General Auto Chat

RB? did you go Individual? I have tanzanite blue now which I'm not a huge fan of, but before that I had moonstone which was stellar so maybe I just miss it ... on the detailing, yeah, unfortunately I dont' have anywhere to wash a car anymore so it's up to the detailers or I just spray it off. Back in the day I did the full polish routine with an RO and was big menzerna guy. I did learn the trick to leather care though: do nothing, ever. Once I quit with that and just went to dusting I've had the best leather ever for about 10 years running ... although if it was available I'd switch to cloth in a second.

 

Current car is a Canadian special edition, so it has the Individual paint and Oyster leather, the 800w Dirac sound system (which sounds quite good for a factory system IMHO), performance exhaust, Stage 2 PPK, etc. It's an '11, but low mileage. I'm retired now so plan to keep it a few more years. Freshly waxed pic from a local club meet a couple years ago;

 

Nice! Love Oyster, my interior is opal white which I thought was going to be horrible, but I've been surprise - so far no different

 

I thought the oyster would be awful as well, but like you, I've been pleasantly surprised. A quick wipe with a damp cloth now and then does the trick. And does not hurt nearly as much getting in after sitting in the hot sun for hours like the black leather in my previous one, as I'm sure you can appreciate in sunny CA

 

At least BMW still offers them, but agreed they are getting very rare. I've driven manuals all my life, and I certainly enjoy heel and toeing as much as anyone, but I honestly think my next car is going to be an auto, preferably a dual clutch. The tech has gotten so good that even the best stick drivers just can't bang off shifts like that.

F1 cars stopped using manuals over 20 years ago LOL - I grudgingly admit it might be time for me to move on.

 

This is the original Ghibli:



I actually like its second coming best:



At the time the most powerful 2.0 l engine 306 hp, 330 hp for the cup version. Once saw a sky blue one with blue leather interior would not swap one of those for a new one.

 

I agree, but if you visit these days just hit I94 around rush hour, it's a free for all, and with no shoulder to speak of and blind exits and ons it's a nightmare.

 

I don't see the scat pack logo on the side of the car. I thought the ones that said 392 on the side were the SRTs.

 

2nd Ghibli

Top speed about 165 mph, so roughly 10 mph faster than modern Bmw, Audi what have you not, which are mostly limited. Of course you should give her time to warm up before going mad and you need to let her cool down a bit before shutdown those early turbos were a wee bit delicate. With better bearings and different pop off valves you can still increase power, once saw one claiming 450 hp. If you consider that its weight is around 1.4 t, not bad at all.

 

Hah, I bought a Sport as well. My must-haves were the Performance Pack and the tartan interior and that was the only way to get it in '17. Got a DSG just because I'm really interested in the technology. One of the only cars I've ever purchased that wasn't manual, but DSG is way cool in a different way. Don't even think about gearing when traffic is plodding along, but with the paddle shifters you can be right in the sweet spot at apex. Or when there's an opportunity to undertake the nitwit who is camped in the passing lane.

I found a really good price in Alexandria, but found the same price in Rockville so I bought it there, a shorter drive for me.

 

Nice!!! Almost same exact deal for me, Sport 6MT for the big brakes and Tartan. Smiles per dollar can't be beat. I was going back and forth between BRZ and GTI, but dealer incentives on the '17 GTI were outrageous. Just last week I threw some lighter wheels and sticky tires on mine. Still need some 3 or 4mm spacers out back to even things up. My 1st HPDE is Aug 11 down at Dominion. I guess I'll find out how much I suck at going fast...

 

Nice. Bronze wheels on white look good. I haven't liked any GTI stock wheels going back to the MkV. I replaced mine, also did summer tires. Emmanuele Design springs and rear sway bar.

 

Yeah - the Nogaros are/were barely tolerable. Austins are just so f'ing ugly... What tire/size? I was tempted to try and squeeze 255/35r18, but went with 245/40r18.

 

Stock - 225. It already takes a determined effort to get some rotation, can't imagine 255.

 

I think we like V8s here? I very well may be reposting this but I cannot remember so here we are.

 

Being in front of a car purchase decission, pictures like this one are a very enjoyable torture. Even though this V8 beauty is above my limit.