JerryT

What a great thought and so relevant here in the states. Regional of course. I grew up in the north where "appearances" are everything. Same in California,

Here in the South people would not know a :Lexus from a clean 20 year old Oldsmobile. They buy what they need, and can afford for the most part. Also work as needed, . I have never lived where 100K miles is considered "barely broken in" But that is what it is down here. 250K on an OD is not uncommon and there are no vehicle inspections of any kind here!! No "safety accidents either. not enough to pass inspection laws anyway,

Northerners come down and are aghast at some of those statements. I was as well but I understand. I don't see vehicles broken down on the side of the road much more than anywhere I have lived. either.

Maybe southerners are more European thinkers. Needs over wants, Appearances are the farthest from many natives here in South Carolina, LIVING from the inside out is the thing, I learned a lot from the natives (Thats why I was s so stuck on buying another HHR , I did not NEED anything more)

But at some point one has to treat themselves I suppose to see what all the hoopla is about, and this will be that for me. I may go back to a simpler vehicle next time around. I don't think I will be seduced by the technology I don;t use,

Would I Miss 8 way power seats or in dash NAV? likely not. Garmin is better, Touch screens? Nice but I could live without then, Duel zone climate control always seem silly in a 25 cubic foot space, but it could work well who knows. Never had it ) XM? My commute is 10 minutes. LOL

Blue Tooth is the only thing I HAVE to have, The rest is fun but can be distracting (and problem some) I would guess few people use 50% of the technology. My wife passed on a 2013 RAV 4 because she did not to learn when she saw the screen and new gizmos. She preferred what she already knew and a 2012 with 13k was the ticket,.

I ride a motorcycle 80% of the time and that has no creature comforts so a 64 Opel would feel good in 50 degree weather to me. We don't sit in hours of traffic so the living room effect of vehicles are and fuel is among the cheapest in the nation at less than $3.00 at some stations now go figure,

That said I am enjoying the Infiniti, Ask me in two years though...or six months, LOL
My Fav Toyota Product is the Venza but no way could I find one of those used as loaded with 27K for $24,000. IF the EX turns out to be too small, the Venza will likely be on my short list for a replacement.

ghuns

Ouch! That's gonna leave a mark.

JerryT

Well I am sure a whole thread could be started on what to do with that horizontal gash and loud reminder of pre cell phone days in the otherwise beautiful console layout.

ghuns

I personally use it and appreciate it's presence, but I grew up in the 80's so I am familiar with it's operation.

I have embraced modern technology though and use a cassette adapter plugged into my HTC phone or Ipod if I can't find anything decent to listen to on the satellite radio.

JerryT

They still sell those? HA.... I am sure it works as well as I remember

ghuns

I honestly think the sound quality from mine is great.

JerryT

Im just kidding w/ ya. They work great. It was just that I had not seen a cassette deck in a car in years until I test drove the RX. HIt me funny. The real reason I passed was

1. Too large. Don't need that much room
2. Too Tame looking for my tastes
3.Out of Warranty
4. The Infiniti was 2 years newer had a year and a halfs lower mileage still under warranty and it has some really great tech with the 4 camera action and the NAV is really good. Smalller footprint in my garage. Plenty of room for the wifes RAV and my bike and still be able to walk around everything and get to things.

takeshi74

Nothing wrong with buying what you prefer and what suits you best but buying based solely or primarily on what others don't buy is really the same thing as buying primarily or solely the me too option IMO. One is just picking a different crowd to follow and there isn't much true individuality when it comes to selecting from any mass produced product. In any case, it doesn't sound like this was your top or only concern anyway and my favorite of our 3 cars is one that isn't as common so I can't rag on you too much. It sounds like you're enjoying what you chose and that's all that really matters in the end.

Really? If you want to talk ubiquitous... G35's and G37's are all over the place -- at least they are around here.

The latter statement is understandable though, given that both the EX and G are built on the FM platform.

Rogue and the EX are on completely different platforms (C for the former, FM for the latter). They're very different beasts despite how they may appear.

The South is a big place. There's plenty of pretention and fixation on appearance in the South as well but I've never found such broad, sweeping generalizations to be all that useful.

I do. It's a godsend for me and my wife. That said, as with the usefulness of any other feature/option, it's a subjective matter.

I was also shocked that our 08 RX was equipped with a tape deck but, as the Top Gear UK guys stated in their search for the worst car (SC was in the running and it also had a tape deck) it's probably intended for old people. Our RX came from my wife's grandfather so it was at least true in that case.