The New Car Fanatic Thread

[TwiceHorn 30967]

BMW announces OTA updates to its infotainment systems.

Aaand, subscription-based features.  Not services, features. https://jalopnik.com/bmws-new-feature-subscription-plan-idea-needs-to-be-sto-1844246264

[SDG 3319]

3 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

BMW announces OTA updates to its infotainment systems.

Aaand, subscription-based features.  Not services, features. https://jalopnik.com/bmws-new-feature-subscription-plan-idea-needs-to-be-sto-1844246264

They are trying that BS (like Microsoft) because it’ll actually save them money if they build all of their cars with the same products letting you rent the use.  
 

i call BS on this idea and maintain the if I purchase it its mine mentally. 
 

i would never rent the use of heated seats in my car.  

[Pato del Muerto 52184]

Did they hire someone from tesla?

[G650 13729]

5 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

BMW announces OTA updates to its infotainment systems.

Aaand, subscription-based features.  Not services, features. https://jalopnik.com/bmws-new-feature-subscription-plan-idea-needs-to-be-sto-1844246264

That sounds turrible but its happening everywhere. If you buy a John Deere tractor, you don't own any of the software that runs it. Been about 5 years at least now. Hopefully this trend stops.

 

I guess the one thing about BMW is I never understood anyone who bought a BMW that wasn't a base 3 series or a full M car. Everything in between is just such a waste. So this pay for feature thing should really be moot.

 

I definitely had no idea 90% of premium cars in this country were leased. Fucking Americans man.

[Okie State 3732]

Leasing a BMW is the ultimate status symbol.

[Bozo_Casanova 26121]

8 minutes ago, G650 said:

That sounds turrible but its happening everywhere. If you buy a John Deere tractor, you don't own any of the software that runs it. Been about 5 years at least now. Hopefully this trend stops.

 

I guess the one thing about BMW is I never understood anyone who bought a BMW that wasn't a base 3 series or a full M car. Everything in between is just such a waste. So this pay for feature thing should really be moot.

 

I definitely had no idea 90% of premium cars in this country were leased. Fucking Americans man.

Thoughts on BMW:
1)The bolded part above is very true, but the tunability of the N54 335i made it the exception IMO.   
2) I'm glad I bought an e93 and I plan to keep it in driving condition as long as I can. I think it's the last real BMW, in part because there's no infotainment/nav bullshit. I think BMW has gone completely off the rails. As much as I don't love the idea of subscription features, the new grills are even worse. 
3) The premium car sector is in trouble for a whole lot of reasons. A tattoo artist recently asked me if I was interested in taking over payments on his Stinger GT2. Only $850 a month for the next 6.5 years!

[TwiceHorn 30967]

22 minutes ago, G650 said:

That sounds turrible but its happening everywhere. If you buy a John Deere tractor, you don't own any of the software that runs it. Been about 5 years at least now. Hopefully this trend stops.

 

I guess the one thing about BMW is I never understood anyone who bought a BMW that wasn't a base 3 series or a full M car. Everything in between is just such a waste. So this pay for feature thing should really be moot.

 

I definitely had no idea 90% of premium cars in this country were leased. Fucking Americans man.

Well, with the Deere, it's pretty much a one-time purchase of options that are enabled via software, as opposed to subscription services.

Didn't know the lease thing either.

[G650 13729]

3 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Well, with the Deere, it's pretty much a one-time purchase of options that are enabled via software, as opposed to subscription services.

Didn't know the lease thing either.

Oh no, there's a ton of subscription services.

[TwiceHorn 30967]

10 minutes ago, G650 said:

Oh no, there's a ton of subscription services.

That must be kind of new.  The original complaint was from people that would hack their tractors and get them reset after service.  Not a terribly sympathetic position.  Or the inability to service comparatively simple things because of inaccessible software settings.

Anything that's software-based is going to be a license model with a no-reverse-engineering clause for the foreseeable future.

