trinacriabob

INTERIOR PHOTOS

The view upon getting in from the driver's side - a little bit of sand on a seat is to be expected in these parts

The view upon getting in from the passenger's side

The extent of the dashboard as seen from the center of the rear seat

The main instrument cluster has nice graphics and does not have the "twin" dials we are used to seeing - device information such as music and more would have been in the right panel

The console is "intelligent" in all ways - I liked the placement of the switches and controls ... and operating them

This is a close-up of the controls on the steering wheel and the steering wheel itself feels great with the material, the stitching, etc.

The door switches are fairly standard and there is some sculpting and stitching in the interior of the door panels

This is an excellent place to put this module and the way it's consolidated is handy

This shows the shape and the fabric of the driver's seat

With an unusually shaped window in the rear quarter panel, the pillar isn't too intrusive and visibility is acceptable

This shows the amount of space in the rear seat and some of its features and accessories

This is the driver's side at night with the orange sweep of illumination across the top of the dash onto the door

This is the passenger's side at night with the orange sweep of illumination across the top of the dash onto the door

The trunk or rear storage space is more than acceptable with the rear seat up

This shows the luggage that this configuration can take, with additional room on top of it for smaller items before closing the rear hatch and having the cover hide the contents

MECHANICAL PHOTO

Organized engine bay for this small but capable turbocharged engine with clear access points to fluids, simple to service battery location, and conventional prop rod

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 END OF PHOTOS

EXTERIOR PHOTOS

Side view - not slab sided, but sculpted ... nice alloy wheels that have some "motion" incorporated into the design

Angled rear view - seen in the Southeastern Sicilian countryside

Rear view - the pleasing lines continue and it looks good from all vantage points

Front view - I see a little bit of Mustang here - a little bit - and others might see something else

One of its exterior lighting features is to shine the Cupra logo from the base of the outside rearview mirrors

1 hour ago, G. David Felt said:

Having gone to college in Japan, I drove my host families' sons R33 Skyline all the time. I was surprised how easy it is to shift with the left hand, the pedals are still in the same place even though you're on the right side of the auto to drive it. Was not a big deal to me, but then change I have always embraced and so if you have a hard time with change, then you might have a really hard time driving a right side auto.

You do embrace change better than I do.  I probably do it better than most Americans, though.

It might take a while.  It takes me considerably longer to do things left handed.  I periodically try just to try.

Another thing that periodically comes to mind:

For people who live in the UK, Japan, Australia, etc., the steering wheel is on the right side of the passenger cabin when looking toward the front.

If a person is right handed, like the majority of people, wouldn't it be difficult to operate a manual transmission shifter placed to the left of you?  It might even be a little bit harder to move an automatic around.  

I look at photos of these cars and get a little bewildered.  I try to mentally imagine myself behind the wheel and it's not easy.

1 hour ago, A Horse With No Name said:

I would actually like to own a modern Subaru SUV, think it would be a good vehicle to get me to camp sites and hiking areas. They are everywhere west of the Mississippi. By that I mean both hiking trails and Subarus. A match made in heaven. 

Subaru + me = laughter ... one of my quirks.

They are huge around the Smokies and in states like Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York.  They are extremely popular in New England ... when a local lady saw me taking a photo of one of those transporters loaded up with Soobies near Boston, presumably going to dealerships, she said something like, 'They practically spawn here.'

31 minutes ago, G. David Felt said:

Very cool cleaning of a rare 4wd XT Turbo from Subaru.

 

Canadians!

Saskatchewan!

Except for some rust and body issues, he did a nice job.

I'm laughing because it's a Subaru I wouldn't rag on.  I was neutral toward them when they were just another Japanese option.  Truthfully, I am okay with recent Legacy sedans.

I had forgotten to mention this before. There are some stupid travelers out there.  

The last time I was in South Florida, I took Delta and changed planes in Atlanta.  Both of the segments were operated with Boeing 757s, which are usually reliable.

Once in Atlanta, folks boarded the 757 for FLL.  There was an announcement that one of the two flight monitors in the cockpit was quirky and that they'd try to reboot it.  No luck.  Everyone got off and waited for another 757, which worked out.

In this group was a couple going on a Caribbean cruise out of Lauderdale.  The original arrival time was 1 p.m.  The actual arrival time was 4 p.m.  They missed their cruise. 

