What car do you drive ?

[Zero260]

Nono, I already did that in the Miata. :B Well, not wrecked, per se, but the front bumper got a bit chewed up, and the tires have to be replaced...

I can guess why the tires need to be replaced, but what did you do to mess up the bumper?

No wonder your parents got you a 92hp Eclipse!

[Koenigsegg_Rox]

You're joking me, right? The Holden VE Commodore is only available in Australia, which is probably the only reason why Australian magazines are the ones rating it...

American mags will get their chance once the Pontiac G8 arrives and it's almost guaranteed that it will get similar ratings as the VE Commodore. You shouldn't just assume it's being unjustly loved because of nationalism.

Name the point and I'll give you proof (Specify...).

No duh the VE is only available in Australia, but that has nothing to do with whether it is better than Euro rivals.

And that's not to mention that nearly every Wheels and MOTOR mag has either a Ford or a Holden on it.

And the point I want you to give proof for is that American car manufacturers are picking up the pieces against Europe.

[xHaZxMaTx]

Nono, I already did that in the Miata. :B Well, not wrecked, per se, but the front bumper got a bit chewed up, and the tires have to be replaced...

I can guess why the tires need to be replaced, but what did you do to mess up the bumper?

No wonder your parents got you a 92hp Eclipse!

Oh yeah? How do you think it happened?

[Zero260]

Oh yeah? How do you think it happened?

The tires? Well, you probably burned a couple years of life off of them from sliding around. Could be wrong, maybe you curbed it? I've gotten 2 flats from that... And a bent up tie rod. Freakin' rain...

As for the bumper, I dunno, that's why I asked.

[UrQuattro]

If you base it on reviews, then the BMW E90 was the ugliest car in 2005. And the CTS is the Car of the Year in 2008.

I'm fine with that, as it proves my point.

on which planet? just kidding.

dont believe reviews, they loan a car for 2 hours, drive it with 30 other journos and then write about their impressions. shiznit. try living with one for a year. then the reviews will make sense.

and who ever compared sebring to CTS, that's like.. . ok guys, just dont make any sense that one!

[boganbusman]

No duh the VE is only available in Australia, but that has nothing to do with whether it is better than Euro rivals.

Actually, the VE is exported to many other continents. This is why they spent $1billion developing it.

But you are right about it being favoured because of patriotism. Every new Aussie built car that comes out here will get an award of some sort, even if it's crap (380 anyone?). VEs are actually quite nice to drive, but interior quality is terrible and the V6 is still mediocre.

As for American cars . . . well I am no fan of European cars either, but
Cadillac CTS = I would rather eat my own testicles.

Nono, I already did that in the Miata. :B Well, not wrecked, per se, but the front bumper got a bit chewed up, and the tires have to be replaced...

I can guess why the tires need to be replaced, but what did you do to mess up the bumper?

No wonder your parents got you a 92hp Eclipse!

Oh yeah? How do you think it happened?

Aw . . . I would lol at that too, but I've done worse in my car.

[xHaZxMaTx]

Yeah, damn rain. 'Course, I was being an idiot and took a corner too fast. Anywho, I ended up spinning the car and went onto the shoulder of the road and up a berm of dirt. Popped the bead on the rear left tire, which couldn't be repaired, so the rear tires have to be replaced, and the front tires are getting worn (which isn't too surprising, considering they're R rated), anyway.

[Zero260]

Yuck. That sucks man. I can make my car over steer in the rain, and when I can control it, it's fun as heck. But this one time I was leading a little convoy with some friends, I had my girlfriend (at the time) in the car, so I decided to try and show off by sliding around this corner... I over corrected right into the center divide. The curb was twice the normal size, and with the height of my car, you could imagine the damage. Flat tire, a nice chunk out of my rim, bent tie rod, my wheel well almost got torn out, along with some other minor cosmetic damage. Pretty embarrassing...

[xHaZxMaTx]

Ooh, I cringed while reading that.

[Koenigsegg_Rox]

Might I just say, your car would have been feeling the burn after that...

[TheStig]

Nice to see you again Urq.

A nice clean E90 you have, a decent mature car

Stiggy!! Awesome, to see you as well bud. Ah, the good old days, if GT and Grez pop up i'll just be speechless.

GT pops up once in a while, without notice and is gone without notice also
Grez well, only Grez's little brother is here (under Grez's account) same petrolhead so you wouldn't notice the diffirence

And me, well I only come here to chat mostly about cars, and abit NFS (in nfs games that I am interested in, wich does not include U2 and Carbon) the only "work"I do here is the board and I am most of the time here in the offtopic section, and I watch over it abit...