[TwiceHorn 30967]

17 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

Thoughts on BMW:
1)The bolded part above is very true, but the tunability of the N54 335i made it the exception IMO.   
2) I'm glad I bought an e93 and I plan to keep it in driving condition as long as I can. I think it's the last real BMW, in part because there's no infotainment/nav bullshit. I think BMW has gone completely off the rails. As much as I don't love the idea of subscription features, the new grills are even worse. 
3) The premium car sector is in trouble for a whole lot of reasons. A tattoo artist recently asked me if I was interested in taking over payments on his Stinger GT2. Only $850 a month for the next 6.5 years!

Sweet geebus and that's only a 50k car, tops.

[elfenix 34154]

58 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

N54

did the fuel pump issue ever get a permanent fix?

 

the 2 door e93s may be the last good looking bmws.  saw a 7 series with a hilariously oversized X7 grille on it the other day.

Edited July 4, 2020 by elfenix

[Bozo_Casanova 26121]

1 hour ago, elfenix said:

did the fuel pump issue ever get a permanent fix?

 

the 2 door e93s may be the last good looking bmws.  saw a 7 series with a hilariously oversized X7 grille on it the other day.

Periodic replacement and crossed fingers. 

Oh, and 

[Pato del Muerto 52184]

It’s like a hitler mustache on it

[Prepuce of Doom 20948]

[SDG 3319]

3 hours ago, elfenix said:

did the fuel pump issue ever get a permanent fix?

 

the 2 door e93s may be the last good looking bmws.  saw a 7 series with a hilariously oversized X7 grille on it the other day.

I just bought an E93 (see up thread) for the very reason (though my 2015 posted OTOS was nice in estoril blue).  I don't drive much, <100 miles a month, so I gave that away (my parents have it in CA) and bought the E93 M3 as my 2nd car.  

I don't or have never used any of the "infotainment" stuff because I only care about the feel when driving.  It's 2020; who needs navigation?   

 

[TwiceHorn 30967]

My main interest in infotainment is music.  My CTS had a 500GB HDD, which I thought was a great solution.  But, since CDs and mp3s are passe, now I'm stuck with streaming, so Android Auto was kind of important.  Or I guess bluetooth would have worked.

[Sam Lin 3538]

BMW already tried that shit charging an annual fee for Carplay, and just stopped charging last year. I hope this fails.

Not that I care until the nostril size comes back down. The e30 comparison above is comical, and the new M4 looks utterly stupid, esp when half the nostril is fake grille for aerodynamic blockoffs.

https://www.thedrive.com/news/33886/feast-your-eyes-on-the-2021-bmw-m4s-massive-nostrils

[elfenix 34154]

go big or go home

[TwiceHorn 30967]

30 minutes ago, Sam Lin said:

BMW already tried that shit charging an annual fee for Carplay, and just stopped charging last year. I hope this fails.

Not that I care until the nostril size comes back down. The e30 comparison above is comical, and the new M4 looks utterly stupid, esp when half the nostril is fake grille for aerodynamic blockoffs.

https://www.thedrive.com/news/33886/feast-your-eyes-on-the-2021-bmw-m4s-massive-nostrils

Godalmighty.  Looks worse blacked out.

I remember having an adverse reaction to Audi's big grilles, but it was nothing compared to the revulsion that triggers.

[TwiceHorn 30967]

Also, the giant kidney grille just reeks of me too or copycat.

Audi did it first, then Lexus glommed on, and now, what 10-15 years later BMW?

[Pato del Muerto 52184]

Any takers?

 

[Chewbacca 7664]

@ChiTownDoc if you don't have your Cullinan yet, take a look at this.  I would rather ride in this 10 times out of 10.  And it doubles as a party bus when you want to go out with friends.

 

https://bespokecoach.com/

[ChiTownDoc 21003]

Will look.  Amazing at first glance.  Just hard to be incognito even in the back of the lot lol.  But the potential as a party unit to bounce around in sounds amazing.  

[elfenix 34154]

On 7/6/2020 at 1:13 PM, TwiceHorn said:

Also, the giant kidney grille just reeks of me too or copycat.

Audi did it first, then Lexus glommed on, and now, what 10-15 years later BMW?

i actually like the f-sport predator grilles.  the regular ones are terribad.

Edited July 8, 2020 by elfenix

[Okie State 3732]

I like the GS-F, but I know most people don't.