Lesson to be learned:

If you're sailing out of a port that has a lot of nonstops a day into it, like ATL to FLL, or Chicago to New York, get in the day before.  If your luggage doesn't make it, it can catch up with you on a later flight or even the morning of an afternoon sailing.

If you're connecting because you're coming in from a small airport, or are coming in from across country, and even Vancouver or Calgary, get in 2 days prior to the sailing.

Having only done this a few times, I made damn sure I was in New York 2 days before.

What? I barely remembered this considering what an ensemble of musical artists it showcases.  Someone I know posted this on social media.

Springsteen and Lauper seem to be leaning into this a little much, but Tina shines as usual.

Impressive how all these talents came together to make a difference.

Ouch!!!

I had meant to say 120 to 130 KM per hr. 

That's about 75 to 80 mph, give or take.  It was late when I wrote this.

2 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Just enough of an automotivve geek myself to find this fascinating...

Since balthazar has returned to the crypt he emerged from when Oldsmobile was founded, it is my duty to bring vintage content here. 

That's funny.

He and I were not on the same page with the ensuing Olds et. al. colonnade era and its '81+ refresh until the curtain fell.

Granted, Intrigues and other later GM, like the 2013 or 14 Impala refresh, were far more updated and relevant motoring experiences, but nothing moved me emotionally quite the way the colonnades did.

(What I'd give to find an immaculate '76 Regal S/R coupe and swap in an "even firing" Buick 231 V6 that is out of the crate and configured to hook up to RWD.  I wouldn't have the patience.)

Boeing is having issues again.  In general, I see a slimmer product line for the near future:

777X (recent issues on the news) overtaking the 777-300 

787 variant(s)

767 (born circa 1982) only for freight to continue

737 variant(s)

- - - -

Every now and then, I think of what the future Boeing 797 could be.

1 hour ago, Robert Hall said:

Heh-heh...I'm enjoying my Old Man Cadillac...getting close to 30mpg highway w/ my 3.6 CT6...I enjoy driving it more than my 5.0 Mustang. 

It's not Old Man at all.  It's 50 is the new 30.  Cadillac took their age distribution downward with their strategies and designs.  Never would I have expected Escalades to have spinners on them and be driven by gang bangers.  (But that's the far end of the distribution that one may not even want to think about ... hard pass.)

I appreciate Mustangs.  But I know I'd much rather be behind the wheel of a CT6 on the regular.

Thinking "can they make me one for me with cloth seats?"  Or, as Oldsmobile would have put it, "Can we build one for you?"

11 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

My frame of reference is that a 2004 Impala with a 3.4 N.A. V6 got 34 mpg across various rental experiences.  

Clarification:  this would be for only steady highway driving that wasn't very taxing.  And corresponds with the 21/34 EPA sticker.

On 8/14/2024 at 6:39 AM, daves87rs said:

Might consider another Nox if they find something besides the 1.5 for it. It really needs a hybrid/ bigger engine in there…..

I always think the same whenever I'm put behind the wheel of a Malibu.  I also quickly multiply the liters by 60 (cu. in.).  Turbo or not, I  want more than 90 cubic inches in the engine.  My frame of reference is that a 2004 Impala with a 3.4 N.A. V6 got 34 mpg across various rental experiences.  That said, they can still add the turbocharger for power (and sophistication), but I'd want some more displacement to validate making that substantial investment in new wheels.

Interesting.  So, here across the pond, they've got a music loop going that is mostly featuring African-American artists of the '70s and '80s.

"Freeway of Love" - Aretha Franklin *

"Drop the pedal and go ... go ... go"

"I Will Survive" - Gloria Gaynor **

"Can't Get Enough of Your Love" - Barry White ***

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This is some good, spirited $h!+

*  what a bio on Aretha - had a kid at 12, sang at her church in Detroit, toured nationwide as a teenager, had 5 kids, and holds records for music awards and record sales

** fairly standard bio, musical career, and personal life

*** "at least 9 kids" - mentions his weight and smoking - Galveston TX native

6 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

 

I like this one.  (Balthazar would instantly know the MY.)

13 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

You can't go into a Hamburger Sparkasse and withdraw from your Frankfurter Sparkasse account, for example.  

This one takes the cake.  Classic!

On 8/16/2024 at 5:44 PM, G. David Felt said:

Nate Silver on the 2024 race: 'It's no longer Trump's election to lose.' (msn.com)

Not to sidetrack, but I'm trying to remain composed for the next few months.

