Topic: my car is completely obsolete

[rrocket]

I think IQ (Ron's partner) has an A5 Quattro V6 manual .

Huh, neat. I didn't know theirs was a 3.2 - thought it was a 2.0 6MT.

I don't think the B8 A4 (2008-2009+) got the V6, but I may be wrong. Q5s got the 3.2 V6 though.

Yep...3.2L, manual, AWD.

Her TT was also V6, manual AWD. But different engine.

And of course her IS is I6+ manual.

[JG20]

Not an NA 6cyl but the entire drivetrain in my car is basically from the 90s, lol. Throw in quick ratio hydraulic steering (what other current car still has hydraulic steering) and the car feels very analog.  Bought it new in 2016 but it also didn't cost me an arm and a leg.

[rrocket]

Not an NA 6cyl but the entire drivetrain in my car is basically from the 90s, lol. Throw in quick ratio hydraulic steering (what other current car still has hydraulic steering) and the car feels very analog.  Bought it new in 2016 but it also didn't cost me an arm and a leg.

That was my thing with the 987/997s Porsches. Very analog.

The later Porsches, while better overall in most every regard, feel much less analog.

[Jaeger]

Maxima and Altima both offered V6 plus manual.  Owned both.

[Gurgie]

Maxima and Altima both offered V6 plus manual.  Owned both.

Wrong wheels driven though in both cases... just saying


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[Dante]

Going forward I really have no interest in any of the new glass cockpit cars, electronic uber nannies and blender engines so It looks like I will be shopping used.

Looking at the market today, the only car I can think of buying in 10 years from now with a NA V6 and AWD (I'm a sucker for the goodness of AWD for a year-round car), is the IS300/350. It's a given a manual is no longer possible with that combo....

[JohnnyMac]

Not an NA 6cyl but the entire drivetrain in my car is basically from the 90s, lol. Throw in quick ratio hydraulic steering (what other current car still has hydraulic steering) and the car feels very analog.  Bought it new in 2016 but it also didn't cost me an arm and a leg.

The only car that I can think of that can be bought with hydraulic steering is from Lotus, the new Emira gets it and one of the reasons why I think it’s so special.  That Alfa mini supercar that was sold up until a few years ago didn’t have any steering assist I think.

[OliverD]

This thread got me thinking again about one thing....

Which "regular" cars (not high performance cars or versions of the car) sold in North America after 2000 had this exact combo: NA 6-cyl+Manual+AWD?

The only ones I can think of are BMWs and Audi A4 (2000-2005). Are there any other ones out there? I guess Subaru might've had the Legacy or Outback at some point but were they manual with H6?

That ideal car for me was the short lived Chevrolet SS, although it had GM's 6.2 liter V8, not a 6 cylinder. 4 door sedan, manual transmission option, naturally aspirated V8, rwd, it had it all and it was not a premium/luxury ride. But GM in it's wisdom only sold that car in North America long enough to satisfy it's production obligation to the Australian Government for GM's Holden operations in Australia. The SS was a thinly disguised export version of GM Australia's domestic Holden Commodore. And as soon as GM's Australian operations were wound up, the SS ceased to exist in North America.

Oh yeah, I remember those.... I really liked and still do to some extent the predecessor - Pontiac G8... It looked rather refreshing at the time as it didn't look much like a regular GM....

Owned a G8 GT (the non GTs were the V6 hair dresser version). Great proportions, good handling. Build quality was horrible. A nightmare if things broke because everything other than the drivetrain sourced from Australia. The G*s were hobbled by the horrible DOD (displacement on demand and a slow shifting 6 speed automatic. Some wizardry fixed the displacement issue but the only way to get around the auto was to go import a GXP from the US.

Was it you who had the sunroof explode?

Funny you mention exploding sunroofs. We were at a dinner party last night and the host told a story about the sunroof in her 535i wagon exploding while she was driving on a highway while carrying valuable artwork in the car.

[Dante]

This thread got me thinking again about one thing....

Which "regular" cars (not high performance cars or versions of the car) sold in North America after 2000 had this exact combo: NA 6-cyl+Manual+AWD?

The only ones I can think of are BMWs and Audi A4 (2000-2005). Are there any other ones out there? I guess Subaru might've had the Legacy or Outback at some point but were they manual with H6?

That ideal car for me was the short lived Chevrolet SS, although it had GM's 6.2 liter V8, not a 6 cylinder. 4 door sedan, manual transmission option, naturally aspirated V8, rwd, it had it all and it was not a premium/luxury ride. But GM in it's wisdom only sold that car in North America long enough to satisfy it's production obligation to the Australian Government for GM's Holden operations in Australia. The SS was a thinly disguised export version of GM Australia's domestic Holden Commodore. And as soon as GM's Australian operations were wound up, the SS ceased to exist in North America.

The 2006-2007ish A4 (early B7) had the 3.2 V6 + 6MT combo, with Quattro. That was a neat car.

Interesting... I thought the 2006-2009 A4s with 3.2L were automatic only. Never came across this combo in my searches....

EDIT: But you are right... they did exist but must be very rare... Even the Avant had this combo....

[OliverD]

You know what 6 cylinder, manual, AWD sedan I would love to have… Last generation Audi S4.  Sure it’s not naturally aspirated but supercharged engines are just as rare and offer similar experience.  A guy I work with has one and he did an APR stage 2 tune, software and hardware on it and it makes a lot of power and has been quite reliable for him.  I talk to him all the time about what he will buy next, he only wants AWD and manual set up and refuses to get something with less performance.  So his only real option is a 911 4S, but he is in no hurry as used prices for Porsche are crazy right now.