[TwiceHorn 30967]

So, on the wax thing, I wound up going with Collinite 845.  It's pretty well-known and well-regarded and supposedly lasts a long time, especially considering that it is mostly a carnauba wax and apparently pretty low in synthetics.

None of that is really worth discussion.  What is is how strange it is.  It is a liquid wax and at room temperature, in the 70s, it is thick like any other liquid wax I have used.  But they say to either leave it outside for a while or heat it in hot water before using.  So I left it outside, not in the sun, but in 90+ degree heat, for 10-15 minutes while I washed the car.

Then it becomes flat-out watery.  You soak your applicator with it and it goes on like  . . . water.  Soapy water or water with stuff in it.

It does haze up, but it can be hard to see and doesn't really give you that resistance to buffing you get from most waxes after they dry.  I spilled a little and the puddle did turn white and chalky so there's definitely something in it, it's just a really fine emulsion.

Strange stuff.  Hard to believe it lasts a long time, but we shall see.  Also kind of hard to evaluate the shine.  I did it outdoors after sunset, so by the time I was done, it was a little hard to tell.  Plus the paint is in good shape and had a dealer wax from six months ago.  I'm more interested in protection and non-stick than shine anyway.

[Anton Chigurh 3318]

I don’t wax often (off-road BoF SUV), but I went with the Chemical Guys “hybrid” ceramic wax last time. It’s only been on like a week so time will tell, but it was easy to put on (full ceramic coating is a pain to apply). It’s definitely nowhere close to a real ceramic, but it seems okay so far.

I know that’s a very scintillating review.

[TwiceHorn 30967]

14 minutes ago, Anton Chigurh said:

I don’t wax often (off-road BoF SUV), but I went with the Chemical Guys “hybrid” ceramic wax last time. It’s only been on like a week so time will tell, but it was easy to put on (full ceramic coating is a pain to apply). It’s definitely nowhere close to a real ceramic, but it seems okay so far.

I know that’s a very scintillating review.

There is an absolutely bewildering array of stuff out there.  And of course various of it has its fanatical adherents and everything else is trash.

I had an old thing of Turtle Wax that I would have gone ahead and used, but it was dried out.

As I think I mentioned, I wax several times when a car is new (to me) and it seems to pay dividends as the paint always looks good by the time I offload it.  I also wash pretty regularly, so I guess that helps.

[Pato del Muerto 52184]

So we had a new friend over for dinner and drinks. He works at yeezy in design. We knew this. He brought his fiancé’. My wife was of the understanding that she designed kitchen utensils or some other shit. Wrong. That was a previous job. She’s a fucking designer at Rivian. They’re on the preorder list. Hoping to drive theirs soon enough. 

[Sam Lin 3538]

So Rivian is hiring kitchen utensil designers to design a truck?

[smuggs 9318]

Well there is an available slide-out camp kitchen option on the R1T:

 

[Pato del Muerto 52184]

She said she worked on the key fob and a few other things that I can’t recall. 

[TwiceHorn 30967]

3 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

She said she worked on the key fob and a few other things that I can’t recall. 

When I started ME at UT, I wanted to be an automotive engineer.  Then I figured out that my job would probably be door handle engineer for the Caprice Classic or some shit.  It was kind of a let down.

[Pato del Muerto 52184]

They also said they know some people that worked on bronco, and that it’s badass. 
said that the baby bronco was an existing product that got rolled into the bronco project. 

[deadshank 24646]

2 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

When I started ME at UT, I wanted to be an automotive engineer.  Then I figured out that my job would probably be door handle engineer for the Caprice Classic or some shit.  It was kind of a let down.

You gotta start somewhere.  

[ChiTownDoc 21003]

12 hours ago, smuggs said:

Well there is an available slide-out camp kitchen option on the R1T:

 

Nice sidecar for the wife.  

[PittsburghTiger 6101]

I may be in the minority here but, I think this car is stunningly beautiful.

 

 

[PittsburghTiger 6101]

 

Edited July 11, 2020 by PittsburghTiger

[Blotto 23349]

gotta be honest, I expected Ford to fuck this up much worse

Have no idea how it drives, but its got some cool features. 

