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Post by oldchopperguy on Aug 10, 2014 11:30:23 GMT -5
Let's face it, most of us DO drive SOMETHING on four-wheels once in a while... LOL!
Yesterday, I was out running errands on the scooter when I noticed a VERY sharp car in the stopped traffic. What I would call a "super-coupe"... VERY Italian-looking, VERY sharp. I thought it was maybe a Maserati, or, possibly a Brit Aston-Martin, since it had a decidedly "Fisker Karma" shape to it.
It was pearl-white, with the "sinister" package... Black powder-coated monster wheels, super-wide tires, blacked-out grille, badging and windows... 4" straight-pipes howling from the rear... And from the green-light, it was scary, WICKED-FAST!!!
Well... It was NOT Italian, NOT British... Turns out it was a new Hyundai GENESIS!
Good grief, the Koreans are making some of the most appealing cars on the planet. While these Genesis cars are NOT exactly Kia/Hyundai "grocery-getter-cheap" at $40 to $50K, they ARE nearly a "giveaway" compared to the European cars with which they TRULY compare very well. Pretty much, a $500,000 car for a tenth the cost.
This little coupe was a real eye-catcher, and being impeccably-styled, small, L-O-W and wide, with a 420hp 300cid V-8 it's a REAL alternative to the loaded Mustang or Camaro... Hmmm... Yeah, the Genesis DOES come in a 4-door flavor, and with a still-potent 3.8 liter 300+hp V-6 for $15,000 less... But hey, THIS coupe is something SPECIAL.
I do believe it's good enough to tempt the potential half-million $ Euro-Super-Coupe buyer to try something just as cool, at a Camaro price!!!
Whew! Love that Hyundai!
Only thing I did NOT like was that it made my 250 scooter seem PATHETICALLY ANEMIC in acceleration... Old "Minnie Mouse" will usually keep up with even "frisky" traffic, but THIS little Korean terror did "zero-to-holy-crap" in about 3 seconds flat, without so much as a tire-chirp. MOST discouraging to the mouse... LOL!
You Ford, Chevy and Chrysler guys need to check THIS thing out! It is ABSOLUTELY BAD to the BONE... NASTY with a capital "N"... Looks to me, like a WHOLE LOT of bang for the buck!
Ride safe..
Leo
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Post by shalomdawg on Aug 10, 2014 20:20:52 GMT -5
howdy leo, yup i guess it is something about our age group as i have thought hyundai style cues are vey attractive recently since they gave up on the inverted bathtub look. i have driven some miles in rental kias and they seem very practical as well for us limited range of movement crowd. good find and thanks for the input to the forum
lotsa miles and smiles to ya
ken
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Post by oldchopperguy on Aug 11, 2014 9:57:37 GMT -5
howdy leo, yup i guess it is something about our age group as i have thought hyundai style cues are vey attractive recently since they gave up on the inverted bathtub look. i have driven some miles in rental kias and they seem very practical as well for us limited range of movement crowd. good find and thanks for the input to the forum lotsa miles and smiles to ya ken
Agreed!
My Son is on his second loaded-out Kia Optima, and it IS the cat's butt! He is an official with a local city, and really "requires" a car with enough "status" to satisfy the bloated, puffed-up cretins he has to do business with. After closely inspecting and driving the Mercedes and BMW business-sedans (costing a quarter-million-dollars or MORE!) he went with the $23,000 Kia! Twice! Some of the Bozos he has to truck around to the country-club even have asked him "just WHAT kind of car IS this... It's nicer than my BMW!" LOL!
For those who REALLY want all the walnut, rosewood, leather and ego-stroking electronic bells and whistles, the Kia K900 and Cadenza, and the Hyundai Genesis seem to provide everything one could want, short of a Bentley or Rolls Royce! ...And, for around $50-grand, instead of $2-million!
The "stigma" of showing up at the hypocrite's ball in a Korean car, rather than the "proper" German or British ride is fading fast. The times, they are a changin'... Now, if South Korea would just start concentrating on "things 2-wheeled"...
Lotsa miles and smiles back at ya!
Leo
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Post by Jarlaxle on Aug 15, 2014 10:53:31 GMT -5
Hyundai is...let's say "optimistic" with their power ratings. Offhand, a "429 horsepower" R-spec Genesis gets handily dusted by a 390hp Charger, and absolutely annihilated by a 425hp SRT8 300. For $50k...forget that abortion, I'll take a Corvette!
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Post by SylvreKat on Aug 15, 2014 14:38:07 GMT -5
What I want to know is, can you haul a six-foot painting in it?
