The MW Automotive Thread 5.0 GT

[Ignacio Ocamica]

The camera operator was having some fun and then citizen arrest!

[areaseven]

And now for some more Z love.

[Beltane70]

Speaking of the Z, I think Nissan's a bit overdue for a totally new design for the Fairlady seeing that its current form is already over 12 years old.

[areaseven]

Speaking of the Z, I think Nissan's a bit overdue for a totally new design for the Fairlady seeing that its current form is already over 12 years old.

Twelve years old? The 370Z (Z34, 2009-present) is a completely different generation from the 350Z (Z33, 2002-2009).

[dizman]

I love the 240z, it's a shame most of them in my area are either rust buckets or full of bondo. I heard through the rumor mill that the next Z car will likely be a sport crossover like the juke, hope that stays just a rumor.

[Sildani]

Twelve years old? The 370Z (Z34, 2009-present) is a completely different generation from the 350Z (Z33, 2002-2009).

Yes, but it shares a great many visual cues, and aerodynamic profile, with the 350. It doesn't follow Nissan's current design language. I leave it to the reader to decide if that's a good thing.

[areaseven]

You Have No Excuse to Not Work on Your Car Now (Facebook video)

[SchizophrenicMC]

Speaking of the Z, I think Nissan's a bit overdue for a totally new design for the Fairlady seeing that its current form is already over 12 years old.

Twelve years old? The 370Z (Z34, 2009-present) is a completely different generation from the 350Z (Z33, 2002-2009).

The Z33 and Z34 both share the same chassis platform, the same engine family, and the same design aesthetic. The Z32 is long in the tooth for a Z as it is, at 6 years. Unfortunately, Nissan doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of not screwing up the Z35, so I've stopped paying attention. Nissan has lost its way, probably irreparably.

You Have No Excuse to Not Work on Your Car Now (Facebook video)

I said it when it got shared by a facebook friend and I'll say it here:

If you don't have a large shop space to put one of these, you have an excuse. Not to mention a lift probably is not considerably more expensive, and to say nothing of safety concerns and the inability to do work that requires the wheels to be removed.

[reddsun1]

I said it when it got shared by a facebook friend and I'll say it here:

If you don't have a large shop space to put one of these, you have an excuse. Not to mention a lift probably is not considerably more expensive, and to say nothing of safety concerns and the inability to do work that requires the wheels to be removed.

Agreed. The potential for fu*kupery is just too great with a contraption like that. In fact--with something like that in the room: just find yerself a lean-to at a table in a corner somewheres with a couple of brews; just wait an' see what sh*t happens.

[SchizophrenicMC]

And I mean really, you can get a lift, brand new, rated for 10,000lbs, for less than $3000. And you can install it for under $2000. If you have enough space for that thing (which I seem to recall seeing on the interwebs a couple years ago) you have plenty of room for a lift.

[areaseven]

Edited October 17, 2015 by areaseven

[Beltane70]

The Z33 and Z34 both share the same chassis platform, the same engine family, and the same design aesthetic. The Z32 is long in the tooth for a Z as it is, at 6 years. Unfortunately, Nissan doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of not screwing up the Z35, so I've stopped paying attention. Nissan has lost its way, probably irreparably.

I'm going to have to disagree with you there. So far, I've been really liking the new designs coming out of Nisaan. For the first time in twenty years, they've actually come out with a design for the Maxima that I really like. Now, if we were having this conversation a few years ago, I'd probably agree, as I found most of the designs from '06 to about '12 to be lacking. I guess it just comes down to individual tastes in this case.

[areaseven]

More Russians...

[SchizophrenicMC]

I'm going to have to disagree with you there. So far, I've been really liking the new designs coming out of Nisaan. For the first time in twenty years, they've actually come out with a design for the Maxima that I really like. Now, if we were having this conversation a few years ago, I'd probably agree, as I found most of the designs from '06 to about '12 to be lacking. I guess it just comes down to individual tastes in this case.

I take it you've never owned a Nissan. This newest Maxima is by far the worst, especially in terms of design aesthetic. But also in terms of how un-innovative it is, coming from a company whose motto used to be Innovation that Excites; who is famous for having never invented anything, but having refined every aspect of the cars they've made, to create some of the most memorable. At least that's what they were famous for prior to the Renault merger. Now they're famous for a long-in-the-tooth halo car, a split-v grille, and having particularly bad CVTs in everything.

[Beltane70]

Actually, I haven't owned a car that wasn't a Nissan in over twenty years. Granted, they've all been Sentras. And again, as far as design aesthetics, we're talking our own tastes here. You don't like the new Maxima, I do, neither of us are wrong. Plus, since when has not owning a particular make or model of car made anyone unqualified to judge whether they like a car's looks. I don't need to own a Porsche to know that I don't like the way one looks.

