Detroit auto makers try some new tricks

"Steve" ...

And your proof? Without it, your comments are anecdotal as well.

Natalie

 

"Bill Putney" ...

You are correct. I'm still waiting for other-than-anecdotal proof from this
fellow. Even if the great Ray O says something, we're just taking him at
his word (never mind that he's always right... )

Natalie

 

"Steve" ...

Hey, I'm with you on the cockroach - um PRIUS. I think they're a
work-in-shaky-progress, but Prince Albert (Al Gore Jr.) managed to get it to
100 mph. Of course he was high at the time...

As for the sludge, etc. You keep saying this stuff, but you offer no proof.
I know Tundra has problems as well, but I would probably buy a domestic
truck anyway.

OMG we AGREE.



What are your thoughts on the cops frying in Crown Vics - just curious.

Natalie

 

My $27K Maxima has the hood shocks, my $33K G35 doesn't. Go figure. In
every respect the G35 is a much superior car.

b

 

"C. E. White" ...

You make great points - really, you do, but at least speaking for myself, I
believe that people were misled on how long they could go without changing
their oil, hence the sludge thing. I remember seeing stuff on it online.
TEN years ago.

However, I have seen much more recent complaints about small to mid-size
domestic vehicles. Not *all* of them, mind you, but it makes you wary when
they talk about how harshly they are being treated *now*. Toyota certainly
dropped the ball with customer service with the first sludge cases, I'll
grant you - but they appear to have cleaned up that act. BIG difference.
That, at least is why *I'm* willing to continue with them.

Whatever type of file that was, I couldn't open it, so I haven't listened to
it, but you already said it wasn't a *new* Toyota. That's my point. Was
the caller saying Toyota wouldn't help them with a later model car?

Actually, I *have* heard horror stories about Toyota trucks, and some
not-so-nice stories about the Avalon, but not their small cars. I disagree
about the overall quality of Toyota cars, further, I think Toyota is better
at rectifying the mistakes they *do* make. Again, you and I will have to
agree to disagree on that, Ed.

Rick Hendrick is pretty good in the Fayetteville area. And JD Power is even
more subjective than Consumer Reports, so you'll have to show me more proof
than that. Having said this, though, I have had bad experiences with a
couple of Toyota service/collision places, but they were isolated, and were
not the only game in town, so I went elsewhere. The corporation can't be
expected to micromanage down to the mechanic, for f*ck's sake. Same goes
for domestic dealerships. It's a crap shoot.

You have my sympathy, but not my agreement with your view.

Natalie

 

So the G35 has a prop rod?

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

Please kiss my ass.

I just might do that.

 

My Supra TT has a "prop rod". I'm sure, that in this case, it's a
weight-savings thing.

 

Yup.

b

 

Even better, it's on the intarweb, and it was on TV.

 

If you get the chance, slide under a late model Crown Vic and
look at the placement of the gas tank, then slide under a 68
Galaxy and look at that gas tank.
They are so similar it's like they're using the same stamping
dies except for the differences in the electric fuel pump and
EVAP system on the late models...

So where were all the frying cops in the 60s and 70s?

I've worked on retired late model cop cars that had sheet metal
screws run thru the fuel tank from the trunk bulkhead from the
mounting of radio equipment, shotgun racks and the usual other
cop car accessory stuff. This stupidity isn't going back to the
state/county/city fleet mechanic that did the deed to begin
with...

 

"aarcuda69062" ...

I'll take your word for it - I don't slide under vehicles, if I can help it.

Maybe it had something to do with the quality of the chassis? Weren't cars
a lot sturdier back then? No alloys.

Huh?

Natalie

 

Don't forget chatrooms!



Natalie

 

Guess they are following in the footsteps of GM then, arent they?

 

The Cavaliers are all parked outside right now. Tomorrow, all three
will take them either to work, school, or both. I have the upmost
confidence that they will take them where they need to go without
breaking down.

 

<>
"Wickeddoll®"
wrote:

Guess they are following in the footsteps of GM then, arent they?


Forgive me, but WTF does that mean?

Natalie

 

I'll try to type slowly so every one can understand.There are those
out there who used to accuse GM of blaming the consumer when something
goes wrong with their vehicle. It seems they think that the consumer
should suspect when something is wrong with their car and should do
something about it, instead of waiting for GM to contact them about
the problem. This has been suggested for the past 20 years or so.


Fast forward to 2007. It seems as if the Toyota Tundra' s are having a
lot of problems with their engines.Toyotya is saying the engines are
fine, the consumers are somehow doing something to cause thsese
engine failures, just the same as GM used to do.

 

I really dont care what you think. Well, no, I really do. I have no
reason to lie. Everything I have stated is the truth, Furthermore, I
dont know you, you might be twice my size, but I promise you, if you
called me a liar to my face, one of us would get an old-fashion ass
whipping.

Yeah, those 440 and 426 Hemis were (I guess I should say ARE) real
realible, werent they? You could depend on them to get a couple of
hundered thousand miles on them, couldnt you, just like I got on those
similar 2.2's The car I had that warped the crankshaft at 30000 miles
was no different than any other car I have owned either before or
after, I checked and changed the oil regualry, no engine lights came
on, but I guess it was somehow my fault anyway.

Making nothing up here at all. I still remember nearly getting
stranded in the mountains of western Virginia with my pregnant wife
and two year old daughter on Labor Day weekend, 1984 with this great
reliable Chrysler product,

 

Well, then, lets talk about the 90's Toyota Tercel and their crappy
valves, shall we? You know, the ones that had seals that leaked like
a sieve at around 100K, necessitating a valve seal replacement?

I did not have "sludging" problems or leaky valve seals on my 1980 Datsun
210 A1500 engine that went over 200K. The Japanese car manufacturers
knew how to build good engines a long time ago. Then Toyota comes along
a decade later and produces crap engines that puff blue smoke on startup.
And for an encore a decade after that, produces engines that sludge up.

Your going to have to agree to disagree with a great many people. I don't
agree with you either, I agree with Ed. As do I think the majority owners
of
those urination-poor "Yo" car models.

And as for your cheerleading of new YO cars, whoop-de-doo. Did it occur
to you that since new cars have less mileage on them that problems AREN'T
going to show up?

It's pretty easy to claim the automaker is producing good cars when your
just pointing to examples less than 5 years old, mostly under 100K miles.
People like you read JD Powers and Consumer Reports and think you
know everything about cars. Bah ha ha ha ha. Fine with me. You can
continue to fund the depreciation costs of your new vehicles and when they
get out of warranty and get 100K on them, sell them to people like me and
Ed. Then when you, I and Ed retire, Ed and I will have money saved and
you will not, and be sitting on your SS payments, dreaming about the "great"
cars you used to own in your youth, while Ed and I are actually still out
there
-driving- decent vehicles that don't fall apart at the 100K mark.

A lot of cars built today will go 200K and maybe 250K with good
maintainence. People like you that think the measure of a car is only in
how
good it is during the first 100K of it's life, you don't know anything.
What
separates a well-designed and well-built car from crap, is how well it
runs during it's 100K-200K lifespan. And Toyota has produced plenty
of "YO" stinkers that managed to stagger past their 100K mark then
lie down and die right after that. Probably a lot more than Nissan or Honda
for that matter.

Ted

 

Weh, Duh! What idiot would buy a truck from an economy car
manufacturer? Kind of like getting a gynecological exam from a
dentist. He may be a doctor but it's a completely different speciality.

Ted