Oppo, I'm Having A Crisis

"SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O)" (sammauri) 11/03/2015 at 11:26 • Filed to: None

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Not the fun kind. The identity kind. For years, I’ve been a BMW fanboy. I have the classic car to prove it. But recently I have been tempted by the devil...

That devil being Mercedes Benz, of course.

And here’s why this is an issue for me: I have always liked BMW, and it’s been a brand that’s been a part of my life from the moment I was born (I was driven home from the hospital in a 1973 BMW 2002). I have also actively disliked Mercedes for a while now. At my school, Benzes were driven my kids who didn’t care about cars or driving, but cared that their parents bought them a Mercedes because of the brand prestige. Mercedes drivers in my area are the stereotypical BMW drivers everywhere else. Mercedes drivers annoy me and their cars (excluding anything made before 1970, and the Hammer) have never done anything to excited me, so I never really got it. But recently I can’t help but be attracted to their cars. It seems like Mercedes is tweaking their designs just enough to keep it interesting while BMW is getting a little stale.

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m bored of BMW and their design language.

Look at this shit. It’s all gorgeous. I even (mostly) like the way the CLA looks...

Well, I’m off to repent.

Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 11/03/2015 at 11:28

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embrace it...EMBRACE THE LOVE! Not really, come to the japanese side

SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras 11/03/2015 at 11:32

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My love for Japanese cars is really limited to pre-2000s stuff unfortunately. Not much has come out of Japan that has made me really excited recently. Gimme an S15 Silvia, an FD RX7, or an old Skyline though... That would cause a whole different type of crisis.

Rico > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 11/03/2015 at 11:33

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Yes yes let the Stuttgart flow through you. I used to be a BMW fan but their interiors outside of the newest 7 and the i8 have grown stale, and the exteriors don’t do it for me outside the 2 Series and the 6 GC. I mean, can they give those tired gauges a rest?

With MB they have accepted their identity and to me have stopped trying to out-BMW BMW. The only thing I don’t agree with is the CLA which looks like trash.

EL_ULY > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 11/03/2015 at 11:34

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Hail Satan 666 \m/

dump the clones

lol nah j/k, All cars made after 2004 are all pretty meh to me. None from any brand really tickle my fancy

Party-vi > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 11/03/2015 at 11:34

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The CLA is a Mercedes in badge only.

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 11/03/2015 at 11:36

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I agree 2002 seem to have been peak Japanese since then it has become nothing but appliances(for the most part) damn good appliances but appliances nonetheless.

1988-2002 was the best time to be into Japanese cars.

CalzoneGolem > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 11/03/2015 at 11:38

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Love all the cars!

I was raised a Chevy man, but I have transcended that and now I DD a Ford.

Master Cylinder > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 11/03/2015 at 11:40

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Love me some 80s and earlier Benzes, but really didn’t car for anything from the 90s on. The latest designs really are attractive cars, though. I’d drive one.

Tripper > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 11/03/2015 at 11:41

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I was the same way. I was never going to own anything besides a 3 pedal M car (or a classic BMW). Somewhere in the midst of the dilution of the M badge I just sort of lost interest. It didn’t help that my latest M car was more trouble some and much more expensive to service than the one before it.

At the beginning of July I was “M car til I die”. On August first I rolled out of the dealership in an automatic Audi...

SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) > Rico 11/03/2015 at 11:41

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I don’t think the CLA is bad for what it is. It’s barely a Mercedes Benz, but it’s a relatively attractive car... Except for those tail lights. God, those are bad.

Azrek > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 11/03/2015 at 11:43

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As a BMW Owner, I agree with alot of these statements. I had to take my BMW into get a quick servicing so I wandered around the lot. I was bored. Nothing there was overly exciting. But some of the Mercs I’ve seen do look alot more exciting.

I just want a manual...and Mercs with manuals are on the short train to the long adios.

SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) > Party-vi 11/03/2015 at 11:46

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For the most part I would agree, but it’s still a relatively attractive car (minus the tail lights) with an acceptable level of luxury. It’s like a Viking grill. It’s a fancy, shiny, overpriced appliance. You could buy a nicer tier Honda and you’d have basically the same driving experience with less luxury, but people who buy Viking grills don’t care that your Foreman can grill a steak just as well.

I’ve driven the CLA a handful of times and its a nice car. The fact that it costs the same price my Jeep when new is hysterical to me. The Wrangler tax is very strong.

SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) > EL_ULY 11/03/2015 at 11:47

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BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 11/03/2015 at 11:48

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Ooh dear :S I had a similar crisis when I developed a fondness for E3 BMWs. Being a fairly staunch Italian/British car fan German cars are very much ‘the Enemy’. Cars that people tend to buy because of the badge on the front no matter how close or better the alternative is...

Tripper > EL_ULY 11/03/2015 at 11:48

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Haha that screenshot is sad. If you took away the info it would be nearly impossible to tell the difference between models at that distance.

SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) > Tripper 11/03/2015 at 11:49

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Yup, same boat. This latest batch of Ms isn’t doing much for me either, unfortunately. The last BMW that I really lusted after was the 1M. I’ve liked Audi for a long time too. I almost got an S3 two years ago, but insurance would have killed me at the time.

SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) > Azrek 11/03/2015 at 11:53

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Yeah, a manual is definitely ideal but I’ve kind of accepted the fact that there is nothing wrong with a fun automatic car (preferably with paddles), especially when I’ll always have something like my 2002 to satisfy my needs for a manual.

Rico > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 11/03/2015 at 11:54

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The tail lights suck and the proportions are frumpy. The better solution would have been to give the US the REAL A-Class which is an honest car and something I wouldn’t mind having or seeing on the road.

and in AMG form:

And yes I know the GLA/GLA45 exists but I don’t want a lifted hatch, just give me the damn hatch.

gin-san - shitpost specialist > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 11/03/2015 at 11:55

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I normally really like BMWs but I think the current generation Mercedes design is excellent; I still don’t like the rear-end of the CLA, though. However, the lineup is solid and they’ve taken the Audi formula of enlarging/shrinking the design to fit their lineup needs. I like that the C-class front-end still has the presence of the S-class.

PanchoVilleneuve ST > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 11/03/2015 at 11:57

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I will forever love this grille treatment that M-B has been doing lately. It’s wonderful.

Also, as someone who became a car nerd through Gran Turismo and as such has the most special place in his heart reserved for cars from Japan and only cars from Japan, I went through an even stronger crisis of faith last year when I bought my current car. It was down to either an FR-S or a Focus ST, and despite a lifetime’s worth of obsession and mental conditioning that made me the absolute prime customer for Toyota’s meatspace port of GT6, I went with the Focus, and I went with the Focus because I found I liked it more.

It felt like a combination of blasphemy and cheating on my wife for about a week before I came to terms with the fact that good cars are good cars, and like the people you wind up falling in love with, it’s not a matter of choosing them, it’s a matter of finding them. That and reminding myself that I can get a Mark II GSS shipped over from Japan for not a lot of money and I can always do that one day.

But on the topic of Mercedes’ design, they’re the only one of the 3 German luxury manufacturers who are actually bothering to style their cars. Audi is just variations on the same depressingly austere theme, and BMW seems like they accidentally spilled all their design capability on the i3 and i8 and it wound up drying and setting before they could spread it evenly over the rest of their line.

Vicente Esteve > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 11/03/2015 at 11:57

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I often find myself thinking that manual BMW’s should be the epitome of what I would want in a car, but I can’t help but feel persuaded by AMG. Even if they are only automatics, have worse handling, are less precise and they don’t have the drivers car pedigree of BMW I adore them.

ESSSIX GmbH - Accountant/Wagon Thumper > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 11/03/2015 at 11:58

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Ultimate slush box. lol I loath Mercedes because all the cars they make are for lazy people, and that has been the case since the late 80s. Yes, they do look good though, but who cares, its like hospice for car people. “Look at me! Im still doing..” all the while everyone elses cars (even BMW and their fake engine noise) in the same classes are cooler for that one thing they do more than MB. /fact.

