your car, etc.  If the person persists or is aggressive enough (or gets into the car), it'll sound the alarm and play some classical music (don't recall the songs) at full volume to draw attention to the car.  This has already caught many thieves as well as people keying cars, slamming their door into cars, hit and runs, etc.

 ..Al

That's pretty impressive. These cars are becoming more and more appealing to me for the purposes of commuting and general in town driving. I likely won't ever have one unless it's a more adventurous SUV, but even then I'd want assurance that if I go boondocking, I have a way to recharge efficiently with solar or wind.

That autopilot is pretty awesome though as an engineering feat.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

52 minutes ago, Albert said:

Oh, with regards to this, Tesla releases new software updates fairly regularly, they are free, they are downloaded wirelessly, and they often introduce new features to the cars.  The above-mentioned Dashcam and Sentry features are two such things, and both of these were features that were heavily requested by customers.  Other things include a Dog mode that lets you maintain a set temperature in the car when you're away and displays an animated dog on the screen with an easily legible message with the current interior temperature of the car so people won't try breaking in to save your animal(s). 

Another is leaving current climate control settings enabled when you exit the car (which came before "Dog" mode), which is especially nice here in Texas if you park outside at a store or somewhere in the blistering heat. They've even released software updates that have improved the car's breaking, enabled additional power, and extended range (depending on the car).  And there are a whole slew of easter eggs, including several Atari arcade games you can play on the screen (which you can even use a USB controller with).  Here's a subreddit on Reddit that tracks these changes.  

 ..Al


I am curious about these updates and FW updates...
Hypothetically.. if a company like Tesla goes out of business.. where does that leave owners like your self who may be dependent on the software running their cars? 
Will that fall to a cunning outside company to create updates or mods?
I'd be nervous I spent a sum of cash on a good car only to have it not be able to be serviced in the future. Is that possible?

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Cafeend said:

I am curious about these updates and FW updates...
Hypothetically.. if a company like Tesla goes out of business.. where does that leave owners like your self who may be dependent on the software running their cars? 
Will that fall to a cunning outside company to create updates or mods?
I'd be nervous I spent a sum of cash on a good car only to have it not be able to be serviced in the future. Is that possible?

The cars would continue to run fine, you don't need the software updates unless there's some critical bug they discover.  I'm not worried about Tesla going out of business, even if their stock is being hit hard right now.  They've been through much tougher times than this, and the Model 3 ramp up has been a good learning experience for them.  They are still very much in an expansion mode and outlaying tons of cash for capital expenditures (global Supercharger network, multiple Gigafactories, building new car lines, new service centers, etc.)  They haven't even had to do any advertising at all since they've opened shop, and I expect demand for their cars will continue and increase as they introduce more vehicles (Model Y, which I really want as it is roomier, is a hatchback, and has a built-in hitch, their pickup truck, their $200K Roadster that goes 0-60 in 1.9 seconds, 250+ miles per hour and over 600 miles of range, and their Semi).  The cars sell themselves once you have a chance to drive one.

Down the road I feel Tesla's going to make considerably more money from their energy business versus cars.  Between the batteries and battery packs they are producing and their solar panel business, that has a chance of being much larger than the car business.  They recently acquired a company (Maxwell Technologies) that produces Supercapacitors, and it'll be very interesting to see where that leads.  

If Tesla did find themselves in a desperate position, I'd expect another company to purchase them.  Both Apple and Google have already tried to do so...

 ..Al

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awesome insight Albert.  Tesla is definitely impressive and a disrupter in so many industries.  Call me paranoid but I do worry a little bit about a company having that much control over the car.  Let's say they botch a software patch and brick your car while you're driving down the road.  What if they want to make more money and team up with a car insurance company to monitor your driving and cap your speed or the roads you drive on?  What if they start pushing advertisements to that monster screen on your dash that you have to pay to opt out of?  Stupid worries in the grand scheme of things but you get the good with the bad and all those updates.  You have to trust the company to not screw you over.  Do I trust Ford?  No.  They could be gone long before Tesla but at least I don't get the impression that they are in control.  I just keep putting gas in that thing and changing the oil and it will do it's job.  The illusion of self-control is something I'm not ready to surrender.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Tree Magnet said:

Let's say they botch a software patch and brick your car while you're driving down the road.

This cannot happen as you control when software updates are applied, and they cannot be applied while you are driving.  When a new update is available, the car alerts you (when the car is in Park) in the same way that your phone informs you an update is available.  You can then choose to update the car immediately (and it must be parked), or schedule when you'd like the update to occur.  I usually do them in the middle of the night. 

As cars gain more autonomous functionality, you're going to see them turn into rolling computers in the same way that Teslas currently are.  Pretty much everything is controlled by the computer.  In order for a car to drive itself, it needs to control everything -- steering, braking, acceleration, turn signals, etc.   This has added side effects, for instance, there are three different modes I can select for my steering wheel-- "Comfort", "Standard", and "Sport".  Braking with the car is a combination of regenerative braking (where the car's motors are turned into generators using the car's momentum, which in turn slows the car down) and physical braking, the ratio of which is controlled by computers.  

3 minutes ago, Tree Magnet said:

What if they want to make more money and team up with a car insurance company to monitor your driving and cap your speed or the roads you drive on?

This is a possibility with many new cars now that have built-in connectivity and GPS.  Not something unique to Tesla.  While I'm sure insurance companies would love to do this, I don't see it happening except voluntarily (which is already a thing as far as monitoring your driving).  I doubt capping your speed would occur, that would be hugely unpopular, and companies still like to brag about their cars' top speeds, even if using that top speed on public roads is unrealistic (top speed for my car is 162mph and the only way I'd get anywhere near that is on a track). 

4 minutes ago, Tree Magnet said:

What if they start pushing advertisements to that monster screen on your dash that you have to pay to opt out of?

Again, not something unique to Tesla, most cars have screens now of varying sizes.  I guarantee there would be holy hell if Tesla tried to do this.  

Tesla is light years ahead of most other car companies with their software versus the legacy auto makers.  The Microsoft SYNC software in my Focus ST is just terrible.  

  ..Al

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...