[TwiceHorn 30967]

On 7/9/2020 at 8:43 PM, TwiceHorn said:

So, on the wax thing, I wound up going with Collinite 845.  It's pretty well-known and well-regarded and supposedly lasts a long time, especially considering that it is mostly a carnauba wax and apparently pretty low in synthetics.

None of that is really worth discussion.  What is is how strange it is.  It is a liquid wax and at room temperature, in the 70s, it is thick like any other liquid wax I have used.  But they say to either leave it outside for a while or heat it in hot water before using.  So I left it outside, not in the sun, but in 90+ degree heat, for 10-15 minutes while I washed the car.

Then it becomes flat-out watery.  You soak your applicator with it and it goes on like  . . . water.  Soapy water or water with stuff in it.

It does haze up, but it can be hard to see and doesn't really give you that resistance to buffing you get from most waxes after they dry.  I spilled a little and the puddle did turn white and chalky so there's definitely something in it, it's just a really fine emulsion.

Strange stuff.  Hard to believe it lasts a long time, but we shall see.  Also kind of hard to evaluate the shine.  I did it outdoors after sunset, so by the time I was done, it was a little hard to tell.  Plus the paint is in good shape and had a dealer wax from six months ago.  I'm more interested in protection and non-stick than shine anyway.

Back to this.  Car is, indeed, shiny af. As good as any wax I have used.  Also beads water like a mofo.

Lost in my description of how odd Collinite 845 is is that it is really easy to use in terms of application and buffing effort.  If it winds up holding up for several months, it's going to be a keeper.

[troph 24417]

[/url]  

You’d be the only one to think it’s not one of the sexiest cars on the planet. Causes feelings below I can’t explain. I rarely want to be “fuck you money” rich but seeing that car brings that desire a little bit.

[TwiceHorn 30967]

6 minutes ago, troph said:

You’d be the only one to think it’s not one of the sexiest cars on the planet. Causes feelings below I can’t explain. I rarely want to be “fuck you money” rich but seeing that car brings that desire a little bit.

It's got a lot of Jag/Aston from the windshield back, but that sharp front end is pure Ferrari.

I saw recently that Ferrari had a "product configuration" trademark on the 250 GTO, but it was ruled abandoned or invalid for lack of use, opening up the kit car market.

[capnamerca 565]

3 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

Back to this.  Car is, indeed, shiny af. As good as any wax I have used.  Also beads water like a mofo.

Lost in my description of how odd Collinite 845 is is that it is really easy to use in terms of application and buffing effort.  If it winds up holding up for several months, it's going to be a keeper.

Physically how did you do the buffing? By hand? Rotary sander with the lambswool attachment? Other? I'm somewhat ashamed to admit this, but I've literally never waxed a car in my life. Now that we have a brand-new-off-the-line tesla, I'd like to change that. (BTW this tesla is scary fast).

[Mdhorn 5858]

https://www.yahoo.com/autos/2021-ford-bronco-trim-breakdown-120000796.html

The party starts right here at $29,995. It’s the most basic Bronco you can buy, which means it’s also a great trim level if you intend on highly customizing. It comes with the 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder and manual transmission (six-speed plus a crawler gear). You get four-wheel drive, 16-inch steel wheels, LED headlights, cloth seats, carpeted flooring and the eight-inch touchscreen.

Edited July 14, 2020 by Mdhorn

[G650 13729]

14 hours ago, Blotto said:

gotta be honest, I expected Ford to fuck this up much worse

Have no idea how it drives, but its got some cool features. 

My buddy hit the nail on the head, "Can't tow 3,500 lbs but it makes the Wrangler look pretty amateur."

[VonZipper 50]

2 hours ago, capnamerca said:

Physically how did you do the buffing? By hand? Rotary sander with the lambswool attachment? Other? I'm somewhat ashamed to admit this, but I've literally never waxed a car in my life. Now that we have a brand-new-off-the-line tesla, I'd like to change that. (BTW this tesla is scary fast).

Collinite 845 is a wax, it can be applied either by hand or machine.  The lambswool pad is for cutting and polishing and not ideal for applying wax.  If you're going to use a machine use a soft foam pad something like this...

