To be honest, I really feel like writing, "ARGH!!!!!!! $4.59 for premium this morning! ARGH!!!!!!!" Especially because less than two months ago I was bitching and moaning about $3.99 per gallon. Might be time to put me on suicide watch come August. Ahem. Like all of you, as I drive I am constantly scanning the road for cars. Not so much to drive better. Rather, I just love cars. In fact, one of the aspects I most enjoy about Los Angeles is the constant non-stop parade of interesting cars. A few weeks ago I saw nine Aston Martins in a day– and only one was a DB7. I also saw three Ferraris, several Bentleys, a Rolls Phantom and Maserati GranTurismo, the latter being more beautiful than you can imagine. Plus, of course, more Porsches than you can shake a pair of Pilotis at. But aside from the exotic metal, LA serves as a starting point for trends. Let me put it this way — when we reported that Toyota had sold 1 million Priora, I wasn't surprised. At all. Nor was I shocked to learn that while Toyota sales are stumbling, Yaris sales are through the bloody roof. Between yesterday and today, I've counted 17 of the beefy looking pods. What have you been seeing?
99 Comments on “Question of the Day: What Are You Seeing on the Road?...”
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The inside of a bus, mostly.
I see a lot of Subaru wagons here in Colorado.
I see a lot of Mazda 3 sedans these days.
I am seeing alot of Priuses. They seem to be everywhere.
I notice a lot more Fits lately. I went from being the only Fit driver in my town and seeing maybe 1 or 2 on drives to Atlanta, to seeing at least two a day in recent months…the same going with the yarii.
I’ve been seeing 08 Foci everywhere in CT. All are the sedan. Maybe seen 2 coupes in the last month.
Oh.. and a massive amount of sheeple in new Corollas.
The wierd thing is, I’m having trouble answering that question. I guess that means not a lot of new stuff. I thought it was odd that the Chevy Malibu my cousin rented this past weekend was the first one I’ve ever seen on the road. I saw a Lincoln MKX for the first time as well. I have seen a suprising amount of Focii recently, that hideous plastic wart always catches my attention. I am not looking forward to eating it but I am preparing my pallet.
More Asian cars here in central Indiana than I have ever seen before. More Hyundas and Toyotas and Hondas.
In Detroit I see tons of Foci. Lots of the new (ugly IMHO) version everywhere. Every color imagineable.
Some Yaris and Fits. Some Prii. Some Escapes.
Lots and lots of people driving slow in giant SUVs.
More wagons than I’d noticed in the previous 5 years combined.
No A4 Avants though.
Kansas City is still full of body on frame SUVs. But the change over has been quick – looking down the block in suburbia I’ve noticed many new Hondas and Toyotas.
Originally from NJ, went to school in NorCal, and Mazda3’s weren’t all that common. I recently moved to the Seattle area and they’re everywhere.
Oh, also saw a Lotus the other day. White Elise at night. drool…
In addition to what everyone else has noticed, lots more motorcycles and scooters. Many piloted by obvious newbies to 2 wheel transportation. Saw something almost isetta sized and shaped this morning, but couldn’t tell what it was.
I see dead people.
tulsa_97sr5:
I can’t believe I forgot to mention motorcycles, as they are now everywhere.
Roadkill and some litter.
Bikes and Subaru Foresters with bike racks.
I see a lot of bicycles, scooters and motorcycles on the road in Alaska. The Excursions and Yukons seem to be disappearing in favor of fully optioned Subaru Foresters and Outbacks.
jaje mentioned that Kansas City was full of big SUVs. I just spent 4 months there and will concur. KC doesn’t have public transportation and residents regularly commute 20-, 30- and even up to 50-miles each way. They’ve got to be hurting.
Smart (SMART?) cars are giving themselves a good show over here on the Kitsap Peninsula (Seattle-ish). I believe there are a total of six liters of SMART running around?
I am seeing a lot of the 2008 Highlander Hybrid. And it’s not just because I bought one. In my little corner of suburbia, a lot of us are trading in our big SUV’s (in my case an X5) and the Toyota is a nice alternative, with a steady 25 mpg on regular gas. Someone should write a review (not me, I hate writing.)
Tons or Toyondissan sedans make the commute into NJ on I-78 everyday. Besides that there are quite a bit BMW’s and Audi’s, with the occasional Benz. Also, every day I see a hideous looking FJ Cruiser.
tony-e30 :
My understanding from a co-worker is that Smart cars get preferential boarding on the ferries like motorcycles do (at least on the Bremerton – Seattle run) so that may help explain some of the appeal.
There’s a couple here where I work and they seem pretty neat in person. Sort of like an easter egg with windows and a steering wheel.
I’ve seen a lot of Fits, and also a lot of new Hyundai Accents and some Corollas in Southern Maine. I’m also seeing a high amount of full size pickups parked in front of houses with “For sale” signs on them.
I’m still seeing a lot of big (3/4 ton and up) pickups and SUV’s in South Florida. And crotch-rockets…..a LOT of bikes on the road. I guess $4.89 diesel hasn’t hit hard enough yet. With the housing construction at a total standstill it can’t be that they’re on their way to work….