About the CTS.
It might be the US car of the year but that's about it, it is just like Koenigsegg_Rox said a patriotic thing just like the Holden.
The CTS is officially for sale in europe (exept the UK and maybe others) I only seen the CTS once since it came to europe a few years ago.
But no one wants one, because they are bulky and because American luxury equals making things bigger.
The interior of a CTS is made out of wheeliebin plastic and other cheap plastics.
And we have german cars that look better (opinion (but shared by most europeans), drive better (fact), are smaller in size, but still offer plenty of room inside, and don't have interiors made out of cheap plastics, and the in general have a better fuel economy (very important cause we don't pay 1 dollar for a gallon)
GM did try to make the CTS a succes in europe (don't know how hard they tried) they did say they tested it on the ring and european roads etc, and it's know to go around corners, so that wasn't the problem (ok the usual to soft mushy US suspension settings where still there)

Sure the E90 is in general (around the globe) mentioned as not a pretty car compared to the prev gen BMW's, but the same goes for the other BMW's of this time.
personally I don't find them ugly, IMO 3 serie is the best of the bunch, I personally don't like the 5 that much and find the M5 rather dull compared the the E60 M5.
If given the option between a E90 or a CTS the choice would be easy.
The BMW without even looking at the CTS, and I am not even a german car driver.

[Porsche-AG]

That's all fine and dandy and personal/regional choice does play a part in this; but when you consider the price (at least in the US & Canada), the CTS may be able to change a few minds (Fully loaded CTS costs the same as a 3 series base model).

[TheStig]

That is because the 3 series is a import.
For the people in europe it is the other way around, for us the CTS is a overseas import wich increases the price.
European luxury carsbrands have always been expensive in the US,
As long as I can rememer by uncle in the US drives european cars wich he imports himself from europe because they are rather expensive in the US.

I browsed for the dutch prices;

New CTS ranging from 45.000 euro (2. upto 60.000 euro for the 3.6 V6 business
CTS-V is not for sale here.

BMW E90 3 series ranging from 34.000 (318i) upto 62.000 euro for the 335xi High Executive
And alot more for the M3 ofcourse.
So the final price is not much diffirent but the base 3 series is a wooping 12.000 euro less. (10.000 less for the 318 executive)
But I do have to say the prices here in The Netherlands are very high (for any car)

[Porsche-AG]

Hmmm... guess it works both ways then. If the CTS is more expensive there I can see why it's not so appealing.

[Koenigsegg_Rox]

Over in Aus there are really very few American cars. I've only seen one or two PT Cruisers, a couple of 300Cs and some lucky bugger in a GT (probably a replica, but still).

[boganbusman]

Thanks for the write-up Jon It was dead simple, but I had a hard time trying to work out where to put the switch. In the end I pulled out the lighter and put it in the ashtray compartment. It fits quite nicely and is completely concealed.

[Grez~Supra_RZ-S]

Top stuff!

AW11 looks beautiful by the way, I really do love those cars. Got my Garage Vary lip back on a couple of days ago, too:



Still got a LOT of stuff to do this year, and we're organising the Nurburgring trip already...

Edit - Hello UR

[Zero260]

Nurburgring? Lucky bastard... 'Tis one of my life goals to drive around that course. Which might be tough considering I live in the states.

[viper16]

why in the he** would someone in their right mind take a caddy over a E90. E90's look cool caddys are usually granny cars

[Grez~Supra_RZ-S]

Nurburgring? Lucky bastard... 'Tis one of my life goals to drive around that course.

Im not exaggerating here when I tell you its the greatest place ecer made. God didnt rest on Sunday, he spent the full day designing the Nurburgring and its surrounding area. I would honestly struggle to believe that heaven could be a better place., and Id take the 'Ring over 40 virgins anyday.

[TheStig]

What do you get when you die on the Ring?
40 great cars to drive in Ring heaven

[Koenigsegg_Rox]

I like the way you think Stig...

[Porsche-AG]

why in the he** would someone in their right mind take a caddy over a E90. E90's look cool caddys are usually granny cars

First, that conversation is over, and it all comes down to opinion.

Second, I hope you're joking about the granny part because the typical Cadillac Escalade is owned (or stolen ) by a black guy who puts 22" rims on it while something like the the XLR is owned by a rich white guy.

Take a look at what you're saying grannys drive:


Or maybe you were referring to this:

[TheStig]

Well it's a known fact that Caddilac sufferd from their image of being a pensioners car because their average driver age was 86.
now with the Escalade it has droped to 64, and it's still going down slowly, maybe in a few years the average age is below 50
(ooh and the drives that stole a Escalade don't coun't )

[Porsche-AG]

For the most part, I was joking about the stealing part though it is sometimes the case.

And if you just count post-Escalade years, then the average Cadillac owner's age would probably be between 30 - 40 (20 - 30 year olds dominating the Escalade, 30 - 40 year olds taking the CTS/XLR/SRX and 40 - 50 year olds in STSs/DTSs).