CCS Black Finishing Foam Pad, 6.5 inches - Composition is firm enough to withstand added pressure during final finishing to remove buffer swirls. It has no cut and will apply thin, even coats of waxes, sealants, and glazes. 

Which can be found here - https://www.autogeek.net/lake-country-ccs-6pack-page.html

[ChickenSandwich 9775]

7 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

It's got a lot of Jag/Aston from the windshield back, but that sharp front end is pure Ferrari.

I saw recently that Ferrari had a "product configuration" trademark on the 250 GTO, but it was ruled abandoned or invalid for lack of use, opening up the kit car market.

yeah, thought it was a vanquish at first

[TwiceHorn 30967]

11 hours ago, capnamerca said:

Physically how did you do the buffing? By hand? Rotary sander with the lambswool attachment? Other? I'm somewhat ashamed to admit this, but I've literally never waxed a car in my life. Now that we have a brand-new-off-the-line tesla, I'd like to change that. (BTW this tesla is scary fast).

It is super, unbelievably easy to buff out by hand.  Buffing car wax is not like trying to polish metal. Waxing a car is like polishing shoes. You apply the was in a thin coat and it dries or hardens to a "haze," a kind of filmy looking coating on top of your paint.  In buffing, you're just knocking that haze off and revealing shiny, waxed paint.  You do want the haze to form, but if you leave it too long it becomes harder and harder to buff out (not impossible).  Very broadly speaking, you don't get more shine with more buffing.

Usually, the sort of hierarchy of difficulty is paste>>liquid, and that's two-fold in that with paste, you have to work harder to spread it on and once it dries/hardens, takes semi-serious effort to buff off.  An orbital polisher speeds both tasks.  Liquid is usually significantly easier in both tasks.

Also, you don't want to use a rotary sander, it's too powerful and fast and regular circular movements are almost guaranteed to create swirls, particularly if you have a wax with any kind of abrasive.  An orbital polisher, which creates sort of random, low amplitude reciprocating-ish movements is much gentler and far less likely to cut into the paint or create swirls.  The Porter-Cable 7424 is the gold standard.

Collinite 845, being just a wax, and being very thin (not viscous at all) when heated above room temperature goes on like wiping on soapy water (or a liquid leather conditioner to use that analogy).  It dries to a haze in 5 minutes and you wipe it off.  It feels like you're doing nothing at all.  But the results are excellent, particularly after it has hardened overnight.

Most, but not all, common car waxes have a little bit of chemical or abrasive "cleaner" in them to clean oxidation and crud off your paint.  With those waxes, you use a little elbow grease in applying and removing in order to clean.  Collinite 845 (other formulas might), has none of that.  So clay barring, polishing, or other surface prep may be very worthwhile.

Edited July 15, 2020 by TwiceHorn

[TwiceHorn 30967]

11 hours ago, capnamerca said:

Physically how did you do the buffing? By hand? Rotary sander with the lambswool attachment? Other? I'm somewhat ashamed to admit this, but I've literally never waxed a car in my life. Now that we have a brand-new-off-the-line tesla, I'd like to change that. (BTW this tesla is scary fast).

Yes, I did it by hand with a microfiber cloth.

The worst part about waxing a car is that you have to go over every inch of painted surface.  Twice (once to apply, again to remove).  That is unavoidable whether you do it by hand or machine.  The application effort of the Collinite is such that beyond that twice-over, it's no big deal.  With some waxes, it can be kind of a beating doing it by hand.  It's like some of those tasks that really kill you because you rarely use those muscles (wiping in circles over and over and over); hedge trimming and working overhead with tools come to mind.

[G650 13729]

6 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

Also, you don't want to use a rotary sander, it's too powerful and fast and regular circular movements are almost guaranteed to create swirls, particularly if you have a wax with any kind of abrasive.  An orbital polisher, which creates sort of random, low amplitude reciprocating-ish movements is much gentler and far less likely to cut into the paint or create swirls.  The Porter-Cable 7424 is the gold standard.

For amateurs. To really correct paint you need a rotary.