Yep, always liked these although I don't think they handle as well as a 3-series. But a few years back I was always looking for used ones. Manuals are relatively common in them too.

[Hannibalsmith]

On the flipside modern cars are:

- Safer
- More reliable
- Less polluting
- Easier to use

Would be nice for manufacturers to offer basic cars with safety and efficiency but without all the gizmos and features. Base Maverick comes to mind.

Yeah, the Maverick is a great product. I think Ford really nailed it with that one. Much of its appeal lies in its simplicity.

Bronco, again from Ford, is another good example. New, from scratch, frame on SUV, with new tech. More of this please.

Also, we have sone survivor bias maybe as lots of older cars are POSs and have disintegrated from existence.

[Jaeger]

Maxima and Altima both offered V6 plus manual.  Owned both.

Wrong wheels driven though in both cases... just saying


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No argument here - but I thought we were talking n/a V6 plus manual.  But I could be mistaken - lots of different configurations being tossed about. 

[TheHire]

You know what 6 cylinder, manual, AWD sedan I would love to have… Last generation Audi S4.  Sure it’s not naturally aspirated but supercharged engines are just as rare and offer similar experience.  A guy I work with has one and he did an APR stage 2 tune, software and hardware on it and it makes a lot of power and has been quite reliable for him.  I talk to him all the time about what he will buy next, he only wants AWD and manual set up and refuses to get something with less performance.  So his only real option is a 911 4S, but he is in no hurry as used prices for Porsche are crazy right now.

Yep, always liked these although I don't think they handle as well as a 3-series. But a few years back I was always looking for used ones. Manuals are relatively common in them too.

Yup, the S4 is one of my favourite daily drivers ever made. It's a shame they're now so old that I wouldn't realistically ever own one.

The whole "handles worse than a 3-series" is kind of nonsense in the day-to-day thing. I live somewhere where every corner is 90 degrees with a traffic light. Handling between a city bus and a Mini Cooper S might be different, but most would be hard-pressed to differentiate an E90 335i xDrive and a B8.5 S4, other than power delivery.

[OliverD]

You know what 6 cylinder, manual, AWD sedan I would love to have… Last generation Audi S4.  Sure it’s not naturally aspirated but supercharged engines are just as rare and offer similar experience.  A guy I work with has one and he did an APR stage 2 tune, software and hardware on it and it makes a lot of power and has been quite reliable for him.  I talk to him all the time about what he will buy next, he only wants AWD and manual set up and refuses to get something with less performance.  So his only real option is a 911 4S, but he is in no hurry as used prices for Porsche are crazy right now.

Yep, always liked these although I don't think they handle as well as a 3-series. But a few years back I was always looking for used ones. Manuals are relatively common in them too.

Yup, the S4 is one of my favourite daily drivers ever made. It's a shame they're now so old that I wouldn't realistically ever own one.

The whole "handles worse than a 3-series" is kind of nonsense in the day-to-day thing. I live somewhere where every corner is 90 degrees with a traffic light. Handling between a city bus and a Mini Cooper S might be different, but most would be hard-pressed to differentiate an E90 335i xDrive and a B8.5 S4, other than power delivery.

Fair enough.

[PJungnitsch]

On the flipside modern cars are:

- Safer
- More reliable
- Less polluting
- Easier to use

Would be nice for manufacturers to offer basic cars with safety and efficiency but without all the gizmos and features. Base Maverick comes to mind.

If the Maverick hybrid was AWD I'd be at the dealer right now.

It is a shame there is no adaptive cruise on the base model. I can do without leather seats, sunroof, etc, but adaptive would be great to have

[Great_Big_Abyss]

On the flipside modern cars are:

- Safer
- More reliable
- Less polluting
- Easier to use

Would be nice for manufacturers to offer basic cars with safety and efficiency but without all the gizmos and features. Base Maverick comes to mind.

If the Maverick hybrid was AWD I'd be at the dealer right now.

It is a shame there is no adaptive cruise on the base model. I can do without leather seats, sunroof, etc, but adaptive would be great to have

See... I had adaptive cruise on the Tundra, and while it was a cool novelty at first, I found out that the longer I had the truck, the less I used it.  What I DO appreciate are sunroofs and heated seats....

[tortoise]

How much driving did you do on busy 4 lane roads though? I assume that's where it really shines.

[Layne]

On the flipside modern cars are:

- Safer
- More reliable
- Less polluting
- Easier to use

Would be nice for manufacturers to offer basic cars with safety and efficiency but without all the gizmos and features. Base Maverick comes to mind.

If the Maverick hybrid was AWD I'd be at the dealer right now.

It is a shame there is no adaptive cruise on the base model. I can do without leather seats, sunroof, etc, but adaptive would be great to have

See... I had adaptive cruise on the Tundra, and while it was a cool novelty at first, I found out that the longer I had the truck, the less I used it.  What I DO appreciate are sunroofs and heated seats....

We have it on our RDX and I do a lot of highway driving.  Love the adaptive cruise.

[PJungnitsch]

Edmonton traffic tends to be pretty brutal at rush hour. All speed adaptive cruise is apparently wonderful bumping along in gridlock

The adaptive cruise on the RX is fantastic on the highway, so I can see how a more modern system would be great in town

[quadzilla]

I use the radar cruise in the city, 2 lane highways, and 400 series highways and love it in all applications. I also like how I can just dial in the speed to the exact number I want vs guessing on a crowded speedometer.

Now lane keep I only use on 400 series highways as I find it too ping-pong on 2 lane hwys.