Q60 Test Drive

A couple of unrelated topics first…I watched the Georgia-Clemson football game on Saturday in its entirety. I cannot recall the last time I watched a live sporting event from beginning to end. The fact that the game started about 5 PM local time helped my viewing.

The last ten seasons or so that I subscribed to NFL Sunday Ticket, I would record the Ravens game (and, sometimes, the Packers game as well). I would wait to watch until I knew I could skip the commercials and the halftime “report” and not “catch up” to the live broadcast. As it turns out, I would often fast forward through some of the other team’s offensive possessions as well, only rewinding if an interesting play occurred.

I don’t watch any sports other than football, anymore. Some of my friends and acquaintances still don’t believe that I don’t watch baseball, but I haven’t watched a baseball game in 9-10 years.

Anyway…I was happy at the outcome of the Georgia-Clemson game as I just don’t like Clemson’s head coach. He strikes me as disingenuous. No, it doesn’t bother me that he is paid $9 million a year; it bothers me that his players aren’t paid at all. I am sure that will change within the next 5 years.

Switching gears, ever since we attended the Mecum auction in Monterey, I have been afflicted with what I think are bug bites of some kind. In Monterey, the first full day we were there was the day before the auction started. We were able to wander the hotel grounds and see many of the cars, but for a large part of that wandering we were walking through tall, wet grass. That night I awoke to awful itching and burning around my ankles, with accompanying raised red bumps, and only after much application of antibiotic ointment and hydrocortisone was I able to fall asleep. Yes, I travel fully stocked with medicinal products.

Since returning to Arizona, though, I am still suffering from itching and small, slightly raised red bumps, primarily on the lower part of my legs. I don’t know if the very wet monsoon season has led to a proliferation in the bug population here. We are enduring an explosion in the butterfly and moth populations. I do know that my wonderful wife has not been afflicted at all.

I have purchased a device that, supposedly, lures insects with UV light, sucks them in with a fan and then traps them on a glue sheet. After it arrives I will put it in the bedroom first and, if it works, I may buy 5 or 6 more and place them around the house.

******************

Even though we have still not heard if our Cadillac ATS will be totaled, we decided to check out a possible replacement, the Infiniti Q60. Some pictures:

 

 

These are pictures of a new Q60. Believe it or not, this is one of only nine new vehicles in the entire inventory of this large Infiniti dealer. Of course, that means it’s not really a good time to be buying a car, but sometimes we don’t get to make choices, they are thrust upon us. Here are pictures of the car we actually drove, a 2017 model:

 

 

Yes, that is my Corvette to the left of the Q60. One conclusion to which I am inextricably drawn is that cars of recent vintage are, in general, very well made. While the exigencies of the profit margin have led to questionable decisions about specific component use that, at times, have led to recalls, I think a 2017 or 2021 vehicle is orders of magnitude more reliable than a new one manufactured 50 or 60 years ago.

This particular Q60 was not equipped with the twin-turbo V-6, but the single turbo inline-4. 2017 was the last year that engine was available in the Q60.

Of course, given the four-cylinder engine has about 100 less HP than our Cadillac ATS, it wasn’t quite as impressive in accelerating, but the torque is not that far off (about 20 LB-FT less) and the car was hardly a slug. It handled well although, again, not quite as well as the ATS, in my opinion. It was very comfortable, though, and would be no less functional than the Cadillac. I can happily report that the awful CVT is no more and the Q60 does indeed have a “normal” automatic transmission with seven speeds, I believe.

Like our ATS, this Q60 did not have navigation or Apple Car Play; the latter did not become standard until the 2018 model year. The dealer is asking about $12,000 more than we paid for our ATS and unless the car sits in inventory for awhile, I doubt we have any room to negotiate. The 2017 is priced about $20,000 less than the single 2021 model in stock.

Although I like the looks of our ATS, I must admit I think the Q60 looks better. My wonderful wife and I are, of course, waiting to hear about the insurance company’s decision on the Cadillac. It is possible that this Q60 will be sold before we know. A few other Q60s are available in the area, but they are more expensive. In any event, we would be more than satisfied if such a vehicle wound up as our ATS replacement, if we need one. Many thanks to Tanner for taking care of us.

I would like to read any relevant thoughts from any of you.

 

#Q60TestDrive

#BugBites

#somanycarsjustonelife

#disaffectedmusings

If you like this blog please tell your friends and share the blog URL (https://disaffectedmusings.com). Thanks.