Gal's gotta' have her standards. I'll keep my bull of a wagon!
>'Kat
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Post by rockynv on Aug 23, 2014 9:09:28 GMT -5
Yep, he can get from 0 to automatic loss of license faster than anyone else on the roadway.
For that money I'd consider an entry level Tesla (I know a bit more) first with free fuel and close enough performance.
Style wise the Genesis are quite compelling.
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Post by oldchopperguy on Aug 23, 2014 13:05:41 GMT -5
Yep, he can get from 0 to automatic loss of license faster than anyone else on the roadway. For that money I'd consider an entry level Tesla (I know a bit more) first with free fuel and close enough performance. Style wise the Genesis are quite compelling.
Rockynv,
I gotta agree with you on the Tesla... They are BEAUTIFIFUL.
Dallas must be "Tesla Heaven" since they are ALL over the place. I have wondered if maybe the styling was influenced by the international stylist "Fisker". Can't think of his first name... He did the Aston-Martin and his own "Fisker Karma" hybrid. Both look a LOT like the Tesla... AND the Hyundai Genesis.
I don't know about the actual performance of the new Hyundai V8, but the local tuner kids are starting to choose them over the Honda and Accura... Must be they respond well to tweaking, as these animals care ONLY for 0-150mph acceleration, or 200mph top speed, depending on what their bet is on...and they race for $20-$50K or more at a pop. These boys are the ones building 4-cylinder Honda Civics that will chew up and spit out a modded 'Vette or Saleen Mustang. And they're now going Hyundai! Amazing!
Ride safe...
Leo in Texas
PS: I've often wondered just HOW does one HEAT, and AIR-CONDITION an all-electric car? Two weeks back, on a 106 degree day, I stopped at a red-light next to a shiny-new Tesla 4-door. I noticed the driver's window was down a few inches. I shouted over "nice car!" And, "how do you AIR CONDITION one of those?" The driver put his nose up to the window, and replied: "Not so well..." Question answered!
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Post by rockynv on Aug 23, 2014 13:52:42 GMT -5
Remember when the Shelby Omni came out. With very few mods those were eating Ferrari's and spiting them out. I had a New Yorker with the Garrett Turbocharged 2.2 and with a few minor overrides it would run with the Maserati and Ferrari crowd. I traded it at 120,000 miles and it was still going strong all original. For some time Lotus was buying their 4 cylinder engines and heads from Chrysler.
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Post by SylvreKat on Aug 23, 2014 16:44:54 GMT -5
For that money I'd consider an entry level Tesla (I know a bit more) first with free fuel and close enough performance. Ooo, pretty! I want the green one! >'Kat |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Aug 24, 2014 11:56:17 GMT -5
Rocky,
Oh YESSSS!!! The Chrysler V-6's could be INCREDIBLY fast! I learned that once when I rented a Chrysler New Yorker quite a few years back, when their fuel-injected OHC V-6 was brand-new... I could NOT believe it's acceleration... By my stopwatch, 0-60 in 4.1 seconds, and at an indicated 130mph, it would light up the front tires by downshifting and then SCREAM up to over 160 on the speedo. And THAT was with the AC on!!!
I spent a whole day prowling for punk kids in "Vettes, Mustangs and assorted hotrods... I must have raced a dozen of them in my rental Chrysler, winning over $4,000 and paying for my entire trip!
My pal, whom I'd come to visit wouldn't believe me. He happened to have a "pet car", a well-massaged 427 Corvette, and he couldn't wait to show me what a REALLY fast car was... We went out in the middle of nowhere, and had at it from a dead-stop. The Chrysler EASILY walked away from the 'Vette... I then slowed down to around 135mph where the 'Vette with drag-gears was absolutely topped-out... I then waved "bye-bye" shot away like he was standing still.
He was HUMILIATED!!! He dug under the hood of the Chrysler and verified it was bone-stock. EEEWWW!!!
He then followed me to O'Hare Field where I rented the New Yorker, took over the lease, and exercised a Hertz option to BUY the darned car. His WIFE loved the luxury, HE loved beating everybody in town, and he sold the 'Vette... EVERYONE was happy... LOL!
When Lee Iacocca said in his Chrysler ads "Once you drive a Chrysler V-6, you'll NEVER go back to a V-8 again" he was NOT kidding! Some of those were and I suppose still ARE as fast as a factory car gets.
