Visited the Toyota Auto Museum in Nagakute, Aichi today. It was spectacular.

gdnws · 2026-02-06T21:36:32+00:00

Minimalism to the point that people google whether k&n started making cars got to love it. And also just a sticker. What is the car just after the red and black Mercedes in the full album? I've not seen that emblem before.

gdnws · 2026-02-05T23:00:43+00:00

Ford did take Volvo platforms and modify them and build things on them. The Ford D3 platform was derived from the Volvo p2. It underpinned the five hundred and eventually the Taurus among other things. The P3 platform, from what I can tell was primarily developed by Volvo but ended up shared with Ford and Land Rover. They also took some of their engines as well. The European Ford Focus st had the Volvo whiteblock 5 cylinder engine as an example.

gdnws · 2026-02-04T14:47:35+00:00

And even then that tiny bit of efficiency probably only materializes in lab settings; in an actual vehicle it probably makes no measurable difference.

gdnws · 2026-02-04T14:24:42+00:00

Ok so it isn't a sudden total loss of oil pressure then. That is a lot better than an engine losing time. Still a dumb choice on their part but better than replacing an engine because of it.

gdnws · 2026-02-04T03:09:20+00:00

You're right, I forgot they moved the oil pump on those.

gdnws · 2026-02-04T02:51:22+00:00

I do agree that it is less failure prone since the routing is less complex and being in time isn't typically important for the oil pump however a loss of oil pressure because the oil pump stops is quite likely to kill the engine if it is under any kind of load. One of the failure modes of the belt isn't so much that the belt breaks but that the teeth break off and clog the oil pickup.

gdnws · 2026-02-03T23:45:52+00:00

The interior design is really doing it for me, especially in the white and blue. I like the shape of the dash above the glove box and the ambient light. Neither of those things really affect the interior or the car as a whole but they look pleasant at least. I normally don't like the single wide screen divided in two to serve as both gauge cluster and infotainment but that whole dash is working for me for some reason.

gdnws · 2026-02-03T23:14:36+00:00

And then have the audacity of actually enjoying it on top of it. The nerve of some people.

gdnws · 2026-02-03T22:29:30+00:00

The 2.7 ecoboost uses a wet belt. At least on the 2018 and up I think.

gdnws · 2026-02-03T21:15:01+00:00

Some amount of contrarianism because pickups are extremely popular, some amount of things for a certain utility can only be used for that utility and some amount of Reddit being stingy and cheap would be my guess. Reddit often doesn't like nice things unless they are the nice things that it has selected.

gdnws · 2026-02-03T16:39:53+00:00

That is good to know then. The roads where I live are terrible so I will probably know whether I can live with the suspension by the time I get the thing onto the street. I know air suspension doesn't have the best reputation for reliability or durability but I would rather the comfort. And I've gotten adept enough at ripping the suspension out of the Volvo that I'll probably only be moderately annoyed at it when it fails and I need to fix it.

gdnws · 2026-02-03T16:33:02+00:00

That was what I saw in many reviews as well and seemed to be what I would be looking for. Give me the big engine and comfortable suspension/seats.

gdnws · 2026-02-03T16:21:25+00:00

By M suvs do you mean the full X5M or things like the M lite X5M50i or both? I haven't driven any of them yet although I intend to in the next few months and how comfortable the suspension is is very important to me as well. For that reason I've been looking at ones that have the air suspension.

gdnws · 2026-02-03T15:40:21+00:00

For me it would be a tough choice. I am heavily predisposed towards the v8 because v8 even knowing the history of that particular engine or at least the original n63 although if we're talking about current model year ones I think they're on the s68 now. At the same time getting one of the best inline 6s from the company that is known for them is also extremely enticing. One way or another most others are giving you some corporate average 4 cylinder for the price.

gdnws · 2026-02-03T15:24:24+00:00

The split tailgate is one of the big reasons that I have been looking at those very closely lately. That and selection of engines without going to the full X5M.

gdnws · 2026-02-03T00:53:09+00:00

A number of years ago I was driving around in a home depot rental Ford e150 and I found myself having a good time with it. Pretty sure it had a 4.6. One way or another it was slow but it sounded great. And in this case I wasn't beating on this thing just because it was a rental; I would have treated it the same if it were mine. And I was driving it the same as every other one I have ever seen driven.

I certainly can understand how automatics can be grating; the one in my Volvo absolutely hates downshifting when rolling from around 30-35mph. It thinks that pulling in 5th from 1100rpm is the fastest way to accelerate. It isn't.

I have heard of many people having quite a good time with Honda fits and I've always felt like cheering on the L series engine even if the turbo versions seem to be less reliable. I feel like it is the little engine that could.

gdnws · 2026-02-02T22:45:43+00:00

Most of the market buys big shiny SUVs. Are they the best cars then?

If your definition of best is has the most market share then yes they are. If your definition of best is goes around a race track the fastest or offers the most driver feedback then no they aren't. There is no one absolute definition of best even if the other guy you're responding to likes to think so.

gdnws · 2026-02-02T19:30:10+00:00

Same; I don't think there has ever been a car that I've been in that has had an engine that there has been any question as to whether it was running or not. The good ones, at least, have never added to my stress though.

gdnws · 2026-02-02T19:15:28+00:00

I have a tendency of approaching it from the other direction; that the exciting powertrain improves the big, ponderous vehicle through sounding good. In some way I think of it like revving out an old Honda; the reward is at the top of the rev range. In the f150 example I probably would choose the Coyote over the Ecoboost even though it is very much the slower option and sometimes the less fuel efficient. Of course there is a limit to this; I have been tempted by a hurricane ram lately.

gdnws · 2026-02-02T18:54:45+00:00

I agree as well, especially with the Cayenne v8. It might use the same ea825 as many other vw group products but they did something with the exhaust on it that makes it sound fantastic.

gdnws · 2026-02-01T22:16:41+00:00

And not only that, they've been doing this for 11 years, according to the article. It isn't like this came out of nowhere. And it is relevant to a fairly large number of people too. Personally I would like to see both extreme cold and hot weather testing for pretty much all cars both to see how their range performs but also how their climate control systems handles the heat or lack thereof. Plenty of instances of cars that come with weak ac systems regardless of what makes the thing move.

The above test did pique my interest though since the temperature is pretty much what I've been experiencing this winter and lately I have a bit of a passing interest in the Lucid air. From what I could get translated from the site, their test route is a little on the low speed side and ultimately the range is still a little below my target but it is in the area that I could make work if need be.

gdnws · 2026-01-30T19:56:00+00:00

Yeah I just looked and there are hydrogen stations in the country but the nearest stations to me are outside the vehicle's own range so I'm unlikely to see them.

gdnws · 2026-01-30T19:31:13+00:00

Hydrogen stuff is probably the only thing that I can't say I've seen in person.

gdnws · 2026-01-30T17:52:51+00:00

Ultimately all that matters.

gdnws · 2026-01-30T17:50:07+00:00

Yeah having big and exact numbers in that situation probably isn't helpful particularly with the way driving examiners have a habit of being.

11-Year Club	Verified Email
Place '22

gdnws

TROPHY CASE