Middle Class Motoring

2 Aug 2010

Nissan's "We can do that too!" Attitude

These make it into my team's weekly rental fleet pretty frequently. In the past 2 months, I've had the Altima Hybrid from Hertz 3 times. Last week, my colleague got the 2.5 S.

It's worth noting that the material & build quality of the Altima better than most of the models that frequent our lot. These include the new Sonata, Accord, Camry, and Malibu. Impressive, but that's another story.

What amuses me more is Nissan's willingness to throw features typically found in way more expensive vehicles into their entry level Altimas. Take the keyless ignition for example. When this came out in the BMW 5-series, it was the coolest thing. So cool, in fact, that BMW felt the need to charge an obscene amount of money for the privilege. You know what I'm talking about? Touch the door handle, and the car unlocks... push the button and the car starts... that thing. Well, it's in the Altima.

Granted, it's not quite as cool. You can't just touch the door handle, for instance. There's a button you have to push on the handle. It actually works better this way, though. BMW's door handle didn't always register your touch. Also, the touch & open feature seems missing from the trunk. You can reach under the Altima's ass all you want but it won't open for you unless you insert your key...

anyways ...

Other such features include the CVT transmission and the dual-zone climate control. Nowadays, the CVT is becoming more popular (read: Subaru Outback), but Nissan has had it as the standard tranny in several vehicles for several years. The dual-zone climate control seems out of place in the <$25k market.

I'm not sure how I feel about all this. On one hand, it's great to have these features. On the other hand, Nissan seems to suck the coolness right out of them. When Audi had the CVT in the A4, it was more of a "woah.... that's interesting.." After driving around the Altima for 3 weeks, it's more of a "your car has to shift? lame." Same goes for the keyless start system. I find myself getting into my Prelude and searching for the start engine button.

29 Jul 2010

I know we harp on about Americans not actually needing SUVs, but this is ridiculous

Posted by: John Shen

Look, not everyone needs a Ford Explorer, or a GMC Yukon, or even an Acura MDX to drive themselves to work every day. I mean, if you're not moving furniture all the time, even a small car like my Golf GTI coupe can fit two bikes in the back seat, or a couple of snowboards and gear (I've done both those with ease). It's pretty clear that most people in the US buy for their maximum possible size need, oblivious to the fact that if they just rented a van for $20 the one day they do need to move a couch a year, this'll save them much more money the other 364 days of the year.

That said, there is a point where the opposite is true. Take this fine gentlemen's car (stereotyping on gender here, but you know I'm probably right). Yes, not everyone needs an SUV. Yes, most people with SUVs don't use them at all...

But when you've actually got gear to carry on what seems like a regular basis (enough to prompt installing roof racks for the ladder on the integra).... Dude, just buy a freaking SUV or wagon, or rent one.

28 Jul 2010

Sicheng's Roadtrip, Final Leg!!: Indianapolis, IN to White Plains, NY

Posted by: Sicheng Su

Whew. It's been a good trip. Today: The GPS redeems itself by scoring one against Google Maps! And Sicheng gets passed by a semi.

Click here to download:

Sichengs_Roadtrip_Final_Leg_In.zip (3539 KB)

27 Jul 2010

I don't want an M5 anymore

Posted by: Harvey Xiao

That's the picture I had on my bathroom wall. My dad decided that the space in my bedroom should be occupied by a picture of a big tiger in the forest instead of by a picture of a car's dashboard. That's another story.

This arrangement actually worked well for me. Every time I brushed my teeth, or nature called, I would get to stare at the dashboard of the last gen M5. I got to know it very well, and I loved it. It had all the creature comforts of a modern luxury car - high quality materials, leather seats, navigation system, climate control etc. Yet, there was nothing to distract the driver from the driving experience. I loved the thick 3-spoke wheel, the 6-speed shifter, and the beautiful BMW gauges. I used to sit on my throne and daydream about having an M5 as my daily driver. Even picked out a color...

Anyway.

The M5 changed. BMW must have been inspired by Subaru or something - the new M5 could be called the M5 STI. Away went the manual gearbox, and in came the sequential shifter with launch control, a thousand settings, and 7 gears. iDrive came along too. It all makes sense, I guess. The time and concentration you save by not having to shift your own gears can be used toward learning to get tune to your favorite radio station while configuring your phone book and setting the climate control to 71 degrees with an enormous button that turns, twists, and clicks. Good luck with that, by the way.

I don't want an M5 anymore.

These days, I'd really rather own a 535i. But I hear the steering on the new ones suck. I guess my new dream car is the Mercedes-Benz E350. Somehow, that's just depressing.

23 Jul 2010

GMC Acadia - I'm completely shocked

Posted by: Harvey Xiao

It’s rare that a car commercial fails to do the car justice. Think about this - car manufacturers spend hundreds of thousands of dollars making their vehicles look desirable to consumers on TV and print.

Somehow, this approach doesn’t work well for the Acadia. In photo shoots, the interior looks too flashy and cheap, and its exterior dimensions seem bulky and awkward.

Well, one showed up with my colleague this week (thanks, Hertz) and was immediately crowned “Team Vehicle.” The car scooted the 6 of us around all week in comfort and luxury. Yes, I said luxury. The thing has soft leather seats, a silky smooth drive train, and a capable, quick-shifting transmission. The fit & finish is best in class, and stellar for the brand.

