[vineethvazhayil]

Originally Posted by Jomz

With a new 2017 Mustang GT less than 30K, I'm not sure that is a great deal.

http://www.koonsbaltimoreford.com/ne...a0227fe8af.htm

& the dealership refunds you the flight tickets - for taking delivery.


Let the price wars Begin!!!!

Ha.. yeah competition is good. I believe Mustang sales were lower than the Camaro's for the first time in 2 years for September 2014. Ford decided to shut the plant for a week to not add to inventory. Camaro's sales obviously were high because of the super high incentives.

[Technocrat]

Originally Posted by vineethvazhayil

Ha.. yeah competition is good. I believe Mustang sales were lower than the Camaro's for the first time in 2 years for September 2014. Ford decided to shut the plant for a week to not add to inventory. Camaro's sales obviously were high because of the super high incentives.

Mustang sales have largely been better than Camaro, September 2016(I hope you meant 2016 & not 2014), seems to be an exception but yes competition is always good for the buyers

[vineethvazhayil]

Originally Posted by Technocrat

Mustang sales have largely been better than Camaro, September 2016(I hope you meant 2016 & not 2014), seems to be an exception but yes competition is always good for the buyers

Ha.. I meant Sep 2016 and the last time this happened was in 2014 sometime. Thanks for the typo correct. Also lots of talk about auto industry plateauing or staring a smallish downward spiral.

[Jomz]

Originally Posted by vineethvazhayil

Ford decided to shut the plant for a week to not add to inventory. Camaro's sales obviously were high because of the super high incentives.

& they chose not to talk about retooling for the 2018 Mustang - because it would drop the sales further.

[VPSuchin]

Ford Performance Releases Power Pack for EcoBoost Mustang, Ups Output to 335 Horsepower for just $699
"Just as the Mustang GT’s power packs include hardware in addition to an engine computer software change, the EcoBoost’s power upgrade comes from a computer reflash and a cold-air intake. The combination unlocks an extra 70 lb-ft of torque and 25 horsepower from the EcoBoost four, bringing the turbo Mustang’s total output to 335 horsepower and 390 lb-ft of torque.

The bump should add some much-needed pep to the turbo Stang’s step while, perhaps not coincidentally, bringing the EcoBoost’s horsepower peak to parity with the Chevrolet Camaro’s optional V-6. Why does this matter? Because Ford positions the EcoBoost Mustang engine as an optional step-up between the base V-6 and the GT’s 5.0-liter V-8, whereas Chevrolet’s far weaker turbo four stands as the Camaro’s base engine while its sweet V-6 is an upgrade option. This pits the stock 310-hp EcoBoost Mustang against the 335-hp V-6 Camaro—a losing position for the Mustang, as we found in a recent comparison test, despite the EcoBoost’s edge in torque..."

Source: http://blog.caranddriver.com/ford-pe...35-horsepower/

[Technocrat]

Originally Posted by vineethvazhayil

Ha.. I meant Sep 2016 and the last time this happened was in 2014 sometime. Thanks for the typo correct. Also lots of talk about auto industry plateauing or staring a smallish downward spiral.

Well just to give some perspective to the numbers (since i follow this gen of Mustangs closely), 2014 September had low sales as the 6th gen was getting introduced, so they were waiting for old inventory to clear & make way for the new gen.

The current Gen is in 3rd year of its production & is expected to get a refresh next year so sales are expected to Plateau. Also thanks to poor sales performance of Camaro GM is now offering generous discounts which has worked in Camaro's favor.

Not sure about the downward spiral as I don't see that happening unless fuel prices shoot up again or the economy goes for a toss.

EDIT - There is indeed a talk of car sales going down thanks to lower gas prices which is resulting in increased sales of SUVs & Pick Up Trucks. But that's not same as industry looking at a slowdown its just a shift in buying pattern.

[Jomz]

Was looking for some interesting links about Detroit for a person who might move here and I stumbled upon this gem.

http://detroit.curbed.com/2016/3/3/1...ory-automobile

http://www.fordpiquetteavenueplant.org/

Apparently the factory is still kept like how it is in the 1930's. I should go and chcek it out.

