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Almost test drove one of these yesterday


team scooter

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Its not my grandparents Buick. ;)

My wife and I have been kicking around the thought of buying a convertible for a few years now. And convertibles, especially four seaters, are few and far between in these parts. Stumbled across the new Buick Cascada at a local dealer. Nice looking car with a lot of nice features, but seems like a lot of car to drag around with a 1.6 T engine. Checked it out online after I got home since the sales kid didn't seem to know much about it. Its an Opel Cascada with a Buick emblem attached. I forgot they were in cahoots together. The search continues...

buick.jpeg

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The first car I ever bought was a 1957 Opel. I had just turned 16 and I payed $75 for it. That was about what it was worth. I drove it for about ten months before I scattered the engine on the freeway on my way to visit my gf. Then I bought a 55 Chevy for $30 and drove it for seven years.

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3 hours ago, Longjohn said:

The first car I ever bought was a 1957 Opel. I had just turned 16 and I payed $75 for it. That was about what it was worth. I drove it for about ten months before I scattered the engine on the freeway on my way to visit my gf. Then I bought a 55 Chevy for $30 and drove it for seven years.

You have not done well in foreign cars until you got to Honda!

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10 minutes ago, KrAzY said:

Get a jeep. It's a convertible and you can go more places then with that car

I suggested a Wrangler too, but she wants a sporty type car. I'd almost prefer a sporty luxury convertible myself. The Cascada would work but that 1.6 motor. "The engine works hard but still rates gutless." :( 

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22 minutes ago, Chris... said:

I test drove a regal GS turbo. It was pretty peppy

I wish the Cascada had Regal's 2.0 T motor. The Cascada's 1.6 T is rated at 80 HP less and can only muster 60 mph in nine seconds. My wife's minivan would leave it in it's dust. :( 

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14 minutes ago, team scooter said:

I wish the Cascada had Regal's 2.0 T motor. The Cascada's 1.6 T is rated at 80 HP less and can only muster 60 mph in nine seconds. My wife's minivan would leave it in it's dust. :( 

New Miata. :)

Since the Honda Beat doesn't seem to be coming back like was once thought. :(

Or buy an old one for something REALLY unique. :)

http://www.autotrader.ca/newsfeatures/20161206/find-of-the-week-1992-honda-beat/#KsWfxBid4vfZfqHy.97

honda-beat-06-620x413.jpg

 

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13 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

Ah.  Much more beterer.

That is a great example of simplifying the user experience at the expense of complicating the car!  I am loving the latest book by one of my favourite authors, Donald Normans' Living with Complexity.  He says there is a Tesler's Law of the Conservation of Complexity, where either the user of the system has to deal with the complexity, which is fixed.  On the other end of the scale, he listed all the steps for starting a Model T.  Fascinating!

The del Sol's targa top is in the middle.  Flip two latches, then lift the flat targa top off and stow it in the trunk on a bracket that fits right under the trunk lid, so you can still fit some stuff in the trunk.  It would have been nice to have some automagic system, but the cost in money and complexity would have been quite high.

I have gotten pretty good at making a quick pit stop when the rains start. :)

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3 minutes ago, team scooter said:

Our son's MX 5 has a retractable hardtop. We've been trying to buy that one, but our DIL seems to be resisting. :scratchhead:

That is cool!  Can the car be moving?  She probably wants to save it for their kid down the road - our daughter #1 REALLY wanted her uncle's, but he crashed it. :(

Either that or she doesn;t want him to buy a new one. :D

 

 

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Just now, RalphWaldoMooseworth said:

That is cool!  Can the car be moving?  She probably wants to save it for their kid down the road - our daughter #1 REALLY wanted her uncle's, but he crashed it. :(

 

She bought it for their anniversary. Found the most fully loaded one she could find, had it shipped to a custom Miata garage in California and spent over $16,000 in upgrades. Supercharger, heavyduty brakes, clutch, exhaust, etc, etc. They had two MX 5 in the past. A red and a green one. We asked to by those too. But they got the newcaritous bug and traded them in before we had time to get to the bank and send the money. :angry: 

This one even matches my truck...:nodhead:

mx5 001.JPG

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Just now, RalphWaldoMooseworth said:

Traded them! That is inexcusable! :angry:

The first MX 5 was green with a tan interior/top. Loved that one. The second was bright red with a black interior/top. Loved that one too. Reminded me of my old MGB. They traded them in while we were making arrangements to pick them up. So we're not holding our breath on this one either. :(

But this gray one would be a lifetime keeper for us.