My colleague calls it “Men’s Minivan,” and I tend to agree. The big difference is that this one of the only such vehicles than can really be used like a minivan. Before this came along, Men’s minivans came in the form of Ford Explorers, Dodge Durangos and the like. These were spectacularly inefficient vehicles that lacked 3rd row seats. The Acadia actually seats 6 comfortably (7 if you squeeze) and achieved over 20 mpg in our week of mostly city driving.

So the big question: Would I buy one? Well, if my choices were it or a Tahoe, then yes - absolutely. But when you consider other brands, it’s where the other shock comes in: price. The loaded Acadia we had this week stickers at >$46k! Sorry, GM, that’s infringing on MDX territory. I don’t like it THAT much.

22 Jul 2010

Sicheng's Roadtrip, Leg #4: Kansas City to Indianapolis

Posted by: Sicheng Su

I've driven over 2000 miles already. Today I make a break for Indianapolis, sadly leaving behind my friends in Kansas City. I'm so glad the time zone change happens today and not tomorrow.

Sidenote: I decided to shoot with a lower resolution so the videos would upload and stream faster. Figured y'all needed that more than a high resolution image of my pretty face... hope I was right. (If I wasn't and you really do care that much about my pretty face, leave a comment and let me know. I probably won't do anything about it, but it'll make me feel good.)

One more leg to go!

22 Jul 2010

Thank god for the 27 reflectors taped on Police cars...

Posted by: Harvey Xiao

Thank god police cars have tons of reflectors glued all around them..

Take this purely hypothetical scenario. You have a small Japanese coupe - say a ‘98 Honda Prelude. You drive through central Maine to get to your client for work. It’s 10PM, and the roads are completely empty.

Now, you know the speed limit is 65, but you’re in central Maine at 10 PM where the only company you have on the freeway is a stray moose here and there. You go a little bit faster.

But 70 looks a lot like 90 on the speedometer. Say you breach the apex of a hill going “70.” An asshole of a cop is sitting there in the darkness - lights off and all. The only reason you see him is because your headlights reflect off all 27 reflectors taped on to the side of his cruiser, revealing the faint outline of a Crown Victoria.

Instinctively, Crown Victoria = slam on the brakes.

19 Jul 2010

Leg #3 of my Cross-Country trip

Posted by: Sicheng Su

Had a friend with me so I thought it'd be weird to record a video. Here's photos instead.

We left Colorado Springs, CO SUPER early in the morning (6am - check out the first photo!). By 10am we were both amazed that we'd driven halfway to Kansas City and it was only 10am. Setting off early is great for roadtrips if you can afford it sleep-wise.

As we entered Kansas, we ran into the weirdest weather I've seen these past two weeks: really intense fog. Or clouds. I guess there isn't much a different between the two. See Photo no.s 2 & 3. I almost wanted to slow down to 60mph, but then I realized that I wasn't gaining much visibility by slowing down so I went back up to 70.

We drove through Kansas for something like 7 or 8 hours. Then we drove to the Kansas City International Airport to pick a friend up... wonderful dear Google Maps decided to give us directions to a KCI Airport SERVICE ROAD instead. It was funny. The last photo was taken on our way out from the service road... narrow country road, corn farm on one side (not sure if you can see the corn farm), no road signs at all. Thank God for road signs.

All-in-all, it was quite an interesting drive, largely because of the company, but also thanks to the greenery. Stopping at a rest stop in the middle of Kansas reminded me of home (Singapore) - warm, green, humid and cloudy.

Also, the friend we picked up at the airport is dating the guy who owns the Accord I was driving. Needless to say she was a little weirded out that she'd just flown to Kansas City, far far away from California, and was again sitting in her boyfriend's car. Something about that made me happy. lol. :)

Click here to download:

Leg_3_of_my_Cross-Country_trip.zip (6061 KB)

15 Jul 2010

Welcome to our new home!

Posted by: John Shen

hm, hello!

*knock knock*

Well, it seems pretty empty here. We just moved in, the rental truck's still outside and we're still trying to figure out how that little hand dolly thing works

We still don't know where we're going to put the couch...

..In anycase, this is a much nicer, roomier house than we've been in before, and while it may take us a while to get settled in, I think it'll be better from here on out.

Sicheng's been posting lots of fun videos of his trip (he just made it to the other side of the country, btw). So I hope you guys like these!

14 Jul 2010

Sicheng's roadtrip, Day 2 part 6

Posted by: Sicheng Su

For real this time. The previous part 6 was a dead link

Nissan's "We can do that too!" Attitude

I know we harp on about Americans not actually needing SUVs, but this is ridiculous

Sicheng's Roadtrip, Final Leg!!: Indianapolis, IN to White Plains, NY

I don't want an M5 anymore

GMC Acadia - I'm completely shocked

Sicheng's Roadtrip, Leg #4: Kansas City to Indianapolis

Thank god for the 27 reflectors taped on Police cars...

Leg #3 of my Cross-Country trip

Welcome to our new home!

Sicheng's roadtrip, Day 2 part 6

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