lowstrife

A Wisconsin Car Dealer's Niche Business: Selling the 2004-2006 Lexus LS 430

Posted by HawtGarbage918@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 71 comments

lowstrife@reddit

This. The 400 and the 430 are the same platform, with the 04-06 430 being the final endpoint of development and refinement. The 460 was a clean sheet redesign, and it's not built to the same standard.

After Ferrari Luce backlash, Lamborghini CEO says canceling its own EV was the right choice

Posted by Uptons_BJs@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 529 comments

lowstrife@reddit

I think their choices on the interior were actually quite good. It's basic, but, the conversation they're having about toggle switches and moving away from screen dependence is important. Plus that steering wheel is excellent, better than the sausages that BMW is making these days. The exterior though man. They lost everyone. I hope the interior conversation isn't lost because of that.

This Is Ferrari's First EV: The Luce

Posted by Anchor_Aways@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 999 comments

lowstrife@reddit

It looks like a Prius with a Ebay Ferrari body kit on it What is going on with those rear wheel haunches and complete lack of fender flares

Lucid is Buying Jason's car back (EngieeringExplained)

Posted by hehechibby@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 302 comments

lowstrife@reddit

For those who didn't watch the video, there's a title card update towards the end. Lucid bought back his car. They issued him with a long term loaner. The rear window got stuck open, cameras failing to load, and the cruise control "cancel" button not working. And so he sent it back without completing the long term loan. What a shame. I've driven the car and agree with all the automotive journalists. The dynamics of it are incredible. It's just such a shame they couldn't execute at the same level with the software. That is ultimately what will (has) kill(ed) the company, its what they're known for now. Good cars, when they work, which is rare.

Germany and Japan test hydrogen future with BMW, Toyota cars

Posted by plun9@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 108 comments

lowstrife@reddit

> Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, it would be impossible to ever run out of it. It doesn't exist in pure form. Do some research into exactly where commercial sources of hydrogen come from. Hint: it's natural gas. Hydrogen cars are just an excuse to be able to continue to sell gas for cars, with the promise that "but sometime" it can be switched to renewable energy. >Its a far more sustainable permanent solution rather than making a bunch of batteries that wear out every 5-10 years and constantly require re-manufacturing Lead-acid batteries have a 99% recycling rate and a completely closed loop ecosystem. That's the core charge you pay when you buy a new one. Same will happen for lithium ion. Batteries turn into a durable good, one which can be easily re-made into a new product. >refueling takes about the same amount of time as any regular gasoline car Same for new battery cars out of china. Real world, production vehicles with 10% to 97% in 7 minutes on sale today.

Germany and Japan test hydrogen future with BMW, Toyota cars

Posted by plun9@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 108 comments

lowstrife@reddit

> Plus if you think two or three different DC standards are confusing Thank fuck it seems like we've settled on NACS tesla connector. I don't care which it is, that or CCS, just stopping this USB vs. lightning bullshit early on so we can move on with our lives is the biggest thing.

Germany and Japan test hydrogen future with BMW, Toyota cars

Posted by plun9@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 108 comments

lowstrife@reddit

> Hydrogen really only seems useful perhaps for long haul trucking. Hyrogen is primarily made with methane steam reforming. It's being pushed so that we can still sell gas for cars, with the hope that "but sometime" in the future can push it to renewable powered electrolysis.

If trends continue, do you see V6/V8 used-car values going down?

Posted by planbskte11@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 145 comments

lowstrife@reddit

Many people focus just on the fuel price, because that's something you look at, directly, with a ton of regularity. It's the headline, the thing you see. There are very few people who do the math and document the actual true total cost of ownership.

The Gas Engine Lives On: Honda Abandons Plan To Go Fully Electric By 2040. "Not Realistic"

Posted by LongjumpingLock5875@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 330 comments

lowstrife@reddit

If you got the one with lead acid batteries, then that isn't surprising. It's not worth the metal it's made out of. Needs to be lithium ion or you're wasting your money.