Rico > Tripper 11/03/2015 at 11:58

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How has she been treating you?

Tripper > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 11/03/2015 at 11:59

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I had a deposit on a 1M in 2011 (I knew that I couldn’t afford it, but the dealer said that a deposit was the only way to get a test drive in one). I ended up being out of the country when it arrived at the dealer, so I got my deposit back and no test drive:(. Given the prices on these now, I should have figured out a way to make the payments.

Funny you should mention the insurance. I thought for sure that it would go down from the E90 M3 to the S3. So did my insurance guy, but I ended up paying over $100 more per year for the S3.

SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) > Tripper 11/03/2015 at 12:01

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The insurance company quoted me just over $1000 more per year with the S3 or the 500 Abarth I was looking at compared to my Wrangler. That made the decision pretty easy.

EL_ULY > Tripper 11/03/2015 at 12:01

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This one also

Rico > Vicente Esteve 11/03/2015 at 12:13

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They are the German version of muscle cars. Brute strength, although a car like the AMG GT definitely wouldn’t be called a bad handler or not precise.

911e46z06 > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 11/03/2015 at 12:15

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I’ve been a BMW guy since I was about 13. Time to abandon ship. BMW has pretty much abandoned everything that attracted me to the brand back in the day. Almost everything I’ve driven made within the last ten years that doesn’t have an ‘M’ on it has been straight up garbage. The new 5 series is the worst car in it’s segment by a country mile. If you told me 7 or 8 years ago when I had 3 e39s in the driveway that I would buy a Cadillac because BMW didn’t make anything worth driving, I wouldn’t have believed you, but here we are.

AUDACIA > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 11/03/2015 at 12:19

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One of the few new cars I was enthusiastic about when they came out.

Nearly went to the Merc dealers launch party. Later decided that I’d be somewhat displaced in that crowd.

Rico > 911e46z06 11/03/2015 at 12:21

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Not disagreeing with you about the 5 Series but why do you feel that way? BMW needs to get it together on the 5 because competition from the new gen E Class and new XF (which is now cheaper with longer warranty) is going to be fierce.

BReLp7dzHM3ytYsE > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 11/03/2015 at 12:22

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I have been a Chevy guy for forever, but it was my dad’s 04 F-150 (what I now drive) that he bought new when I was in second grade that made me realize that Chevy wasn't the only company that could make a good product. Nothing wrong with preferring one brand over another but still liking both of their products. Give credit where credit is due.

V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches > Rico 11/03/2015 at 12:22

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Fuck the CLA particularly. For that price, I could chip my car to 640 hp and have enough maintenance money to last a few years. And to boot, it's not even a good car.

V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 11/03/2015 at 12:24

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Come to the dark side. V12 will change you

Rico > V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches 11/03/2015 at 12:27

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Seriously that car is trash, I would definitely get a loaded Mazda 6 over a CLA. It looks better and the interior is likely the same if not better quality.

V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches > Rico 11/03/2015 at 12:30

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For me it would be an accord, my one experience with the Mazda 6 is one were I got in the car, and could shake around the entire center console...

Andrew T. Maness > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 11/03/2015 at 12:32

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Having driven the AMG GT and C63 AMG on a track, I can tell you that Mercedes is going some things very, very right.

However, the CLA isn’t one of them.

BMW makes great small cars that are fast and fun, so fun that I even own one. Yay!

Mercedes makes great big cars that are fast, fun, and classy as FUCK. There is no shame in lusting after any of the cars your posted above, BMW doesn’t have anything to compete with a single one of them.

What about the M6 you say? Total pig compared to the S63 Coupe. The 7 Series, while better that it has been still doesn’t come close to the S-Class, and the miracle that is the E63 AMG Estate is only bettered by the insane RS6 Avant.

Bottom line, from one BMW fanboy to another, it’s ok to want a Benz, just so long as its the right Benz, for the right reasons.

