Here Are My Thoughts On A Few Recently-Revealed Cars

"Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor" (aaronp1) 02/06/2015 at 13:49 • Filed to: None

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Since I'm sick, I'm currently lying in bed with nothing much to do. Which is why I've decided to put together this list of random musings related to recently-revealed cars, as the title of this post says. Here goes.

TOYOTA COROLLA SPECIAL EDITION: I don't understand how new wheels and seat stitching constitute a "special edition" model. Obviously, Toyota does.

NISSAN'S NEW RACECAR: This is just ugly. It just is.

FORD GT: This is just freakin' cool. It just is.

FORD FOCUS RS: Lots of power? Check. Lots of torque? Check. All-wheel-drive? Check. A hideous front end? Unfortunately also check. The cool factor is still through the roof, though.

NISSAN JUKE NISMO RSNOW: Even weirder than the standard Juke. And it's got a terrible name.

FERRARI 488 GTB: It pains me to say this, but I'm not exactly a fan of some of Ferrari's recent designs (namely this).

NISSAN MAXIMA: Is it just me, or does this actually look somewhat attractive?

PORSCHE CAYMAN GT4: A mini-GT3. If I could afford it (and if I had a driving license), I'd probably buy this over a non-GT3 911.

Saracen > Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor 02/06/2015 at 13:52

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" NISSAN MAXIMA: Is it just me, or does this actually look somewhat attractive?"

No, it looks horrid.

But then again I like the 488GTB's design, and quite a lot more than the 458.

TheHondaBro > Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor 02/06/2015 at 13:53

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That Juke is cool, 'nuff said.

PushToStart > Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor 02/06/2015 at 13:57

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Call me crazy, but personally, I'd much rather have a Cayman GT4 over a 911 GT3.

Also, I think the Focus RS looks amazing, the front end doesn't bother me at all.

DrScientist > Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor 02/06/2015 at 13:59

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does it matter if its ugly? it just has to be fast. and i applaud nissan for not trying to beat audi at a game audi has been setting the rules for over the past 15 years.

DrScientist > Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor 02/06/2015 at 14:03

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ferraris designs have not be "beautiful" for a while now.

the 458 was arguably beautiful. but this 488 seems to be a an evolution of the 458 with a bunch of techno bits, that take whatever beauty the 458 had and turns it into an engineering project.

DrScientist > Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor 02/06/2015 at 14:06

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R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet > DrScientist 02/06/2015 at 14:09

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So it apes the RWD version but yet has the opposite components inside. Nissan must have no clue how to build down market cars with the same tech and equipment from the upmarket cars.

TahoeSTi > Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor 02/06/2015 at 14:10

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It's just you.

R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet > PushToStart 02/06/2015 at 14:10

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I'm with you and if it ends up in the very low 30s on price, that will be my new DD and trashing mobile.

6cyl > Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor 02/06/2015 at 14:13

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I kind of like this and the new Ferrari. I am happy people are starting to make cars again that don't look like they have chopped roofs with tiny slit windows. Better visibility seems like a good thing to me.

DrScientist > Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor 02/06/2015 at 14:17

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as an actual car that owners use, many seem to forget one of the key differentiators between the 911s and the cayman/boxsters: the rear seats.

not only do they provide a significant amount of in cabin storage, for your bags or shopping or a set of winter wheels, you can also cram a couple smaller humans in there in a pinch, while also allowing the front seats to recline fully. try doing any of that in a cayman. that last point is reall important for significant others you may have coerced into taking long and sometimes dicey road trips.

also, i don't think these will be cross-shopped with any of the 911s. at the price point, youre going to get less of the raw sport feeling in the 911 and more of a sport-gt car.

DrScientist > R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet 02/06/2015 at 14:21

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i truly enjoy when people use the word "ape" as a verb, appropriately. bravo. :)

also... haven't really kept track of nissan since my mother owned a string of pathfinders for nearly 20 years. but i thought when i saw this, that it had already been released, then remembered the inifinit.

also, here's to keeping that x-terra around as one of the only really capable off-roaders (says my brother, as i haven't been in one off road since 2002).

