Lamenting the decline of the car

[Truenorth00]

DC is fighting back on the upsizing trend.

If you’re a city or state leader, you have a limited arsenal of tools available to discourage residents from operating these behemoths on local streets. A proposal from the District of Columbia would add a new one: The city is poised to require owners of vehicles weighing over 6,000 pounds to pay an annual $500 vehicle registration fee], almost seven times the cost to register a modest sedan.
....
At present, registering a vehicle under 3,500 pounds costs $72 per year, rising to $115 for those between 3,500 and 5,000 pounds, and maxing out at $155 for heavier models.
....
During this year’s budget process, Cheh proposed overhauling the city’s vehicle regulation framework. Annual fees for machines under 3,500 pounds would remain at $72/year, while those from 3,500 to 5,000 pounds would now cost $175. The fee for registering a car between 5,000 and 6,000 pounds would rise to $250. The biggest hit is aimed at a new category created for SUVs and trucks weighing over 6,000 pounds: Their owners would now have to shell out $500 per year.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...ckups-and-suvs

[theman23]

Originally Posted by Architype

All German brands are numerous here in Vancouver (Land Rover is not German I think, but fits well into that category), but remember North America only gets the nicer models. When I go back East (NL) I really notice the absence of German cars (although VW may be somewhat popular). One thing the Europeans do well is station wagons, they are also common here, much nicer to look at & drive than SUVs. The only American brand that seems popular here (except for trucks) is Tesla.

There are barely any station wagons being sold in Canada now. The Golf Alltrak is relatively common, but has been discontinued. The only other common one in production is the Subaru Outback. Audi and Volvo still make wagons, but they're quite rare compared to their SUV options.

[Me&You]

Originally Posted by thewave46

Many of those SUVs are now in their second and third owner stage.

Which is to say, they are now affordable enough to end up in the, er, 'less classy' neighbourhoods. I live in one of those neighbourhoods and have noticed a Porsche Cayenne parked in front of a townhouse that - before the current stupid times - probably sold for nearly the same price the SUV did originally.

The second and third owners will probably not be able to stomach the continued high operating costs for long periods of time. There's nothing more expensive than a cheap luxury car, the adage goes.

Luxury cars depreciate; their parts and service costs do not.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by theman23

There are barely any station wagons being sold in Canada now. The Golf Alltrak is relatively common, but has been discontinued. The only other common one in production is the Subaru Outback. Audi and Volvo still make wagons, but they're quite rare compared to their SUV options.

Mercedes still offers the E-Class wagon:

https://www.mercedes-benz.ca/en/vehi.../e-class/wagon

[harls]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

DC is fighting back on the upsizing trend.



https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...ckups-and-suvs

No more black Tahoes or Escalades? How will they ever look imposing?

[thewave46]

Originally Posted by theman23

There are barely any station wagons being sold in Canada now. The Golf Alltrak is relatively common, but has been discontinued. The only other common one in production is the Subaru Outback. Audi and Volvo still make wagons, but they're quite rare compared to their SUV options.

Several manufacturers still have hatchbacks as part of their model line-up. Mazda and Toyota come to mind. Not quite a wagon, but on the spectrum.

[theman23]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Mercedes still offers the E-Class wagon:

https://www.mercedes-benz.ca/en/vehi.../e-class/wagon

That's right, forgot about that. We also have the C class wagon here too, which is a bit of a unicorn because of how few people order it compared to the E-class wagon. In general though, seems that we're moving away from wagons here.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by theman23

That's right, forgot about that. We also have the C class wagon here too, which is a bit of a unicorn because of how few people order it compared to the E-class wagon. In general though, seems that we're moving away from wagons here.

I'm not sure the C-Class wagon is coming with the new 2022 model to Canada.

[megadude]

.

[jonny24]

Originally Posted by megadude

2. This was in front of a shop in Oakville, for display purposes. Would love to see it drive though.

Slammed trucks like that are usually on airbags - they can raise up to drive.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by megadude

...
4. It says Her name is Dingleberry. I've seen this truck probably eight times over the years, usually on Trafalgar in Oakville. This time on one major road over. If I happened to stop at the same destination as him or I pulled up beside him, I'd have to ask him what that's supposed to mean.