I saw this the other day and laughed.  This dude looks crazed!  The whole concept of physiognomy exists for a reason, so it's too bad people don't put it to use to help them navigate life.

The curtain on this ugly and outlandish long chapter of Americana can't fall fast enough.

I didn't know that.  I did not know how they got the name.  It sounds like something fermenting.  I have been to Mallorca once ... turquoise waters ... and a pipeline to/from Germany.  Can't say I liked the Mallorcans much compared to the noticeably friendlier locals in Spain's Canary Islands - a "suburb" of Morocco and darker Atlantic Ocean water.

I had a friend in Portland who would jokingly say "make holiday mit der Deutsch."  Their English saying for going on vacation is "make holiday."

Actually, I find the name Cupra sort of weird.

Good morning.

17 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Riviera

Riviera ...

... enough said

17 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Imperial

An Imperial only reminds me of one thing:  some of the older ladies from around NYC that had moved to L.A. that my mom used to associate with when we were teens drive one.  They had cat glasses, too.  We kids would refer to them as the "magpies" because they'd squawk incessantly.

17 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

I am kind of in a 1970's GM funk. 

More...

Looking back, Buick had nice grilles after the quad lamps arrived.  It harmonized the models ... think Buick Regal coupe. The one below is a 1977 ... when car interiors were really something  ... look at those blue S/R buckets.

Crazy that, in '76 or '77, they dropped the 231 V6 into base loss leader LeSabres IIRC.

This was a one-day rental of a small automatic that really went over the top in terms of an upgrade. I was assigned a Cupra Formentor.  It’s a SEAT SUV model that is its own brand within the brand.

The instant you look at it, the Cupra makes an assertive statement.  The minute you get in, it makes a good impression.  The workmanship is evident throughout.  And the instant you drive off, it will come off as roadworthy.  Over that one-day period – to bridge a 7-day rental up to 8 days – this proved to be true over and over.

I really came to like this car.

One would think that smooth and quiet would compromise how planted a vehicle is and how well it communicates what’s going on. That’s not true with the Cupra Formentor.  This meant that it might be sailing along at 120 and 130 mph without your knowing that.  For that reason, the preferred mode for the speedometer is the digital one.  To that end, it soaks up road imperfections with high marks.  In short, in my opinion and for its price point, it scores highly on all the benchmarks for roadworthiness.

Power comes from a turbocharged 3-cylinder engine, which is starting to be a very normal powertrain and has even come to North America.  The gears shifted through the VW group’s automatic 7 speed DSG transmission.  Power seems sufficient in almost all situations and the automatic shifts of the DSG are very fluid – minimally felt, but also hushed in moving upward through the gears.  This is a refined automatic transaxle.

The Cupra delivers in almost all situations.  In merging onto controlled access highways, it performed well.  The only challenge might be a pass that requires judging the competition on one’s side of the road as well as that of the oncoming traffic. 

The dashboard is not overdone. Inside the main pod are different ways to set it up.  I had a tachometer as the central dial, with a digital speed readout in the middle.  At about opposite ends of the pod, readouts on time, temperature, gear, and odometer show up … clearly but unobtrusively.  Also, the sides flanking the tach/speedo show information about the drive itself and audio system info, respectively. It all worked well and was easy to get used to.

Gimmickry with lighting seems to be an important thing these days.  The outside rear-view mirrors reflect the Cupra logo at night when doors are opened or after closing them.  Then, while the BMW Gran Coupe has the arc with blue lighting sweeping across the front of the cabin at dusk, the Cupra has an orange one.

The organization of the center console is commendable. Closer to the driver, at the rear of the console’s deck are the auto stop-start switch, a pull tab style parking brake, and central door locking.  Further up, and on the other side of the shift lever, is the push button ignition switch. The centralized automatic transmission (DSG) is operated via a subtle but effective small upright lever and it was easier to return it to P when the parking brake was applied than in recent cars I’ve driven with dials and other ways cars to operate the transmission.  However, when it comes to USB ports, I could not find the old school ones most people seem to use, but only the smaller (micro) ones.  The cubby at the base of the center stack is small, but two slightly recessed slats are available on either side of the shift lever.

