My new car

FINALLY!!! After making the deal for my new car in December, it finally arrived at the dealer, and I picked it up tonight.

A 2006 Toyota Avalon Limited

Okay, before y'all yawn, this car is pretty amazing. Has more bells and whistles, plus is faster than a Mercedes S430, but is less than half the price. 0-60? Just under 6.5 seconds, which means it's a tick faster than a Ferrari 308GTSi. Oh yeah, 22 city and 31 highway MPG, too.

Very comfy, and loaded to the gills. (Even added things I didn't order /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif like the VIP $393 preferred add-on package of mats and emergency kit etc... and the $500 remote start kit.)

I got it at $200 over invoice, so I made out like a bandit. Being a local journalist has its benefits. Large salary isn't one of them, so luckily I can get an extra grand off a car when I need to.

And this is only my fourth new car ever. Still have the Olds Intrigue and the 2002 Corvette, which replaced the '99 Corvette I bought new but lost in the flood. I plan to keep this car 10 years.

Nice and quiet. Comfy. If I want a rush, I'll drive one of my Triumphs, the Corvette or Miata. When I just want to get somewhere without drama -- this is perfect!

Even better -- it came in right in time for my weekend trip down to the Washington Coast. We'll knock 200 miles off the break-in period quickly.

By the way -- I checked-out the new 2007 Camry and the all-new Yaris. Both are really class leaders at their respective price points. Camry looks like it could be a BMW from the rear -- it has a Bangle butt.

Congrats on your new car... I've attempted 2 times, and succeded once on a new car purchase.... I'll not do it again from Ford (or any of their subsudiaries). I'd go Japanese or maybe British (What's that leave? TVR or Lotus?)next time.

Considering today's list of cars, and my budget.... Not gonna happen anytime soon. I'd rather buy a 10,000 mile used car that has lost most of it's initial depreciation by then... Or better yet... $1500-2500 on a classic sportscar, that I'll spend another $5000 on over the next couple years... Making it mine - running good, no payments, looks good, and I might make a $k or so on it (if'n I sell now - but I'll hang onto 'em) - too much fun to own and drive!

the new 2007 Camry and the all-new Yaris. Both are really class leaders at their respective price points. Camry looks like it could be a BMW from the rear -- it has a Bangle butt.

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That's too bad.It seems like everybody's copying everbody else nowdays.

- Doug

Kenny,
Neither TVR nor Lotus are British. TVR was purchased last year by a Russian company, and Lotus has been under Malasian ownership for many years.

The only British car left is Morgan, which is still family owned.

Interestingly, the initial depreciation on the Toyotas is very minimal. The old "buy a two year old car" rule doesn't really provide a substantial amount of benefit with Toyota, Honda, Lexus and BMW right now.

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Neither TVR nor Lotus are British.

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I beg to differ. So long as the engineering and production are based in Britain they should be considered British. Is Opel American? No one I know thinks so....

And you're forgetting Bristol as another British manufacturer, though I suspect they produce even fewer cars than Morgan.

Congrats Sammy! The new Avalon is indeed an impressive ride. Did you get the ventilated seats? those are sooooo cool (or warm depending on how you set 'em)
If you have any questions that the dealer won't answer, give me a call. I'll find out for ya.
Enjoy.
One thing I thought was funny was that when they rolled that car out, they touted how it had a NEW cartrage type oil filter to reduce waste.....
hmmmm where have I seen one of those before?.....

"The more things change..."

My sister has an Avalon and loves it!

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the new 2007 Camry and the all-new Yaris. Both are really class leaders at their respective price points. Camry looks like it could be a BMW from the rear -- it has a Bangle butt.


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That's too bad.It seems like everybody's copying everbody else nowdays.



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Yeah, they're even copying the bad designs. Chris Bangle has single handedly ruined BMW IMO.

Congrats on the car Sam, sounds like a nice ride, good luck with her. For domestic duties it's hard to go wrong with a Toyota sedan.

Yup, the car has ventilated seats. One of the totally irrational things I said going into looking for a new car was "I want butt warmers and coolers." My wife just said "okay."

In terms of bells and whistles: Stability control/traction control, Navigation system, curtain airbags front and rear, heated/ventilated seats, power rear sunshade, 6-disc in dash changer, sunroof, HID headlights, automatic wipers, dynamic laser cruise control, remote start/keyless entry, dual zone climate control, memory seat/preferences. Probably some other things too.

Right off the back, I'm getting 22mpg, and the car still only has 50miles on it.

The only bad thing -- my back is killing me after the first day of driving. I need to adjust to get a more comfy position. I think I had problems with my last cars too until I built the proper muscles to hold myself in a new position. The lumbar support is a tad too big (it bolsters most of the rear of the seat. I'd love some nice Honda buckets, but the Buick-style Toyota seats will have to do.

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...dynamic laser cruise control...

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what the..... is this some sort of device that automatically adjusts your cruising speed based on traffic in front of you or something?

OOOOooooorrrr... is that more along the lines of "man eating sharks with lasers mounted to their heads"?

a frikin laser - mwahahahaha

Nunyas, you nailed it.(not the shark thing) They also have it on Sienna vans.
It's pretty neat. I'll probably change my mind once they start going bad

reminds me of the horror stories of people setting their cruise control in an RV, then going to the back to make a samich. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif

The laser cruise control will slow -or stop- your car based on what's in front of you. I just figured out today that you can adjust between following about 5 car lengths, 4 or 3 car lengths. The system will error out in rain, so luckily you can also go to normal old-school cruise control mode, which I probably will use most of the time.

Just me... But I don't think I'd ever get to use it... I'm usually Wayyyy more than 5 car lengths behind anyone while driving on the interstate highways. Plus I'm only 33 years old, but I don't trust alot of the electronic control gizmos in cars. In 20-30 years would you use a system that keeps you within 3 car-lengths of the guy in front of you while going 70 mph? What happens if the 2 guys 5 cars ahead run into each other and suddenly come to a stop? You just died - that's what. I don't know of any laser that can see the 5-10 cars infront of the one your following, but I know I usually can - Eyes are a good thing.

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... but I know I usually can - Eyes are a good thing.

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Once I've put my glasses on.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jester.gif


But then, how many of these idiots that'd completely rely on this bother looking ahead much anyway???? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

It's actually a pretty cool system. In one of the major car mags last month they did a test with Benz's new adaptive cruise system where they sat for over an hour in LA rush hour traffic crawling along at 5-10 mph using the system and never once touched the gas or the brake. Thats not really what the system was designed or intended for but they did it just to show it's capabilities. I agree though, there's no replacement for a central nervous system.

I for one don't have any desire for an ELECTRONIC back seat driver... I harm the LIVE ones! I'd hate to hear from the service manager that the obvious damage would not be covered under the warranty. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif