Need a 6MT / AWD Reliable and Reasonably Fast Sedan? This 2012 Acura TL SH-AWD is Coming Soon.

July 19, 2021July 19, 2021

Need a 6MT / AWD Reliable and Reasonably Fast Sedan? This 2012 Acura TL SH-AWD is Coming Soon.

The first Acura to make The CarMax Unicorn Blog. Not what I think of as an enthusiast car at first, until you consider the niche. Who else has a sedan this size, with a 300+ horsepower six-cylinder motor, a six-speed manual transmission, AWD, and bulletproof reliability? The Germans are out. The Cadillac ATS V with a 462 hp six and a manual transmission I covered last week here is only two wheel drive, and by the way cost over $30,000 more. Think of the fourth generation, 2012 Acura TL SH-AWD as a gentleman’s Subaru WRX. Plus, there are only two other manual transmission Acura TL SH-AWD’s for sale on Auto Trader – one at half the price with twice the miles, and another with 10,000 fewer miles for a third more. This one’s a unicorn.

The 3.7 liter V-6 puts out 305 hp, and moves the sub-4,000 lb sedan to 60 mph in about 5.3 seconds. The motor didn’t get high marks for being high tech when new, but it is certainly good enough, and extremely reliable. Reviews considered it satisfying and beefy at the 6,700 rpm red line. It’s the transmission, though, that get’s high marks – short, crisp shifts the old fashioned way.

The interior was a bit dated in 2012 and is damned near vintage now. Nothing horribly wrong, just bland. The Acura has seat heaters, nav, Bluetooth, a sunroof, keyless entry/start and a rear view camera. Just enough. Only 18 months ago CarBuzz revisited this car in the review, “The Manual Acura TL Is One Of The Coolest Sedans Ever Made“. They clearly dug it. Check it out here. The 2012 Acura TL SH-AWD sold new for north of $43,000 and is being offered for $21,995 nine years later at CarMax. Plenty of money left over for MaxCare, offered for another 100,000 miles, but would you really need it? Find this two-owner Colorado car in the Coming Soon category here in Loveland, Colorado, just three hours north of Pike’s Peak!

July 14, 2021July 14, 2021

Remember This 2010 Mercedes S65 AMG? It Just Sold for $11,000 MORE Than The CarMax Price!

I transferred in this 2010 Mercedes S65 AMG last fall and ultimately declined to buy. My whole saga is here. Because of our car connection when I declined to buy I arranged for blog reader Hans to immediately take control and transfer to Wilmington, NC. Hans bought the car, but it was not what he expected (it was too tame, and Hans has enough AMG experience to know the AMG growl) and he returned it. Here the plot thickens. Hans and I cooked a deal to have CarMax transfer the car to another blog reader Collin. Oddly, CarMax told Collin the car was “accidentally” sold. Then the plot took an odd turn – blog reader Mustafa, a truly gifted CarMax sniper, alerted me this S65 was posted on cars.com and the seller, a dude named “John” from Connecticut, had contacted him about his Mercedes CL65 and mentioned the S65. More bizarre, the cars.com ad had the picture of the S65 in MY driveway from MY blog post! I contacted John but never heard back and forgot about it. This week Mustafa alerted me to the very same 2010 Mercedes S65 offered on the Bring a Trailer auction site by a company called Exclusive Impex in Miami. Of course I jumped in to share what I know about the car, both to bring prospective buyers’ attention to the car’s mysterious past, and to shamelessly flog my blog. The reaction? Absolutely no one gave a shit about what I (we) knew about this car’s path. Turns out someone else bought this car from CarMax and returned it after CarMax and Mercedes Benz of Manhattan could not solve an electrical gremlin. (Exclusive Impex says they solved it.) Oddly, the car’s history reflects neither my friend in Wilmington’s ownership nor the Connecticut buyer’s purchase. Exclusive Impex claims they bought the car at a CarMax auction (I’ve never heard of CarMax auctions), repaired and prepped it, and made it available on Bring a Trailer. My take after watching this car bid and sell for $11,000 MORE than we all could have had the car for from CarMax? I belong to a half dozen car groups on Facebook and all agree prices are inflated on Bring a Trailer. When I track cars on Bring a Trailer I’m impressed and discouraged by the depth of knowledge and deep criticisms in the comments section. That said, on this 2010 Mercedes S65, the commenters were intoxicated by the car and gleefully overlooked anything suspect. Why did two buyers return the car? Don’t care. What about the one accident on the Carfax? Don’t care. We all could have had this car for $36,000 and bought a five year MaxCare plan to protect us for another five years and 100,000 miles. Instead, a Bring a Trailer buyer got it for $47,500 with no warranty. Time will tell who came out on top!

