Frisky Dingo

I have recently heard from VW reps that they are exploring loopholes that would allow them to sell Amaroks in the US through a commercial avenue. Along with them, they are looking at some of their van offerings from other markets. They see a sales opportunity here that is clearly worth at least pursuing further.

Yep, still have it. The gauges are exemplary. Part of the reason I have no desire to get a replacement that has the Virtual Cockpit that comes in some new models.

If they brought these here, I would so buy one.

Damn, people are stupid.

Some nice, well-presented and legible analog gauges flanking a small multi-information LCD display is my pick. There's nothing I want to see more than the speedo and tach in a performance vehicle. I would maybe accept a large tach in the middle with smaller screens on either side. For a normal passenger car, I don't care much. So long as it's easy to navigate, digital, analog, mixture, whatever. My Scion only has this- And it doesn't bother me in the slightest. To be honest, I appreciate the minimalism and the added forward visibility it gives. Shrugs.

I'm still waiting for someone to drop some tuning software for this thing before I consider one for actual purchase. I almost bought a silver Atlas SEL 4Motion R Line last week. Until one of our porters scraped the front bumper on a fence and curbed a wheel on a parking block. And there went that.

Awful.

Out of the 3 German lux brands- Audi, BMW, and MB- Audi by far has the largest styling differences from model to model. And it's not just them. Volvo is a huge offender with their new offerings. Cadillac does it. Jaguar does it. Jeep is doing it with their new crossovers. Just saying, Audi can't be singled out for this.

You see, to me, this is part of the problem here. Are we discussing an entire family of V8's, or ONE V8. A family is LS engines. A family is B Series engines. An ENGINE is an LS2. Or a B18C. And if we are talking entire families- MB's M156/159 powered everything from GT Roadsters, to full-size lux sedans, to full on sport coupes. That's a pretty broad spectrum. Dare I say.....nearly as broad as GM's V8. Which only goes in trucks, 2 sedans, and 2 sport coupes. The M156 makes great low end torque, unlike some other DOHC engines, and yet still revs out and makes great power even north of 7,000 rpm in some applications. Not to mention it has made over 600 hp in some applications and that's in N/A form. Even if we were to look at Ferrari's V8, some iteration of it has been used in everything from Maserati sedans, to ultra limited edition Alfa Romeos, to Ferrari supercars, nearly every one of each is generally accepted to be the best of it's class, in very large part due to their engine.

I don't fully understand your question. Even by Domestic V8 standards, a Sierra 6.2 is quite mild. In both sound and character.

This. 'Best' is simply that- the best. Power, sound, delivery, character, etc. Not production numbers, how many get used as the basis for engine swaps, not how much power they gain with mods. Because using those measures, one can argue that a Camry is 'better' than a McLaren F1. But how absurd does that sound? I feel like I am a VERY fair judge of cars. We all know Porsche is my favorite brand, and I am not making a case for any of their V8's being anywhere near the top here. Conversely, I don't care much for Mercedes or Ferrari. I'm merely being honest here. Until you've experienced a Ferrari V8, it's hard to accurately assess. I love a great American V8. I've had several. Hope to have several more. But Ferrari's V8.....it's just magical. Electric. It makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. It's like you can feel and hear every step in the process of ambient air being sucked in with ferocity, squished into its oblivion, and then launched out with accompanied by a banshee howl. The throttle response, the intake noise, the manic power delivery and frenzied rush to the redline. It is truly an experience that is on another level from other MFR's V8's.

Cmicasa, a very well thought out post with a lot of good points. I'm fortunate enough to have driven at least one car/truck with every one of those engines, save the new ZR1 spec SC 6.2. They are all great engines. The LS7, in particular, is one of my absolute favorite engines, regardless of cylinder count, layout, whatever. I would wholeheartedly support, and even argue for, it being brandied about in a discussion of the top 5- or even 3- best V8's. What puts that engine so high for me, and something that a some other GM engines lack, despite their power ratings, is character. The LS7 somehow manages to feel vastly different from an LS2. Fare more than it would appear on paper. Not only the power, but the delivery of it, the sound, the way it pulls through the rev range. I find most other GM V8's just slightly lacking in the thrill/enjoyment to completely wring out department. Being an OHV engine, it's top end will of course will be one of it's weaknesses compared to other V8's that are DOHC. They just have this mildly truckey/coarse nature. The LS7 doesn't. It feels much, much racier. For what it's worth, my argument for 'best' is Ferrari V8 in Speciale spec in #1, and then MB's M159 6.2 V8 found in the SLS AMG BS. I could definitely be on board with the LS7 possibly being #3. To me, it really becomes a toss up between it, McLaren's TTV8, and AMG's new turbo V8. @oldshurst442

Using sales numbers to back up the claim of what engine is 'best' is downright comical. Yeah, by all means, let's hear these stories about Ferrari and AMG owners who have swapped GM small blocks into their cars.

The SBC is a great engine. Nobody here is saying it isn't. But it's not the greatest V8. The only maybe metric you could come close to making that argument with is value and build potential. And it's absolutely very significant. I would even argue it's in the top-5 best/greatest. But THE 'best'? No. Mercedes/AMG or Ferrari are really your only 2 players in contention for such a title, imo.