You might not want to know

https://www.urbandictionary.com/defi...m=dingle-berry

[Architype]

Originally Posted by theman23

There are barely any station wagons being sold in Canada now. The Golf Alltrak is relatively common, but has been discontinued. The only other common one in production is the Subaru Outback. Audi and Volvo still make wagons, but they're quite rare compared to their SUV options.

That may be, but we sure have a substantial number on the roads here, notably European brands, also Volvo wagons are common here, and I see various Japanese models that look like station wagons, some are even RHD imports. I guess could take some pics of station wagons for proof. Vancouver has a lot of older cars on the road in very good shape, 20+ year old cars without any rust are common here. I think Vancouver's auto ecosystem is a bit different, we are the luxury & supercar capital of North America (also more EVs, 13% or more of new sales in BC, and there seems to be that much on the road as well).

https://globalnews.ca/news/2447804/m...north-america/

[theman23]

I was lamenting the lack of new options. There are definitely more newer model SUVs and CUVs on the road. The only newer model wagon I see with any regularity is the Subaru Outback.

I’m also not sure if Vancouver is the luxury car capital anymore. I barely see any nice cars on the road here now compared to 3 or 4 years ago. Sure you’ll see tons of Teslas and BMWs, but I don’t see exotics at anywhere near the rate I used to. I’m not sure if it’s because of the Chinese money staying at home since Covid started , or the BC luxury car tax, but things have definitely changed.

[SpongeG]

Yeah the days of Bugattis seem to have waned. I think supercar buyers are changing to SUVs and EVs.

you can still see the most expensive cars on Granville between downtown and Richmond. Out in Surrey, there are a lot of people with money showing it off. Langley has Porsche, Jaguar, Land Rover, Tesla, and Mercedes dealerships now.

I was behind a Bentley SUV on 152 in Surrey the other day. It had those black tassel things hanging off it which you see on East Indian's cars, at least it seems to be a thing in Surrey these days. I've seen a couple of Mercedes Maybachs around, once on Granville, it's like a $250,000+ car. But unless you know what it is it just looks like a Mercedes.

I see the occasional Lamborghini SUV. Ferrari has apparently been cracking down on who can buy their cars, they recently banned the Kardashians and a number of celebrities like Bieber or limited their choices of models they are allowed to buy.

Koenigsegg is going to release a sedan model soon, could see some here.

Mercedes-Benz is going to focus on higher end models and cut out some of the entry level cars.

After years in a grudge match against rival BMW AG to become the world’s biggest luxury automaker, Mercedes-Benz AG is calling it quits.

“We are not going to go in and compete with the volume makers—that’s not our place,” said Källenius. “We will still cater to the entry-level luxury segment. But we will trim the portfolio. Today we have seven models in that segment; in the future we will have four.”

I saw a lucid driving down the street the other day, they look nice in a showroom but really grab your attention on the road, very nice.

[Architype]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

Yeah the days of Bugattis seem to have waned. I think supercar buyers are changing to SUVs and EVs.
. . .

^ I am not sure, but there are articles from as recently as last year pertaining to this claim. It's not in real numbers considering the population, but per capita. Anecdotally, I may not see actual supercars every day, however I do see expensive cars every day even though I am not really out there looking for them that much. Now, EVs are seen on the road, I believe, in disproportionate excess of their actual numbers, since people who drive more are more likely to be on the road at any time, and are also the most likely candidates to own them.

If you want to understand the global collector car scene, go to Vancouver
Eric Weiner
16 July 2021

You won’t find the supercar capital of North America in South Florida, Beverly Hills, or Silicon Valley. In fact, this continent’s home of automotive exotica isn’t part of the United States at all. That honor belongs to Canada and, in particular, Vancouver, a medium-sized city where a Lamborghini Aventador that’s street-parked between two Kias is about as remarkable as an afternoon rain shower. In recent years, as more and more wealth has flooded the city from overseas, the high-end luxury and exotic market has reached something of a fever pitch. Understanding the nuances of this pocket of automotive royalty, from its history to the here and now, might just provide a window into the future of the collector car market in the rest of the world . . .