July 12, 2021July 12, 2021

1 0f 62 – 2018 Cadillac ATS V Manual Transmission Sedan. Not slow. Not Cheap.

I’m going to cheat and add the link to the last 2018 Cadillac ATS V manual transmission sedan unicorn I wrote about five months ago here in order to get this posted quickly. But here’s the three points I’d like to make about this car. First. Cadillac only sold 62 manual transmission ATS V’s in 2018, and 54 manual transmission coupes. I have not yet spotted a 2018 manny tranny coupe at CarMax. Second. the car is a legitimate performance sedan. Sub-4 second 0-60 mph and 189 mph top speed from a six-banger, and 1 g lateral grip. Third, while this 2018 sedan has fewer miles than the one in my February 2021 blog, it’s $9,000 more. I absolutely HATE that the price of unicorns is going up! Reminds me of the Chevrolet SS’s that CarMax is selling used for more than they sold for new! Tossing in some pix and then the obligatory link to the CarMax sales offering below. Enjoy.

Handsome interior but nothing luxurious. Almost German in its functionality.

Honestly the automatic ATS V is a great car – the manual transmission makes this great and rare.

The 3.6 liter six cylinder makes 464 hp. Honestly, CarMax, why can I NOT see horsepower or my laptop but on my iPhone app it’s right there on the first screen?!

The 2018 Cadillac ATS V sold for maybe $80,000 new and three years later has only depreciated to $56,998. Low miles so maybe a bargain. Regardless, buy the MaxCare warranty (although it still has a little GM warranty left!) and drive this hot sedan hard. Find this accident free one-owner hot rod “coming soon” here in Orlando, Florida.

July 10, 2021July 10, 2021

Quick Hit – 1 of 1,750 in US Gelb Schwarzer Renner!

The car above is the original 1972 VW Beetle GSR, or Gelb Schwarzer Renner, or yellow-black racer. The 1972 GSR was a limited edition beetle pumped up to a whopping 50 hp and an unbelievable 18 second 0-60 mph run. According to Hemmings Motor News there are maybe 100 left in circulation. It is NOT for sale at CarMax. What IS for sale is its modern day equivalent, the 2014 VW Beetle GSR unicorn below. Car and Driver offers that maybe half of the 3,500 limited production run of 2014 GSR’s came to the USA. Makes it a bit rare, even if the modern GSR came from Mexico and not West Germany.

The GSR caught my eye during my nightly search for yellow cars. Out of 39,000 cars in the inventory, CarMax has only 79 yellow cars – pretty much tied with purple for the fewest. The time is coming when I will sell my 1971 Fiat 124 Spider, painted Porsche Speed Yellow (ironic for such a slow car), and I’m always on the lookout for modern day yellow scooters. At first I thought this was just an appearance package, but Google set me straight. So did Car and Driver, Autoweek, and Hemmings.

