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tekmoe

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Feb 12, 2005
1,726
551
Changed the oil on my Z earlier

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rcread

macrumors regular
Jan 10, 2006
178
267
Duvall, WA USA
This is my 2017 Ford F150 with the 5.0 Coyote engine. We use it to pick up hay and supplies for our horses and drive to car races in California, Oregon and Washington. It transports a lot of the tools, cooking supplies and alcohol (for when the track is cold). We have another truck that hauls the race car trailer.

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Anonymous Freak

macrumors 603
Dec 12, 2002
5,561
1,253
Cascadia
Just bought our fourth plug-in vehicle. Replaced our 2015 BMW i3 REx with a 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E.

We had been wanting something with a bit more range than the i3 (2014-2016 models got 80 miles of range, the Range Extended version like we had adds another 60-80 on a small gasoline engine with a tiny tank.) We had been looking at 2019 i3 battery-only with 150 miles of range, and the newer ones also have 4G so their internet access still works, Apple CarPlay, and an available sun roof. We finally found a lease return 2019 at the local BMW dealer that had the options we were interested in. Went in, and... The sun roof is a *HUGE* disappointment in the i3. To the point of being essentially worthless to my wife (the one who is more interested in a sun roof.) And they were asking $36,000.

We looked, and a base-spec Mach-E has better performance, FAR more space, 210 miles of range, and after tax credit, cost $34,000.

So... A three-year-old car that - while fun to drive and great for in-city parking - has less capability; or a brand new car.

We decided we wanted to test drive one before making the choice, knowing the Mach-E has a multi-month wait if you order now. Called multiple dealers, searched dealer websites, found one that listed as having one in inventory - I assumed it was one they kept for test drives. Called that one and they said they didn't have any in stock, but the owner would bring hers in for test drives if we wanted. Sure. Scheduled it for the following evening.

Got there, and the sales person said "actually, we do have one in stock - it was a customer order that the customer declined delivery of, we're just getting it ready for sale now. You can test drive it."

Test drove it. While it isn't *quite* as engaging a drive as the BMW i3, it's still plenty good. Got back from the drive, sales guy let us know it was available if we wanted it. We said we'd take it. A woman sitting at a nearby table looked very disappointed. While signing the paperwork, the sales manager let us know that the woman was the sales guy's wife. He was going to buy it. But outside sales take precedence. (They bought an Escape Plug-in hybrid instead - she drove off in it as we were driving away in the Mach-E.)

Traded in the i3. We could have made more selling it private-party, but the offer was high enough (higher than the BMW dealership's offer!) to make it not worth our time to sell privately.

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Edit: Just realized those are from the day it came home. Have since blacked out the tail lights so they aren't white stripes among a red-and-black car. Still pass 90% of the light through, they just match the surrounding black trim better when off now. And the required-by-law red reflectors below are still red, which blends in to the paint well enough.

Note: I think the Mach-E is a great vehicle - but I do still get annoyed that Ford decided to badge it a "Mustang". It ain't a Mustang any more than the new 'Vette is a Corvette or the new Chevy EV pickup is a "Silverado" (it should be the Avalanche EV.) But, brands are going to use name recognition they have to drum up attention. They also call it an "SUV/crossover" - it isn't. It's a hatchback with a thick floor. It's great, Ford just markets it all wrong. They should have called it the "Model E" after blocking Tesla from using the name. Although now they're using that name for their whole EV business unit...

But, after trading in the i3, I still have a 3-EV garage:

EVGarage.jpeg

Now to wait for our EV pickup to replace both the Tesla Model S and our old '96 F-250 diesel. Have preorders in for both Rivian R1T and Ford F-150 Lightning. Rivian will near-guarantee deliver first, and is more "luxury" and smaller so more "city drivable", while still being capable of hauling/towing what we haul/tow. But F-150 has the "power your house in a power outage". So we'll take the Rivian when it arrives, then when the F-150 Lightning arrives, decide which one to keep and which one to sell.
 
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FNH15

macrumors 6502a
Apr 19, 2011
814
858
My daily, a 2009 BMW 335i with 141K miles. Fully optioned, has M3 control arms & Bilstein shocks.
My weekend / fair weather car - 1991 BMW 850i, 6 speed. Spent 8 years restoring it...
 

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rcread

macrumors regular
Jan 10, 2006
178
267
Duvall, WA USA
This is our 2002 Porsche Boxster S (986), 6-speed manual. My wife and I have owned it since 2004 and it was her daily driver for ten years. Our daughter was a baby when we obtained it, so we had to have the Porsche dealership install a buckle under the seat that the Porsche baby seat buckles into, to tell the airbag not to deploy. We've driven it from Seattle to Napa and Sonoma multiple times.
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rcread

macrumors regular
Jan 10, 2006
178
267
Duvall, WA USA
Did you run the whole five mile track? Thunderhill is challenging. My team got five black flags for going off-track on the first day of racing our first time there.

Out at Thunderhill with the PCA last month where it looks like I am entering T14. I'll be leaving tomorrow for Pahrump to spend 3 days at Spring Mountain with the Audi club; 1 day solo and 2 days instructing.

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Cliff3

macrumors 68000
Nov 2, 2007
1,556
178
SF Bay Area
Did you run the whole five mile track? Thunderhill is challenging. My team got five black flags for going off-track on the first day of racing our first time there.
I have 3 days on the 5, but I think the 3 mile course flows better. I have 25 days on the 3 mile with another weekend coming up in 2 weeks, and another 2 days on the 2 mile. I have never been off at Thunderhill as a driver, but 3 of my students have had offs. I don't know if you have driven Ridge Motorsport Park in Shelton, WA, but it is designed by the same guy that designed Thunderhill. I was up there 3 weeks ago for my third weekend at that track. Fun course, and a it shares some common design elements with Thunderhill.

Since this is a picture thread...from the Ridge in late March:

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