How many are going to trade for a 6th Gen?

I don't think this country's people have a problem of having too much self-restraint.

 

Certainly not me.

But, I've heard stories about people who planned everything around retirement, only to pass away before they get to enjoy it.

As Mac said, there's a balance between planning for the future, and enjoying life as you go.

 

A little late to the party here. But Stanley Meyer figured that out the hard way.

 

Without knowing the story, I'm guessing he died mysteriously? Or, "committed suicide."

 

Enjoying life is not the same thing as buying stuff. I suppose it depends on if one's definition of "enjoying life" is.

The best time I have with the family are on family hiking and road trips that are very economical dollar wise but give the people time to bond.

 

Going off of memory here but he was an engineer who retrofitted an engine to run off of water only. He was able to basically take water, split the chemical structure and run engines off of the two hydrogen molecules. The only emission was oxygen.

Long story short he met with a couple foreign investors, claimed he was poisoned and died immediately. The foreign investors fled the scene and were never identified. Very interesting story. It's been a while since I've read about this but it's pretty well documented if you'd like to do some research on it.

Rumors circulate online about it being a hit job funded by oil companies. Who really knows. I believe it happened in the 90's.

 

If I didn’t love certain cars and they weren’t one of my pricey hobbies, forget 5th gen vs 6th gen……I’d just buy some used Toyota Avalon or Lexus ES, meticulously maintain it, and drive the wheels off of it for 2 decades. My transportation expenses would be almost nothing.

But honestly, if you choose something reliable that you really like, maintain it, and plan to keep it for 15-20 years, whether it costs $40K or $60K doesn’t matter much……unless you make $60K a year, in which case you probably shouldn’t be buying a car that is equal to a year of your salary!

Ya ya, everyone knows even a $20K delta invested over 30 years is blah blah. If you tackle your priorities in order, investing a healthy percentage of your income has already come before car buying considerations. Another couple hundred grand added to an already multi million dollar retirement account 30 years from now is honestly not worth being a daily skinflint and depriving your younger self of every single want imo.

 

I agree. The best days for me usually don't involve anything fancy. A boat day with family, hanging around a campfire with good friends, mini road trips, whether solo or with company, kayak days, etc. Nothing terribly expensive.

But, I also travel a lot, by car. Spending some extra $$ to travel in a vehicle I like is worth it to me. It might not be the same for everyone, though.

 

That’s exactly what I did. Everyday car is 2005 Accord I got new, tried to keep it tip top shape. Only hand washed and waxed several times per year. The lease is about up To be very honest with you it is still a pleasure to drive too.

 

That's me with my 2005 Corolla.

Thing is so simple I can change the engine myself with a hoist in one afternoon if I wanted to.

Note to self: buy another 9th gen Corolla...

 

That’s awesome. Only thing I did not plan on was now 20 years later hand wash at quarter wash wears me out more so in the winter especially bending down to get the salt off the underbody. The damn car is aging better than me

 

That sounds like hydrogen fuel cell technology, which has been around for a long time. Even before this guy. You can definitely run a car on water…technically speaking. But as always, the laws of physics does not allow for perpetual motion. You can’t crack hydrogen off of water without using electrical energy. And the process requires more energy than the hydrogen will produce. It’s not to say that fuel cells aren’t useful, but I doubt the guy was wacked due to a car that was using known tech.

I really like the idea of hyd fuel cell vehicles. But to get usable amounts of power starting from water, you have to crack off the hydrogen using on-board methods and on-board energy. It’s also a slow process, so unless you use huge amounts of electrical energy and physical space to accelerate hydrogen production, you’ll end up with an huge unusable vehicle. In the end, if you want a practically sized car, it’s much easier to just buy hydrogen and store it in tanks in the vehicle, like was done with previous attempts at hyd fuel cell vehicles, and like what toyota is currently doing with the Mirai.

The ultimate problem with anything other than petroleum based power, is the infrastructure to move usable quantities of the fuel. Gasoline is energy dense, and you can physically move it around in a container. That’s not a small inconsequential detail. Even EVs that use established powerplant-sourced energy struggle with distributing it and moving enough of it quickly enough compared to gasoline. Hydrogen is even worse in this regard, because once the producer makes it, it leaks out of everything…storage tanks, during transport, and in the “gas tank” of the vehicle. It’s very perishable in this sense.