Rico > V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches 11/03/2015 at 12:33

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WTF. Was it a new one from 2014 on?

RallyWrench > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 11/03/2015 at 12:37

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I don’t disagree. I’ve been a lifelong BMW fanboy and have had 7 of them, but as far as I’m concerned they haven’t built a car I want to own since about 2004. More than the styling, I no longer believe in them mechanically.

Conversely, most newer Mercedes look pretty good to me, and they seem to have come out of the quality doldrums they wallowed in and out of from the 90’s through mid-2000s. It helps that they started to take handling seriously as well. I’m not a flashy person at all, so I don’t think I’d ever actually own a Mercedes that’s less than 20 years old (with the exception of a W210, I’d daily one of those no questions asked), but I like them a lot more than I once did.

V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches > Rico 11/03/2015 at 12:39

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Yeah, at last years autoshow

Azrek > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 11/03/2015 at 12:47

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The only BMW that even remotely gets my interest is the M2. Though, I wonder if they stick with what works or did they make another soulless sports car?

Rico > V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches 11/03/2015 at 12:47

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Damn that’s not good. Hopefully they don’t keep cutting corners as I feel that they’ve had a resurgence over the past 3 years.

I know Mazda’s have been skimping out on their paint though, a recent post over on an Auto Detailing forum showed a 2016 CX5 having almost half the paint thickness than what is found on a Benz for example. Doesn’t sound bad at first but when you realize that Mazda’s had been known for being susceptible to rust, having a soft clearcoat and thin paint means in 7 years you’ll be seeing these newer Mazda’s rusting away. Every little stone chip will go down to the primer or the metal.

Tripper > Rico 11/03/2015 at 12:50

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Really well! Hoping to get a review together soon.

Textured Soy Protein > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 11/03/2015 at 12:58

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Here, I’ll solve this for you: brand loyalty is misplaced loyalty. In every single product category, each brand makes some good stuff and some bad stuff.

SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) > Textured Soy Protein 11/03/2015 at 13:21

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This has less to do with brand loyalty than it seems. I have never purchased a new BMW. The only BMW products my family owns are either 40 years old or a MINI. The crisis comes from the fact that I have always been enthused by BMW, and typically dislike Mercedes (their products, their customers, etc.). But recently I am bored by a BMW and drawn to Mercedes. I’m not loyal to BMW. Never have been. I bought a Wrangler when I could have afforded a CPO 3 series or X3 because it made more sense to me and I liked the Wrangler more at that price point. But while I have never been loyal to BMW, I have always loved the brand and the majority of their products.

The new M cars don’t even do it for me anymore.

Vicente Esteve > Rico 11/03/2015 at 13:25

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That’s exactly right. I dislike the AMG GT but I don’t disagree on the handling.

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 11/03/2015 at 13:32

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So, what’s it like? Being a rich kid? Or, are you in Europe where these are much more affordable?

911e46z06 > Rico 11/03/2015 at 13:32

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This is going to make me sound old and crotchety, but here we go anyway. At this point, everything I love about older BMWs is gone. It used to be that the entire lineup was great to drive, from top to bottom. That’s not the case anymore. Every new generation gets heavier, less responsive, less direct, more coddling, and more boring.

The new 5er was kind of the last straw. It’s disgusting to me that the dog of the segment, the one that’s 2 seconds slower to 60 and 500 pounds heavier than the competition and has the feedback of a waterbed is the BMW. It just kind of proves to me that they’ve completely discounted all the things they focused on when they were making the best cars in the world.

It’s sad. And it sucks. But they just aren’t making anything good anymore. Cadillac is having success by kind of trying to do what BMW used to do. Their entry-level CTS and ATS models (with the 2.0) are great fun to drive. The whole lineup is peppy and responsive, and they’re clearly focused on trying to keep their cars light. But they’re not doing it quite as well as BMW did.

dtg11 - is probably on an adventure with Clifford > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 11/03/2015 at 13:34

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We are beckoning you...join us...join us...

