One of the many beauties of The Autopian’s partnership with Galpin is that the huge dealership network gets loads of trade-ins, which I’m allowed to drive at my leisure to create content for you, dear readers.
Every single day I look forward to reading the list of cars that were traded, and now I’d like to share a few of those recent lists with you, dear Autopian Members, so you can help me choose what to drive.
If you haven’t watched Trade-In-Tuesday yet, here is the first batch of episodes, starting with the Dodge Nitro with a missing catalytic converter:
Then I drove the swanky BMW 8 Series:
This traded-in 2018 Toyota Mirai hydrogen car was quite an interesting experience:
And the latest episode featured the incredibly entertaining but janky Chrysler 300C, which overheated during a burnout:
A few things I’d like to ask you members:
- Which episode did you like best?
- How can we improve?
- Which cars on the following lists would you like me to drive next?
Sorry DT, this isn’t my Forte. TBH I saw you walking through the lot, you had a nice old Buick behind you. That is what you should drive
I like the older and more unusual cars. So my top 3 are the Cadillac SRX, the Toyota Prius-C, and the Chevy Volt.
How about the old Buick un the background?
I’m all about the Volt or one of those Ridgelines.
Chevy Volt.
I agree with the others saying Avalanche. I like reviews that feature vehicles that had interesting ideas or were not necessarily playing it safe.
The Avalanche to see if they live up to the hype they have now.
AV-A-LANCHE! Av-a-lanche! Av <clap> A <clap> LANCHE!
How about the Challenger?
The Mirai article was my favorite, but that’s going to be hard to replicate since that car is so unusual. Maybe going out to find a random current owner of the car you’re discussing could be a good recurring bit though? That was absolutely one of my favorite parts of the Mirai.
Nobody commented on David trying to pull off a bad-ass pose? May as well be Barney.
the Chevy volt
If you get any Twikes in as trades, you should definitely review it. Same for any ‘crap era’ BEVs.
2 Series Bimmer for the next one (or the one after the Avalanche, I guess). The column is great – I don’t have any particular issues with it. I enjoyed the 300C the most, just because it’s a car I’ve always liked but never knew a lot about.
Mirai was the best episode, I loved that you were able to talk to an enthusiastic owner who will be trading it in shortly, that was a lot of fun. The episodes I would like to see would be the Avalanche, Volt, or MX-5. Is Miata truly always the answer? The others are just unique vehicles. The rest is all too mainstream. Prius Prime maybe, but it’s like a less impressive Volt. The Cs are interesting though, just flog it properly and let’s see how it handles at speed.
Hate to be part of the echo chamber, but the Avalanche is obviously the #1 answer here. Though I’d be partial to and episode for that 2014 Beetle. I know it’s just a Golf that’s been compromised to fit less stuff, but I think those final Beetles are nice cars. Would be curious to see if a 2014 Beetle still worked at all.
I enjoyed the Nitro episode but that’s more or less because I hate the Nitro? I clicked on that article and video mostly out of “ooooOOOoooo I haaaate the Nitro!” With great enthusiasm. So I guess that tells you what motivates me.
Don’t watch the videos, but the concept is solid and I’ve enjoyed reading the series. Weird/unusual/rare are all good (Volt, Avalanche), surprisingly old or heavily used is good (Avalanche, Pilot), or something way out of character for you (BMW).
I like what others have said about a scoring system to compare between vehicles, finding random crap from previous owners, etc. The fact the sample size is 1 for each of these drives makes surprising outcomes possible too!
Advice? I’ll let you know when I’ve caught up on the series. I would really like to see the Miata; I’ve ridden in one, and I remember it as a surprisingly fun car. One of the Priuses would be interesting too; I haven’t seen one in a long time. And the Avalanche, because why not. (I saw one on the road not too long ago that had fully restored plastic trim; it looked good, but was visually jarring when you’re used to that chalky gray stuff.)
I also find it strange what kinds of stuff people seem to leave in cars when trading. My parents never traded or sold many cars, but I do remember everyone – even tiny me – being encouraged to check any little cubbies or hiding spots in the car to make sure you hadn’t left something (sort of like leaving a hotel room).
Volt and Avalanche. Seems we all agree. Pick one.
2004 Avalanche, 2016 2 Series, 2014 Beetle while doing your best Torch impression.
I stopped reading once I read Avalanche. I have to see how it’s holding up after 20 years.
Your comment is the same as my comment. Avalanche!!!!!!
I’m honestly surprised it was still on the road. I haven’t seen one in at least a decade I need to know what condition it’s in.
I see them all the time, and there are 2 versions.
1st Gen – Clapped out, rusted through, rattle-can paint, and smells like an ashtray from a block away
2nd gen – Pristine condition
I think we are all surprised, which is why we all collectively chose it. LOL.
Which episode did you like best? the BMW 8 Series
How can we improve? Not sure, maybe tighten the editing up a little bit? There wasn’t a lot of fat to trim but there also wasn’t none.
Which cars on the following lists would you like me to drive next? The ’14 Volt, the ’14 Beetle, or the ’12 Prius C.
For some reason that Prius C seems to be a very “Autopian” car – just how cheap can we make a car with an expensive drivetrain
Volt please, drive and use all the EV range (no cheating with mountain mode) with the heat on max to do it quicker, lets see if the engine engages or you get a service high voltage system lol basically bricking the vehicle unless you have a scanner, the one from autozone will not work.
#3: say it with me…
CHEV-VY VOLT
CHEV-VY VOLT
CHEV-VY VOLT
The Avalanche is what stands out most, but I also wouldn’t mind seeing a Tiguan, solely for the reason that I have no goddamn idea why anyone would choose one over the competition and yet I see them everywhere. Hell our friend just bought one! I want to know what it is about the damn things that appeals to people, because on paper there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to choose it over any of the Japanese competition.
Seriously! My ex, who I’ve mentioned on here before, has been driving a 2005 Passat wagon for over 11 years. He just bought a 2017 Tiguan to replace the Passat and apparently loves it. He kept the Passat since it still runs… probably a good idea for him to have a spare car. But other than just plain brand loyalty, idk why you’d pick a Tiguan over the competition. Or even a Golf/Jetta wagon to replace the Passat, though I suspect the ex didn’t want to own the same car as me, which is fair.
Before the pandemic they sold pretty well around here because they were CHEAP. Like, 23k out the door cheap.
Outside of that, the only reason I’d imagine someone would choose the latest Tiguan (now that pricing sucks) is that it’s genuinely large. The Tiguan scratches that itch for a large of a vehicle as I can get for my money concept. It’s basically the modern Dodge Journey (along with the option for a crammed in 3rd row). A quick search shows that my nearest dealer is even willing to admit that they’ll come down a grand from MSRP, which I’ve hardly seen any dealer willing to admit online with any car.
I mean I get it, but the money you save is going to be a wash if you’re planning on owning one long term because VWs gonna VW. Damn the EA888 to hell. But maybe if you’re leasing one could work.
Idk fam I’d still get a CRV or RAV4 over one every single goddamn time. Hell I’d take a Forester over a Tiguan, CVT and all.
Oh I totally understand, I wouldn’t roll the dice on the Tiguan either (though the long-ass warranties that VW was giving out post-dieselgate made these and other VWs pretty appealing once upon a time).
There are also some people who seem to be on the train of “all modern cars are just about equally reliable” which I’m finding more and more untrue over time.
That’s because the Tiguan we get in the US is actually a larger version of the Tiguan called the Tiguan Allspace.