Hey...did you all see the big news that Honda closed the UK plant? That was the ONLY plant in the world that made the Hatchback Civic AFAIK.

Anyone hear what that means for the future of the Hatch and Type-R?

 

HA! I read that article yesterday. It said they were going to move production to other facilities in Japan, North America and China. They also seem to be expanding their facility in Turkey.

 

I can't imagine that could be a fast transition. Most of the parts are already there, but most lines are set up to be very dedicated. Hence the reason that plant only made one body style of the Civic and the others only made two styles. I'm wondering if we will see a shortage of '19 Hatch's?

 

I think a lot of German cars get a bad rep for reliability because people don't maintain them properly. Change oil more frequently with a high quality oil. Change spark plugs and coil packs at 40k miles. They are pretty maintenance "heavy" and need to be kept up on. Chains are normally a life time thing but not on a VW. Their engines also seem to be more technical because of turbo, superchargers and Euro standards. You figure Honda has just recently really got into the turbo game. Toyota, I don't think has yet.

 

Toyota has turbos in their Lexus line. NX, UX, IS all have turbo 4-cyl options.

 

Oh yes forgot about Lexus!! It's not like Lexus is slacking in the reliability department either. The Japanese do seem to keep things more simple!!

I think Acura has turbo options too now that I think about it. RDX or MDX.

 

And let us not forget the MR2, 300ZX, Silvia....

But they were not putting them in "mainstream" cars as can be found today.

I would love an MR2.

 

2nd gen MR2 Turbo...yes please. The last gen was fugly to me...but I heard you could squeeze a v6 in it so that's kinda cool.

Happy Thursday everyone.

 

My aunt had first gen MR2. It was a TON of fun to drive. I'd like to even have one of those.

 

 

Happy Monday! Hope everyone had a good weekend. I spent most of mine painting doors. We wanted to paint all the interior doors black...and well...we have 13 interior doors. Lol. So I did 1 last weekend as a test. Then this weekend I was able to fit (8) in the garage to paint simultaneously on Saturday. Then Sunday I painted (3) more. That leaves (1) of the original doors (>~100 years old with dozens of layers of old paint) so I gotta strip all that off before I can paint. And the back door which I gotta cover and paint. Looks good, just note that a satin black paint is not very forgiving when you roll it. You gotta have a good technique down or you will see where your roller was or where you lifted. So gotta make sure you can make full length rolls.

No car stuff this weekend...still dying to detail the civic but its raining wed/thurs...fortunately since the wax is good the water and dirt bead right off and the car still looks decent. Just know/see some slight swirls and its bugging me.

GF also threw out the idea of leasing a NEW IS350...then purchasing. Instead of buying a CPO IS350...Not sure how I feel about it. Sure the current model has apple car play and a much nicer 10" screen and some safety features vs the CPO...but not sure its worth paying NEW car prices for it. ~$32k for a 2016 IS350 vs $45k for a new one.

I did read rumors that the supra inline 6 might make it in the next IS...who knows.

 

Doesn't she drive way too much for a lease?

 

Lots of work shinjari. Be careful removing that old paint. It is likely to be lead based.

If you GF leases that IS & then buys after the lease you will be paying mus=ch more than just buying it in the first place. If it was my choice I'd go CPO. Good luck on a tough decision.

 

Yeah Ash, thanks for the reminder. I have a decent respirator for sanding but I think i'll likely strip the paint off. That worked real well for the other OG door I did, which was the test door.

Yeah she drives way too much for a lease to make sense if we return it. But in her head she would lease...then buy it. Think she believes it'll be the same $-wise as buying it. I haven't run the numbers but I can see why she would think that. A lease you're basically just paying for the depreciation of the vehicle (from my understanding). So after being 3 years old at the end of the lease, it should be priced the same as a 3-year old CPO.

Which at that point...a 45K+ IS350 is basically in the same ball park as Tesla Model 3 with long range battery (no auto pilot though). She figured she couldn't afford the model 3...so not sure how she thinks a new IS350 F-sport is cheaper lol. I like the is350...but she ultimately wants an EV in the long run...I'll have to bring this up to her. I still think CPO is the way to go over New. But if she 'needs' new...I'd lean towards the Tesla IMO.

