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| State Route 341 (Mt. Rose Hwy) on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe is a very curvy highway that climbs through the Tahoe National Forest from Reno, Nv at approx 5500 ft elevation to over 8000 ft through the Tahoe Meadows and then down to lake level in Incline Village, NV. It is perhaps the closest thing to the Nurburgring that i will ever experience. Drove my new 07 MDX Sport up to the lake for the first time a couple of days ago. It was Amazing! It had all the power and handling that you could ever want! Here are a few pics from the trip |
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| Here is another pic of my trip up to Lake Tahoe. Not much snow lately, which made what is normally a slow-going slog up the mountain in snow a quick, exciting trip that allowed me to see what this new MDX is capable of. It handles much better than my old 02 MDX. Having 60 more horses, I expected a little more pick-up, but haven't noticed much difference between my 02 and 07 MDXs. Anyone know if the new MDX is heavier than the older model? I know the old one was approx 4400 lbs. |
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| jwaters |
Cool, another Reno resident. Thanks for sharing your pics. You should take Hwy. 50 down from the Lake into the Folsom/Roseville/Sacramento area. That road is very fun and quite scenic as well. Just for clarification, Mt. Rose Hwy. is State Route 431. SR341 is the roadway up to Virginia City. I just took my Pilot up to Tahoe this last weekend. While I like my Pilot, I can't wait to trade it in for an MDX. I'm assuming you purchased yours out of the Sacramento area. Do you mind sharing what you paid and which dealer you went through?
Anyway, nice MDX! :) |
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| Sinecure |
Pretty pics. Since there's almost no snow, I'm tempted to bring my mountain bike up this weekend. I was thinking that the Tahoe Rim Trail to Flume Trail down to the lake would be a good ride. There's probably little if any snow on it now. Heck, there's probably less snow than there was when I rode it back in October:
A couple of pics from right at Mt. Rose Meadows. Taken on October 7, 2006.
Further down there wasn't any snow, but it was still pretty. This is the view from the flume trail looking back at the snow on Mt. Rose. Yes, I rode my bike from where that snow is to where I took the picture. Its a fantastic ride.
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You're right. . . . I always get SR 341 and SR 431 confused. Actually, that is the next trip I am hoping to make is a quick trip to VC going up Geiger. It will be fun.
I bought my MDX at Niello in Sacramento. I bought it in November when they were just coming out, so there were really no deals to be had. I wanted one so bad that I probably would have paid over MSRP :) They gave me $18,000 for my 02 MDX, which I thought was pretty good. I am willing to bet that their sales have not been as brisk as they had hoped initially, however, and I'll bet you could get a better deal than I did. I have only seen 2 other 07's in Reno in the last three months! I think that a lot of people are turned off by the front grill. I like it however, and think that the car has a much more aggressive look compared to my 02. The suspension in "sport" mode is very stiff. However, it handles pretty well and feels pretty good in "comfort" mode. I put mine in comfort mode when getting off the freeway and turn it back on when getting on the freeway.
Back to the dealership. I had a mixed experience at Niello. The sales person I dealt with was Warren Gonzales. He was not pushy at all and spent a lot of time with me explaining new features and taking me on a really long test drive. They didn't have the color I wanted with the sport package, so I decided to wait for the one I wanted. Warren actually drove my new MDX to Reno and then drove my 02 MDX back. I thought that was a nice touch. However, the F&I guy I dealth with, whom I can't remember his name, was a complete A$$hole. I considered writing a letter to Acura complaining about him but never did.
Guess What!? Acura is planning on building a dealership in Reno! It is going to be next to Von Hausen Mercedes and supposedly is going to open in September. So, if you are willing to wait, you might be able to buy it there. It sure will make warranty service a lot easier :) I use Independent Specialists of Reno for my routine service by Costco. They are very reasonable and specialize in Honda and Acuras. Hope this long winded answer to your question helps. |
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| jwaters |
Thanks for all the feedback! That's great news about the Acura dealership in Reno. I never could figure out why we didn't have one. I mean, Lexus has been in Reno since the brand was launched nearly 20 years ago and yet we still don't have an Acura or Infiniti dealership. :8: Do you have any idea who is behind the dealership? Will it be part of the Von Housen auto group?
Anyway, I am planning on waiting until the 2008 MDX comes out (even though it gets harder the more MDXs I see on the roads). I just want to give Acura time to work out any potential bugs.
:) |
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I was told by my salesperson, Warren, that the Acura dealership was going to lease the land from the Von Hausen group but that it was a different company, which he did not elaborate on. I just hope it isn't someone horrible like Fletcher Jones or something like that.
I had the same reservations about the 07 MDX having bugs to work out. One thing that I thought was a little odd and am hoping that they fix on later models is the lack of paddle shifters. You can manually shift up and down with the gear shift by pressing it either up or down in manual mode, but it just isn't the same as having paddle shifters on the steering wheel.
If you ever want to take mine for a spin, let me know. Heck, when I get a hitch put on it, we can throw the mountain bikes on and go for a ride. I am a fair weather mountain biker, though LOL. |
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| Fabvsix |
Vapors:
I drove my Sport model to "Clear Lake" a few weeks ago. The X handling is impressive, esp. manually shifting the beast in "sport mode"......Why it doesn't feel faster is the SH-AWD has some weight to it......so that gives quite an advantage over the previous generation X. You would gain many miles on twisties against an 06 X.:1: |
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quote:
Originally posted by Fabvsix
Vapors:
......Why it doesn't feel faster is the SH-AWD has some weight to it......so that gives quite an advantage over the previous generation X. You would gain many miles on twisties against an 06 X.:1:
The difference in curb weight between the 02 and the 07 is only about 150 lbs. I am not sure if I could notice that small of a difference. My 02 with a rear trailer hitch probably weighed nearly the same as my 07 wihtout. Or do you mean that the weight is distributed lower in the car giving it a low center of gravity, allowing for better handling?
Thanks again for your comments. |
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| Fabvsix |
. Or do you mean that the weight is distributed lower in the car giving it a low center of gravity, allowing for better handling?
Yes! |
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