Forgot to mention that this was 20 years ago, at least. Heck, he's been dead at least 15 years. Hell, I meant to quote Fatty and I quoted myself. Whoops! Had to post this. If I could have a '65 Shelby Mustang and it wasn't based on my 2+2, this would be it. One of three. Enjoy:
Don’t know what you decided two years ago lol but I have an Ascent. It’s ok. I miss my Explorer. It felt like driving a truck. The Ascent feels minivan-ish. I purchased a Subaru for the all time AWD. I like the second row captain’s chairs and the cargo space is nice with the third row folded down.
I actually decided on getting the Ascent. I narrowed it down between the Pilot or Ascent. I love it so far and has done well in the short road trips we have gone on. My plan for this car was to be an 'ultimate road trip' car but have had to postpone some longer trips this year due to COVID. In the end I chose it because I've had Subaru's before and this just felt familiar. Can't go wrong with Subaru's AWD since I plan to take this car to national parks and etc.
Anybody looking for a car, should look into the Volvo S90. High end luxury interior and a very nice looking exterior. Used ones can be had under 30 and is a lot of car for the price. Cant say anything about reliability- it is a Swedish car with a Swedish motor but the car is assembled in China. Really interesting imo.
Same. Honda offered a better deal for the Pilot (Honda cash and lower interest rate) but I have a Forester as my other car and I am a sucker for their promotion of social causes. No issues so far. Smooth ride, turbo engine, lots of cup holders lol
I remember when I had mine in 1988. The car was only 22 years old so I got one in great condition. I immediately changed the radio and speakers and put in custom ones. Found out later that the original radio even then was worth a couple hundred. I just carelessly tossed it.
I drove my buddy's parent's Pilot. The latest generation. The 9 speed transmission in there is CRAP. Constantly in the wrong gear, zero low end torque and when you press down on gas there's a 2-3 delay before it finds the right gear...it's good for cruising on the highway at 60 mph downhill. I would be incredibly frustrated if i had to drive that around as my daily driver.
What year? The 9sp ZF transmission in there has been in several vehicles (Land Rover, Jaguar, Chrysler/Jeep, Honda/Acura, etc.) and pretty much all of the applications have been a crappy transmission in some manner. Most people get it for the mileage more than the performance, I think.
I will ask what year his car was. My other buddy got a Odyssey and I helped him avoid the 9 speed. The 10 speed is standard on the 2020 one. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZF_9HP_transmission#Honda
Yeah, I heard the 9sp was a stop-gap of sorts until they got their own 10sp built in-house. That thing was a disaster on the Acura TLX and Chryslers. Volvo decided to go with an 8sp instead of the ZF9. The transmission or the programming in most models has been improved since its initial release, but if you're looking for "performance", look elsewhere. Here's an early article that was circulating on various car forums about it that tries to explain things like the dog clutches employed and the lag you experienced : https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2...-transmission-puts-dog-clutches-on-the-leash/ The result is a somewhat odd delay between the pedal on the floor and the car taking off like a bat out of hell. According to Volvo’s powertrain guys, this shift behavior is one of the main reasons they chose the Aisin 8-speed (shared with the Lexus RX F-Sport) over the ZF 9-speed used by Land Rover and Chrysler.
Man. It's the same damn transmission that was in the 2015 TLX?? I test drove that car for my brother in law who was looking for a sports sedan and I was like wtf is this? The shifts were so abrupt and weird...now I know why.
lol. I bought one. Still own it. I have something like 110-115,000 miles on it (can't remember since I hardly drive anymore). They've improved from the disaster shifting it was early-on through software updates, but man ... it was bad enough that I'm not going to buy another Acura for a while. It still kind of sucks, but it's not the death-trap it was when it was released. The new TLX on paper seems like a pretty good car, but like I said, I doubt I'll be buying one.
I was a huge Japanese brand person. 97 altima, 2000 camry, 2005 camry, 2004 pilot, 2010 altima, 2010 mdx..... I have moved onto German cars (porsche, audi, bmw) and my goodness it's a much better driving experience. Haven't tried a MB yet.
I honestly don't care what I drive as long as it's reliable, has some power, has modern tech, and doesn't cost an arm and a leg to repair. I used to be a Japanese car guy simply because they were the most reliable. Nowadays, reliability bounces around all over the place. I love Audis, but I'm still scared to own German cars outside of 3-4 years, and I tend to own my car for 200k+ miles (or aim to, anyway). The initial quality on my TLX was horrible, but it's been solid since then. If I had to do it again, I still wouldn't buy it, but then the other 2 cars I had looked at back 2014 ended up being duds, too -- the Q50 and ATS. So I guess I was screwed no matter what. lol. I'd rather just buy a crossover or something and then spend money on a 1930's or 1950's restomod right now.