Let’s start with the motor. In 2014 the GSR’s 2.0 liter turbo four was boosted to 210 hp, 10 more than the venerable GTI of the same year. Too bad it’s automatic, even though it’s dual clutch. Car and Driver noted despite the 100 lb weight gain of a GSR over GTI, the 10 hp moved the GSR to 60 mph almost a half-second quicker. The following year GTI’s also came with 210 hp, for the record. The GSR cornered quicker and braked shorter than the GTI of the same era, defying it’s more civilized packaging. Honestly, had I not looked up the original 1972 GSR I’d have no idea why this Beetle looks the way it does. I suspect most casual car folks won’t either and will think it’s just a silly, summer Beetle.

Car and Driver described the interior well. “Inside the GSR, things are toned down a bit with tasteful black leather sport seats and a leather-wrapped steering wheel highlighted with yellow stitching. Pushbutton start, a Fender premium audio system, aluminum pedals, a panoramic sunroof, ambient lighting, a turbo-boost gauge, and a clock with a stopwatch feature help round out the GSR’s cabin kit. VW plans a run of 3500 GSRs, the special-edition number of each emblazoned on a steering-wheel plaque.” Unfortunately, CarMax photographers NEVER put effort into capturing the limited edition plaque numbers. Maybe you can see it below?

The GSR also minimally tops the GTI in cargo space due to the higher roofline. Makes the GSR pretty much all around a better car than the GTI, and yet a yellow-black-racer probably has a far more limited appeal, limited edition notwithstanding. Not sure this GSR is really that much of a bargain at almost $20,000, given it sold new for about $30,000 seven years ago, and it’s sporting a good 78,000 miles. That said for a true VW fan it might be just the thing. Find this two-owner car here in Turnersville, New Jersey.

July 8, 2021July 8, 2021

Quick Hit – A Truly smart Unicorn?

Seriously, Chuck – a smart car? Thought this was an enthusiast blog?! Not so fast (pun intended). Check out the “B” on the fuel filler door. This would “B” a Brabus-tuned smart Fortwo Passion car by Mercedes. Brabus being the German tuners with 40 years plus experience modifying German cars, and off and on they’ve applied their expertise to the diminutive Mercedes smart car. Didn’t know these were a thing before blog reader and car guru Hans alerted me last time CarMax had one!

The Brabus model isn’t just an appearance package though. The exhaust and suspension are tuned to (modestly) improve performance. Beyond that…I just can’t tell what more lurks in this Brabus smart car. The data card confirms it’s a Brabus but no further details on the motor. Stock smart motors are 1.0 liter three cylinders rated at 70hp, and CarMax suggests this one is, too. Brabus tuned a limited run of 100 units to 102hp in 2013 as 10 year anniversary editions, but this does not appear to be one of the 100. So not going to go too far out on a limb on how special this car is, or is not, unless I can find more data. But there are more cars to blog about and I’m way behind. (My excuses are twofold; prepared and drove my 1971 Fiat 124 Spider to Lancaster, Pennsylvania for the annual gathering of Fiats and TOOK FIRST PLACE! In my early Spider category, that is. I’ll blog about that next week. Second, my wife and I went on the road to Asheville, North Carolina to celebrate our 25th anniversary. I won’t be blogging about that.)

On the other hand, there appears to be only one Brabus smart car on Autotrader at this time, so perhaps this is a little special after all? The price seems a little high, so I wouldn’t spring for MaxCare – just drive it until it melts it’s little motor down. Find this one-owner little guy here in Sacramento, California.

June 21, 2021June 21, 2021

Tempting Test Drive – 2016 Mercedes AMG GT S

First, it’s important to get it out up front that I don’t test drive CarMax unicorns just for the hell of it and to get pix and video of me driving cool cars. It’s an abuse of the generous CarMax solo test drive opportunity and especially of the sales rep’s time. Those folks are just trying to make a living. And my favorite rep Si Sultan (now a manager) tells me people are taking these cars for 24 hours to record YouTube burnouts and even for prom dates. That ain’t right and hope they don’t ruin it for the rest of us. I will admit to driving cars that I have no intention of buying – that specific car – but I am trying to find out if that model is for me. If so, then I start looking for the specific car to purchase. I’ve done that with all four small SUV’s in the running and have settled on a Mercedes GLC43 AMG as the one for my wife and I, once we can find a properly equipped one. Anyway, I have always been intrigued by CarMax offering the Mercedes AMG GT S – as close as you’re going to get to a supercar from them. Was thinking it could be the successor to Etta, my 911, and although I just could not own a red-interior car, I needed to know if the AMG GT S was for me. So off we go.

