[tiptronic]

I've been meaning to write this just to share with you all- while i wait for my car to be fixed ( timing belt) i thought i'd find time to tell you these.
About a month and a half ago, my partner and i were driving along the 210 east near Sylmar California-- merging from the 118th freeway. As we entered merged on the 210east- two black cars caught our attention- both clad with vinyl tapes and masks. But the rear tail lights gave it away- from that i knew it was a disguised
2002 BMW 740 series. both have vinyls galore masking its features- but i must say, its the same size roughly as the current 7series, the tail lights, well, its different (for now, i dont like it) headlights are awesome (of course they have their HIDs on at the time- this was around 5pm) . Anyways, we sorta drove along them, one of the driver took a quick look at us (driving my black wagon then)
and then we sped off.
about 3weeks ago, i was drving from the San Fernando valley area- (after picking up Krispy Kremes for my work)- along the Topanga Canyon Blvd- heading north towards the 118- as i was approaching the stop light- a car was ahead of me- fulll of dust/dirt, which hinders me from determning what kind of car it was. However, the tailights and the stance made me think right away that its not japanese nor anything local- it looked more european. As i got close to him- i realized its a debadged/no license plate- New Mini- the driver was following a late model 3 series model- that has a weird plate on it.. I guess they were test driving the Mini at 6:00 in the morning. With a chance to size up the car- the car of course is bigger than the original mini- but the new Mini is slightly smaller than the VW golf. It is taller however, it seems. and the stance is very cool and sporty. after gawking at it- i sped off.
I live near Simi Valley- the site for the VW Design Center- although to this date, i have not seen any new VW protos, nor have i found out where this center is located. however, in a span of 4-5 years- i've seen a total of 6 testmule/prototype cars being driven around town.

anyways.. thought i'd share this with y'all
e

 

[W8]

Re: New Car sightings in Southern California... (tiptronic)

Tiptronic,
That's awesome! I live in Arcadia but commute to work in Valencia, and I've seen some protos as well. About six months ago I saw a convoy of thinly-disguised Cadillac CTS's going down the 5 in Sylmar. Boy they were ugly, and not because of their disguise either!

About a year ago, I was traveling to Lake Tahoe on the 395 and saw a lime green VW Lupo along with a Golf and a Jetta. Is VW thinking about bringing the Lupo (or Polo) here? Hmmm.
More recently, I saw a black Mercedes A-Class in Old Town Pasadena. It looked pretty cool in an urban setting, but I wonder how they imported it here?
And finally, two months ago I saw the new Ford Mondeo in a parking lot in Palm Springs -- it had Mexican plates. It looked really good (for a Ford), and surprisingly Passat-like in profile (no surprise since the designer J. Mays came from VW!). Why Ford doesn't sell the slick new Mondeo here instead of the lame Taurus is beyond me.

 

[tiptronic]

Re: New Car sightings in Southern California... (tiptronic)

Hey W8, i used to live in Duarte (as a matter of fact, i still go there to get my haircut-- go figure)
Now that you brought it up-- My friend and i went to a "Autoshow in Motion" hosted by GM lastyear and in the parking lot- a lady with a white VW Polo was driving the car out of the parking lot- it was odd to see that car- who knows, mayabe they are testing to see how the car holds up on u.s. roads (then again, i think there were talks of bring the polo to the states.
I also forgot to mention early this year, my partner and i drives around town, and one particular day, while we were in Pasadena, (we always pass by Rusnak Audi/RR/Porsche/Jag/MB dealer along Colorado blvd) i decided to take a slow drive through the parking lot and along the backway on the Rusnak lot. we always like to check out those cars, especially the Audis. well, prior to the press release o the S6 Avant being on sale here in the states- we saw, parked in the back, a Black S6 SEDAN!!!! w/ dealer plates. Of course upon learning in the press that they are only releasing the S6 Avant- it seemed kinda odd that audi wont release the S6 Sedan here in the states. ( suppose too much to choose from with the A6 4.2 and the S6 )
And lastly, early this year, i also saw a European Spec (or is it also an Asian spec) Toyota Corolla (with that diff design front and body) being driven around the valley, with that weird mesuring thing along its side (like a bicycle wheel). hmmmn... but yet the Corolla, in the states, remains to be the boring designed car.
I'll keep you 'all posted if i encounter some more sightings ( yeah i asked santa for a digital camera to keep in my car)
Erick

 

[W8]

Re: New Car sightings in Southern California... (tiptronic)

Wow, what a coincidence. I bought my TT roadster from Rusnak last year. I'm thinking about the A4 Avant and mostly likely it will be from Rusnak as well. As for the S6 sedan, perhaps they will bring it here if the Avant is well received. The A6 line really needs an image boost despite already having the awesome 2.7T and 4.2 V8. The S6 sedan is no M5, but at least Audi has a head-to-head product to compete with. Why Audi brought the Avant over before the sedan is beyond me. Perhaps that's why Audi is demoting CEO Paefgen to run Bently next year.
As for the Corolla, I believe they will replace the current one next year with the one you saw. I know, it looks way better, almost like a mini IS300, especially from the rear.