Moving upward at the center are the infotainment system and the climate control.  Here, the Cupra Formentor changes it up compared to the VW T-Cross, Polo, and recent Jetta:  the vents are below a large upright screen as opposed to a smaller screen embedded under the cowl.  They still disperse conditioned air very well, even though I prefer them higher up.  The large touch screen has all the major functions and is fairly easy to use, without disengaging from Bluetooth - the way other cars sometimes do - and with a pleasant display for Android Auto.  Befitting the gimmickry of the car and price point, the steering wheel controls are a little more complicated than usual.  However, the scrolling thumb operated ones on the outboard ends are easy, and even a little fun, to operate.  The ergonomics of the steering wheel, including the finishes and the shape, add to the experience.

The Cupra’s fabric seats are indeed comfortable and feature good and supportive sculpting that doesn’t push into being confining as it can be in expensive speed demons.  The fabric is not exactly uptown or soft touch, but it’s tough and ought to last and keep its shape.  The rear cargo area - with the rear seat up - is more generous than one would think, fitting 3 suitcases of various sizes

Its exterior looks that are not slab sided and utilitarian makes it more noticeable than other cars under the VW umbrella of families.  That could also account for why they decided to brand it apart from Seat, of which it now sort of a subset.  It almost picks up cues from some Ford products – much like recent Mustangs up front and somewhat like an Escape in the rear and sides … and Nissan in terms of its greenhouse and moulding appliques.  Yet, it is still very much its own vehicle.

I really came to like the Cupra Formentor.  One day wasn’t enough.  I would have liked it for a few more days compared to more time spent in the preceding Citroen C5 and VW T-Cross.

I felt more comfortable and had more fun with this newly reformulated and upgraded Cupra model than I did in the BMW Gran Coupe 2 (an upgrade I didn’t ask for) I had for 4 days last summer.  The BMW has slightly better road manners, but this one is easier to get used to and live with all the way around.

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PHOTOS FORTHCOMING

On 8/11/2024 at 7:34 PM, regfootball said:

It seems like car shopping is even harder than ever. 

Customer service in general across sales has been eroding for awhile now.

It's pretty damn bad.  Personally, I see a lot of overlap and closeness in the model tiers - and the powertrains that come with them - that it confuses me to some extent and turns me off.  I haven't looked at vehicles too intently since right before COVID, probably because there were more sedans around then to choose from.

I came into Europe via Hamburg (DE) instead of Southampton (UK).  I had never been there before.  It's wild because they've got this really challenging language I would not readily choose to learn.  And, then, you have way more immigrants than you might think.  Turks are one of the biggest ethnic groups in Germany these days.  So, it's amazing to see people from the Middle East and Africa who have managed to learn this language and are (close to being) fluent.  I figure they knew they were going to stick around, not return home, and had to do that.

Either way, Germany stressed me out because of the language (there is not much English signage, though most people speak decent English) and the UK would have stressed me out because they drive down the other side of the street and it takes a lot of mental adjusting just to cross the street.

I don't think Hamburger Sparkasse (photo up above) was a food joint.  I did not see tables and such.  So, rather than try to figure out what a sparkasse is, I got myself to Southern Europe as quickly as possible.

Here's another one.  An important site and subway station is Rathaus.  It means a city hall and theirs is fairly stunning.  (It is not a decrepit subway station in a bad part of NYC where rats are eating pizza leftovers.)

8 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Impressive amount of actual fabrication goes into building a good derby car. I think they have actually wrecked more old GM Iron in derby's than was actually built by GM. 

Of all the fairly active members on the forum, I am probably the biggest torchbearer for the GM colonnades.  I loved the (Grand) LeMans of this year, and especially those of '76 and '77 that went to quad rectangular lamps up front.  What was so sweet about them is that you could get the fantastic dash and general feel of a Grand Prix in a more manageable package and, if one chose to, with smaller engines.  However, the "pushed down" look of the rear trunk was a little polarizing.  Maybe it was meant to be that way because a little bit of nick and tuck to "normalize" its silhouette and proportions could have cannibalized sales from the absurdly successful Cutlass Supreme and Regal of those same years.  My 2 cents.

8 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Olds 98, I remember these fondly from when I was rather young. They were always a sweet car. This one isn't worth restoring, so it dies a noble death as a derby build...

Ditto on this one ... particularly fond of '75 to '77 ... and what a quirky treat when you saw one that was a coupe.  I had to give these cars a nickname and - like a broken record - an Olds 98 of those years was "la cathedrale roulante," where the upright and pointed rear taillamps fins made it look like a Gothic cathedral.

Now you see it 

- - - - -

Now you don't