General car talk

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
381

I imagine all Daihatsu vehicles of the affected years and models already on the road will need to be bought back from their customers for a pre-disclosure prices then scrapped. Or, more likely exported to Africa to be sold for $100 each.

Daihatsu is dead as a brand. They may even be dead as a company. Toyota buying Daihatsu and having this happen is about like a human swallowing a large poisonous toad. Even if you barf it up promptly you may not survive the experience, and for damned sure you’re going to hate yourself in the morning.

Assuming the degree of fakery means there’s no way to retrofit compliance into the vehicles. And my gut is there is not.

382

My, that is quite something. A new world record holder perhaps.

As to the points in the article, I think the high floor is easy to explain: the battery pack is 12+ inches tall. Between less good battery tech in Russia, the need for the vehicle to be seriously Arctic temperature compatible, etc., I can easily see their batteries being 2x or 3x the volume of what e.g. Tesla or one of the Chinese outfits could do.

Soviet engineering yet lives! Mein Führer! I can drive!

383

reminds me of the old soviet joke (Breshnew era)

Why do soviet politicians have such wide shoulders?

b/c they use pacemakers from Bulgaria

384

Toyota can’t buy a break this week:

385

Anybody have opinions about the Lexus GX line?

It is time for my Dad to get a new car, and this seems to be the one he likes. I’m happy to talk about other things we looked at, but this post is to talk out some of my questions on the GX.

The current model is the 2023 GX 460, which will be replaced with the 2024 GX 550. In this case new is not necessarily better. The biggest difference between the two is the 460 is a 4Runner, and the 550 is a Land Cruiser. Also, you can drive away with a 460, and the 550 is not quite here yet. According to the salesman, the 550 is on a 2-year wait list. I don’t know that is true, but I can totally believe not getting one, particularly base trim, for many months.

With the 460 ending this year, there are only two models generally available: Premium and Luxury. Luxury is about $6000 more, and has 19" (instead of 18") tires, air suspension in the rear, and an electric folding third row. There are some other differences, but those seem to be the most important.

The non-air suspension is easier to lift, but the Luxury (air) is the only one that can option a software update to different terrain modes and crawl-control. Those are probably third-owner issues, though, as he won’t need any of that, and even if I inherit the car, I’m extremely unlikely to do any major mods.

So, is the best option the GX 460 Luxury? Am I missing any important things to consider?

If we do decide on the GX 460, is there any reason to buy it right away, or put off the purchase? (Interest rates aren’t an issue.) Are there good predictions of used/trade-in car prices over the next 6 months? (I think the trend is down.) What do people think about declining availability of the 460?

386

I know exactly zero about Lexi.

As to used car prices, the usual sources I trust are predicting softening over the next 3, 6, and 12 months. A reversion to the longer-term mean percentages of new price by class and age/mileage.

I’m driving a great used car I bought when multiples were especially high. Strongly considering offloading it early before I take real bath on resale above and beyond the expected ravages of age and mileage.

387

Boy–just watched Gran Turismo on the flight home from VT–I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. I don’t know the real story–I understand there is some controversy–but what a well acted and amazingly shot racing movie. Then I watched Ford vs Ferrari and it was great, also, but I enjoyed GT more. I like that the main character in GT was a stunt driver for the movie!

388

I just saw both movies in the last few weeks, too, and they both are fun. I think in many ways Ford v Ferrari is a better movie, but my guess is if you like one of them, you’ll like the other. Also, I think a GT40 sounds better than a GT-R.

I kept meaning to post this in the Travel Attractions thread, but it probably goes better here. The Shelby American Collection museum in Boulder, Colorado is worth a visit if you like cars. It’s not very large, and only open on Saturdays, but for the $5 admission price, you can’t go wrong. They also occasionally host car meetups, but I’ve never been to one there.

389

me too,

but I’d personally shy away from brand new models — until they found all the errors and mistakes the early adopters will report back to the stealership … those will be fed back and corrected, but that will probably take 12-24 months, esp. for problems that show only after 12+ months :wink:

390

That is probably generally good advice. I have a 2018 Tesla Model 3, and you should see the panel gaps! Later production versions are much better, and as good (or bad) as any other manufacturer.