Captain of the Enterprise > Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor 02/06/2015 at 14:25

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Why the massive grille opening if your going to fill it with solid plastic anyway?

Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz) > Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor 02/06/2015 at 14:42

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If I lived in an extremely snowy area, I'd still have it.

Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor > Captain of the Enterprise 02/06/2015 at 14:52

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I know. I don't get it.

Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor > DrScientist 02/06/2015 at 14:52

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It matters to me.

Flat Six > DrScientist 02/06/2015 at 14:53

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The 911 GT3 doesn't have rear seats, however the Cayman actually has a decent sized second trunk and parcel shelf that is easier to get at due to the rear hatch.

I do use the rear seats in my (vanilla) 911 quite a bit, and I like the extra front leg room you get. If you are taller, you don't have much seat adjustability in the Cayman.

Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor > DrScientist 02/06/2015 at 14:54

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McLaren has the best design department, Lamborghini has the best insane department, Porsche has the "we must make 10,000 variants of every single car" department, and Ferrari has...well...I don't know.

Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor > Saracen 02/06/2015 at 14:55

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Apparently, we have a quite different taste in automotive design. At least with the Maxima and 488 GTB.

uofime > Captain of the Enterprise 02/06/2015 at 14:55

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I wonder how hard I will be to remove that plastic. I'm sure it'll make fuel economy worse, might cause some lift to, but it might be worth it to not have to look at the pug ugly thing

Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor > Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz) 02/06/2015 at 14:56

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But that's the only thing it's good for: crossing snow.

Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor > TheHondaBro 02/06/2015 at 14:56

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It's cool to you. 'Nuff said.

Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor > TahoeSTi 02/06/2015 at 14:57

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Okay then.

Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz) > Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor 02/06/2015 at 14:58

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Exactly why I'd have one if I lived in the northern Canadian countryside.

Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor > DrScientist 02/06/2015 at 14:59

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I don't think that most people will cross-shop them with 911s, either. I would, though, but only if I was to get a Cayman GT4 or a 911 Carrera S.

TheHondaBro > Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor 02/06/2015 at 14:59

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DrScientist > Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor 02/06/2015 at 14:59

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so if you were designing a race car, appearance would trump performance?

Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor > PushToStart 02/06/2015 at 15:00

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I'd have a GT4 over, say, a Carrera S, but not a GT3.

Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor > DrScientist 02/06/2015 at 15:02

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That's not what I'm trying to say. A racecar should be fast and good-looking.

DrScientist > Flat Six 02/06/2015 at 15:06

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right. the gt3 though is nearly 60-70% more expensive?

can you even get in a 911 for 80k these days?

i have a "vanilla" 911 as well and the reclining front seats have definitely seen use. not going to be able to um... nap... when the seat can't go back. no really though, my lady friend does sleep a bunch in in the passenger seat with it reclined.

and the parcel shelf and 2nd boot are useful, but i honestly fit 4 wheels inside my car. dont think the 2nd boot is going to be able to handle that.

this gt4 is a performance-oriented car. the 911's in the similar price range aren't really. they're more all-around sports/gt cars.

Herr Quattro - Has a 4-Motion > DrScientist 02/06/2015 at 15:09

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I agree.

I hate the LaFerraris headlights, but the rest of it is great, same with 458, but it grew on me. The F60 has great headlights, but the sides have WAY to many lines on it (which applies to the F12 as well).

This however. This is by far the worst thing that has been karted out of Maranello since the Testa Rosta. (Or the FF...)

hike > Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor 02/06/2015 at 15:11

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Ferrari has the best "fire" department.

Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor > hike 02/06/2015 at 15:11

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LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

Herr Quattro - Has a 4-Motion > Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor 02/06/2015 at 15:13

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I would like the Focus if half of its grill wasn't plastic.