Rico > Vicente Esteve 11/03/2015 at 13:49

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What is there to dislike about the AMG GT?

SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. 11/03/2015 at 13:55

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I drove either a hand-me-down Nissan or a $4000 BMW that I constantly had to fix myself though high school. I have a Wrangler now because my ex’s mom felt I needed a car when the Nissan shat the bed and the BMW was not road worthy, and showed me a level of generosity I have never seen before. I was the only person in my friend group who didn’t have a nice car and/or their parent’s credit card. I would love to be able to tell you what being a rich kid is like, but from the outside it looked like fun. Nice of you to make that assumption though.

boxrocket > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 11/03/2015 at 14:21

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Change your focus from Germany.

Look to Sweden.

...you know you deeply, truly want a Volvo wagon.

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 11/03/2015 at 14:22

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No assumption, just asking. Glad to know that actually, and sorry to come off as an asshole, it’s aproblem I’m working one. Anyway, you wouldn’t believe the number of entitled trust fund kids I run into out here is SoCal that gripe that their Beemers aren’t good enough....We aren’t talking about the old ones like you got, they are bitching about brand new top shelf cars. It makes me want to scream.

Rico > 911e46z06 11/03/2015 at 14:35

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Not old and crotchety! Just interesting to hear your perspective, I haven’t driven the F10 5’er but I am not a fan of it’s looks outside of the M Sport guise.

66671 - 200 [METRIC] my dash > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 11/03/2015 at 15:43

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Step 1: Get rid of any brand bias as a car enthusiast.

Step 2: Enjoy basking in all that the lush, various automotive world has to offer.

911e46z06 > Rico 11/03/2015 at 15:49

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I actually dig the looks of the new ones. Those struts behind the grille get me every time. Too bad they suck so bad to drive.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Luc - The Acadian Oppo 11/03/2015 at 15:59

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I’d say 88-2009 as 88 was the first year of the second gen CRX 09 was the last year of the S2000.

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 11/03/2015 at 16:17

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Nope 2002 because after that there was no more Spirit R and also no more R34 either. All that was left after that was the RX8,350Z, and S2000.

But one thing that is certain is that right now 2015 is the worst time to be a Japanese car fan.

The only people still in the game is Nissan and both their cars (370Z & GTR) are getting REALLY long in the tooth.

Textured Soy Protein > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 11/03/2015 at 18:13

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All I’m saying is that if you don’t get overly attached to a brand in the first place then it doesn’t matter if you then like something some other brand makes. Whether you give them money directly by purchasing a new one doesn’t really matter.

Think of it like this: let’s say someone grew up in Chicago, they’ve rooted for the Bears their whole life, they hate the Packers, they make negative stereotypes about Packer fans, then one day they find themselves really appreciating Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews.

They can either have an identity crisis like OMG I AM NOT ALLOWED TO LIKE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE PACKERS WHAT IS WRONG WITH MEEEEEEEE or they can just acknowledge that Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews are pretty good football players and move on with life.

Why define yourself based on liking a particular brand of car, or sports team? Who cares?

bryan40oop > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 11/03/2015 at 19:00

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I like bmw. But AMG is the dark side. All that torque. In a straight line, it’s no contest most of the time. But when it comes to twisties the M cars always win.

It depends on what you wanna do with the car. If you want a cruiser that can create so laughs, it’s hard to overlook the AMG mercs.

Vicente Esteve > Rico 11/03/2015 at 20:12

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I am just indifferent about it. It is not as special as the SLS, and I just don’t see any redeeming feature about it.

Also, MB used a joke of a commercial in the US with the tortoise and the hare remake compared to the brilliance they used in Europe:

Rico > Vicente Esteve 11/03/2015 at 20:18

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Those US commercials were beyond trash.

Carbon Fiber Sasquatch > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 11/03/2015 at 21:01

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Same I used to love BMWs but Mercedes is hitting home run after home run in my book. Hell, they’re even streamlining their naming schemes instead of making them more convoluted.