Just test drove the Ioniq 5N.

Posted by ColoradoCyclist@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 332 comments

lowstrife@reddit

Now just imagine this tech, except with a rolodex of engines you can choose from instead of some boring .wav file of a 4 banger Elantra engine. And then imagine the EV simulates the power and torque curves of whatever motor you've selected. Today you're driving a big turbo 2JZ. Tomorrow it's a NA flat 6. Saturday its a v12.

Just test drove the Ioniq 5N.

Posted by ColoradoCyclist@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 332 comments

Farah: Car Companies Are Abandoning the Everyday Enthusiast

Posted by sid41299@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 355 comments

lowstrife@reddit

Its an explicit tuning end engineering decision made by the OEM's. Cars are a massive set of tradeoffs, sacrificing one thing for another. And as sad as it is, many of these things are reduced and eliminated over time because focus groups whittle away at them to make it more appealing to said focus group. /u/SmokyTyrz I am also someone who drives a car by feel, from the feedback given from the inputs. I find modern cars very challenging to drive as well, the isolation has been pushed to such an extreme. I can heel toe threshold brake with the best of them and smoothly shift a car to where someone can take a sip of a drink mid shift... but I could not drive a new BMW M4 smoothly because I had no idea what the fuck any aspect of the car was doing. It felt like I was learning to drive manual again because all of the feedback I (we) rely on was absent. You just had to guess and pull the clutch and pray you were right. Hence the electronic rev matching. I had to turn it on to be able to drive the car smoothly.

We've Reached Peak Horsepower. Now What?

Posted by user289734@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 273 comments

lowstrife@reddit

A Lucid is one of very few cars I've driven (and it's a lot) that ever made me audibly go "WOW" at how the chassis handled some complex bits of road. Phenomenal chassis setup and refinement. It's just shame they weren't able to get that refinement and excellence to the reliability of the overall package. The overall sentiment is that a lot of dumb, annoying shit is very likely to cause you issues.

We've Reached Peak Horsepower. Now What?

Posted by user289734@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 273 comments

lowstrife@reddit

Usually it's at the behest of a significant other. I'm hot, I'm cold, now I'm too hot again. There's also the need to turn on seat heat\cooling in specific times when you want it, and in many cars its buried one or two or three menu layers deep. And if you have android audo\carplay up, good luck, it's now like 7 interactions to adjust it.

2027 Chevy Corvette Grand Sport Returns with a New 6.7-Liter V-8

Posted by HawtGarbage918@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 446 comments

lowstrife@reddit

CT-4V should have a smallblock v8 instead of the TT v6. They could even re-use the old LT2 to avoid stepping to much on the bigger models.

Ford Recalls 339,619 SUVs for Issues with Rearview Camera and Other Safety Tech

Posted by Sixteen-Cylinders@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 54 comments

Mazda Promises To Keep The Next Miata Under 2,200 Pounds

Posted by Anchor_Aways@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 299 comments

Mazda Promises To Keep The Next Miata Under 2,200 Pounds

Posted by Anchor_Aways@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 299 comments

lowstrife@reddit

I'm in the same boat. I'd own one if I fit. But at 6'6, no modifications exist which are possible to make the geometry work. A mini cooper is the next smallest car that I can actually drive, somehow they have loads more room and the capability to actually put the steering wheel in a place that heel toe is possible.

Mercedes-AMG EV GT 4-Door interior press pictures

Posted by Quick_Coyote_7649@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 72 comments

How do you personally change gears in a manual transmission?

Posted by Raalf@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 316 comments

lowstrife@reddit

I can't think of a situation where staying on the throttle during upshifts is necessary, other than in a old\race car where you need to add a little blip on upshifts because the motor revs fall so quickly.

How do you personally change gears in a manual transmission?