[SchizophrenicMC]

See, that's an odd perspective as they go. Every single Nissan enthusiast I know has no love for Renault Nissan and its design aesthetic. Mind you I've been a Nissan guy since I could pronounce "Nissan". I was 4 the first time I steered a 1995 Sentra around a parking lot on my dad's lap. My first car was a Nissan ('88 200SX), my second car was a Nissan ('90 Pathfinder) that I loved so much I bought it back from the guy I sold it to. I spent 2 years finding the perfect 240SX, which I've owned for almost 3, and I've got an '85 200SX I'm building up with a friend. So for a long time, I've lived and breathed Nissan. But over the last several years, they've really been trying that enthusiasm, and the direction they've taken has no relation to the Nissan that brought Japanese cars to the Western world. Their cars are overstyled to make up for how lackluster they've become. They don't excel at anything except having the highest CVT failure rate in the industry.

For me, Nissan evokes thoughts and memories of a time before the bankruptcy. To call these Renaults, Nissans, is an affront to that, in my opinion. Most of the Nissan enthusiasts I know feel similarly. It's really split the Nissan crowd into two: people who love old Nissans and people who love new Nissans. There doesn't seem to be a lot of crossover. (Except in Nissan's lineup, where they have 5, by my count)

[spanner]

yikes! that was pretty bad!

[Beltane70]

See, that's an odd perspective as they go. Every single Nissan enthusiast I know has no love for Renault Nissan and its design aesthetic. Mind you I've been a Nissan guy since I could pronounce "Nissan". I was 4 the first time I steered a 1995 Sentra around a parking lot on my dad's lap. My first car was a Nissan ('88 200SX), my second car was a Nissan ('90 Pathfinder) that I loved so much I bought it back from the guy I sold it to. I spent 2 years finding the perfect 240SX, which I've owned for almost 3, and I've got an '85 200SX I'm building up with a friend. So for a long time, I've lived and breathed Nissan. But over the last several years, they've really been trying that enthusiasm, and the direction they've taken has no relation to the Nissan that brought Japanese cars to the Western world. Their cars are overstyled to make up for how lackluster they've become. They don't excel at anything except having the highest CVT failure rate in the industry.

For me, Nissan evokes thoughts and memories of a time before the bankruptcy. To call these Renaults, Nissans, is an affront to that, in my opinion. Most of the Nissan enthusiasts I know feel similarly. It's really split the Nissan crowd into two: people who love old Nissans and people who love new Nissans. There doesn't seem to be a lot of crossover. (Except in Nissan's lineup, where they have 5, by my count)

I'm actually one of those crossovers. Despite my defense of the newer Nissans, I still prefer older Nissans like you do. Before I bought my current Sentra (an '05 SE-R SpecV) I was searching for either a mid-90s 300ZX or a '97/98 240SX. To this day I'm still kicking myself for passing up a white '97 240SX because it was an automatic.

[SchizophrenicMC]

Yeah, passing up a good deal on an S14 because it was automatic is a bit silly, just given the ease and low cost of converting to manual. Automatic S14s don't hold their value nearly as well as the manuals for that matter. You can get one for half the price of a decent facelift S14 and spend less than $1000 to make it a 3-pedal.

And I'll grant that the B15 Sentra isn't a bad car. It was, however, designed in the last days before the bankruptcy, so that basically explains it. The B16 is an ugly bloatmobile of a car and the B17 is simply enormous, if only mostly as ugly. The CVT does ruin what it has though, which isn't all that much. (I had a buddy whose first B17 lemoned on him, so they put him in another B17. Both were awful to ride in or drive, but at least this "compact" sedan had hella rear leg room. And also a sticker price that makes everyone go "whaaa")

But even the B15, I don't like as well as the B14, or especially the B13. The B13 was such a good car, they still make it in Mexico. It espouses the values I believe a car of its class should hold. Light weight, low-frills, and handsome but not stylish. It's a compact sedan. It doesn't have to look crazy or wild. Just make it handsome. Then it will never be ugly. But, Nissan is obsessed with overstyling everything and building cars full of stuff they don't need for their class, and shoving CVTs into everything. I'm sure they'd have a CVT truck and I guarantee they'd have a CVT Z if they could figure out how to make one work in a RWD application. At this point I think they may have given up on RWD and just plan on calling the next Juke, "Z", so they can accomplish their CVTs-in-Everything goal.

[Vifam7]

Kinda reminds me of how I thought the U12 Stanza was a better car than the L30 Altima.

Of the older Nissans, I particularly like the styling of the boxy F31 Leopard (aka. Infiniti M30).

[SchizophrenicMC]

If only the F31 had sold better in the US. I really want a coupe to manual swap. All that are left it seems is verts though. I ain't about that life. But man the sleeper I could build out of an F31.

[spanner]

not sure if this car has been covered in this thread but im gonna post it up anyways! The Isdera Commendatore 112i sure was one exotic piece of work when it was revealed back in the day and its still a pretty cool thing today!

Edited October 18, 2015 by spanner76

[areaseven]

Tamiya reveals their 1/1 scale working replica of one of their Mini 4WD models.

[Beltane70]

Yeah, passing up a good deal on an S14 because it was automatic is a bit silly, just given the ease and low cost of converting to manual. Automatic S14s don't hold their value nearly as well as the manuals for that matter. You can get one for half the price of a decent facelift S14 and spend less than $1000 to make it a 3-pedal.