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1 hour ago, RalphWaldoMooseworth said:

That is a great example of simplifying the user experience at the expense of complicating the car!  I am loving the latest book by one of my favourite authors, Donald Normans' Living with Complexity.  He says there is a Tesler's Law of the Conservation of Complexity, where either the user of the system has to deal with the complexity, which is fixed.  On the other end of the scale, he listed all the steps for starting a Model T.  Fascinating!

The del Sol's targa top is in the middle.  Flip two latches, then lift the flat targa top off and stow it in the trunk on a bracket that fits right under the trunk lid, so you can still fit some stuff in the trunk.  It would have been nice to have some automagic system, but the cost in money and complexity would have been quite high.

I have gotten pretty good at making a quick pit stop when the rains start. :)

I had a 62 Corvette.  I did not have a 62 Corvette rag top stowed in the bin.  That made top up/top down a matter of having a wrench to remove or tighten two bolts at the back of the top.  As I was living in VA Beach at the time I always had an eye on the clouds to decide if it was time to run home to get the top.  :runcirclsmiley:

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We love our 99 Miata! We have been looking at a larger convertible for WoWs daily driver.

My boss rented me a Camaro convertible on a training trip to CA a couple years ago. Some things about it were nice, but there were little things that irritated me to the point I wouldn't buy one. We are planning to rent a Mustang convertible when we go to PHX to visit our girls this fall. 

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I don't mind the look of new Buicks (as opposed to the old Regal/Riviera types that to me, look like someone cut off the butt end of a cigar and made it into the tail end of a car).

The problem I have is that everyone I've been on the highway with that owns a new Buick still drives it like an old Buick.  Like someone put a bag of rocks in their pants, or that they've got one foot in the grave and are worried that at any point their other foot will slip. Just now, they do it in the left lane more often than they used to. :angry:

 

 

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Some of the irritations with the Camaro- a standard large suitcase would not fit in the trunk and I had to drop the top to get it in and out of the back seat!

In this age of automation, why do I have to hold the raise/lower button for the top the entire 30 seconds? Do people drive with the top partially open?

Visibility out is not great with the top down. The A pillars obscure vision around a corner. The backup camera is essential! With the top up, you may as well be looking through mail slots!

The built in navigation system is horrid! Using Google maps on my phone worked far better which brings me to a little issue that was telling of the whole experience. 

There was a nice rubberized tray at the front of the console perfect for laying a phone. However the only charge port was in the BACK of the console meaning my charge cord had to run past the parking brake and shifter!  

On the positives. The car is comfortable. The best seats I have found in a GM car! It handles well for its size. It isn't tossable like my Miata, or even my Mazda6, but it is very confident in corners. The engine was the V6 and it was still quite powerful. I never felt the need for the V8. With the top down and spirited acceleration, the exhaust note is glorious!  Finally, it's a very good looking car! Even in the jaded, super car area I was driving it got several thumbs up!

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On 6/11/2017 at 8:59 AM, team scooter said:

I suggested a Wrangler too, but she wants a sporty type car. I'd almost prefer a sporty luxury convertible myself. The Cascada would work but that 1.6 motor. "The engine works hard but still rates gutless." :( 

just tell her that you want something you can run someone over with and not the other way around :) 

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4 minutes ago, team scooter said:

Nice. ;)

Which Chrysler vehicle did you own that you had problems with again?

Oh, I made sure to avoid that.

SoLW and BILoLW have been lent a 2016 Chrysler Town and Country with most of the options (brand new, mind you) by a really decent someone with some influence at an auto dealership while they are here on furlough for one year in the mission field.  It was a wonderful gesture, but that thing has needed more nonroutine service than any first-year vehicle I've seen in recent history.  Suspension issues, odd noises, a transmission quirk...Between that, and what I've found to be a fairly uncomfortable (even when adjusted for me as much as possible) for someone my size (my Honda being much smaller and yet having a setup that makes me feel like I'm in a luxury car by comparison), you can color me unimpressed.

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On 6/11/2017 at 10:52 AM, RalphWaldoMooseworth said:

Yes, I think targa or hard tops are the way to go - I never liked the ragtop either.  That is why I like the new Miata so much. :)

 

Its your fault Ralph. TWB a Mazda MX5RF in Soul Red. It will be here in a few weeks.:loveshower:

The wife might even let me drive it once in a while. ;)

 

rf.jpg

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