So off we go. Nokes Blvd onto Route 28 North near Dulles, Virginia. Believe this was in “Sport” mode. Another disclaimer. When I drive and shoot videos with phone in hand they almost never turn out. I look at the road, not the phone, and hope I’m capturing something usable. These three are all that remain – the rest are all over the digital cutting room floor. I tried one in race mode, and quickly found out the car wasn’t going to shift gears without me and dropped the phone before I red lined the car and my ticker. Race mode is terrifying. Sport mode was fun, with rev-matching downshifts and burbling, gurgling noises at stop lights. But even Hyundai Velosters do that now. For the record I eased up considerably entering the main road – the end of this ramp is where the Virginia State Police hang out all the time.

Turned around and did the wonderful sweeper from Leesburg Pike onto Route 28 South. Yes I saw the CRV with the unending blinker and again backed off the throttle on the main drag. No videos here of me breaking the law…by much. Pretty sure this was in “Sport+” mode and yes it was more aggressive upshifts and cornering. But really I hardly pushed the envelope in this car. I’ve watched these race at the 24 Hours of Daytona for years now and they are really capable cars – beyond my talent level by far. Power comes from a twin-turbo 4.0 liter V-8 pumping 503 hp and if you’re good, a 3.5 second 0-60 mph run. The AMG GT S has been test driven at 195 mph – just not by me. My short bursts and twisties were still exhilarating.

And finally, just because, the AMG GT S in “Comfort” mode. A perfectly reasonable highway cruiser. Wish I had remembered to turn the radio on at some point but the howling motor was too intoxicating. Returned the car right on time.

The verdict? Yeah the car rocks and scratches almost every itch as a successor (for me) to my Porsche 911 Etta. The garish (to me) red leather is unpleasant but surprisingly, might not be a deal breaker. The deal breaker was the cramped (but awesome) interior. The leg room was acceptable for my 6’4″ 230 lb frame, and yet as with all two-seaters with not even a fake/unusable rear seat (think Boxster/Cayman and C7 Corvettes!), the seat back cannot be reclined at all, and the seat bottom can’t tilt back enough to give me a reasonably comfortable driving position. I sat ram-rod straight up and was uncomfortable after my short ride. I had been warned by an equally tall Mercedes AMG GT S owner that the car is not comfortable as a daily, and he was right. I’m out. The car sold new for maybe $150,000 five years ago and was selling for $77,998 and really with only 38,000 miles seemed “reasonable” to me given the level of performance. It’s currently unavailable but has been on and off the market, so track it here if you’re interested.

June 15, 2021June 15, 2021

1 of 400 – The Best “M” Ever? The Best BMW Ever?

Not my claim – I’m certainly not qualified to make such a bold statement about any BMW. But the editors of Motor Trend were thinking this may be the best M, the best BMW sports coupe, or maybe even the best BMW ever when they tested and reviewed the car here in March. They thought the one year only 2020 BMW M2 CS was even better than the BMW M4 GTS I posted last week. For what it’s worth, that M4 was one of 300 in the US, and this M2 is one of 400. Both are beyond my price cap at $90,000, but certainly unicorns.

It all starts with the motor. The twin-turbocharged inline six cylinder is rated at 444hp. With a six-speed manual like this one, it’s good for a 4.0 second 0-60 run. The seven speed twin clutch automatic does it in 3.8. seconds. The car weighs about 3,500 and pulls 1.02 lateral g on the skid pad per Motor Trend. It has the M adaptive suspension – first time in an M2.