Infrastructure and the ability of to quickly transport usable quantities of fuel energy are huge parts of why “big oil” persists. That’s really what locks in their market dominance, not so much them knocking off engineers marketing other forms of vehicle energy.

 

Nice! If I had more garage/driveway space, I’d add something similar and demote even the 4Runner to a pleasure vehicle lol.

Sports cars and nice trucks are cool but there’s something great about an older bulletproof sedan that you can pile miles on carefree. The older accords can surprise you with some interesting vtec character too!

People that aren’t all that into cars and just want something nice that gets them around should look no further than a good naturally aspirated Lexus, Toyota, or Honda from a few years back. The epitome of headache free. Even my old ‘01 3rd gen continues to serve my brother well as his winter daily.

 

@mac1usa did you mention the hagerty video on the lc250? I found this part very interesting.


I don’t remember the numbers for the 4runner, but I imagine this isn’t going to be much different.

The reality with these new vehicle, is that you’re gonna have to like them big.

 

I can't stand the looks. I hate the cheap fender flare look. Reminds me of some boomer stuff they to do with Bushwacker fender flares they love to put on the Jeep TJs. No offense to anyone just not for me.

 

I just watched that video over the weekend. I thought it was great because it gave me a history lesson about the Landcruiser name/brand and then it educated me on how under-whelming the new Landcruiser is. You're much better off buying the new Lexus GX550.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlhSgUh_6VY

 

Yeah I quoted that video somewhere. Too much on the forum lol. The 4Runner 5th Gen is 191.3 long, 75.8 wide and 71.5 high. So yeah quite close. I had those figures in a spreadsheet of multiple vehicles I drove and parked in my garage prior to purchase

Time for Detroit Football. Go Lions!

 

It's definitely a weird year in the NFC north! Enjoy the game!

 

Thanks man. Everyone is pumped and excited in this town. It’s been all longtime coming.

 

Go Lions!

...and take the Tigers with you.

 

I’m a fan of hydrogen and I was hearing rumors that Toyota would start moving that way instead of EV.

I think the whole reason Stanley Meyer was looking for investors was he found a simple and efficient way to split the molecules and it could be retrofitted to any vehicle. He even had a racecar using this tech just to garner some attention.

For the record I’m not saying he was wacked for it or that it was some amazing new idea that had never been done before. Just that he died under very mysterious circumstances and his family members believe it was a hit job. He also took his designs to the grave as no one else had access to them even after his death.

Just an interesting piece of history surrounded by lore and conspiracy nowadays.

 

That’s us too. My life goal is to go to every state and visit every national park.

 

That's where I'm at. I had a plan that I would buy something on a 15-year mortgage when I turned 45, which was a good plan until prices starting skyrocketing in 2020.

Now I'll probably be dead before I pay off a 30 year note.

I might as well stop saving and just buy a Raptor after all LOL

 

I just watched that video. He’s pretty harsh on the 4 cylinder hybrid. I hope Toyota listens and puts the V6 in the LC. Having to pay a minimum of $64K for a GX550 is a bit much.
Something else that was interesting is that the LC 70 series that we dream about having in the US has been in production for 40 years yet here people were complaining about the 5th gen 4Runner not being updated quick enough.

 

Or wait 4 years, when the GX550 has depreciated to less than 40% of its original MSRP, judging by the lease residuals calculated by the analysts at Lexus Financial

 

Exactly!!! Lol

If anybody is in doubt about how eco friendly and efficient this engine is, I’ll remind them that it also comes with a ECO light on the dash to tell you when you’re being extra eco!

 

you mean the light everyone can't wait to turn off? LMAO

 

Maybe we can get an Eco badge to put on our side pillars too.
But they'll need to come in both silver and black...

 

That’s the one! I turn it back on whenever I want to be internally conflicted looking at the pretty green leaf underneath the display saying 14mpg.

 

Laws of Thermodynamics must have killed him.