And they’re buying expensive cars. Although British Columbia’s 5.1 million people account for just 13 percent of Canada’s population, the province is home to nearly 22 percent of the exotic cars and 27.5 percent of the pre-1980s classics that Hagerty insures in the country. In 2018, Rolls-Royce chose the city as the locale to globally launch the glitzy $330,000 Cullinan. Not Dubai, not Monaco, not Moscow. At least six sold that very night.

https://www.hagerty.com/media/market...-to-vancouver/

[rousseau]

I drive on country roads once or twice a week between Waterloo and Stratford, and take country roads to get to the 403 on trips between Stratford and Hamilton once or twice a month.

This means carnage in the form of roadkill. Though I've only killed stuff in the last five years of our eighteen year existence in Stratford. My tally:

1 cat
1 turkey vulture
2 raccoons
3 birds
No skunks (though I've had several near misses, dead and alive)
Thankfully nothing bigger (knock on wood)

These were all last millisecond no-time-to-react collisions. Though there's more to the story with the vulture. On that pleasant sunny day I was cruising along when I saw something dark in the middle of the road up ahead. I couldn't quite make out what it was, though while I was ruminating on how it didn't quite look like a skunk (size) or a racoon (colour), but passing alongside it wouldn't be a problem, it suddenly moved.

Or, more precisely, they moved. There were two of them. Two vultures having dinner. It was already too late to slow down, but I didn't panic, as I had more than enough room to pass alongside them. Thing is, from their perspective all they knew was that a large object was approaching them at a high rate of speed, so they needed to get away. Of the two directions they could have flown away in, they chose the wrong one. The first one made it past my car. The second one didn't.

It slammed into my windshield, leaving long cracks in the glass. Felt and sounded like, uh, something large and heavy hitting your car. In an earlier era, before tougher glass that didn't shatter, I would have been dead. The impact was strong enough that my rearview mirror was knocked off kilter, and by the time I righted it I was too far away to see the aftermath. Though I'm quite certain I knocked it clear off the road.

Like practically all North Americans, I'd always had a cavalier and very casual attitude to driving, but these past several years have been a bit of a wake-up call. There's a potential dark side to that idyllic pleasure cruise through the pastoral countryside that you don't always consider until you are directly confronted by it.

[whatnext]

They should have given you an award for snuffing the raccoons.

[thewave46]

Originally Posted by rousseau

Like practically all North Americans, I'd always had a cavalier and very casual attitude to driving, but these past several years have been a bit of a wake-up call. There's a potential dark side to that idyllic pleasure cruise through the pastoral countryside that you don't always consider until you are directly confronted by it.

It wasn't until I started doing the long-haul drives in Northern Ontario that I definitely became more acutely aware of wildlife. While smaller animals are dangerous certainly, the big ones are, uh, a bigger danger.

Why's the guy up ahead flashing his lights at me? The cops, maybe? Oh wait, there's Bullwinkle standing at the side of the highway as I round the bend. Definitely slowed down to a speed where I can entertain surviving a panic stop should he decide that's the moment to cross. I always felt better following a tractor-trailer, as those things generally would make splatter of most animals.

But yes, plenty of bears and deer just to keep it entertaining too. At least the province tried to keep the sides of the highway cut back on the major routes so as to give a hope to see something coming. Unfortunately, that doesn't help at night or on narrower, more winding roads.

Between the wildlife and the winter storms, I don't miss driving up there.

[canucklehead2]

Musk said next factory could/would be in Canada or Mexico. Thoughts? I have 3 perfect Alberta sites selected... One ideal... halfway between Okotoks and High River at Aldersyde where TC energy is building a 100 mw battery storage and solar farm at the abandoned CanMag plant that sunk $250M in 1991 $ of Alberta oil cash.

[canucklehead2]

Southern Alberta is sunny and windy as shit and needs new economy jobs.