I’m stunned you were able to get a F-350 so quickly. We ordered a F-150 back in March and we were informed a couple of weeks ago that if we get rid of 2 options and accept another option, they will build our truck. Otherwise they would cancel our order. I think our truck is being built the last week or 2 of the 2021 production cycle.
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Kid’s car died a sudden and premature death in a collision. Some inattentive turd hit her from the back (and tried to blame the kid!) The insurance co dealt with the jerk, but the car was totaled. Kid got more money for the totaled car than she paid for it 2.5 years ago! I bet the insurance co sold the car to some salvager and recouped some serious money. Needless to say, kid is not in a huge hurry to shop for a replacement. There are no cars anywhere in stock as nice as her beloved Subaru.
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I bought a my dream used fancy car at the beginning of Covid April 2020. All the dealerships were supposed to be closed. There were no customers. But they sure perked up when I called around. I had to go 2 hours up to LA masked on a completely empty train to get the car
Boy am I glad I chose to use my down time to research and finally purchase a car because my work truck was just in the shop for 4 weeks and I would have been out of luck
I got a freaking deal because no one was buying cars. And my car is now worth 36% more than I paid for it!!
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I don’t have it yet. It’s slated to start production Nov. 1. 
There’s a BIG demand difference in the two trucks too. They sell 750,000 give or take F150s per year and only about 50,000 F350s.
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Reaction from test driving various SUVs: I do not like push-button (Honda Pilot & Honda Passport, & GMC Acadia, for example) or dial (Ford Edge is an example) gear selectors. Takes some of the fun out of driving,in my opinion.
My impression must have some agreement as all of these SUVs are available even though all receive very good ratings from Consumer Reports.
It’s funny - I went and test drive a bunch of different SUV’s and the only one I liked was the Escape. Period. I remember thinking, who likes these things… then I was like Oh, well, someone must, because they are popular cars. Both of my parents had Subaru Forresters as well as my sister and I took one of theirs to work for a day as an extended test drive and brought it back to them like “nope, no way!”
The Subaru Forester used to offer an optional turbocharged engine, but recently the turbocharged engine was discontinued as an option.
The new Ford Escapes are attractive, but do not get good ratings from Consumer Reports. Available with either a 3 cylinder engine or a turbocharged four cylinder engine.
The rotary gear selector may be attractive to some, but unattractive to others.
Weaknesses of the Ford Escape include engine noise in the base 3 cylinder engine, power equipment, in-car electronics, & overall reliabilty.
Consumer Reports did not find any weaknesses in the 2020 Subaru Forester, but I would not consider it without a turbocharged engine (which is not a current option).
I personally feel like riding in a Forester is like riding in the most uncomfortable car that I’ve ridden in since the 80’s. They’re slightly better with the leather trim then without, but still meh.
On a side note, I remember test driving a Mazda cx…5? and it felt like it was in the wrong gear the whole time. Apparently Hyundai Tuscon’s are like that too. Cars are weird.
The strangest thing about my '16 escape are the stupid windshield wipers. It’s like you need a degree in windshield wipology to handle them. Lol.
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I have test driven the Subaru Ascent & the Subaru Outback–both with turbocharged 4 cylinder engines. Both were comfortable & both had adequate power. The 3 row (7 seats) Subaru Ascent had second row Captain’s Chair seats which was nice. Plenty of Ascents in stock, but still charging a premium over MSRP (ends up at about $52,000). At least a 6 month wait for Outbacks which must be pre-ordered with a small deposit.
The Ford Edge is comfortable, but not being considered due to the rotary dial gear selector (even though we found an available new with all wheel drive (AWD) model for a very affordable price of $37,000).
My understanding is that Ford is discontinuing both the Escape & the Edge after this year.
With an automatic transmission, does it matter all that much, other than the ergonomics of changing between regular “drive” and “low” for more engine braking (or regeneration for an electric vehicle) when going down a hill? If you want gear-shifting fun, look for a car with a manual transmission.
Apparently it matters on some models which have reported problems with the push button gear selector. Plus, to me, it makes the SUV feel cheap.
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My MIL has an Outback. It’s decently comfy. Hers is a 2019 I think. I do like Mitsubishi’s, but decided against the outlander sport at the time. Did you drive those at all? I’ve historically has very good luck with their vehicles - I had 2 back to back which I drove up till 150k miles or so. Upgraded the one to a newer version of itself, and got rid of the other after a series of car accidents.
I have driven in the past and now interested in a Lincoln Nautilus, any idea about availability and pricing?
We bought my kid an inexpensive new Hyundai at peak pandemic shutdown in early summer 2020. She could sell it used today for more than we paid for it, based on the prices I see online.
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I have never driven a Mitsubishi.
CR gives the Mitsubishi Outlander a solid rating and notes that this model “is fully redesigned for 2022”. Notes that wind noise is noticeable although the handling is “quite nimble and secure…”
Lincoln Nautilus is a gorgeous SUV. CR states that it has a comfortable ride & a quiet cabin. CR writes: “The only knock against this SUV is its unintuitive, fussy push-button gear selector.”
Base price ranges from $42,500 - $65,090.
Consumer Reports shares that: “We (CR) found that the more powerful (optional) engine delivers effortless acceleration.”
I purchased a new truck in July and I was VERY lucky that a dealership had one nearby in a color and trim level that I was looking for, and there was no markup on it, and it was significantly more affordable than other dealers within a few hundred miles.
They gave me a great deal on my trade in, and I think I literally found the best possible deal I could have and was lucky because I needed to trade in my old truck and everything happened to align perfectly.
If anyone in CT is looking for a car feel free to PM me and I would be happy to recommend the dealer we used
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We just bought a new Honda Civic sport last week. We had to travel out of town to a larger dealer to find one and were able to put a deposit down on one that was in transit. It took about a week to arrive and we paid MSRP for it.
We originally wanted to buy used (first car for our 16 year old) but as others have mentioned, the prices were so high that new made more sense. It was crazy to visit all the car lots that were practically empty-maybe 1 or 2 new cars on the whole lot!
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Why do auto companies keep advertising on TV? Committed time? It seems like a time when they could severely cut back on advertising and improve profit unless they had a surprising awards or reviews.
The San Diego Auto Show was cancelled again and possibly not just because of COVID restrictions.
Cramped inventories have also affected the amount of advertising and promotional dollars manufacturers want to spend on things like auto shows.