The Lexus GX 550 is based on the Land Cruiser, which has been available outside the US for a few years. The engine has also been used in the US Tundra for a few years. So even though it is a new model, it is based on an existing chassis and components. Plus it’s Toyota, a brand already known to be very conservative, and then an offroad oriented design, so the most conservative part of their lineup.

Anyway, the point is if I knew he wanted a GX 550, and was willing to wait, I wouldn’t hesitate getting a first generation model.

391

would you happen to know if the Toy and Lex all come out of the same factory? … if YES, then I agree, it’s basically a “de-luxe” trim level, then …

or as a friend always says: “A Lexus is a Toyota with leather seats”

392

I believe so. I know they’re all built in Japan. A brief search says Tahara and Hino factories for the Land Cruiser, and Tahara for the GX 550. If the results can be believed, Tahara also makes the 4Runner and GX 460.

The differences between the Toyota and Lexus are bit more than just leather seats, but many of the differences might only be appearance, like a different nose. The details between an upscale 4Runner and a base GX 460 were not something I really wanted to get into with my Dad. It would just confuse and frustrate him. The largest real differences are V-6 and 5-speed (4Runner) or V-8 and 6-speed (460).

393

When my mother was shopping for a Lexus sedan, I suggested she just buy a loaded Camry instead. I haven’t checked, but I suspect they’re comparable in terms of fancy features.

394

The luxury brand model often has more sound insulation. For example, a friend with a Lexus needed a windshield. The glass truck showed up with a windshield for a Toyota. They said it would fit his Lexus but the Lexus windshield has a thin layer of transparent sound insulation. I didn’t know there was such a thing.

395

Ref @echoreply & @Dewey_Finn. If one is lucky there comes a point in life where you realize your ability to enjoy having enough money is fading faster than the money is. I hope to get there but I’m still on the bubble. Got a few years yet.

If Mom or Dad wants a Lexus or even a deluxe Lexus, cheerlead rather than poo-poo.

396

If my Dad couldn’t afford the Lexus, we’d be having a whole other discussion. Which is exactly the discussion I had with him yesterday.

It went something like:

If he wants to save $10-20k, we can see about getting a 4Runner with the right options. If he wants to save $20-30k we can look at a 5 year old GX, it’s mostly the same car as new.

Thing is, he doesn’t want or need to save $30k on a car. He doesn’t live extravagantly, and (short any accidents or such) this will be the last car he ever buys. Spending money here is not going to deprive him of something else in the future, because he doesn’t want much, and because there is enough leftover to cover living expenses at his current level for a very long time.

We could all drive a used Nissan Versa, and it would frequently get us where we need to go. We can also recognize that not having to do that is a privilege.

397

Very well said.

And doubly so if he did drive clunkers for a long time when younger to put himself and his kids in a position of relative plenty.

My late aged MIL overscrimped and underinvested her whole life. Very late, she noticed she’d passed the crossover point a decade ago. By then it was too late. She had functionally infinite money when her desires were limited to Depends and an occasional block of grocery store cheese. Cue lots of wistful angst and heartfelt hand-wringing over opportunities sqaundered. All quite legitimately so.

I hope to avoid her Scylla and the Charybdis of premature penury. Dad done good. Sounds like you’re on the right track too.

398

My parents are definitely at that point. I think between Social Security and mandatory withdrawals, they earn more than they need or spend. In general the problem is encouraging them to spend more on themselves. But they don’t travel or eat out much, so it’s difficult.

399

From everything I’ve read Lexus makes good cars, they are basically Toyota with luxury features. In fact a used Lexus may be in my future once I get tired of my current car.

400

I thing I haven’t thought a lot until this Lexus part of the thread:

Doesn’t the Lexus come with the great advantage of a.) being a luxury vehicle, which can use b.) mass-produced (toyota) spare parts ???

so, Lexuses (Lexi?) should be reasoable cars to buy used ( supposing spare parts being more plentiful and cheapter than say Jaguar/MB/Audi/BMW …), right?

kindalike the best of 2 worlds … (similar to Audi being able to use many Volkswagen spares in the past, don’t know if that is still the case)