Posted by Raalf@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 316 comments

lowstrife@reddit

Wouldn't #2 cause your rpm's to skyrocket between shifts, causing the motor speed to be thousands of rpm too high for what they need to be? >When I was younger, I used to do the Senna heel toe blip thing all the time. it's obnoxious on the street. I think it's one of the most important aspects of driving manual and you should use it all the time tbh. Even on the street, you turn right into a parking lot it's really nice to already be in 2nd gear before you make the turn.

How do you personally change gears in a manual transmission?

Posted by Raalf@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 316 comments

lowstrife@reddit

> to have the engine within +- 5% of the rpm's that are needed for whatever gear they're going into. Key part of what I originally wrote. Sure I didn't describe how you got there, but the concept is still there. >+5% rather than -5% whether that'd be upshift or downshift. I disagree. I find most cars like you to pull the clutch slightly early before the engine reaches the target RPM it needs to be. So, on upshifts, if the target RPM is 3500, you pull the clutch at 3600 as the rpm's are falling. If upshifting, and the target RPM is 3500, you pull the clutch at 3400 rpm as the motor is accelerating. Conceptually we agree, but the concept is inverted on downshifts.

How do you personally change gears in a manual transmission?

Posted by Raalf@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 316 comments

lowstrife@reddit

What I mean by time of shift is "when" to pull the clutch out as the engine rpm's are changing. The "timing" component is pulling the clutch at the precise moment the rpm's are crossing the point where they need to be for the shift you're trying to achieve.

How do you personally change gears in a manual transmission?

Posted by Raalf@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 316 comments

lowstrife@reddit

#3 highly depends on the car and the engine. In a lot of cars (with rev hang) there are no situations where it's appropriate, you're always waiting for the motor speed to come down on upshifts.

How do you personally change gears in a manual transmission?

Posted by Raalf@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 316 comments

lowstrife@reddit

#3 highly depends on the car and the engine. In a lot of cars (with rev hang) there are no situations where it's appropriate, you're always waiting for the motor speed to come down on upshifts.

How do you personally change gears in a manual transmission?

Posted by Raalf@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 316 comments

lowstrife@reddit

Yeah its often my biggest gripe for most manuals I drive. It'll slow your shift down to 1-2 seconds unless you powershift it and just burn the clutch.

How do you personally change gears in a manual transmission?

Posted by Raalf@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 316 comments

lowstrife@reddit

> this allows the clutch to do the work of speeding up your engine to match the lower gear A skilled driver is within +\- 5% of the rpm's that are needed. The closer you are, the less wear you impart on the clutch, the faster you can pull it, and the longer it lasts. This is the biggest "game" of driving manual. How close to perfect can you get on every shift.

How do you personally change gears in a manual transmission?

Posted by Raalf@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 316 comments

lowstrife@reddit

You can test it without harming the car at all. Flat foot shift, but don't actually pull the clutch out into the gear you're going into. Watch for the revs drop even though you're continuing to floor it.

How do you personally change gears in a manual transmission?

Posted by Raalf@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 316 comments

lowstrife@reddit

Most modern cars have the opposite problem, where they rev hang like a motherfucker inbetween upshifts. But yeah older cars the revs will drop really rapidly, often faster than they like to be shifted, and you have to add a helper blip to get the motor to the right speed for the gear you're going into.

How do you personally change gears in a manual transmission?

Posted by Raalf@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 316 comments

lowstrife@reddit

I can't think of any situation where, other than a car electronic with flat-foot shifting, why you **don't** fully come off of the clutch when performing any shift in a non-motorsports capacity. This smells like the logic of people use the clutch to rev-match downshifts instead of the throttle and say it doesn't harm the car

EPA Boss Lee Zeldin Suggests U.S. May Plan to Axe Stop-Start Systems

Posted by flGovEmployee@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 702 comments

lowstrife@reddit

A friend of mine rented one while she was in town visiting friends. Took it to lunch. She knows the square root of jack shit about cars, "does it have 4 seats and a wheel" is the limit of her knowledge. At some point she complained about it "the car rental company gave me such a old crummy car". She understood she got the cheapest whatever, but was still disappointed by it. Her normal car is a 15 year old Toyota Camry with 200k miles on it. The rental Sentra she was given was brand new with less than 5000 miles. I can agree - I've been in a lot of shitboxes, including a cash for clunkers era Chevy Aveo. But my god.

