Automobiles

[vertical_doug]

Spotted 2,300 miles from home.

The electric retro VW ID.Buzz looks interesting, but the thing is £61,915. Ouch!

It's basically just built on top of the ID.4 car platform

[AngryScientist]

Crushing price. Disappointing.

It's a pure nostalgia play at that price. Cant go dirtbagging from supercharger to supercharger for that kind of money.

[72gmc]

Godzilla is back.

Just returned from night skiing with the kid, and was passed by the disposable income club on Interstate 90:

Lamborghini Aventador (at least 2)
Audi R8 (at least 2)
Acura NSX (at least one)
McLaren 570s, I think
Corvette R8
A Ducati Panigale cooking its rider …

… and a creamy white GTR.

It was a little hard to identify them in the dark, but it was fun to hear and smell them.

[robin3mj]

Thoughts on every day use for 18 v 20 inch wheels (same outside tire diameter), all else being equal?
Looking at Grand Cherokee Limited and most in stock have 20’s which are a $2,000 option, as well as a Tech Package that runs another $2200 of questionable incremental value. Thinking about custom ordering the color I want, sans the wheel and tech upgrades, and to be decided on whether I want/need the sunroof which is yet another $2,000 option.

The jump from the next level down (Altitude) to the Ltd seems worth the price, but not when you keep adding options on options.

Not even sure how long a special order takes these days…

[72gmc]

I like a good amount of sidewall on a tire, especially on a truck or other large vehicle.

[vertical_doug]

Thoughts on every day use for 18 v 20 inch wheels (same outside tire diameter), all else being equal?
Looking at Grand Cherokee Limited and most in stock have 20’s which are a $2,000 option, as well as a Tech Package that runs another $2200 of questionable incremental value. Thinking about custom ordering the color I want, sans the wheel and tech upgrades, and to be decided on whether I want/need the sunroof which is yet another $2,000 option.

The jump from the next level down (Altitude) to the Ltd seems worth the price, but not when you keep adding options on options.

Not even sure how long a special order takes these days…

I think the difference is relatively minor and it comes down to your preference. If you like the 20 inch look on the grand Cherokee and don't mind paying extra 2k for the rims. then go for it. Otherwise, just keep the 18 inch.
I like sun roofs, your mileage may differ. I'd take a test drive with a sunroof. The old mercedes ML's sunroofs where horrible with a little speed.

[bigbill]

I think the difference is relatively minor and it comes down to your preference. If you like the 20 inch look on the grand Cherokee and don't mind paying extra 2k for the rims. then go for it. Otherwise, just keep the 18 inch.
I like sun roofs, your mileage may differ. I'd take a test drive with a sunroof. The old mercedes ML's sunroofs where horrible with a little speed.

I have stock 18s on my F250 XLT. I've driven a similar Super Duty with 20s and while it looks cool, the ride is a little harsh. Maybe it would be different when towing. My truck is fricken cadillac when I'm pulling the trailer.

[robin3mj]

I have stock 18s on my F250 XLT. I've driven a similar Super Duty with 20s and while it looks cool, the ride is a little harsh. Maybe it would be different when towing. My truck is fricken cadillac when I'm pulling the trailer.

That’s what I was thinking.
18 May ride slightly nicer and without the hefty up charge. And I like the looks the same or better.

[jimcav]

Thoughts on every day use for 18 v 20 inch wheels (same outside tire diameter), all else being equal?
Looking at Grand Cherokee Limited and most in stock have 20’s which are a $2,000 option, as well as a Tech Package that runs another $2200 of questionable incremental value. Thinking about custom ordering the color I want, sans the wheel and tech upgrades, and to be decided on whether I want/need the sunroof which is yet another $2,000 option.

The jump from the next level down (Altitude) to the Ltd seems worth the price, but not when you keep adding options on options.

Not even sure how long a special order takes these days…

We have a Grand Cherokee, and I wish it had 18" wheels. The 20" wheels on ours rattles me more than I like. I'm not sure what your "everyday" use it, but it is really a pleasurer to drive on smooth roads. I far prefer my ram 1500 4x4 to get to MTB areas, but the Grand Cherokee definitely has the far better 4x4 system. I haven't done anything super technical as far as getting to a trailhead, but for the basic rocky, rutted, eroded forest service roads the ram is much more comfortable at faster speeds. The Jeep has adjustable ride height, and it can really jack-up quite a bit, and then at slow speeds it can really handle a lot--but it is my wife's vehicle so it rarely gets used that way. We did some less-travelled areas near Trona Pinnacles in the Jeep (where Kirk battles the lizard-dude in the original Star Trek series), and my truck would not have made some of the approaches or would have gotten hung up, but the jeep was great.

