Not much activity here?

[cliffyk]

As the subject says, there does not seem to be a lot of activity here--from looking at production numbers on Wikipedia it appears they didn't sell many of these--I guess that explains it... Though MB did not sell a bunch of r129 (1989-2001) SL500s and that is a pretty active forum....

my other "toy":

[EdBwoy]

Participation seems to come in waves around here, but I agree in general there aren't too many posts lately.
I questioned it some time back, and found out that the numbers behind the scenes actually say that we are doing very well. As much as people might not post, we still get visitors spending a lot of time here due to the quality and breadth of information we have.
I chalk it up to all the crucial problems having being addressed by now...the few problems we have relative to the class of car.


I have been a member/visited other forums and understand your sentiments though.
My immediate off-the-cuff answer is that some of those brands do have a few more issues per car compared to these cars.
This is not based on any hard data, just observation from my times owning other brands. The Jaguar and Benz forums were very active (at least a new post every day). It did seem like most posts were of problems being addressed with a sprinkling of feature-related questions.
In a strangely blasphemous way, I'll say my Jaguar XJ8 was one of the most reliable vehicles I ever owned. I rarely felt the need to visit the forum for any issues and most of what I would have wanted to say had already been covered prior.
Then compare with say, the Porsche forum. Serious DIYers and contributors over there. I think the heritage of Porsche drives a lot of the passion.
... That and the perceived deep pockets and more mature crowd of the people who stereotypically own them.
I know people from all walks of life own all kinds of cars, but despite the impeccable value for money, Infinitis still aren't making many a collector's wishlist. You can find a well-cared-for 20 year old Porsche, but it is pretty rare to find a similarly aged Infiniti in comparable shape. [a discussion for another day].

My advice would be to stick around and do what you're doing. We could all use some variety and benefit from our various backgrounds. Our forum doesn't have the options for "Kudos", "Thanks" or "Thumbs up" like other forums have, but your contribution is always appreciated.
I also lean on the technical side of things, so sometimes it feels like I'm talking to a wall but I hope it saves one or 2 people in a pinch. Whether they are members who post a word of appreciation or a passerby who stumbles upon the info from Google, it warms my heart either way.
At the very minimum, I post info for my own good. A virtual file I can access any time.

PS: I still plan to play with your M37 calculators when time allows. It needs the kind of dedication that I can only afford after finishing my engine replacement project.


The other simple explanation is social media.
Simply put, people feel like they can get responses faster there (a lot of times, the answers come from our forums).
That and the ease of posting (questions, photos, comments, reactions etc)

[cliffyk]

I agree 110%. THe SL500 is a complete exasperation to own--fun to drive, a PITA to take care of. When I bought it with 53k miles (now at 64k) I never imagined a car that cost $101k new, with just 53k miles could have so many issues.

I guess the quiet natuite here is good, an indicatior of trouble-free ownership...

[satown210]

Most Europeans are well engineered or over engineered. However, the parts used and build quality seem to fall short quite often.

[cliffyk]

Everything made of plastic/synthetic materials is falling apart, interior bits and even engive internals (valve train oil crossover tubes and timing chain guides), motor mounts at p/s pump seals at 54k, motor mounts at 55k, ragtop hydraulic cylinder seals, headlight switch internal terminal block, cruise control switch block, parking brake release lever, visor trim pieces, plastic gears in power seat, plastic trim on seats--crappy materials.

My father's 1928 Model A has more original parts than my SL500! The good news is I think I have it sold...

[parkstr8r]

There is not much activity here for a couple of reasons. 1st there are very few of this model built per year. Recent years its down to like 5k or so per year split between the regular and L. That is not a lot of cars. And a small % of any car model owners actually spend time on forums. Super cars, cars like my old S5 and S6, etc are different as they have a fan base.

Combine that with the usual age of a M/Q70 buyer being older, and that demographic typically doesn't usually customize and aren't forum savvy and you have a resulting lack of attendance. lol

Then you have a split of forums which splits the visits to each forum. This forum is by far the most active. I searched and joined the others to no avail. And even Sub forums in the G and Q50 forums.

I wish it were much more active, but also this model has very few issues long term. I'm seeing many cars well over 150k. That is insane in a good way. There is also a lack of available aftermarket parts available.

http://carsalesbase.com/us-car-sales-da ... initi-q70/

[EdBwoy]

Good point. New cars don't get modded often. Expensive new cars especially don't get modded often.
A 2018 Honda Accord will get more forum activity with regards to modding than a 2018 Q70. Different costs allow different players in the game.

Time will come. You will notice that forums advance through different stages as the cars age.

Something from a different discussion on the maturity of a traditional forum:

• Hey look at this thing, cool feature. Does yours do that too?
  
• Why isn't this thing working, anyone else have this problem?
  
• What can we do to get more mpg?
  
• Check out my wheels/exhaust/wash & wax
  
• Audio upgrades
  
• Speed records/who have you shat on lately?
  
• Time to ditch this car. I owned *previous Nissan product /Toyota(quite common comparison)* and it never gave me this much trouble
  
• How often to do XYZ maintenance? What oil to use
  
• What tires are you guys buying?
  
• I went to the dealer for this yesterday _ dude! that shouldn't cost that much. My independent guy charges half that
  
• Should I do a transmission flush or just a drain and fill?
  
• Hey guys, what are the things to look out for when buying these cars?
  
• Check out my wheels/tires/suspension drop/bodykit
  
• A higher influx of DIY maintenance threads
  
• What can we do to extract more power out of this thing?
  
• What fuel to use. Can I use regular instead of premium?
  
• Audio threads resurrected.
  
• "I just wanted to say thanks for this thread" threads
  
• Who's got the highest mileage?
  
• Should I buy this car? It looks sketchy
  
• I got this old car dirt cheap/ I bought this low mileage for a good deal. What are the first things to do?
  
• Haven't logged on in a while/ this place is dead
  
• Hey, anyone recommend any mechanics in this area?
  
• etc
  
• ... Not forgetting transmission and engine replacements & swaps
  

[SwissCheeseHead]

Just happened to stop back after a while and the reason I'm not here as much as I usually was, was there there wasn't really anything new or exciting to talk about. My car has been problem-free since ownership, and I have been spending money on other things, tbh. Mods aren't plentiful and you can only do so much with the car. I am guilty of grazing over the other responses in this thread, but that's to give you an idea of at least one person (me) that was regularly active but have since trailed away.

I'm sure I'll check in again in a few years :P

[AlabamaDan]

I was very active when I owned my Q45. I've kept my QX4, but not much of a following here for that model. However, I now have a Q70 and I absolutely LOVE it. Naysayers are what they are, but I love it.

[M37xnut]

I am an IT network manager. This site must be hosted from s 56k dialup line!

I read this forum daily.

I've replied a few times tonight...it takes forever to get the page to load on order to reply.

My guess would be...some just give up.

I'm not trying to be critical...just my observation.

[EdBwoy]

...

I'm not trying to be critical...just my observation.

Fair enough.
FWIW, most times I have to load it in desktop mode for the pages to be more responsive. I agree things could be nore convenient though.