Ferrari Luce EV video shows paddle-shifting

Posted by dsarif70@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 31 comments

lowstrife@reddit

If low end grunt was all that mattered, why are all the most special drivers cars in the world with the most characteristic engines all high revving low torque screamers?

Ferrari Luce EV video shows paddle-shifting

Posted by dsarif70@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 31 comments

lowstrife@reddit

Then... what's the point of the paddles then? Any sports car without fake gears like Hyundai is DOA imo. The entire point is to inject levity and fun into an otherwise boring EV that's otherwise exactly identical to virtually any other 4 door skateboard made by literally anyone else. Having a rolodex of their historical engines is one of the only things you can do to make a EV sports car actually... interesting? "today I'm driving a 599. Tomorrow I'm in a 296. On Saturday I'll load up the 250 GTO on the way out, and then the F50 on the way home". And then you flip it back to silent EV running when the waifu gets in.

Clarkson announcing the new grand tour hosts

Posted by LuckyBagota@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 233 comments

WhistlinDiesel AKA Cody Detwiler arrested again

Posted by Butt_stuff_preferred@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 573 comments

EV and PHEV cars have 80% more problems than ICE

Posted by xlb250@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 78 comments

lowstrife@reddit

>Engine, major; engine cooling; transmission, major; drive system; electric motor; and EV battery problems are more likely to take a car out of service and to be more expensive to repair than the other problem areas. Consequently, we weight these areas more heavily in our calculations of model year overall reliability. Problems such as broken trim and in-car electronics have a much smaller weight.

The BMW M3 EV Has Four Motors, Fake Engine Noise, And Simulated Gear Shifts

Posted by Anchor_Aways@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 281 comments

lowstrife@reddit

Over the lifetime of the car, the annualized costs are cheaper for EV's compared to similarly priced combustion cars. Your new car costs nothing to maintain because it's brand new. >better for the environment then EVs That is not true.

The BMW M3 EV Has Four Motors, Fake Engine Noise, And Simulated Gear Shifts

Posted by Anchor_Aways@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 281 comments

lowstrife@reddit

They can still shift quite slowly in the grand scheme of things, especially compared to double clutches. But man even some DCT boxes often aren't as smooth at all RPM's and all partial throttle shifts. I don't like a lot about BMW's, but their transmission programming is outstanding. I drove a brand new Q5 loaner today and was really quite let down.

The BMW M3 EV Has Four Motors, Fake Engine Noise, And Simulated Gear Shifts

Posted by Anchor_Aways@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 281 comments

The BMW M3 EV Has Four Motors, Fake Engine Noise, And Simulated Gear Shifts

Posted by Anchor_Aways@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 281 comments

lowstrife@reddit

I've driven a LOT of cars and BMW's ZF8 is goated. It deserves all the praise it gets. I have no idea how good it is at mind reading since I'm always in manual mode whenever gear selection is important. But it's so easy for shitty gearboxes to buck and lag and be generally shitty, BMW gets it right.

The BMW M3 EV Has Four Motors, Fake Engine Noise, And Simulated Gear Shifts

Posted by Anchor_Aways@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 281 comments

lowstrife@reddit

"today I want to drive a 2.7RS, tomorrow I want to drive a 550 Maranello, Sunday I want to drive a big turbo Supra" You turn your boring-ass EV into a full-motion driving simulator, you can even emulate the torque curves of those motors. Is it the same as the real thing? Hell no. Can I afford the real thing? Also no.

