Recent Mainstream vehicles you didn't know existed

stanger_missle said:

Appleseed said:

There are (were) Suzuki pickup trucks. I know it's a re-badge, but I double take a look every time I see one.

Suzuki was such a strange brand in the US. Sure, most of them were rebadge jobs but they were funky. Like the 04-06 Verona that came with a Daewoo 2.5L inline 6.

Had a couple customers who had those.  I always nerd-sniped myself into trying to figure out who Suzuki bought the engine rights from, since a new inline-six in anything not BMW is quite unusual, especially for a transverse.

I liked the kitchiness, but hated working on them.  And I could never get myself to admit to a car being "MY" Verona.

(because I'd get the song stuck in my head)

Knurled. said:

stanger_missle said:

Appleseed said:

There are (were) Suzuki pickup trucks. I know it's a re-badge, but I double take a look every time I see one.

Suzuki was such a strange brand in the US. Sure, most of them were rebadge jobs but they were funky. Like the 04-06 Verona that came with a Daewoo 2.5L inline 6.

Had a couple customers who had those.  I always nerd-sniped myself into trying to figure out who Suzuki bought the engine rights from, since a new inline-six in anything not BMW is quite unusual, especially for a transverse.

 

I liked the kitchiness, but hated working on them.  And I could never get myself to admit to a car being "MY" Verona.

 

(because I'd get the song stuck in my head)

According to the old C&D review, PORSCHE helped co-develop the Verona's engine. I'm sure they've tried to sweep that one under the rug

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a15133434/suzuki-verona-ex-road-test/

mtn said:

Pete Gossett said:

DeadSkunk said:

Appleseed said:

There are (were) Suzuki pickup trucks. I know it's a re-badge, but I double take a look every time I see one.

Suzuki ? Or are you thinking of the rebadged Chevy sold as an Isuzu?

They were rebadged Dodge Dakotas. 

No, you’re thinking of the Mitsubishi. Used to be a ton of them around Normal. 

 

The Suzuki was a Nissan. 

At one time Isusu had their S-10. The Hombre.

I always kind of forget that the Y34-chassis Infiniti M45 existed. The one that was just a rebadged Nissan Gloria.

I've been looking at them as a replacement for my slowly dying Subaru Baja, but being available for only 2 years makes them a might bit hard to find. Even wrecked ones go for $6k!

Pretty much all of Infiniti is like that for me. I saw a Q60 and had to look it up- it's basically just a 370z when you loose the vape pen and actually want to impress someone wearing a skirt.

Actually... what IS the point of Infiniti anymore? I can't think of a reason I would buy an Infiniti product over it's cheaper Nissan cousin. Is it the weird, oblong clock?

In reply to NickD :

Lot in Nashville I was at recently had like 3 of them.

RevRico said:

My aunt just bought something called a Chevy Trax because the trans in her Tiburon ate itself. I've never even heard of such a thing. 

Similar thing happened to me.  I had never heard of the Trax until my parents bought one.

NickD said:

I always kind of forget that the Y34-chassis Infiniti M45 existed. The one that was just a rebadged Nissan Gloria.

LOVE these. For some reason they come up every so often in/around Cincinnati. This year I almost called on a few before realizing I have enough sedans.  One was 3k, clean title, decent miles, and whole. What?!

The one that shocked me was the Saturn Relay. Astra, Aura, Vue... sure. But a van?  Bodied in METAL? 

NickD said:According to the old C&D review, PORSCHE helped co-develop the Verona's engine. I'm sure they've tried to sweep that one under the rug

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a15133434/suzuki-verona-ex-road-test/

Porsche, historically, is primarily an engineering firm.  They also sell cars, to showcase their engineering talents.

Lotus is similar.

(Man, could you imagine if Ricardo sold cars?)

GIRTHQUAKE said:

Pretty much all of Infiniti is like that for me. I saw a Q60 and had to look it up- it's basically just a 370z when you loose the vape pen and actually want to impress someone wearing a skirt.

Actually... what IS the point of Infiniti anymore? I can't think of a reason I would buy an Infiniti product over it's cheaper Nissan cousin. Is it the weird, oblong clock?

If Nissan built a rwd Maxima, I’d be texting this from the drivers seat right now.

ebonyandivory said:

GIRTHQUAKE said:

Pretty much all of Infiniti is like that for me. I saw a Q60 and had to look it up- it's basically just a 370z when you loose the vape pen and actually want to impress someone wearing a skirt.

