I’m ready to discuss the future dilemma as of today, just shy of August, 2021.
I haven’t been able to post as regularly as I have been going into the office, returning to some semblance of normalcy. Today I happen to be working remotely so I thought I would check in.
My primary goal remains debt consolidation, and I will continue on this path for the foreseeable future. That being said, I still like to daydream and set goals, however, I don’t see myself reaching for the next automotive goal unless I have the money to purchase outright, or my loan is so ridiculously low that I can pay it off within 6 months. Ideally, though, I buy the vehicle outright.
I’ve played with the idea of pickup trucks for years now. Just this week, however, I really thought about how often I actually would use the truck if I had one. Normally, the terrible gas mileage of the vast majority of pickup trucks would make me not want to drive it, meaning it would not be a daily driver. The only way I could make a pickup truck a daily driver is if it were a fully electric one like a Tesla CyberTruck or the new upcoming Ford Lightning. In those cases, the gas mileage either matches that of reasonable economy cars or exceeds it. As a rough estimate, www.fueleconomy.gov states that 1 gallon of gasoline is equivalent to 33.7 kWh. This estimates that a Tesla Model S Plaid, the fastest production car on the planet, has an estimated fuel economy of 101 MPGe. This is from a production fully-electric car that was actively designed for speed.
I don’t think there are any numbers yet for either of the aforementioned trucks, but I would at least expect the MPGe to match those of today’s high fuel economy vehicles (30-50 MPG). Trucks are a little heavier than sedans so I don’t know if 101 MPGe is to be anticipated.
While those two vehicles are on the table, the future dilemma really focuses on sports cars, because that is what motivates me the most. The idea of buying a pickup truck is simply not exciting. In contrast, the idea of buying sports cars resonates powerfully with me. Currently, the two sports cars on the top of my list are the upcoming Nissan 400Z as well as the Toyota GR 86.
So I suppose I will use the terms Nissan Z Proto and Nissan 400Z interchangeably in this article. The vehicle is the same.
https://www.nissanusa.com/vehicles/future-concept/new-nissan-z.html
Details are lacking on this vehicle as it officially debuts in a few weeks on August 17, 2021. What I can say is it will be powered by a twin-turbo V6 engine and will have a manual transmission option. I suspect the motor will take some design properties from either the Nissan GTR motor or the previous Nissan 370Z. It is an exciting prospect to be sure. I expect horsepower values to be in the 300-400 arena.
Compare this to the Toyota GR 86 which should be produced later this year.
https://www.toyota.com/upcoming-vehicles/gr86/
This is the next iteration of the previous Toyota 86 (or Subaru BRZ). It is a chassis redesign with a slightly larger motor. Personally, I dig it. It boasts 228 HP and 184 lb-ft of torque out of its 2.4L FA24 flat four, and you may know how much I love my horizontally opposed motors. Additionally, I expect the same (if not improved) low center of gravity and tight suspension as its outgoing design.
The last time I had this type of dilemma was when I was buying used to replace the Nissan Sentra I inherited. My research lead to either a Mazda MX-5 or a Nissan 350Z. If you look at horsepower, it’s a no-brainer, however, if you look at the total package, it is a toss-up. Ultimately, I cared more about handling then power, which historically has been the case with me. The only times that really did not hold up were with my BMW (which my wife now daily drives) and with the 911 which can be argued, since it has both the power AND the handling.
That being said, if I needed to make a choice today, I would go with the GR 86. This is from a guy who had a 2017 BRZ, upgraded that to a 2017 911, and then replaced that with a 2019 Honda Type R. The 86 would likely replace the Celica, which is the consummate conundrum. If I am really worried about debt, it behooves me to keep driving the Celica until it is cost-prohibitive to continue to do so. That means that if I spend thousands of dollars on maintenance activities that it begs the question of whether I should continue. Now, if I can band-aid things or do the maintenance myself, that obviously makes me lean towards keeping the car, however, if something rather drastic needs to be done, like an entire motor swap or transmission work, then it becomes difficult to argue to keep it versus cutting my losses. That being said, the car runs good today so I hope to at minimum run it until 200k miles, and it sits around 135k today. Given my driving habits, that puts me multiple years out before replacing it.
The key though is that this Celica is a second vehicle. That affords me the opportunity to do major maintenance while keeping an active vehicle available. I don’t see myself selling the Honda to get a GR 86, though. The Honda is awesome, simply put.
That being said, the future dilemma does not completely write off the 400Z. The release/debut is coming up so I will keep my eyes tuned for not only that news, but also news from the automotive reviewers out there once they start taking a look.
I will mention that I had my eyes on the new M4 and Supra, but the asking prices rule those out. You can’t be interested in reconciling debt at the same time as you take a loan for $70k+. The GR 86 is going to list for around $31k and the new Z car will likely check in around the $35k-45k range like the 370Z.
So for the foreseeable future, I plan on banking funds to consolidate debt until I can build my savings. I’ll still have a mortgage for quite some time but once I start saving I may or may not put money away in mutual funds to aid in retirement.