Nissans LMP car generates mixed feelings. Compared to the Toyota? This thing is gorgeous.

Compared to the 919/R18? Hideous.

(But I like the headlights)

DrScientist > Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor 02/06/2015 at 15:14

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"design" is kind of a loaded word in car manufacturing these days.

i think what you mean is exterior visual design. but... with today's needs for safety and weight saving, i doubt there is one piece of exterior visual design that doesn't serve some additional purpose on top of the "this is the part you look at" attribute.

gone are the days of you build the "go" bits, you build the part you sit in, you build the outside.

actually, all of these departments you mention are what are likely the individual company's business (and sometimes marketing) strategies.

and by that approach, ferrari has the best "we're ferrari, we don't care what you think, our cars are still the best (even if they aren't, but they probably are, but see the part where we don't care) department."

Herr Quattro - Has a 4-Motion > Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor 02/06/2015 at 15:15

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I'm mixed on McLaren.

I like the P1, BUT it looks weird with ALL the McLaren shapes. But the taillights make up for it.

I'd argue for Pagani or Koenigsegg first.

Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor > DrScientist 02/06/2015 at 15:17

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Yep. I'm referring to exterior/interior styling. ;)

Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor > Herr Quattro - Has a 4-Motion 02/06/2015 at 15:17

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The P1 is awesome. Probably in my top five cars ever made.

Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor > Herr Quattro - Has a 4-Motion 02/06/2015 at 15:19

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I agree completely. Why did Ford have to create a fantastic car, AND decide to sell it in the United States, but then mess up part of the otherwise cool design?

Flat Six > DrScientist 02/06/2015 at 15:19

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Good points, agreed.

DrScientist > Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor 02/06/2015 at 15:23

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right... which gets back to my point that none of maclaren's exterior styling is made without significant input from the aerodynamicists, the motor (electric and ice) engineers, and the safety regulators. so the concept of a visual styling designer (or department) is kind of outdated.

DrScientist > Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor 02/06/2015 at 15:32

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not sure if WEC has a "looks" trophy. i suppose anything is possible.

i said it before, and i'll say it again, if nissan remains even somewhat competitive with the audis and porsches i'll give a big congratulations to the engineers who designed this thing. thinking outside the box is the mechanism for evolution of thought. sometimes an advance may appear ugly, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder, or something.

all that said, i'd surely drive a new aston martin that is running on 15 year old technology and interior creature comforts, but sure is good looking. oh, but that wouldn't be a racecar.

R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet > DrScientist 02/06/2015 at 16:39

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Xterra.......IFS.........capable of roader.........skeptical Land Rover enthusiast is skeptical.

yeah, that guy > PushToStart 02/06/2015 at 16:42

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I have to agree. I think I will wait to see what a few people think, and then drive one. I can say this, the Focus ST is miles nicer than my MS3. The power is more linear, and the torque steer way down. Also, I am not sure what kind of mileage people are getting with the ST but I get about 20. I could flog the shit out of it, and get about 20, or over a long gentle high way drive get about 21. Which is not great.

Alex B > Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor 02/06/2015 at 17:17

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I agree in the Maxima. We are in the minority.

PushToStart > yeah, that guy 02/06/2015 at 17:45

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I've heard some words around here about people not being enthused about their ST's MPGs. Sort of surprising that the mileage isn't considerably better when you're driving tamely but I don't own one so I can't really comment much as to their mileage patterns. I think Brian Silverstro made a post about it somewhat recently though...

yeah, that guy > PushToStart 02/06/2015 at 18:41

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I know the Mazda runs very rich. And I am very careful about not getting into the boost at low rpms because the engines have a habit of exploding under high boost/low rpms. But yeah, I think my best is 22, and worst is 19.

Herr Quattro - Has a 4-Motion > Aaron Paul: Oppo's Resident Fake British Actor 02/07/2015 at 12:10

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hell, I'd be okay if it was a convincing fake grille. But to make it an obvious Slab of Grey? Come on.