Yeah for real, you would think with how nice the VR6 sounds that two of them would be even better not essentially cancel each other out!

I actually really really like the design and how stupid simple it is, it's less complex than the LS460s engine. Easier to work on as well believe it or not!

 

My (now 2 generations old) BMW 3-series has the cruise controls on a stalk below the turn signal, in an incredibly intuitive layout that I’m going to miss horribly when I replace it this summer. Our Audi also has them on a stalk, in a layout I’d consider very good, but not as good as mine.

 

Not anymore, clearly you haven’t seen interest rates lately.

 

Weather is nice here so we went for a walk in the neighborhood, I was curious as to what types of cars people buy and there was a LOT of Honda vans/pilots/CRVs and all but one accord was a V6 or 2.0T so it would appear people where pick the larger engines.

As expected there are many full size, top trim or near top trim trucks and a handful or two of classic cars. There are some older cars as well clearly driven by kids since they are on the street or clearly parked to allow stuff inside garages out.

Not too many of the supercars or high ends live outside/can be easily seen but it appears most who live here have fairly normal daily drivers with a bias toward higher spec trims and engines. The car guys almost universally have older daily drivers and the "normal" households have market research average vehicles for a upper mid class area.

Only thing I noticed was odd was an unusual amount of VW products, about 17 of them with most being the Atlas and Tiguan but one house has two GTIs with the black one being a stage 1 car.

My street has an unusually high amount of luxury brands but I'm directly responsible for that, I tend to throw keys at people and then magically cars seem to be traded up lol!

 

Prepare to be told that, basically, you are imagining this. Lol.

Same way here. High spec engines are not uncommon at all. I see more V8 X7s than 6 cylinder versions.

 

Well I am in one of the most well off areas in the state so it makes sense, if I was in a more normal area the cars are without fail much older, lower spec, and small engine if they are lease cars.

Most all of the VWs also had the larger engines as did the trucks/domestics but that's a given so I didn't bother mentioning it.......the only cars that didn't have a higher spec trim were clearly for kids/beaters/daily cars that I know the owners of who have their real cars inside. Great example is the house 4 down from mine that has a new S580 and 760Li V12 but he keeps a spark outside for local Kroger runs etc. Other house that has a 1000hp trackhawk, C7 Gran sport, and C3 drag car has a 2004 highlander and it goes on and one.....the plaid owners have a camry, older tundra, and 1st gen Q7s with the guy who has the Q7s a long time German car owner.

Though most houses just have mass market cars, they however are usually top trim versions not mid/base.

 

I think people in my neighborhood tend to be brand-loyal and mostly buy Japanese brands, mostly Toyota, Honda, and Acura. My neighbors to my right have an Acura MDX and a Lexus ES, and across from them, they've got a Lexus GS and a Chevy Silverado 1500. Neighbors directly across from me have a 4Runner and an older XV40 Camry LE. Of course then you have us with the BMW and Lexus.

I think that if you look at those 4 houses, that's pretty much the average of my neighborhood. Mostly Japanese, mostly new-ish but some older ones sprinkled in. Trucks are present but not at most houses - the homes in our neighborhood don't have especially large garages or driveways for the most part (except for those posers in the cul-de-sac, where, I might add, all of the Teslas I've seen in our neighborhood live... ). It is kinda fascinating to see what other people drive in comparison to other places I've been. In the ATL metro, there's a lot of diversity. If you go to Atlanta proper, you're more likely to run into Porsches, Mercedes-Benz, and Range Rovers than anywhere else I've been. Teslas are pretty ubiquitous over there, as well. Out here in the burbs, "everyday" or "mainstream" vehicles are by far the norm. I'm talking Nissan Rogues, Toyota RAV4s, Honda CR-Vs, Honda Civics, Chevy Equinoxes, etc. - the normal CUV and sedan parent-mobiles, plus an assortment of pickup trucks. Trucks are noticeably less common in Atlanta proper and in the "nice" areas like Buckhead.

There is a guy with a CT5 550T in my neighborhood. I keep waiting for him to look at the IS 500, and he does not.

There are not many "cool" cars over here. Someone in my neighborhood has a Mk7 GTI that's a dead ringer for the one I used to have, and there's a lone Mustang GT owner a few doors down from me who I haven't met yet. There used to be an M4 that was in and out of the neighborhood a lot, but I have not seen them since last year. Ah well, at least we have a bright-red Tacoma TRD. That combo of bright red and TRD package is something I rarely see on the road.

 

I should have taken a picture but there is a NEON gold matte wrapped Tacoma TRD 3 houses behind me, it's insanely flashy! I'll take a picture of it when I have the chance, guy also owns a Panamera and range rover

 

4.99% is $13,369 in interest on a $89K RX500h where I am. Very high to me. Standard Lexus rate is 7.2%. Very very high.

 

Not imagining it, its just not statistically meaningful.

 

i've always wondered why the V12 in the McLaren F1 has kind of a 'weird' exhaust sound... it's very distinctive and doesn't really sound like other V12s

it wasn't until i saw someone point out in a video why this is and it makes sense now, it's all down to the header layout:


it uses 4 sets of 3-to-1 headers, so it's almost like 2 V6s instead of 1 V12... for that screaming V12 sound you need 2 sets of 6-to-1 equal length headers

 

Yeah it's the wrong car

 

I never argued against the statistics or facts or what not.

But I can tell you that in West Knox County it would appear that more drivers spring for the X7 V8 based on my personal observations, and this being the south it doesn’t surprise me.

Btw since this got brought up my neighborhood is mixed, car wise. The younger couples seem to have less expensive cars, but still nice but nothing really upscale. It’s a toss up, then you’ll see an S-Class. There’s an LS430 thats been parked outside in a driveway down the street since I’ve lived here (6 yrs) and his power tilt wheel and folding mirrors still work lol. Mine is always garaged.

 

I was just in Sarasota and saw two X7 M50i’s and six X7 40i’s and there is more money down in the area I was in than a lot of places. I saw more Bentleys and Rolls than I have ever seen in a small place. You must live in the only area in America with more M50i’s than 40i’s. I’m sorry if I don’t believe you but the sales numbers just don’t pan out.

 

Hey! That looks very familiar! The W12 uses 4 3 into 1 headers like that, one exhaust system for each bank of 3 that meet up behind the trans then those 4 branches combine into 2 with a H pipe