Category: cars | Shiny Bits of Life

June 30, 2021January 27, 2022

My new Porsche

The very cheapest new Porsche 911 costs $101,200.

If you add…

Fancy wheels: $4,030
Fancy seats: $5,960
Fancy power addition to fancy seats: $3,830
Fancy leather-everywhere interior: $17,110
Fancy gauges and clock: $3,900
Fancy headlights: $2,470
Fancy stereo: $3,980
Fancy remote parking system: $6,950
Fancy carbon fiber roof: $3,890
Fancy aerodynamics kit: $8,710
Fancy paint protection kit: $2,760
Fancy door mirrors: $1,630
Fancy black window trim: $510
Fancy “Porsche” on door: $560
Fancy “911” on rear: $350
Fancy lid grille slats in same color as car: $720
Fancy tailpipes: $3,380
Fancy front axle lift system: $2,770
Fancy rear wiper: $370
Fancy cruise control and lane-keeping system: $3,020
Fancy heated leather steering wheel: $590
Fancy interior trim: $1,260
Fancy painted keys: $540
Fancy seat belts: $540
Fancy maintenance plan: $5,035
Fancy customized luggage: $6,323

…The final price comes to $201,271.

First: I did not get a new Porsche! I don’t have a used Porsche, either. Maybe when I get to heaven, my wheels will be from Stuttgart.

Second: This is an exercise to show you how crazy Porsche is when it comes to upgrades.

Third: If you add the costs of the options, it may not equal the total above. Porsche uses a different calculator than some people.

Photo by Martin Katler on Unsplash. Used by permission via a Creative Commons license.

June 5, 2021June 5, 2021

Which car should I buy?

I’ve been into cars my whole life. If I could sell my long-gone childhood Hot Wheels collection, I’d be a rich man.

My idea of fun reading is a car magazine. I love learning about a vehicle’s performance, design, value, and how it stands up against the competition. As a result of a lifetime of study, I know a lot about cars. I may not be able to diagnose why your car won’t start, but I can tell you which vehicle is the best in the class you’re considering.

I’ve never formally been a car salesperson. But I’ve recommended cars to many friends over the years.

Here are some of my favorite tips…

Skip the lease. If you buy a car, you’ll save a lot in the long run by buying a lesser model for the same as the lease payments for a fancier model. “But I’d have a monthly payment anyway,” is not a good argument when you consider where you’ll be at the end of the lease – having to start again compared to having a paid-for car. Better yet, keep driving your old beast and save up to pay cash.
What’s your primary use? If you’re going to live in the mountains with serious snow to plow through every day for months, then all-wheel drive is a good option. If you spend the vast majority of your time driving around town and live in a place that gets snow, a good set of snow tires and front-wheel drive will get you to your destination 99% of the time.
If you’re buying from Craigslist, be sure to take the vehicle you’re seriously considering to a reputable shop nearby to have a mechanic check it over. That could save you thousands in repair costs. The shop may turn up a serious problem you won’t see.
Make sure it has a clean title. If the used vehicle you like has a salvage title, you’ll save upfront but you’ll never recoup the difference when you later try to sell it.
Reliability makes a big difference five years down the road. Spend $10 on a month-long membership to Consumer Reports and find their ratings on the model you’re considering. You’ll discover, for example, that the Mazda CX-5 has much better ratings than the Hyundai Tucson.
Make sure it runs on the lowest octane. 30¢ a gallon adds up to a lot of money over the course of a year. (If you’re considering an electric car, this obviously does not apply.)
Finally, have fun. I’ve shared many practical considerations. But it’s worth spending a little more for a vehicle you’ll enjoy.

Disclaimers: I am not judging you if you lease your vehicle! And as with many things, do as I say, not as I do… one of our two vehicles has all-wheel drive. (The other, however, has front-wheel drive with snow tires – and it works great in the snow.)

The dashboard photo is courtesy of Claude Gabriel on Unsplash and is used with permission.

May 1, 2021

BMW Stumbles

2021 BMW M4: before and after design suggestions

BMW decided to change the face of their vehicles. They went from subtle double-kidney grilles to massive gaping mouths. In their attempt to go for a menacing look, they went too far and landed on a face that not even a mother (or father) would love.

Car and Driver magazine agrees: “Do whatever it takes to ignore the new BMW M4’s toothy grille…”

Sometimes designers go too far on purpose to push the envelope. Over time, what was outrageous becomes acceptable.

I have to eat my words on Kia’s design decisions (see this post). Two years ago, when their Telluride large SUV came out, I thought it was quite ugly. Now I’m used to the look.

I’m not sure if I will ever get used to BMW’s new face.

So I did a little work in Photoshop on James Lipman’s photo and made the grille more the size that God intended. (See above.)

Let’s push the envelope, but not too far.

January 26, 2021

Kia woke

Kia woke up and came back to the mainstream.

Kia’s design department went through a recent rough patch, during which they headed in a rather oblique direction with the look of the front of their vehicles.

The 2017 Kia Sportage typifies their ugly period. (Let’s just be honest.) You’ll see that in the left side of the photo montage above. Think of a carp’s face.

They finally decided to come back to the rest of the automotive universe. The right side of the photo montage is the 2021 Kia Sorrento.

The face is the most important part of any car design. We can relate to a car’s mouth (grille) and its eyes (headlights).

For the 2021 Sorrento, they decided to go in a more snarling mean-looking direction. It works. SUVs are supposed to be rugged.