 

Does she have a reason for specifically the Tesla? Most of my neighbors have some version of a Tesla, so I was thinking of trying the new Kia/Hyundai hybrids or possibly even the Leaf+. I hear one of the main knocks against non-Tesla brands is the comparative lack of on-the-road charging infrastructure (if you are driving beyond its range).

 

Well for one, its an 'image' thing. She's a realtor so a 'nice' car is a perception that some clients associate with a 'good' realtor which is why the Lexus is the non-EV choice. Granted she's been plenty successful with her aging Elantra.

With the amount of driving she periodically does in a day, she needs the ~240+ mile range. Which is only achievable currently by a few EV options, which she wont drive because they are 'ugly'...ie the Chevy Bolt. Teslas she likes...she likes the new Audi...the Jaguar...and the Porsche EV...but we aren't in a position to fork over 80k for a car. She has admitted though that the Model 3 interior looks cheap compared to the Lexus and the Tesla Model S.

Not sure why tesla would have an infrastructure advantage if they all use the same style plug?

 

I hear you on maintaining a realtor-image with respect to what you drive. Does that mean she could claim the next car as a business-expense?

I almost had my wife convinced on a Kia Niro EV, until she saw the dimpled front end. She said golf balls were meant to be driven on the course, not on the road.

From perusing a few reviews/articles regarding available charging stations, it seems the chargers at Chevy/Nissan dealerships are typically only one stall, or a non-EV parked in the stall, or non-functional. I was not aware that the charger plugs were compatible between the manufacturers. Again, very limited research on my part since we have no plans to take an EV on road trips.

 

Yeah I think she could claim part or all of it as business expense. At least the miles she drives for work.

Funny you should mention the Kia Niro EV, I was trying to convince her of that car to but she basically said she wasn't going to drive that station wagon. Lol.

As for the plugs, pretty sure they are standardized. We have several EV parking spots here at work and I see Tesla's, Nissan Leafs, BMW i3, BMW i8 and a Fiat 500e park there to charge. I think Tesla has the supercharger stations...which I believe are specific to Tesla to help Tesla owners do road trips since you can get an 80% charge in 45-60 minutes.

Funny enough when building a Tesla, they try to incorporate the gas savings in the 'cost' of the car. SO say you drive 20k miles a year. Over 6 years it'll be save ~$10k in gas (6 years * 20k miles = 120k miles. They assume Avg of 28mpg. 120k/28mpg * California ~$3.20/gal = $13714). Since they claim electricity is 1/3 the cost of gas then your electricity cost for those 6 years/120k miles should be ~$4566. $13714 - 4566 = ~$9148 saved. So the Tesla 3 I built was $56k (long range AWD model, gunmetal $1500, autopilot $5k) ...they say 'final' cost of ownership over 6 years is ~$40k vs a $50k Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) type car. This includes the $3750 federal incentive and any state incentives which California is $2500. $56k - $3750 federal - $2500 state - $9148 gas savings = $40.6k for a Model 3 6 years of ownership. Still a $50k car...but your spending $9148 less on 'fuel' over those 6 years vs a traditional car.

Sorry for all the maths this early in the morning. Just thought it was a sneaky or maybe smart marketing tactic. Some not to keen people would go "Wow I'm saving $16k on this $56k car". I guess in a way...you are. Lol.

While looking at the Tesla Models 3's I realized they just have a glass panoramic roof...its not even a retractable roof/panel. =/

 

I am glad I was not the only one bothered by the Tesla-mathematics. Similar to the federal tax credit, it is not money in your pocket. It is just less money out of your pocket. Every once in awhile I go back to "building" a Tesla Model X. When I see the final numbers, I close the page and come back to reality. The CFO is okay with the $35k EV, but not so much the $135k EV.

 

I have a good fried who has a Chevy Bolt. It's great for what it is, but it's a tin can. Ride is too firm and the rear seats feel like you're sitting in a mid-90s Hyundai. Hard as a rock. If one had to portray an image of success, it doesn't do it. But he cares nothing for image.