What's The NUMBER ONE Thing You Look For In An Automobile Today? What MAKES Or BREAKS Your Buying Decision?

800 H.P. and 8 passenger capacity with autonomous driving control.

1) Built for purpose 2) Power 3) Handling 4) Reliability/warranty 5)Styling 6) Price/Value.....Got to tick all the boxes or walk away.

Not an EV

While I love all the choices that people will probably note here - the VERY FIRST one STILL after all these years FOR EVERYONE is

"Can I Afford it"?

IF you can't - the rest is all moot. While today - with the recent inheritance I probably can afford it - there were times when I could not even dream of it.

For Me - at over 6'8" - the very next one is - CAN I Actually get in and out of it? People have asked why I had my Maybach seat moved back. One I am old - and not as agile as I once was - my body doesn't easily move in some ways. But more important - a LONG LONG time ago -I was in am accident - I was walking down the street when a Garbage truck jumped the curb a CRUSHED me into the Plate GLass Display window of a Major Department store. Thankfully - the glass broke - so I am alive - BUT Replaced Hip and Knee, Pins in my SHoulder and Ankle down my whole right side - and 2 dozen operations later - I still have limited movement in my right leg - especially bending. After this many years - Sometimes I forget since I am accustomed to it so well (I even took dancing lessons) - but I will tell you that the few extra inches in the Maybach really allow me not to be in Pain after 20-30 miles. Yes - after a few hours - getting OUT of most cars is hell - but not having to bend my leg as much is worth every cent.


And yes - the next one is the seats. If I cannot find a comfortable position in which to drive - that car is gone.

Now - the performance of the car becomes key BUT - I really don't care what a car company claims its car can do - I do very little track driving anymore - I want real world performance. Fro instance - once TURBO LAG was quite noticeable - and I hated that - so I stay away from turbo's.

There is still one more pet peeve I have - I want BOTH the Oil Filter and the Plug easy to get to. My son once had a Ford Escort - and the Oil Filter was on the back of the engine facing out towards the firewall JUST ABOVE the front of the CAT. YOu could not remove it while the car was hot - which was stupid.

Value for your money... regardless of category....

#1 Styling relative to its class.
#2 Reliability
#3 Performance

The #1 element for me is how the car/truck looks both inside and out. This is not just about "ugly" or not, but the car's proportions, the styling elements and most importantly whether the interior is designed in a pleasing manner so that when I start at it over 70,000 miles, I get the same smile in year 5 as I did when I drove it out of the showroom.

It also has to be the "package" I want (i.e. big luxo sedan, 5-seat large SUV, etc)

I am not brand loyal (aside from having a general preference for German/English brands and Ford products) but to the extent a brand has documented poor reliability/quality (Mini, Jeep, FCA products, Subaru, Nissan, etc - all of which generally market ugly vehicles) I will rule that brand out immediately.

My current favorite car is the VW Arteon. I would never buy one because it is not big enough for my needs but it is a beautiful vehicle. If I was in the market for a mid-size (3-series, 5-series, C-class, E-class) I would buy an Arteon in a heartbeat. As nice as it is, I suspect they will sit on the lots because the package is not what people want. If VW was smart, they would offer it in a long wheel base to offer a roomier back seat.

If VW was smart, the Arteon would have been the Passat's replacement. The Arteon is also $10K overpriced. Spending $45K for a Passat is ridiculous. The dealers are exasperated by it because VW is doing crossovers left and right--elsewhere--but sends a sedan to sedan-hating USA.

The Arteon is overpriced for this market as are many VW products. The Arteon interior looks budget. Why anyone would buy over the A4 is a mystery.

Make or break? Can it fit an XL Airport dog crate is the only question I need answered.

Answering for the "one" thing I look for for is responsiveness. It needs to feel like an extension of the driver.

1) Seat comfort as I have spinal and back injuries and drive 50KM/30K miles a year
2) Long term reliability which rules out the Krauts and Brits offerings as I drive my sleds into the ground putting 300KM on the odometer before replacing them
3) Maintenance costs. Cars are depreciating assets and not investments and I want my money to grow as I get older so I don't give a fat frogs ass about the latest trends
4) Audio system -I spend lots of time driving so I want a rewarding sound system to make my drive more enjoyable
5) Performance -not for the spirit of driving but rather safety like doing a high speed emergency maneuver or the ability to accelerate out of a bad situation
6) Cargo space as I have to haul lots of stuff for work on occasion

I guess this is maturity finally kicking in and the polar opposite of my dickhead 20-30's. It sucks getting old!

Blind Spot Monitor, preferably that makes an audible alert too.

1. Must haves: keyless start, navigation, surround view cameras, auto head lights and wipers, full panel sunroof if not a convertible, and I'd prefer heads-up display
2. 0-60 in 5.0 or less
3. Styling
4. Sound system

It has to be a used taxi with 700,000 miles on the odometer and have bluetooth.

Fuzzy dice must be included free of charge. Too many dealers are ripping off the consumer charging exorbitant prices for this must have feature.

#1 is still a manual transmission surprisingly.
2) four door car (trunk or hatch are fine) - no SUV
3)focus on handling
4) driving position (seats and blind spots)