[Cesc]

Unrelated to cars but on Detroit - apparently the city has changed significantly for the worse during the past decade. Yesterday the headline on CNN Money was '68% of Detroit residents have debt in collections'. That was a shocking statistic for me. The full country average itself is over 30% though.

[vineethvazhayil]

Originally Posted by Technocrat

Not sure about the downward spiral as I don't see that happening unless fuel prices shoot up again or the economy goes for a toss.

EDIT - There is indeed a talk of car sales going down thanks to lower gas prices which is resulting in increased sales of SUVs & Pick Up Trucks. But that's not same as industry looking at a slowdown its just a shift in buying pattern.

It wasn't me . I read the PWC strategy story about this - Auto Industry Trends 2016 most recently. Also read a couple other publications and reports hinting at similar trends. Anyway, for that or for other reasons, there have been plenty of incentives thrown out to customers even for brand new model year cars. I see fat $ numbers off MSRP 2017 MY cars also already.

[chevelle]

Hello Guys,

Sorry have been missing from action lately.

Got rid of the Infiniti G35 and decided to try a new technology.

Leased a 2017 Chevy Volt for 36 months.

Initial thoughts:

- It is very quiet.
- Interior is quite good than what i expected.
- Drive is intriguing.
- Handling is pretty good for a FWD.
- Ride is great.
- Interior size is pretty good.
- Trunk space is less.
- I am averaging 150 mpge (~ 47 mpg, i guess). Regular driving like i used to with Infi.
- Hate the manual adjustments for seats.
- Feature set could have been better for the price.
- Dead pedal is worst design ever.
- Love the myLink interface. Android auto and Carplay capable is very useful.
- Has an rear view camera, AUX and USB (all 3 needed).

Needless to say, I am smitten to an extent.

Let me know if you have any questions.

[vineethvazhayil]

Originally Posted by chevelle

Got rid of the Infiniti G35 and decided to try a new technology.

Leased a 2017 Chevy Volt for 36 months.

Interesting switch - quite the change. Congratulations! . What other cars did you consider? How did you narrow down on the Volt? I have thought about getting rid of my M35 a couple times but different reasons prevented me. I only considered getting fun sporty powerful cars instead of the Infiniti. Now I feel like waiting another year or two at least and see what the electric car market evolves into.

[rajushank84]

Not sure if this has been mentioned before, but I wanted to share two things:

- BMW CCA (Car Club of America) gives you a $1000 rebate on purchase or lease of a new BMW (regardless of what deal you work out with the dealer) if you've been a member for more than a year. The membership costs $50 per year.

- If you buy a BMW motorcycle they give you a free (for 1 year) CCA membership.

I just got my membership card, and I guess the timing will be perfect if I go the BMW route again when my visa renews next year and I decide to lease . Just thought of sharing in case anyone is planning a purchase next year.

[amitoj]

Congratulations! That's quite an interesting switch.

Originally Posted by chevelle

- Drive is intriguing.

Elaborate please? I am intrigued by this observation

[maddy42]

Originally Posted by chevelle

Hello Guys,

Sorry have been missing from action lately.

Got rid of the Infiniti G35 and decided to try a new technology.

Leased a 2017 Chevy Volt for 36 months.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Wow congrats first of all and very cool switch. Do you notice any difference between the two vehicles in drivability and how was the dealership experience with the volt? Did you consider any other car during this purchase?

Enjoy driving and hope you have many happy gas+trical miles on this.

Maddy

[chevelle]

** Disclaimer: Long post.

Cars Considered:

Pre-owned:

2013-2015 E350 // Shortlisted
- I have always wanted to own an e-class. Drove a 2014 E350 Sport and didn't feel as special as i always thought. Felt like driving a C-Class with more power and space. May be because it wasn't a loaded model or my expectations were very high. Still would like to own one sometime in future.

2013-2015 A6 Quattro
- Only 2.0T available within budget. Dealer won't negotiate much. Drove a 2014 and felt slow. Interior was squeaking.