Actually... what IS the point of Infiniti anymore? I can't think of a reason I would buy an Infiniti product over it's cheaper Nissan cousin. Is it the weird, oblong clock?

If Nissan built a rwd Maxima, I’d be texting this from the drivers seat right now.

You just need to go back in time, then.

Trivia:  The "Maxima" name was created because there is/was a regulation in Japan that taxed vehicles based on width.  Which is why all Japanese cars have traditionally been so narrow.  The Maxima was a special, made-for-export (USA) car that was wider than the Japanese limitation.  So they gave it a special name.

Anyway, early Maximas were rear wheel drive and had L-series inline sixes, which are what RB engines are based on.  Make your own L/R Asian joke here.  IIRC there was even a Diesel engine in the Maxima with a super long stroke that, combined with a L28 gas engine block, allows you to construct a 3.1l L-series six.

In reply to ebonyandivory :

Isnt that the Infiniti M series?

Edit: its back to Q series.

What about the Kizashi. I always heard they were great cars, I think I've seen one my whole life, guy worked at a gas station and said he hated it because it was stupid expensive to fix and find parts for, but that it drove really nice.

I always thought they looked cool.

I can never remember what a Buick Terraza is until I see it.

Opti said:

What about the Kizashi. I always heard they were great cars, I think I've seen one my whole life, guy worked at a gas station and said he hated it because it was stupid expensive to fix and find parts for, but that it drove really nice.

I've seen not one but TWO of those in my life.

One, fleetingly in traffic, which I'd initially idenified as a "3/4 scale GTO/G8 looking thing".

Two, while stuck behind one, two cars behind the most annoyingly slow driver in the world, while stuck on a detour around a down bridge in SW Ohio.  The driver looked even more annoyed than I was at the guy up front who was picking down a wonderful 55mph country lane at 20mph and nearly stopping at every bend in the road.  When the guy up front turned off, the guy in the Kizashi floored it, punctutated by a GIANT cloud of smoke.  Looks like someone just blew a turbo

I rented a Buick Regal yesterday. Yes, it’s a thing! 

In reply to Knurled. :

I'm pretty sure the Kizashis were all NA.  But I've seen a lot of newer cars that are surprisingly smoky at WOT, especially if they've been driven gently for a while. 

In reply to rslifkin :

This was a giant, vision-obscuring cloud of smoke, like a BMW six that has gone into sump-sucking mode because the oil catch tank froze up.  But it coincided with him going WOT, because I clearly saw the tail squat just as the obstruction turned off.  I was thinking "OMG YEAH!!!" when I saw his bumper drop.  But then I felt really bad for him when it went all James Bond smokescreen.

You can still buy a 2019 Fiat 500L.  Seems that 39 people did last month.  Actually may have not been 39 people but maybe one or two rental car compnaies.  The only ones I've ever seen on the road were rental cars.  

http://fcauthority.com/fiat-chrysler-automobiles/fiat-chrysler-automobiles-sales-numbers/fiat-sales-numbers/fiat-500l-sales-numbers/

This article from 2016 says that on average cars depreciate 21% in the first year but the Fiat 500L depreciates 34.6% in the first year, the most of any US sold car.    

Lincoln MKS 34.5%

Volvo S60 34.4% 

A 2016 article about a car first launched in 2014 but still being sold as a 2019 model.

Chevy Captiva.

What about that new big Honda car?  I think they were hydrogen powered or something and now you can get them a bit more conventional.

Can't even remember the name!

There is a dealership near me with about 6 of them on the lot.  Kinda weird looking...

Googled it.  Honda clarity!

First time I saw a Kia Borrego I thought it might be some weird JDM import.

There was a SAAB 94X in the town where I work. I would always do a double take when I saw the rear hatch.

Nissan Fígaro.  A local dealer specializing in JDM has 300 of them.  Yes.  Three hundred.  

Edit: id never heard of one until we visited his showroom/museum on a lark.  They were like insects.  Just coming out of the woodwork 

I just saw a Lincoln Mk something or another sedan yesterday that I hadn't seen before. The taillight bar going all the way across makes me think it's a current one, but you never know with Lincoln. Could be a decade old and they sold so few that I just never see them. Or could be a year old and they sell so few that I never see them. 

I'm surprised that Lincoln still makes the MKT