[j44ke]

What's the dependability like on Jeep products? Used to be ridiculously bad. Are they still a Chrysler product?

[jimcav]

ours is a 2015 eco-diesel, so that makes it uncommon, but it has been dealer serviced since new and has overall been very good with 3 inconvenient/longer not-regular-service-interval issues:
1st one was some sort of sensor-fail impacting the diesel regen cycle--but it gave us warning on the dash about going to the dealer--took them a bit to get the part and fix it--think they didn't have a good diesel mechanic at the time, or only one and he was busy...
2nd was some computer module failure--it drove fine, but displayed something like "adaptive cruise control unavailable" and maybe something about the autonomous braking. the service advisor said there was potential for ABS to be affected (i'm not sure that was true), so my wife took it in. They could not get the error to go away and couldn't figure it out--kept it 2 weeks, swapped a few sensors, and even brought out a "jeep engineer", and in the end they just replaced whatever upstream computer module was involved.
3rd was a few months ago and just annoying because it happened when my wife went to get our son at school--drove fine there, then suddenly wouldn't start, all sorts of weird error codes on dash across multiple systems. --all that was wrong was the battery just died.

The only other issue with the jeep have all been because the service tech does some routine service thing and forgets to reset some counter (oil change--after that happened twice my wife now double-checks before picking it up that they have reset things), or doesn't clear all of the fault codes (for both #2 and 3 above they didn't clear everything, so not longer after leaving the dealer it again gives some check engine or go to dealer message on the dash--which was nothing but the tech's failure to clear/reset things)

I've driven the grand cherokee from CA to MD and back a few times and it is a great vehicle for such, and a little bit of 4x4 on areas to mtb, but nothing that truly tested it's 4x4 chops.

[j44ke]

I grew up tagging along on birdwatching trips with my dad, and his best birdwatching buddy had a 1968 (think that’s right - maybe older) Jeep Wagoneer. Loved that thing. Great visibility out of the windows, 4WD, bench seats, rubber flooring and metal inner door panels. Quite a beast.

[72gmc]

I grew up tagging along on birdwatching trips with my dad, and his best birdwatching buddy had a 1968 (think that’s right - maybe older) Jeep Wagoneer.

I love the 1968 styling. I'm told my grandfather had one of the first models from the early 60s.

Jeep-Wagoneer-1.jpg

[robin3mj]

Got a great deal on this one. 20” wheels but otherwise not overly optioned out.

[TonyP]

As long as we're talking Jeeps, here's the CJ-5 I used to own

1-22-2023 3;14;03 PM.jpg

And here's the two I've always coveted, a CJ-6 and a CJ-3B.

Jeep-CJ6-indiancars000.jpg1962-willys-jeep-cj3b.jpg

I like Orange.

[robin3mj]

That second one is great. Always loved the longer wheelbase Scramblers etc.

[AngryScientist]

Got a great deal on this one. 20” wheels but otherwise not overly optioned out.

What motor is in that rig?

[bigbill]

In the Arizona equestrian world, I'd say Dodge/Ram pickups make up around 20% versus Ford and GM. IMO, the Ram engine/transmission are good, but they're still wrapped in a Chrysler. I will remind folks that my F250 shit the bed on I-70 and had to be hauled back to AZ for Ford warranty repairs, but that is the exception. Ford and GM got together to develop an Allison ten speed transmission that is common between late model trucks. The ten speed makes a big difference in mileage and engine braking on descents. Similar year Ram trucks had a six speed and recently introduced an eight speed. A friend has a new Ram 2500 with the gas 6.4 Hemi and it really tows well. Same thing for the Ford guys with the gas 7.3 godzilla motor.

The Yucca proving grounds are just outside of town so we see the newest Chrysler trucks and Jeeps all wrapped up in camo covering to hide their lines. A few years ago, downtown Kingman was dotted with wrapped up Gladiators doing hot weather stuff. Highway 68 between Bullhead City and Golden Valley (off-grid meth valley) is where they test vehicles towing heavy loads. The climb is around 3K feet with a constant 4-5% grade.

[robin3mj]

What motor is in that rig?

The V6 that Stellantis uses across their platform these days.

[j44ke]

Got a great deal on this one. 20” wheels but otherwise not overly optioned out.

...

I can see why you might want different wheels on that if you were doing any sort of non-pavement driving. Hardly any rubber there at all.

It is interesting to compare your truck with the 1968 version and see that some elements of the body refer back to the earlier model. Wheel wells, line along the side. Even the fenestration kind of matches up.