Automobiles

[Flying Pigeon]

For all you V-dubbers, here is a W12 Phaeton I spotted:
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Only <350 of these in the country. Greg Lemond has one in Montana but I think he has the V8.

Best of all, Campagnolo made the trunk hinges
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[Brandon White]

Those were all over the neighborhood I lived in before leaving Columbus. Always thought of those as a car to have if you have a driver because the back seat looked like a luxury jet.

[sailor]

Hopefully they fixed the seats in the new golf wagons. I sold my 2013 JSW TDI after the seats caused back issues, and was generally unimpressed with the car compared to the 2000 passat wagon I had before.

[randonneur]

Volkswagen Golf Alltrack TDI. Going to be available in the states next year. Hmmmm.

I can't get behind North American product managers' collective impulse to SUV-ify cars (audi, subaru, volvo - i'm looking at you specially). I don't want the extra plastic or the ground clearance; just give me the AWD, tdi and 6sp manual.

(also, per car and driver, the tdi alltrack isn't making it to the US, just the gasoline 1.8 TSI)

[rmplum]

I can't get behind North American product managers' collective impulse to SUV-ify cars (audi, subaru, volvo - i'm looking at you specially). I don't want the extra plastic or the ground clearance; just give me the AWD, tdi and 6sp manual.

The Outback killed the Legacy (but it also sorta saved the company back in the 90s). We couldn't give away Legacy wagons (I had a 2005 Leg GT Turbo w/5-speed manual as my company car way back then - jeeze was it great) and Outbacks sold hand over fist.

It kills me though. Wagons rule.

[Too Tall]

Seen at my local coffee shop. Yes I would beat the tar out of it.....
Mercedes does indeed make some muscle cars.

[j44ke]

The problem with Volvo and Subaru is that they both get such miserable gas mileage. And their mileage ratings are optimistic at that. My TDI routinely gets over 30mpg, even with stop and go driving and two bikes on the roof.

Extra clearance is nice to have in NYC. The streets are irregular at best, and even the highways have giant pot holes and expansion joints are like open trenches. And then you have to put the thing in a garage. I'd like a rubber coated car with the suspension of a Baja racer.

And I am all for manual shifting, but after 2.5 hours of traffic jam driving, an automatic keeps you from blowing out your knee.

[Mr B]

I can't get behind North American product managers' collective impulse to SUV-ify cars (audi, subaru, volvo - i'm looking at you specially).

Ironically I think the biggest fans of these cars are young liberal new parents who hate SUVs. Oh, and lesbians. Can't forget the lesbians.

[deadbeef]

I actually like a minimal amount of unpainted plastic cladding on the outermost surfaces (bottom edge of door, wheel well lip, etc). Between city parking and snow banks in the winter, there's all kinds of crap just waiting to take paint off those surfaces.

[nahtnoj]

Correct. No car that ever gets street parked should have paint on the bumper surfaces that do actual bumping.

[dashDustin]

I can't get behind North American product managers' collective impulse to SUV-ify cars (audi, subaru, volvo - i'm looking at you specially).

I don't know to which Subarus you're referring, but I compare my Outback to the previous generation and I'm kinda jealous. Mine feels quite large and bulky...hard to call it a wagon.

Regarding TDI....why do folks dig diesel so much? What are the benefits? I was looking at Dodge's 'Ecodiesel', and it's kinda pricey. Mileage is good, but factor in the extra cost of diesel, DEF, and the engine...and it's not quite as attractive. Is it different in smaller cars/ wagons?

[dutchess]

Comparing a Dodge to nearly any German car is a slanted comparison before you get around to specifics.

The small number of TDI brought over here fuel that attractiveness for sure. If they are well maintained those cars can go until wear and tear finally wins out a half million miles later. Try saying that out loud about a dodge without laughing.

[jdp211]

I don't know to which Subarus you're referring, but I compare my Outback to the previous generation and I'm kinda jealous. Mine feels quite large and bulky...hard to call it a wagon.

Not to mention that the latest gen (or two?) of Outbacks are classed by the EPA as a 'Small Sport Utility Vehicle.'

[Mr B]

Correct. No car that ever gets street parked should have paint on the bumper surfaces that do actual bumping.

That's one of the many, many, MANY reasons I adore 1980s Mercedes-Benz.
This was my daily driver for seven years, street-parked in all weathers in Central London.
I never had this car painted at all, and this picture was taken less than a month before I sold it. I miss it dearly.

[randonneur]

I don't know to which Subarus you're referring

I guess I wish they still made a legacy wagon, like rmplum. Or that you could get a 5dr impreza with something other than their slow 2.0l motor.

Regarding TDI....why do folks dig diesel so much? What are the benefits? I was looking at Dodge's 'Ecodiesel', and it's kinda pricey. Mileage is good, but factor in the extra cost of diesel, DEF, and the engine...and it's not quite as attractive. Is it different in smaller cars/ wagons?

I had a 3500 Sprinter van that reliably averaged 24mpg (11.7l/100km) in mostly city conditions, which is kind of ridiculous for a 5000lb vehicle. My vw tdi wagon routinely gets 50mpg (5.5l/100km) on mostly highway driving. Neither requires DEF, and the maintenance has so far been on par with my previous gas-buring engines. Where I am, diesel is currently 20% cheaper than gas, so it's kind of a no-brainer from that side of things. But the real seller is the low end torque. They leave the line with a good amount of oomph.

[twowheels]

I thought the VW alltrack was coming to the states only with a gasser motor, and not with a TDI.

I have a TDI Passat. It replaced my audi A4 2.0, which replaced my 2004 Porsche GT3. The audi was nice but I got rid of it because the motor started burning a quart of oil every 500 miles at 40,000 with no abuse whatsoever.

I like the Passat quite a bit. The allure of the TDI is it is robust and regularly gets 35+ mpg in the City and 50 on the highway.

I'd love to have an AWD TDI.

[rmplum]

Despite the looks and name, the current Audi allroad (A4 sized) is actually still pretty wagon/carlike to drive. The allroad cladding is largely cosmetic - the car still sits pretty low and steers/handles like a wagon and not a crossover or cute ute. It's 50000x better to drive than the Q3.

Still pretty pricey ($45-$50k) for a little wagon though.

[Mabouya]

The problem with Volvo and Subaru is that they both get such miserable gas mileage. And their mileage ratings are optimistic at that. My TDI routinely gets over 30mpg, even with stop and go driving and two bikes on the roof.

My 2014 Impreza hatchback (non-WRX) gets above 35 mpg / tank in the summer and about 34 in the winter. That's about 2/3 highway and 1/3 surface streets with not much stop & go. That's better than I expected. Had I known that it was going to be that good I would have gotten the WRX.

I'm not sure what folks consider "miserable" but I don't think anything above 25 mpg is anywhere close to it, and 35 mpg is way better than miserable. Especially considering that it's full-time AWD.

[davids]

You guys who claim to love wagons so much better be putting your money where your mouths are.

[Brandon White]

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