2014 Q50
- High asking price. Would be similar to new Q50 payment wise. Older engine and initial issues were a lot based on research.

New

* All lease price quoted is 12k miles/yr and 36 months lease.

2016 Infiniti Q50 Premium // Shortlisted
- This was at top of my buying list. I had negotiated a very good deal ($330/mo + $780 drive off). Was tempted, drove it and felt a better version of G35. Did manage to make me smile with the way it drove. Felt as good to drive as a E350. This was my fallback car. If no other car, i was gonna get another Q50.

2017 Jag XE & XF (Lease) // Shortlisted XE
- Drove the XE 25T first. It was a great to drive. Very good handling and steering is perfect. I would say a whole lot better than 328i. The interior space was less than Q50 but similar to 328i. The base interior sucks for the price. Adding options quickly increases the price to $45k+. Q50 has way better interior that we touch and feel daily. Like the padded leather armset on doors, in middle, panels where our knees would touch on the side. Lease price was high after the expectations set by Q50. Though this is a new model so not much discounts.

Lease Price - $450/mo + $800 drive off (Premium)

- Most important thing to note was - The blower was not working on passenger side vent. AC was working fine. Also, the screen indicated that trunk is open. But when i checked, the trunk was closed. Electrical gremlins?

- Drove the XF 35t and i loved the way it drove. Tight handling, smooth ride, nice steering. Lease price was high. Would have loved to own it.

Lease Price - $525/mo + $800 drive off

2017 Ford Fusion Sport/Energi (Lease) // Shortlisted both

- Drove the fusion sport and loved the power, handling and steering. Interior was ugly grey. No other options. Loved the Sync3. Android auto is cool.
Lease price - $360/mo + $1000 drive off.

- Considered Energi because of low lease price. But very small trunk (smaller than a volt).
Lease price - $300/mo + $0 drive off.

2016 Kia Optima Hybrid (Lease)
- Didn't drive. Lease price was very appealing. But FE was not as good as Fusion hybrid.
Lease price - $208/mo + $1000 drive off

2016 Civic EX
- Didn't drive. Briefly considered buying this because i wasn't really getting anywhere with my choices. Got quote of $21k OTD. Thought if i pay $300-$350 for civic, rather lease a premium car.

2016 VW Passat
- Drove the base model and didn't really felt special. Slow, boring, drab interior, noisy engine.

Lease price - $160/mo + $1500 drive off.

2017 Genesis G80 (Lease)
- Didn't drive. Asked for lease price and it was $550/mo + $1000 drive off. Would rather have a new E300 or XF for that price.

2016/17 Acura TLX v6 SH-AWD (Lease)
- Asked for lease price to determine if it is worth the trip to dealer. Was quoted $420/mo + $1000 drive off. Too high compared to Q50. Didn't wanna pay so much for a premium version of accord.

2017 Chevy Volt (Lease)
- This was my fall back car. I had thought that if i didn't go RWD, i would probably get this if i am leasing.
- The concept was also interesting. Also new Volt looked better than any other Plug-in hybrid/Electric on road for the price. Think Prius, i3, leaf and you will get the idea.
- 53 miles of electricity and 40 mpg on gas was appealing.
- Convenience of carpool and CA rebate incentives was icing on the cake and one of the influencing factor.
- Insurance would only increase by $50/mo.
- All things considered, decided to give bugdet, carpool facility and FE more importance this time around. And somehow, everything fell in place at the right time.
Lease price - $198/mo + $0 drive off.

Originally Posted by vineethvazhayil

Interesting switch - quite the change. Congratulations! . What other cars did you consider? How did you narrow down on the Volt? I have thought about getting rid of my M35 a couple times but different reasons prevented me. I only considered getting fun sporty powerful cars instead of the Infiniti. Now I feel like waiting another year or two at least and see what the electric car market evolves into.

Thanks.

Please read at the start of the post for cars considered.

It was hard to get rid of G35. Its a sweet car. But maintenance issues made me get rid of it.

Originally Posted by amitoj

Congratulations! That's quite an interesting switch.

