Detroit auto makers try some new tricks

Yeah, right, life WAS a lot simpler living in a cave, eh? It's the 21th century....get with it.

 

I don't pump other people's gas.

 

Many small cars with small engines are not very efficient with automatics,
thus the reason most have manual. My rental in Italy a few months ago was
an electronic shifting manual with an automatic clutch. It was a Smart
forFour.

Drive what you want, but don't be critical of those of us that use
automatics. In my case, it is a must right now and my left leg is
temporarily incapacitated. I'd not be able to drive at all with a manual.

 

Ooooh, those Previas were nasty!

 

I don't buy them because they feel cheap. Maybe they aren't, but usually
in an American car (i.e. GM) it feels like the switchgear is going to come
off in your hand.

The HHR I drove didn't really suffer from that...

I just thought I was driving my old Corolla 1200 again. At least the
Corolla had a 5-speed to 'motivate' it a little bit...

 

I had a '94 LHS I traded for $600 towards a Scion tC. I like the Scion,
but for the $600 I should have kept the LHS. It ran well and the tranny
gave me NO problems.

It was also comfortable, well laid out (except for the heater controls)
and handled well. They wholesaled it. That guy got a nice car...

I also had a few Grand V'gers, all of them beaters, and all of them stood
up to punishment well, were well laid out (even the heater controls...)
and were great to drive.

Oh, and the 2WD van and the LHS got 27 MPG combined, same as my Scion. The
AWD V'Ger didn't do so well...only 25 MPG combined.

But, it had the No Heat, bad ABS and Broken Rocker Tower troubles...at
least the ABS was covered under Recall...

 

I think it means you're still wet behind the ears!

Springs go back to the 60's...

 

I'm not being critical, but saying that someone who prefers a manual is
a caveman is just dumb. The best cars in the world are manuals and the
best drivers drive manuals.

b

 

That's why I like a short ratio 6 speed manual. Better gas mileage and
performance. Duh, enjoy your slushbox.

 

What are you talking about? Most people I know don't get there car's
rust-proofed by the dealership.

That's great. You had 13 vehicles. Chucky only had 1.

 

Was that supposed to be amusing?

 

I've got better things to do with my right hand than having to mess with 19th century technology.

 

I can agree with that.

I take issue with that. "Best" has many implications. What is best for you
may not be for me. If you mean high performance sports car, yes, they have
manual boxes, but they are certainly not the best car for my normal use.
The last four cars I bought did not offer a stick shift.

 

You can make them last as long but at the cost of 3x the repairs.

 

Natalie, The Fusion is a Ford, think about it. Ford=Cheap POC. The last
Ford I owned was a '98 Mustake - what an over-rated POC that was, built
Ford cheap. Fords are cheaper to buy (but not to own), that's all they
have going for them (besides heavy marketing). Of the worst cars ever
made Ford has probably made most of them. Two of the most recent that
come to mind are the roll-over Explorer and flaming Crown Victoria.
Considering that Ford is joined at the hip with Mazda, I suggest you
avoid them, too.

I was once a GM mechanic, eventually NIASE double-gear certified (only
meaningful to professional mechanics). Our Saturn Sky, which is really a
Opel GT, is the first GM car I have owned in over 25 years - it's my
wife's car (wish me good luck with it). The Sky's gas mileage is
disappointing. I have rented a couple of Chevy Cobalt LS cars lately and
was really impressed with their gas mileage. Not sure how the car itself
would hold up over the long haul, but I would be tempted to buy one.

It seams everyone slams Dodge, but I have had the best luck with my '98
Dodge Stratus. It has the Mitsubishi 2.5L V6 engine (a derivative of the
3.0L V6) and has been very good to me. It now has over 138,000 miles on
it and still gets me over 31 MPG on the highway. I do take good care of it.

If you take care of a car, it will take car of you. This is probably
true of Ford, but I seriously doubt it. I suggest that you wait and see
on the Fusion, or any Ford for that matter.

Gyz

--
Gyz

07 Saturn Sky 2.4L I4
98 Dodge Status ES 2.5L v6
94 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS 2.0L I4 Turbo
--------
98 Ford Mustang
94 Honda Del Sol 1.6L I4 VTEC
92 Plymouth Sundance 2.2L I4
84 Dodge Datona 2.2L I4 Turbo
72 Toyota Corola 1.6L I4
68 Olsmobile 98 455 V8
66 VW Beatle 1600

 

So, the Crown Vic is one of the "worst cars ever made", and yet is still the
number one Police cruiser? The things are tanks, and they stand up to just
about anything. If you go to Ford's website, you can see the harshest test
an auto manufacture puts a car through. A Crown Vic being smashed in the
rear-end by another car going 75 MPH. And, guess what? No gas tank
explosion either.

 

I didn't ask that. She may do the same, or you may live in a full
service gas area where attendants keep restarting the pump.

So, do you keep topping off after the second auto-stop?

 

No, on the 99 Camry that practice can lead to codes, such as P441 being activated.

 

Not for much longer. European emission laws are catching up to US laws
quickly.

I won't buy a

Then you'd better take care of the car you have now or maybe the next
one you buy, its going to have to last you a LONG time...

 

I didn't say that- in fact *I* love driving a stick. I said that the
technology is stone age and has no place in the automotive future.
Electronically controlled automatics give better efficiency and lower
emissions, and CVTs and hybrids are better still. You can deny it all
you want, but its simple fact.