The GM V8 is absolutely NOT the world's best V8. That is such an incredibly daft thing to say I can't quite wrap my head around it.

Well, Christmas is gone (thankfully!) and although my gifts mostly sucked, I got about as good of a Christmas present as I could ask for Friday when I got to take out the new Civic Type R, the BMW M4 GTS, and the new M550 X Drive that we just got in. When I get a chance, I may post up mini reviews of them.

Really just boils down to a lot of people are insufferable assholes. No matter what their profession or role in a buyer's market is.

Most sales people really despise customers. It's a 2-way street.

Our big dog client who we get all the high end cars from just dumped a major load on us yesterday- 2018 Panamera Turbo S, 2017 M4 GTS, 2017 Civic R, 2018 M550i, 2017 Shelby F-150, 2017 California T, and a Lava Orange GT3RS. Being the Porsche fan I am, I of course chose the 911 when we picked them up. Impressions follow- First off, this car just looks the damn business. It's not conventionally beautiful or full of stylized elements. This thing is all purpose. All function. It looks like it's ready to rip your face off, and pulverize any car it comes across. And it is. I could go on about the interior and whatnot, but if you've seen the inside of a 911, you've seen inside this thing. There's a splash of carbon here, some alcantara there. A radio that I didn't even think to turn on. I'm sure it's fine. The windows rolled down, and I assume they roll back up too, but I never tried. So yeah. And there's buttons. Lots and lots of buttons. In particular, there is one- 'Sport Plus'- that I promptly pressed. After letting it idle for a bit to get temperature in it, and hitting the front end lift to get out of the parking lot, I was off. From there, it takes all of about 50ft to realize that this is one very special car. These thing doesn't beat around the bush about what it's intentions are. It wants you- goads you- into driving very quickly, very...err...quickly. Getting out onto the main road, I dip into it for the first time. Nothing crazy, just about 70% throttle to get a taste. It immediately skated the rear to the side a bit in a frenzy of sound and forward progress. The tires need a bit more heat them, then. I take it easy the next mile or so. I hit a cloverleaf twice to a) warm the tires up some more and b) get a feel for the handling a bit. Feeling a bit emboldened at this point, I exit the cloverleaf and just lay into it. And. My. Goodness. In a flash, it's beyond 8,000rpm and a pull of the PDK paddle delivers a shift so fast and seemless that were it not for that iota of a break in the crescendo of that apocalyptic noise, it would be imperceptible. Third gear, and this thing is just exploding forward. I back off. I don't know how fast I'm going, but I know it's enough. My heart is pounding. This car is mental. The engine's power delivery savage and yet micrometer linear at the same time. The throttle is the most precise I have ever experienced in a car. It is dead on accurate. Its travel an exact correlation of how much ballistic acceleration you are about to receive. Wow. The next few miles are two lane-each way- highway separated by jersey barriers and punctuated by the occasional stop light. With each one comes thumbs up, stares, and looks of disdain. And with each one comes another blast through first and partially second gear to get that one more hit of vicious momentum accumulation and spectacular noise. This car makes people break their necks to get a look at whatever that is that sounds like it's splitting the Earth open. It's downright intoxicating. I finally get to a stretch with some turns and get to run through some nice 2nd and 3rd gear turns. The steering is a revelation. Incredibly direct and responsive. With very good feel even, especially for an EPAS setup. Probably the best I've encountered. The grip this car exerts is just staggering. I can't even begin to nudge this car towards its limits. And yet it still laughs these turns off at 10 mph more than the myriad of cars I've piloted through them before. Coming through a residential area at a snails pace of 25 mph finally reveals the one drawback to car like this. Over expansion joint pavement, the ride is bouncy and sharp, even in the most relaxed setting. And there's a good bit of road and tire noise. But really, who cares. This is the kind of car that is very, very difficult to describe with words. It was simply gobsmacking. I can tell you that if anyone doubts the astounding prowess of Porsche's engineering and ability to built a driver's car, this car squashes it. It is on another level from anything else I've driven. It makes a Corvette Z06 feel like an overpowered kit car. It makes a GT-R feel like a fast SUV. It is a racecar for the road, in about the most literal sense you can apply. A GT3 racecar not even watered down, but reengineered just enough to wear a plate. I don't know where cars go from here.

Yeah, even though I adored my E90, it's moment is passed. I don't know that I'd have another for a daily due to the age and mileage of the cars these days. It was great while it lasted. Sounds like the Giulia is the car to buy these days if you want anything with the kind of chops the E90 had.

Idk, the new i30 N other markets get is pretty highly spoken of.

I once thought about this. The tech/infotainment is just too far behind for me to actually do it now, though.

Truck looks great here. Will be interesting to see the other trims, and of course what the GMC looks like. But it's promising.

Let's hope it's not the absolute dynamic disaster the old car was.

The V10 models were only around for a bit. They stopped making them a long time ago. I don't think it'd be possible to find a CPO one they are so old now. But even the 3.0 V6 TDI is a powerhouse. The X5 would be as comfortable, but lacking in fit/finish, build quality, and refinement. Newer tech though, so.