I keep telling myself my end of year bonus will go to a Dodge Viper. Not the newer versions either. No, the original widow maker without traction control. Sadly, kids have made that decision harder as money is diverted to their needs. I did accidentally joke that if I got it, the likelihood of my wife being a millionaire in near future increases drastically with a fluffy life insurance policy until I’m 55.
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Those original Vipers are fast, inefficient, uncomfortable and dangerous.
Great idea!
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And hot! The exhaust pipes heat up the driver cabin in both first and second gens!
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How are the Lexus cars? Yesterday I was at Toyota local dealer to get winter tires. I saw their SUVs and I was not impressed by the room they have.
I am looking for a non commute car in the future. But i want something a bit more familly friendly. Either a long sedan like my old Audi A6 or a SUV.
I am not earning as much as you Americans, but with an operational leasing on a company name, I think I can afford a Lexus in the next 5 to 10 years. I dont want to drive a German bullshit car like Audi, BMW or Mercedes anymore, extremelly disapointed by the german cars.
Lexus are mostly just Toyotas with gussy interiors. Power trains are mostly same as Toyota with retuning. There are pros and cons to that.
Of those three I like BMW the best. It’s the only brand I’ve had good experience with. Audi was bad for me. If you like performance you will be disappointed with a Lexus after driving these brands. Other than that, looks are subjective and see what I said above about uniqueness etc.
If reliability and luxury are your only two metics Lexus is a safe bet.
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I’ve never owned a Lexus but I’ve driven them quite a bit. They start off as overpriced Toyotas but also offer their own cars that have no real Toyota equivalent.
I’ve driven a 2022 IS F-Sport 350 AWD, which I think my friend paid around 55k for brand new and loaded with every feature. It is a Toyota Corolla body with a nicer interior, lots of gadgets, 311 HP and AWD. It is a very nice car, but is it worth THAT much more than a basic Corolla?
For some, it is. For me, it is not. It is still a tiny car and the performance is not as eye popping as the price.
There is no Toyota equivalent to some of their higher end stuff like the LC500, but that’s also a 100k car. In 10 years I might be looking to buy a 2021 model, but not anytime soon.
In short, Lexus offers a lot of the same reliability and design philosophy as Toyota, but at a premium price. Compared to other luxury brands their emphasis is on reliability and comfort over performance.
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Since I’m trapped at home tending to a wounded dog, one of the perks of my job is being able to do so, I have time to pontificate about our next vehicle purchase.
Currently I drive a base model Honda Civic. I traded in a WRX that was legitimately about to blow up for this car on lease. In terms of my bank account, nothing changed, I walked out having spent no money, kept a car payment within $10 or so, had no loan on a time bomb, and doubled my gas mileage as I was starting a job with significant driving requirements. I bought it out from the lease last year, as it was the best deal around since they were valuing it at pre-inflation costs. I don’t care for the car, but it does what I ask it to every time and will continue to do so with very basic maintenance.
My wife drives a paid-off 2012 Mercedes C300. Solid car, surprisingly easy to work on, but for sure starting to show some age. It’s got plenty of life left in it, and my brother happens to be a Mercedes mechanic so we get quality work without having to deal with any horse crap.
Having one car payment is rad for our household income. That said, we can certainly afford two and I’m starting to tire of having two small commuter vehicles. I’ve actually been tired of that for quite some time.
I’d love a truck, but I don’t really need a truck. My FIL has a real nice Chevy 1500 I can borrow whenever I want. I have to put air in at least one tire every time I do, but a small price to pay.
I think our next vehicle should probably be some kind of mid-sized SUV. We’ve needed the space several times for store runs, or weekend trips where we play Tetris fitting everything we need into my slightly larger car, then figuring out where to put the dog. I also hunt, and trying to put a deer in the trunk of a civic is, well, not ideal.
We are still on the fence about whether or not to have a kid. If we do, that extra space would come in handy quite often I imagine.
The new Blazer RS is pretty appealing. Looks good, and seems to have some decent power. Expensive for what it is though. Toyota or Honda is probably a better cost/feature option, but underpowered compared. I don’t need anything crazy, but some mild off-road capabilities would be sweet. Just for camping/hunting/climbing trips where access isn’t the greatest. Rock crawling is not on my hobby radar.
Someday I’d like to be able to eschew modern cars completely, and drive only some restomod classics of my youth. Please, allow me to daily drive an early 90s F150 with a blue tooth connection. Let me choose between literally any drop top muscle/pony car from the last 60s with modern brakes and suspension or a Wrangler that will never have doors attached to it.
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I used to drive an ES330 (Camry) and an LS460. The former was meh and the latter was amazing. Very comfortable and 380HP (I believe).
If I wanted a luxury performance sedan today, I’d buy the Cadillac CT5 V Black Wing
Custom plates will say ‘Banshee’.
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I am not looking for a performance. I need comfort, room in the car and reliability. If I buy a luxorious car it will be my forever car.
This is why I asked about Lexus. I know they are reliable and use good interior materials. Also I know when produced the time spend on them vs Toyota is much higher, although the same power train and almost everything is the same.
My main problem with the Toyotas they have no room inside, they are not spaceous
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Drop the Blackwing and just get a sport then. Still plenty fast and very nice car.
Toyota is now making the Crown crossover and has always made SUVs of all sizes.
LS sedans are where Lexus starts to really differentiate itself from Toyota in my opinion, although I’ve never driven one. Rear-wheel drive full size V8 sedans are not something Toyota does at all. Sedans like…
checks the boxes you are looking for.
Closest I’ve driven is the Cadillac CTS-V, and that thing was a beast.
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Technically not the first, but the first was the non-M version which I owned for maybe 3 months before I decided life was too short to not drive the car I really wanted. Sold the other car to my brother so kept the depreciation in the family, win-win. Would still be driving this car today, but a 16 year old girl driving daddy’s pickup (after 10 pm, which was illegal) got tired of waiting for the red light to change, and decided to reverse into a turn-right-on-red lane LOL.
What it’s supposed to look like:
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Toyota fans weep (or rejoice). The 2025 Camry has been revealed and they no longer offer any naturally aspirated engines and 8 speed automatics, only hybrids and CVT transmissions.
No thanks. I’ll keep my 32 mpg 301 hp sedan.
This news makes me even happier with my current best car I’ve ever owned, a 2022 Avalon. It’s only two years old and I can already say “They don’t make them like they used to.”
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You do know the Avalon is specifically marketed to senior citizens?
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lol yep. This is my third retiree sedan after owning a Cadillac Seville and a Buick LeSabre.
I don’t buy my Toyotas for how they look!
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One of the things I’ve noticed in cars marketed to male senior citizens is that they usually have plenty of power (a big V6 is usually the minimum). Usually a smooth ride too. Maybe the old dudes are on to something?
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Las Vegas Grand Prix this weekend - are any of you US petrolheads taking any interest in this?
I have enough grey and white hair to pull off The Avalon Look. I even drive 5mph under the speed limit whenever someone wants to ride my ass.
But yeah, they’re great cars for the price, especially if you’re racking up miles like I do.
I’ll get a young man’s car when I’m old.
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I don’t brake check anyone, but when someone is riding my ass I just kinda fluctuate my speed by around 5 mph. Speed up gradually by 5 mph, then slow down gradually by 5 mph. It seems to drive the tailgaters insane haha.
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