Carbon fiber inside and out, and a subtle CS logo on the dash. Otherwise a nifty little all around coupe. The car sold new less than three months ago and is now here on the Dulles, Virginia CarMax lot near me – where I’ll be test driving another car shortly. It’s listed in the “Less than 1,000 mile” category and I’ll see if I can find out what’s on the odometer. New the car was maybe $95,000 and is now $89,998 so not much of a price break – but good luck finding a comparable one!

June 8, 2021June 8, 2021

A Puzzling CarMax Offering – 2014 Mercedes E63 AMG S RENNtech!

Saw this car on the web but I would have missed the significance had it not been for a text from one of my favorite readers, my CarMax coach, and a true CarMax unicorn collector – Mustafa. Otherwise, I would not have known this was a (W212) Mercedes E63 AMG S RENNtech! I’ve heard of RENNtech but hadn’t paid much attention to them. I get BMW and Alpina, but not RENNtech. Turns out RENNtech is the one and only Stuart, Florida based tuner created and owned by former AMG master Hartmut Feyhl. So…this is not a factory tuned E63 AMG? What it IS is a 679 hp and 749 ft. lb of torque race car posing as a family hauler. A “stock” E63 AMG S pumps 577 hp, for comparison.

Handcrafted by Stephan Durr – in my top ten AMG builder list! (I made that up)

Looks like any other E63 inside – although this allegedly has a Designo interior.

As far as I can tell this car was sold by Driving Emotions in Lake Park, Florida, less than an hour south of Feyhl’s RENNtech shop, with 43,500 miles on it, and sold again by SSC Sales in Pleasanton, California with 52,000 miles. The CarMax description of the car is drawn from their templates and doesn’t do it justice. Here’s what Driving Emotions posted when they sold the car:

2014 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG-S RENNtech!Black with Black Nappa Leather and Contrasting Silver Stitching Interior! Only 43,500 Miles! SHOWROOM CONDITION!! (The dealer must buy exclamation marks in bulk?) Loaded! Parktronic! Keyless Go! Silver Stitching! Silver Seat Belts! Panorama Sunroof! Rear View Camera! Carbon Fiber Trim! A/C & Heated Seats! Electronic Trunk Closer! AMG Red Brake Calipers! 679HP! & 749 ft. lb of Tq! Upgraded RENNtech Package! RENNtech Stainless Sport Mufflers! RENNtech Carbon Fiber Front Splitter! RENNtech Carbon Fiber Rear Diffuser! RENNtech Carbon Fiber Rear Deck Lid Spoiler! RENNtech Carbon Fiber Engine Air Box! AMG 19 10 Spoke Titanium Wheels! AMG Performance Steering Wheel! Illuminated Star in Front Grille! Black Ash Wood Interior Trim! Astonishing $102,595 MSRP! That MSRP is before the RENNtech upgrades, by the way! SSC claims the upgrade is valued at $20,000.

I’m curious why CarMax chose to include a trunk photo like this. Any ideas? Any of this stuff unusual? Nitro?

In all fairness, the only real visual cues that this is a RENNtech are the discrete badges on the front fenders and rear deck (not unlike my S600). And Mustafa is a third my age so of course he can spot stuff I can’t. That’s my story. Hard to tell how rare this car is or whether this price is good. RENNtech has a similar car offered on their website for $68,000. That said, this one is in fact a one accident car, something neither Driving Emotions or SSC acknowledged. CarMax shares the history. Also no idea what MaxCare would cost, but it’s a must. Find this four owner car here in Modesto, California.

June 7, 2021June 9, 2021

1 of 300 in USA (and 700 Worldwide) – Nearly New 2016 BMW M4 GTS

Warning! Not the actual CarMax M4 GTS for sale! Pix haven’t been posted yet so I borrowed these.