The left photo is courtesy of Car & Driver. The right photo is courtesy of Kia. Both are not used with permission.

April 26, 2020

The writing’s on the wall

I love car magazines. I’ve enjoyed them since I was a boy. I find pleasure in discovering the latest details on all kinds of vehicles.

The genre I least enjoy is supercars – because they are so far removed from my reality that I could never own one.

The other genre that I don’t take pleasure in is SUVs. Though they are the world’s most popular vehicle category, they offer less driving pleasure than cars. (But I’ve never cared about what’s popular.)

Back to car magazines…

Looking at printed photos and flipping the pages of a car review are somehow much more satisfying than scrolling up and down a web page.

Apparently, few other people appreciate this joy.

Nearly all magazines are dying a slow death – not just those of the vehicular variety.

Automobile Magazine quietly passed away without its caretakers even telling me.

Autoweek died just a month before Automobile.

When Car and Driver quits printing their publication, I will cry.

By the way, the expression “writing on the wall” comes from Daniel 5.

May 4, 2019

It’s a matter of personal taste

The 2020 Kia Telluride is ugly.

But you may like it.

I know it’s rugged looking. I know it carries visual themes from the Hummer and Jeep Wrangler. I know it can perform mild off-road tasks. And I know that Telluride is a beautiful town in my home state, Colorado.

But the design just does not appeal to me.

I realize that I’m hopelessly old-school, but I find the sedan and its wagon variant attractive. They are lower to the ground, corner better and have enough room for most daily uses.

For the same money, one could buy a really nice used Audi A4 wagon with all-weather capability but no off-road ground clearance.

The photo is courtesy of Kia USA.

August 19, 2018

Go backwards – drive a manual

It happened very quickly.

Jay, my oldest son, was shopping for a newer car to replace his dying (and uncool) Toyota Corolla. He invited me to look at a car he was considering. I drooled, and he yawned. The car was just not his style – but it did fit my age group rather well.

Heather, Rachel and I played around with the idea of replacing our Honda Fit that year-older German car – with very little difference between each sale price. Our discussion turned into action… within a week, the title was signed over to us.

But it has a manual transmission.

A few years back, I said that I’d probably not get another car with a manual – you know, it’s just too much work in any stop-and-go commute.

But the car was so nice. The previous owner had maintained it meticulously and kept complete service records. “Only Mobil 1 for oil changes.” I could tell he was not lying, judging by the condition of every part of the car.

After a few weeks of driving, I realize that the extra effort of shifting has faded into the background. I love it.

Don’t say, “never again.”

April 14, 2018April 14, 2018

The joy of the old

Jay and I went for a test drive in a 1967 MG Midget. He was the driver, as his 2001 Toyota Corolla burns a quart of oil for every two tanks of gas and it’s nearing time for a replacement.

We both were surprised at how small the car is – and at how 30 mph seemed like 70 mph.

Alas, a much newer car can be had for the same money – and one that wouldn’t need $500 worth of work to be road-legal.

But what a piece of history!

The intricate wire wheels aren’t available on any new car, regardless of price. The engine was so simple that it wouldn’t take an engineering degree to change the spark plugs. And what joy to drive a car that no-one else drives!

It was a marriage not meant to be. When the quick honeymoon ended, the heartaches would begin.

Epilogue: In a recent issue of Autoweek, a 1967 Datsun Roadster – a direct competitor – sold for ten times what the MG was going for.

September 12, 2017September 12, 2017

Why no one wants the Tesla Model X

It’s ugly.

From the perspective of a Denver dweller, where Porsche SUVs are as common as hamburgers, the Tesla Model X is a fairly rare sight.

They got the proportions wrong. It’s like a beautiful Model S that was injected with way too much Play Doh.

The strange “Falcon Wing” doors are way too complicated (and apparently a bit trouble-prone).

Sorry, I’ll pass. (But starting at about $95,000, I don’t have much choice in the matter.)

Photo courtesy of Tesla.

May 23, 2017May 21, 2017

4×4 vs 2wd

This quote, “Is there a 4WD in the range? Ask yourself if you really need it. You probably don’t” is from Top Gear magazine.

Top Gear is more than a popular British TV show – it started as a magazine and expanded into television, garnering a far wider audience than the magazine could ever hope for.

Back to the quote – you would never read that in an American magazine, but it makes sense in a British context because:

It rarely snows in the parts of England where people actually live.
Fuel economy is a smaller deal in the States, since fuel is (currently) so cheap.
To an American, owning a front-wheel drive crossover or SUV is like drinking decaffeinated coffee.
Because of these two reasons, 2WD crossovers and SUVs are very hard to sell – think of selling bags of ice to Eskimos. So if you buy one new, you are dooming yourself to a larger loss of money when it comes time to sell it on the used market.

Having said all that, if you are in the market for a new car and don’t live in a place that gets a ton of snow, I would urge you to consider a car that is front-wheel drive.

I live in a suburb of Denver and have never owned a 4WD vehicle. We get an average of 57 inches of snow a year. In my 20 years of commuting here, I have only gotten stuck in snow about two times.

We bought a set of snow tires and wheels for one of our cars and even take it up to ski. We’ve never gotten stuck.

I’m not condemning anyone who has a 4WD or AWD vehicle. They’re great. I’m just asking you to consider a car if you are in the market for a different vehicle. And if you like off-roading, you can rent a Jeep.