For my birthday my wife took me to the MotorTrend Autoshow over in Baltimore and as a good sport didn't complain at all, except for when I sat in same model as my own car. (I just wanted to see what the 2004 was like /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif) Anyway, I had two things I wanted to look at: Trucks & supercars, well high end luxury cars.
We went to Chevy & GMC first. I was very interested in the new Colorado & Canyon twins. I was disappointed by how low the sat was, providing a less than comfortable driving position. I couldn't get into a comfortable driving position period. The full size GM trucks fit me much better, but for some reason all of the 1500 & 2500 sized trucks had a large black plastic piece below the radio that had a cubby-hole & nothing else. It looks like something should be there, but not one truck had anything there, it kind of made the truck look cheap, despite some of the trucks containing leather interiors. Maybe somebody knows what belongs there. I'm curious. Next were the Dodge's, I really like the comfort level of the Dodge Ram, even though the 4wd model had the highest step-up of any truck we saw today. The Ram had a nice layout & the interior materials didn't look cheap. Too bad they don't have an extended cab model. Next were the Fords. I was quite eager before the show to check out the new F-150, but I was disappointed again. As far as interiors go, I like the old F-150 better. There was a definite lack of head room. Too much plastic, including door handles. The trucks looked soo much nicer in the pictures. We then checked out the F-250. This is a much nicer truck for me to sit in. The price for an XLT FX4 4wd w/ diesel was $41,000, IMHO it was better than what you get in the F-150 for the money. Next was the Toyota Tacoma. We sat in a Quad cab 4wd with the works. The interior was as nice as any luxury SUV that we saw during the during day. Leather & wood accents not normally seen in a truck. Also not normally seen on a truck was the $50,000 sticker price. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif Finally the long awaited Nissan Titan, the interior looked sharp. It had a titanium colored material on the console which looked very nice. The 180 degree rear opening doors on the supercab had an interesting hinge setup that didn't allow the door to hit the bed even when opened hard. I checked. I was disappointed when I pulled the lever to open up the back seat. The lever came off in my hand. I guess I could have had an autoshow souveneer, but I put it back on where it belonged. Anyway, I didn't drive any of these trucks, so the new F-150 or even the Titan's advantages weren't apparent. All I did sit in each one. So far my favorite was the Toyota, with an additional $6000 in engine mods would be a pretty slick truck in my book. Not wanting to spend $56,000 on a truck, the F-250 would be my first choice to revisit when it is time to buy. Of course the behind the wheel will tell a very different story.
Now for cars. We sat in too many to mention, but two stand out in my memory. The Volkswagon Phaeton was an impressive automobile. It was roped off, so I actually did't get sit in it, but the doors were open. I wasn't expecting much more than a stretched out Passat, but this car was much sleeker with an interior that I would expect in a Rolls Royce. At $85,000, I not sure who would buy this car, but it was impressive none the less. The other car of note was the Mercedes E55 AMG. The sticker said $87,000 and it doesn't look like a car that would cost more than $40K, but people (me too) were drooling over this car, more so than the $120K SL55 that was nearby. I guess it is the wolf in sheeps clothing aspect. One lady upon exiting said that they needed to sell their home, since she really need that car. I took an imaginary test drive behind the wheel with my posse while cranking up some urban hip-hop tunes. Wait a minute BigDave & his posse? /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif There were 4 teens who brought their own CD to listen in the E55. The driver noticed me waiting patiently outside. I guess my kind and gentle looking face, not to mention my 320lbs, (I lost 30lbs) encouraging the driver to let me take the seat. He stepped out, but his gang stayed in the car. While, I was tapping the speed shift paddles & generally looking around, a voice from the back seat asked Reese, the kid in the front seat, to ask their driver if it would be okay to crank up the volume. Not wanting to disappoint, I cranked up the volume. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
I hope this provides a different point of view than what the car professionals provide. I watch Motorweek & Car and Driver TV every week, and they never have any testers that look like me.
We went to Chevy & GMC first. I was very interested in the new Colorado & Canyon twins. I was disappointed by how low the sat was, providing a less than comfortable driving position. I couldn't get into a comfortable driving position period. The full size GM trucks fit me much better, but for some reason all of the 1500 & 2500 sized trucks had a large black plastic piece below the radio that had a cubby-hole & nothing else. It looks like something should be there, but not one truck had anything there, it kind of made the truck look cheap, despite some of the trucks containing leather interiors. Maybe somebody knows what belongs there. I'm curious. Next were the Dodge's, I really like the comfort level of the Dodge Ram, even though the 4wd model had the highest step-up of any truck we saw today. The Ram had a nice layout & the interior materials didn't look cheap. Too bad they don't have an extended cab model. Next were the Fords. I was quite eager before the show to check out the new F-150, but I was disappointed again. As far as interiors go, I like the old F-150 better. There was a definite lack of head room. Too much plastic, including door handles. The trucks looked soo much nicer in the pictures. We then checked out the F-250. This is a much nicer truck for me to sit in. The price for an XLT FX4 4wd w/ diesel was $41,000, IMHO it was better than what you get in the F-150 for the money. Next was the Toyota Tacoma. We sat in a Quad cab 4wd with the works. The interior was as nice as any luxury SUV that we saw during the during day. Leather & wood accents not normally seen in a truck. Also not normally seen on a truck was the $50,000 sticker price. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif Finally the long awaited Nissan Titan, the interior looked sharp. It had a titanium colored material on the console which looked very nice. The 180 degree rear opening doors on the supercab had an interesting hinge setup that didn't allow the door to hit the bed even when opened hard. I checked. I was disappointed when I pulled the lever to open up the back seat. The lever came off in my hand. I guess I could have had an autoshow souveneer, but I put it back on where it belonged. Anyway, I didn't drive any of these trucks, so the new F-150 or even the Titan's advantages weren't apparent. All I did sit in each one. So far my favorite was the Toyota, with an additional $6000 in engine mods would be a pretty slick truck in my book. Not wanting to spend $56,000 on a truck, the F-250 would be my first choice to revisit when it is time to buy. Of course the behind the wheel will tell a very different story.
Now for cars. We sat in too many to mention, but two stand out in my memory. The Volkswagon Phaeton was an impressive automobile. It was roped off, so I actually did't get sit in it, but the doors were open. I wasn't expecting much more than a stretched out Passat, but this car was much sleeker with an interior that I would expect in a Rolls Royce. At $85,000, I not sure who would buy this car, but it was impressive none the less. The other car of note was the Mercedes E55 AMG. The sticker said $87,000 and it doesn't look like a car that would cost more than $40K, but people (me too) were drooling over this car, more so than the $120K SL55 that was nearby. I guess it is the wolf in sheeps clothing aspect. One lady upon exiting said that they needed to sell their home, since she really need that car. I took an imaginary test drive behind the wheel with my posse while cranking up some urban hip-hop tunes. Wait a minute BigDave & his posse? /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif There were 4 teens who brought their own CD to listen in the E55. The driver noticed me waiting patiently outside. I guess my kind and gentle looking face, not to mention my 320lbs, (I lost 30lbs) encouraging the driver to let me take the seat. He stepped out, but his gang stayed in the car. While, I was tapping the speed shift paddles & generally looking around, a voice from the back seat asked Reese, the kid in the front seat, to ask their driver if it would be okay to crank up the volume. Not wanting to disappoint, I cranked up the volume. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
I hope this provides a different point of view than what the car professionals provide. I watch Motorweek & Car and Driver TV every week, and they never have any testers that look like me.