Add the 2016 BMW M4 GTS to the category of “unicorns I didn’t know were a thing”. But when I saw a five year old M4 with less than 1,000 miles on it selling for almost $100,000 I suspected there was something special here. And sure enough, it’s a 1 of 300 in the USA BMW M4 GTS that sold for (get this) over $135,000 new in 2016. Faster around the Nürburgring Nordschleife than a Porsche Carrera GT, McLaren MP4-12C, and the Ferrari 458 Italia. The BMW has a 190 mph top speed, 1.4g lateral grip, and a mid-3 second 0-60 time according to Motor Trend. How do they do that?!

BMW uses a 5.0 liter rear mounted tank to inject water (yes water) into the 3.0 liter twin-turbocharged inline six cylinder motor, boosting power to 493 hp. Motor Trend will tell you “Essentially, above (approximately) 5,000 rpm, water is sprayed into the intake plenum via three injectors. (They’re actually steel-tipped diesel injectors.) The water evaporates instantly, cooling the post-intercooler air by about 80 degrees to around 115-120 degrees.” My pea brain would think the tank is bigger than the motor, so I’m the wrong guy to explain how water injection works. I do think it’s cool (ha ha) that water injection was used on the 1962 Oldsmobile F85 and the Saab 99 Turbo. Neither were this fast.

The BMW M4 GTS has no back seat. Non-US BMW M4 GTS models came with a fully functional roll cage. The US model, pictured above, did not. Instead it has a neato-speedo looking faux cage installed not for safety, but to keep passengers out of the non-seat belted back seat. The car has tons (?) of carbon fiber to reduce weight, and seemingly infinitely adjustable dampers to modulate handling.

The BMW M4 GTS also has a decent rear wing and a front splitter that combines for 210 lbs of downforce at 186 mph. That may be, but at my age I just CANNOT have a daily driver with a wing. I also can’t spend $96,000 on a slightly used race car, and of course I’d have to add another $5,000 (estimated) for MaxCare. Sure as the morning sun rises over Munich I would blow this car up revving high and puttin’ away wet. Water injected wet. Find this pristine one owner 2016 BMW M4 GTS car here in Richmond, Virginia. Will update photos if and when posted by CarMax (but wouldn’t be surprised if it sells first).

May 27, 2021May 27, 2021

Four Chevrolet Unicorns That Are NOT A Bargain (But They Are Collectables!)

I’ve covered these unicorns a few times over the last few years. Once I found CarMax to be loading up their inventories and wrote here about the hoarding. They went from a handful to 24 units almost overnight. Sometimes they have none. Occasionally they score a rare manual transmission version and those sell faster than the cars drive. Only a couple of hundred were imported yearly by Chevrolet. Yes, imported and so I just gave it away. The Australian Holden sports sedan imported and rebadged as Chevrolet SS models from 2014-2017. The list price (MSRP) was between $40,000 and $48,000 when new, although they didn’t sell well and were deeply discounted. I’ve read by as much as 20% to clear them from the lots. Chevrolet projected sales of 12-15,000 cars a year and sold maybe 3,000 annually. There were lots of articles on why the SS did not sell well. Poor market positioning. Looked like a Malibu. Overpriced. Now there are lots of articles on what a great enthusiast car this was, with a 6.2 liter naturally aspirated V-8 rated at 415hp, and good for mid-four second 0-60mph runs. Brembo brakes. Adaptable magnetic suspension. Great reviews. And now these once shunned cars are selling at a premium. More than they sold for new, and sometimes more than the MSRP Chevrolet never got. When I started this blog in 2017 Chevrolet was still trying to unload new SS models for under $40,000 and CarMax had low mileage used ones for around $30,000. Now CarMax has a low mileage, but still used 2017 SS offered at $54,000! And it’s not even a manual. Well, enjoy these four collectable Chevrolets. I had hoped there would be one from each model year offered but it was not to be, and if I wait even these may be gone.