A lot of older motorcycles that seem to have been dusted off for new duty. Asheville NC
Of the new vehicles available, I’ve seen tons of Yaris, 2nd gen xB’s, xD’s, Fits, Aveos, and Focuses lately. Additionally, the trucks I share the road with on my commute are driving a lot more conservatively.
edit – I’m also seeing a lot of new MINIs on the road including 2 Clubmans where I work.
Kias. Lots of cheap Korean stuff.
Here in PHX more than half of the vehicles on the road are silly fullsized trucks and SUVs. But I do also see plenty of Smarts and more and more Yaris, Fits and Versas showing up. We probably have more modern muscle cars roaming the roads out of anywhere in the country including Mustangs, Chargers, Magnums and even the unloved modern GTO.
Here in NYC, besides OLD subway cars, I see a lot of new Escapes, Focii, Mazda 3s, Mini’s (but no Clubmans yet), and I have started seeing a few new Smart cars in the past month…
Pontiac’s and PT Cruisers, and a lot of old men on Little Rascals. This small Northern Indiana town is dominated buy people who buy on (I GOT A GREAT DEAL!)I think. The Aveo is the Prius around here.
I’m in Canada, so lots of small cars, lots of pickups, not quite so much of the in-between stuff (large sedans, wagons). I would say the Mazda3, Hyundai Accent, Carolla, Neon, Cobalt(s), Golf all are plentiful.
Around here I’m seeing a lot more motorcycles and a lot less SUV’s. Oddly, the number of non-commercial pickups does not seem to have changed much. People are driving a bit slower as well.
In Boise, I still see plenty of Ida-necks in their 3/4 ton pickups or 1/2 ton SUVs. But there is a pretty varied mix of vehicles, no ultra-premium brands usually seen. A good amount of AWD crossovers and wagons too, as well as FWD compact and midsize cars.
I have really noticed alot more of the new Focii lately, and starting to like the side and rear profiles a bit more…wouldn’t trade the 3 for it though.
Here, in the midwest, I don’t see much change in the vehicle mix from a year ago. A few more people may be driving at or below the highway speed limit, presumably in order to save gas. (I suspect they never drove very fast at any time.)
Mattresses, ladders, pickup bedliners.
I saw a Bently with 22″ chromes on a flatbed yesterday. Highly unusual in Tulsa.
This is Vegas, baby! I see more exotics on a daily basis than folks elsewhere see in a year.
Also, lots and lots of rental cars!
Here in Northern NJ: Far less SUVs and pick-ups than last year, lots of Fits, an insane amount of BMWs, in particular 3-series with x-drive (yuck).
The other day I was in Northhampton, MA and saw an Audi R8, Lambo Gallardo Superleggera, Ferrari F430 Spyder, and a McMerc SLR bumper-to-bumper, stuck in traffic.
Pointless? On so many levels.
Either some friends out for a cruise or a comparison test occuring.
I saw a Tesla roadster a while ago. Fast, fast, fast.
I see lots of pri-i. Even more bicycles by people who pay no attention to red lights, stop signs, or traffic that can outweigh them by 100x (semis) yet still figure they can listen to their iphones/headphones/blah blah and OTHER people BETTER WATCH OUT for them!
Hah.
I almost hit a bicyclist (probably in his 40’s) while making a right turn. He was listening to headphones riding the wrong way on a two way street while running a red light!
Where the hell are the cops to protect these people from themselves?
I’ve seen 1 Smartcar…lots of new Foci–black is the best color for this car !
Saw an IS-F in the parking lot at Starbucks. I hope he or she paid cash.
I’m still seeing a lot of single-passenger pickup trucks and SUVs doing 70 and 80 MPH (or higher). Does that mean gas isn’t high enough yet?
Vancouver (5.39/gallon for premium): full of everything mid-90′ recycled from the US on the East and South side of the city, full-size Pickup Trucks and SUV’s in the Fraser Valley, plenity of Euro Exotica in West Van and mucho scooters and bycicles downtown and @ UBC grounds, as usual this time of the year.
In other words: nothing changed.
In Colorado, lots of rusty old Geo Metros; Jeep Commanders; Subaru Foresters and Outbacks; and lots of new Ford Foci.
In Wyoming, lots of Buick Lucernes. Go figure.
In Stony Brook NY I see NONSTOP Audi Q7s. It’s crazy that there seem to be more and more brand new luxury gargantuan SUVs even as their buyers complain about gas prices.
Tampa used to be SUV city but more of the new vehicles now tend to be small cars like the Civic, Corolla, Fit, Scion xB, Focus, Cobalt, Mazda3 and the like. The economic slowdown has definitely seen a trend not just towards smaller more efficient cars but also cheaper vehicles.
I am seeing mostly the inside of my wife’s 07 Focus. We made an agreement for me to drive the Focus on my 60 mile commute M-W and she gets it back for Thursday and Friday and I then get my F150 V6-5M back. The original Focus really does handle very well. We save about $80-100 month now, however.
I havent seen ONE one series on the road yet. but you are right a lot of new chromy focuseses.
Frank Williams :
June 3rd, 2008 at 5:53 pm
I’m still seeing a lot of single-passenger pickup trucks and SUVs doing 70 and 80 MPH (or higher). Does that mean gas isn’t high enough yet?
Frank, if my memory is right and you’re in Atlanta, that means they’ve slowed down.