And I'll grant that the B15 Sentra isn't a bad car. It was, however, designed in the last days before the bankruptcy, so that basically explains it. The B16 is an ugly bloatmobile of a car and the B17 is simply enormous, if only mostly as ugly. The CVT does ruin what it has though, which isn't all that much. (I had a buddy whose first B17 lemoned on him, so they put him in another B17. Both were awful to ride in or drive, but at least this "compact" sedan had hella rear leg room. And also a sticker price that makes everyone go "whaaa")

But even the B15, I don't like as well as the B14, or especially the B13. The B13 was such a good car, they still make it in Mexico. It espouses the values I believe a car of its class should hold. Light weight, low-frills, and handsome but not stylish. It's a compact sedan. It doesn't have to look crazy or wild. Just make it handsome. Then it will never be ugly. But, Nissan is obsessed with overstyling everything and building cars full of stuff they don't need for their class, and shoving CVTs into everything. I'm sure they'd have a CVT truck and I guarantee they'd have a CVT Z if they could figure out how to make one work in a RWD application. At this point I think they may have given up on RWD and just plan on calling the next Juke, "Z", so they can accomplish their CVTs-in-Everything goal.

My first Sentra was a '92 B13 that even after 16 years I still miss even though it had absolutely no options. It was the first and so far only car that I bought brand new.

I prefer my B15 over the B14 I had. My only real disappointment with the '05 is that it lacks the front end and five-spoke wheels of the '02-03 SE-Rs.

You will definitely not get any arguments from me about the B16s, though. I don't, however, mind how the B17s look.

I'll only worried about the quality of CVTs when manual transmissions are no longer an option.

[areaseven]

A huge improvement over the previous model.

[spanner]

Tamiya reveals their 1/1 scale working replica of one of their Mini 4WD models.

Awesome! if only it was R/C too! Shame they didn't base it off one of their better looking buggies instead but its still cool!

[SchizophrenicMC]

A huge improvement over the previous model.

Literally huge, also an improvement. But the last 2 generations of Civic were terrible. And the move to CVT was both expected and sad. I wish we didn't need the Fit to give us a car only marginally larger than a 7th-generation Civic hatchback.

I mean, at least when Civics were small, they were tossable and fun. Sure they weren't fast, sure they weren't "premium", but they were cheap, solid, reliable, and fun. But I drove the last 2 generations of Civic extensively while I worked at a Honda dealership, and even in the Si, there was no joy to be had. It didn't pull especially hard in straight lines (except to the right from all the torque steer) and it just was not happy to be chucked around. And while the Gen9 was at least not a terrible place to sit in, the 8th was just awful in every way.

The closest thing I've had to a fun experience in a new car has been in the NC Miata. That's still a small, light car. It's only somewhat faster than the original, but it is every bit as fun to chuck around, and it never feels bulky and bloated like everything on the road today. We're still waiting on local dealers to get a manual ND to test.

My first Sentra was a '92 B13 that even after 16 years I still miss even though it had absolutely no options. It was the first and so far only car that I bought brand new.

I prefer my B15 over the B14 I had. My only real disappointment with the '05 is that it lacks the front end and five-spoke wheels of the '02-03 SE-Rs.

You will definitely not get any arguments from me about the B16s, though. I don't, however, mind how the B17s look.

I'll only worried about the quality of CVTs when manual transmissions are no longer an option.

My friend's first B17 was a manual, but when it died they put him in a CVT. He hated it, but what could he do? Nissan looked at it like they were doing him a huge favor. But look at the Maxima and Altima. Both are CVT only. The Maxima even still has the gall to claim it's the 4 Door Sports Car, and this time they emblazoned 4DSC on its C pillars. The "sporty" versions of the Juke are CVT-only, and something like 90% of all Versas are CVT. They still haven't built that promised Sentra SE-R yet either. I doubt they will. Not to mention, you can't get a manual transmission on anything but the base trim on everything but the 370Z. If you want any features at all, you have to eschew the manual transmission. I can't go for that. It'd be one thing if these were traditional automatics in non-sporty cars, but CVTs are terrible, and Nissan CVTs are unreliable to boot.

Also what the hell is up with the GT-R? Its price has increased by leaps and bounds every year. Thing started off under 70 grand 6 years ago and now the base price is 102? That just makes me hate people.

[areaseven]

Awesome! if only it was R/C too! Shame they didn't base it off one of their better looking buggies instead but its still cool!

Wrong toy line, mate. Mini 4WD cars are not radio-controlled. They're all about high speeds in a set track.

And here's a closer look at the Aero Avante.

Edited October 19, 2015 by areaseven

[spanner]

Wrong toy line, mate. Mini 4WD cars are not radio-controlled. They're all about high speeds in a set track.

Oh yeah that's right! Dang it ive been out of the game for too long.. my bad!

[spanner]

Toyota Auris Gets Anime Commercial In Japan: Video

with a familiar sounds from a certain anime series most noticeable at 0:21

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aI0x5rwr0SQ#t

Edited October 19, 2015 by spanner76

[spanner]

this is one tough looking Impala!

[spanner]

[areaseven]

[spanner]

the Mustang GT350R is H.A.F!!!

[spanner]

some Celica GT-Four love!