Years ago, I was given an old Chrysler Concorde with the smaller, pushrod V-6 and even THAT one was very fast! Right now, my daily-driver is a hand-me-down 1995 Honda Accord LX, with the performance 4-cylinder motor. Incredibly, THAT little car will do 0-60 in 6.5 seconds, and will bury the 140mph speedo with ease! All the time getting great gas mileage... No wonder the tuner kids love to steal them!
Some factory cars are REALLY "sleepers"...
Stay safe,
Leo
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Post by oldchopperguy on Aug 24, 2014 12:01:23 GMT -5
For that money I'd consider an entry level Tesla (I know a bit more) first with free fuel and close enough performance. Ooo, pretty! I want the green one! >'Kat
I've yet to SEE a green one! In fact, every one I've seen in Dallas has been black, white or red... But, I suppose an all-electric car MUST be available in green... LOL! With no gas engine to make heat, or turn a compressor, I still want to know how they heat and air-condition the doggone things though... And, they ARE wicked-fast!Ride green... Leo |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Aug 24, 2014 12:09:55 GMT -5
Speaking of electric performance cars...
Does anyone know what became of the all-electric Ford Mustang that had like 600hp? It was featured on several hot-car TV shows, ran near 200mph and supposedly got approved to race in NASCAR, after major objections from drivers. It had to make a specified number of pit-stops simulating re-fuelling to keep them happy.  Big hoopla, lots of PR, then it just "went away". If I recall, a lady NASCAR driver was supposed to race it. I saw several clips of her doing silent donuts and smoking burnouts in it at the Ford factory. Then... Nothing. Enquiring minds want to know... LOL! Leo
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Post by SylvreKat on Aug 24, 2014 22:09:01 GMT -5
Leo Leo Leo...and just how do you know what speed you can bury your needle?  As for seeing green,  As for only seeing a couple colors of a car, I think the Monte Carlo comes in black, unless you pay lots extra and special order any other color.  >'Kat, still wanting that green Tesla to go with her green Taurus. Say, a pair of green Ts! |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Aug 25, 2014 12:26:02 GMT -5
Kat,
You DID find a GREEN one! Never seen that color on the road!  % of the Teslas around here are the luxury four-door sedans, and the locals go for black... Like the Montes I guess... Henry Ford would have approved! I think "Uncle Henry" and I would have gotten along fine... Any color you want as long as it's black... I recently saw a TV piece on Henry, that mentioned he had NOT intended the 1932 V8 "Deuce" to be introduced until the 1970's! And he balked at introducing the Model-A in 1927-28... He planned for the Model-T to be the standard Ford up to somewhere in the FIFTIES! Other makers introducing innovative cars REALLY ticked him off, forcing him to introduce cars DECADES before he wanted to... Cool old codger! As for "burying the needle"... On my hand-me-down Honda, I got it from my Grandson 7 years ago. He had it totally mechanically checked out, and had just put on new high-speed Kumho tires, and after being AMAZED at the "giddyup" of the little 4-banger I found a straight stretch of freeway where one could see a mile or so, with no no traffic, or cops around. I eased it up to 125 and put it to the floor, whereupon the little booger quickly accelerated to 135, and then to 140 which pegged the needle... She still went a little faster before the tach redlined and I backed off. Later, I had a local cop check my speed at an indicated 80mph, and he showed me at 78 so the speedo isn't off all that much. At an indicated over 140, the Honda was probably doing an honest 135-138. She's the first car I've had that will REDLINE the tach in top gear, and still have a little left... I wish I could take 30mph off the car, and add it to my scooter!
Dang if those Japanese can't wring out the last bit of horsepower from a teensy motor! It has a lot to do with the performance Honda 4 having MARVELOUS fuel-injection, and "interference" valve/piston timing. Only a handful of manufacturers dare to put that feature in a grocery-getter. They reserve it for their hotrods (and motorcycles)...I don't recommend going that fast. As frisky as she is, I just couldn't resist seeing what the little car would actually do on a wide-open, safe straight stretch... It IS comforting though, to be able to run (AND corner, AND stop) with the all-too-common +mph commuter insanity without too much worry about being rear-ended. Just CAN'T do that on "the Mouse".Keep the shiny side up!Leo
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Post by shalomdawg on Aug 25, 2014 19:32:39 GMT -5
howdy leo , here, the little honda would drive itself some night to someone elses place and never come home.
it's a different world. we used to leave the key in the car so the neighbor could use it if he needed it
lotsa miles and smiles to ya
ken
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% of the Teslas around here are the luxury four-door sedans, and the locals go for black... Like the Montes I guess... Henry Ford would have approved!