New cars - what the heck..?!

Because why bother paying attention when the car can do it all for you and you can do more important things like, you know, updating your Facecock status or uploading your latest selfie to instagram?

I despair, I really do - it leaves the roads full of morons who have no spatial awareness, other morons in torque-rich base-model diesel Mercs on finance who think it's well funny to stop you overtaking in your puny little car (even though they are completely unable to overtake themselves... or corner... or comprehend Limit point analysis... or appreciate you are pushing your car's limits with no driver aids while they rely totally on traction control / stability control / abs / airbags / etc. etc.), and all the other morons who have literally zero idea of their car's limits and therefore crawl around at mind-numbing speed...

This contant drip-drip of de-skilling drivers is all about removing the ability or desire to drive, so we are happy to have our destiny and wider lives controlled by machines that monitor our every action because we are apparently completely inept and can't be trusted.

Resist!! and keep on driving cars that make you think and actually plan ahead, rather than relying on pointless 'aids' that let imbeciles bowl along with no thought to consequences.

When I see someone driving an older car I feel warm inside, because I know they are choosing to think for themselves and are less likely to be canoeing idiots.


Buy the 840 The 90s was the perfect balance of car tech IMO - enough electronics to make them reliable, not so much as to become irritating and impossible to fix without a bloody laptop and a Main Dealer.

I have often thought of producing an aerosol with “new car smell” you could flog it to the car supermarkets and garages by the box full.

But how does it work when you are staring out the side window or looking at your phone?

Oh, wait...





THIS.

I've not driven a Dacia but it seems like they are generally just 'essence of car' (I think James May said) - as someone pointed out the other day on a forum I was reading (I think...), imagine if Dacia put their mind to making a cheap sports car!

luddites the lot of you I'm that idiot that buy new cars ( well typically a few month pre reg deal if I can get it how I want it but essentially new ) I have no problem with it, its my car, built they way I want it, I tend to like bright interiors, manuals etc, people/companies play it too safe typically because of resale, also no other tit has damaged it, works well for the cars I don't want to think about, buying new like the missus' car and my daily commuter, they just work, tend to hold on to them for 6-10 years by which time they are worn out used cars, like most used cars that age/mileage.

I don't have time to tinker around with worn out old cars, as evidenced by my 5 that is sitting out of action on the drive, just because I don't have time to work on the rusty prarrie canoe box.

Depreciation, couldn't give a monkeys, in time of ownership I will have done well over 100k in it, I have had my monies worth, also I've gotta say in addition to all the dodgy gadgets there are quite a few new features I like in new cars and think some of this accident avoidance stuff is good too, plus all the convenience toys, would like some in my Mazda. I'm in my car around 20hours a week why not make it nice.

I am actually looking for another 5 because mine lacks a few basic comfort features I want like AC, cruise etc. because even though I use it for racing, I drive 100s of miles to events and caged up with hardtop a bit of comfort helps arrive fresh.

Many baulking at cost of new cars, do so because of the money they loose, if you can't stomach it that is fine, buy a basic car and avoid the options list if you want to keep cost down, plenty of cheaper alternatives about like the aforementioned Dacia or the used market but in the future if all the new cars are bought on tax cost incentives by people who are not interested in driving and just want reliable A to B, or driven by company car buyers and restrictions imposed on that it will leads to a market full of uninteresting SUVs, 5 door boring cars and loads of autos, there will be nothing interesting left to pick up used....oh wait, that is already happening.

I work at a Mercedes dealership. The top line cars rolling out of here are closer to 100k than 35k, and the majority of the range is over 50k. For that you get an absolute mile of gadgets you never thought you needed and then a whole bunch more. Now the new A-class has just come out theres only 2 cars left available with a manual gearbox, and you really can control every function of the car with voice, alexa style, and that's the entry level car in the showroom.

But the buyers of these cars are not like us. a vast percentage of our customers are people who want a car as a means of getting from a to b comfortably and safely. Lane assist helps with that. Adaptive cruise helps with that. Massaging seats help too. And if you earn £100k a week and need something to take you 100 miles down the motorway each day do you want a drivers car? do you want a focus? or why not have the most awesome 300bhp armchair ever that does everything for you and you get there fresher than if you hadn't left your bed?

Markets are made by buyers, not sellers. If everyone prioritised driving over commuting than dealerships would be full of racecars. But they are filled with what people are buying - it's not financially viable to make anything else.