The BMW M3 EV Has Four Motors, Fake Engine Noise, And Simulated Gear Shifts

Posted by Anchor_Aways@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 281 comments

lowstrife@reddit

Knowing your speed requires you to take your eyes off the road (track). With engine sounds, you can intuit your speed completely through audio feedback.

The BMW M3 EV Has Four Motors, Fake Engine Noise, And Simulated Gear Shifts

Posted by Anchor_Aways@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 281 comments

lowstrife@reddit

It turns an otherwise silent EV into a full motion driving simulator. Is it actually the real thing? No. But if they have presets where you load up the type of engine you want, and the car simulates the power curve of that motor? Now things get interesting. "today I want to drive a 2.7 RS, tomorrow I want to drive a E39 M5, next day I want to drive a Mustang 5.0" >I tried it in my Genesis twice and wondered why I’d arbitrarily make my EV less efficient to pretend it’s something that it isn’t. I'd find it utterly useless in the city 99% of the time. But in certain situations or spirited drives it would be fun to turn the noise gimmick on and simulate like you're in a ICE car. It's fun to run through the gears on a curvy mountain road.

Do you think there should be some mandatory regulations around electric door access/handles etc?

Posted by JForce1@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 37 comments

lowstrife@reddit

> But if they're going to be electric then a mechanical release should be mandatory and clearly accessible to occupants in case of emergency. Then why do they need to be electric in the first place? This whole thing is just engineering a solution to a problem that otherwise wouldn't have existed in the first place. This, non-amber turn signals, non-automatic DRL's, yoke wheels are things that regulators should have gotten ahead of due to critical life safety problems they create. But don't worry, there is 822 pages of documentation making sure your stop-start functionality defaults to enabled when you start the car.

I have a hot take: the mustang is a very easy car to control and doesn’t deserve its reputation.

Posted by 79QUATTRO@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 63 comments

lowstrife@reddit

In the right situations it can. Timestamp 1:40 https://youtu.be/w7IWVPDguoU?si=5I0NpbaxITwvjUXI&t=100 PS4S with reasonable tread, standard sport mode, systems left on. No clue if the car or my countersteer saved me when I got tunnel vision chasing the x3 and didn't see the gravel.

The BMW M2 was the best selling high performance BMW in 2025 as BMW M GmbH continues to see massive growth despite online controversy.

Posted by Dazzling-Rooster2103@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 179 comments

The BMW M2 was the best selling high performance BMW in 2025 as BMW M GmbH continues to see massive growth despite online controversy.

Posted by Dazzling-Rooster2103@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 179 comments

Bloomberg Report: 15 People Have Died in Crashes Where Tesla Doors Wouldn’t Open

Posted by Recoil42@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 204 comments

lowstrife@reddit

This is the entire point of what I wrote. Please re-read and understand that was my point. For a company that talks about safety, they make some dumbass decisions that reduce the safety of what could otherwise be achieved. The stupid yoke steering wheel is another example.

Bloomberg Report: 15 People Have Died in Crashes Where Tesla Doors Wouldn’t Open

Posted by Recoil42@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 204 comments

lowstrife@reddit

>brother stop parroting this bullshit. The crash test results demonstrate a very safe product, in those tests. >If they cared, they would not be doing this This is the entire point of what I wrote. That for a company that talks about safety, they make some dumbass decisions that reduce the safety of what could otherwise be achieved. The stupid yoke steering wheel is another example.

Bloomberg Report: 15 People Have Died in Crashes Where Tesla Doors Wouldn’t Open

Posted by Recoil42@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 204 comments

lowstrife@reddit

Intentionally adding a point of failure to a life-safety critical piece of hardware is not a great choice, especially coming from a company who cares so much about safety. I think electronic door handles as a whole should be illegal - as even when manual backups exist they often are in weird or unintuitive places.