Elaborate please? I am intrigued by this observation

Honestly, i really had this impression/thoughts about electric/hybrid cars that they would be dead slow, would be boring to drive, will miss the exhaust, would worry more about range or something going wrong while driving and overall just put me to sleep as and when i drive it. Except model s. That thing puts a smile on face if driven like a normal car.

Then i drove the leaf and it really did feel slow and boring to drive not to mention the interior was not good and exterior was even worse. I couldn't see myself driving such car every day for 3 years. I tried driving it fast but no matter what i couldn't. I tried taking turns at higher than normal speed but felt no excitement as the speed was just not there to take a fast turn. Also the tires squeal, the body flexed and over all felt heavy and ponderous.

I stepped into a Volt LT and i was impressed. It seemed like a normal car for once. Its still very quiet starting up. Driving it normally it picks up speed very fast. The day i brought it home, i drove 50 miles in rain. I merged on freeway at higher speeds than normal and even in wet it refused to budge. That impressed me for a FWD. I expected it to do something odd or eventful but it was rock solid, handled very good. The drive is through mountains while coming back and it was impressive. I drove all of it on engine power and it could easily do illegal freeway speeds without much fuss. Ride quality was impressive. On same roads, G35 would let me know everything that is on the road, this one managed to filter out most of the potholes and gaps in the road and didn't trash around. While driving, you don't feel the heaviness since it is always eager to leap forward on slightest nudge of pedal.

I am sure Model 3 will be great to drive but it is still couple of years away and I can't wait that long.

Another good thing is, the braking is natural just like a regular car. I drove Model S and Leaf. Both have aggressive braking when i lift off my foot. In volt, unless you brake or use pedal, it will cruise. Helps during commute.

The switch between electricity and gas is seamless. Its so good that its hard to identify unless you look at the gauge and notice that engine is at work.

So it is intriguing to drive. I still have to explore a whole lot more but the initial impressions are pretty good. If car manufacturers can make electric/hybrid cars drive like normal ones, that would be a big big win for them. I shouldn't have to make compromise with the way it drives because of it being electric.

I do miss the exhaust note of G35 but now a days, even that sound is routed through speakers.

Originally Posted by maddy42

Wow congrats first of all and very cool switch. Do you notice any difference between the two vehicles in drivability and how was the dealership experience with the volt? Did you consider any other car during this purchase?

Enjoy driving and hope you have many happy gas+trical miles on this.

Maddy

Thanks Maddy,

Please read at the start of the post for cars considered.

I frequently switch between volt and murano. The drive-ability is almost same provided you go all out with volt. If you drive it conservatively to save electrons and gas, it may seem slow. I don't worry about it and just enjoy the drive. As of now, i only have driven it once trying to minimize electric use and i still took same time to commute. Since its smaller in size compared to murano, it is easy to put into gaps.

Dealership experience was strictly ok. The way initially things were going, i thought i should be out of dealership in 2 hours. But total transaction time was 4 hours. The car i selected was dead. It won't start. So they got me another one and got it washed. That took 2.5 hours. Even after that, i found spiderweb in the rear seat, leaves and junk under the hood. Meanwhile, signing the lease with finance manager took another 1 hour. So overall it was a long wait. While I was taking delivery of the car, i heard over PA that one customer is waiting for 2 hours just to sign the document.

But the sales person always kept me updated about status. There was not a lot of haggling involved. I gave them best I could do and manager took some 15 mins to consult the boss and eventually agreed. So that saved me the headache. Also since it is a lease, signing papers is easy.

Another not so good experience was the welcome talk with OnStar. Apparently, sales person has to call OnStar and have me registered. That process took 6 tries and some 45 mins. Good thing is, 6 months subscription and 3 months of 3G with wifi hotspot is included.

Another note about the dealership, while sitting there, i saw 3 more purchases - all of them was of Chevy Spark EV. You can see two being charged. Third one was on the other side. There was a fourth purchase but didn't know what they bought. And fifth was a volt. Perks of being in Bay Area i guess.

Hope this helps.