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Meade in Richmond, VA
I finally got out the bucket and towels yesterday afternoon and gave my Protege a much-needed bath. He's got to look sharp and shiny for his oil change and tire rotation this afternoon!
(Don't ask me why -- all my other cars have been female, but for some reason, this car is a "he." Must be his naughty attitude -- he doesn't like going the speed limit and he's always getting me into trouble!)
Meade
Meade
Fun post...it does make you wonder how much tolerance to poor build quality has been built into public perception concerning American cars. If that guy thinks that his car has been "not a lot of trouble", I would like to here his definition of a lemon? Maybe the wheels need to fall of on the highway or an engine blow a few time before he get miffed!
I think I must have gotten a good one though. My '98 Cav has been pretty reliable after 74,000 miles. The only maintanence, other than oil changes and tire rotations, I've had done is a break job and just recently had to replace a resistor that controls the blower speed. I think there was one or two recalls a few years back but I don't remember what they were for.
I am sorry to hear that you're having so much trouble with your wife's Cav. It must have been a good day at the plant when mine was built. : )
Eastside
Sorry, I know this is an off-topic post -- but a little variety, now and then, is a good thing ... dontchathink?
Meade
(Be careful what you shoot at, Ryan ... most things in here don't react well to bullets!)
I am wrapping up my first month with the Protege and I have put 1100 miles on her. So far I love this car. No problems to report although when it is hot outside and a start driving with the AC on the center console will rattle as the car cools down but that's not a very big deal. I just turn the stereo up louder for a few minutes.
As far as GM build quality goes, my fiance bought a 2000 Silverado 5.3. While my Accord with over 30,000 miles had never seen a dealer for anything but it's 30,000 mile service his truck spent it's first week at the dealer for a cracked frame around the sliding rear window, the throttle was sticking, and there were rust spots in the paint from when the truck was in-transit. While he didn't really have any problems after that there was still a noticable difference in the build quality. That's why after 1 year and 7,500 miles he traded it in for a 94 LS400. That was one of his better decisions in my opinion.
MAPP2 sounds like fun but I usually don't know up until a couple of weeks before if I'm able to take the time off work. If everything works out, Virginia isn't THAT far. Maybe by then my fiance can get his Protege5 at 0.0% interest and we can bring them both
We'd love to have you at MAPP II, and I'd love to send you the details. But I need your e-mail address. You don't have to post it here ... you can e-mail me at:
mdaffron@the-rma.org
We hope you can make it!
Meade
THAT'S FAR ENOUGH FOR THAT ANAL(oops)-OGY!
Meade
Meade
Any MP3 owners out there???
Meade, you are just a nasty thing! You made me blush.
(There, THAT oughta bring some comments!)
But really ... we're all Protege owners, eh? I was a little perturbed to see a separate Protege5 topic with many members who never visit us in the four-door board. I even posted an invitation to the second-annual Mid-Atlantic Protege Picnic over there, and received not one response!
Buncha haughty, stuck-up twerps ...
Meade
Pro-fan and Larry, Thanks for the congrats! I bought the dark green (I can't remember Mazda's official name for the color). It really looks sharp w/ the alloys. Pro-fan, funny you mentioned my wife complaining about taking corners too fast. She DID complain last night! I wasn't even taking them that fast, breaking in the new car and all. She really likes the car, but says it feels too small. She's used to driving our minivan and riding with me in my Intrepid. One bonus, she doesn't know how to drive a stick, so she won't be hogging the Pro, leaving me with the "family truckster". She wants me to teach her. I told her I need to break the car in for a while (oh, maybe 50k miles or so!!!). Don't want her fryin' the clutch on my shiny new car!
Jace - The dealer I bought this from actually had two LX 2.0 5spds with the ABS/SAB package. The other was a light green one that I test drove a couple weeks ago. The sales guy was telling me how hard it was to get these with the ABS/SAB package. I thought he was just feeding me a line of bull for the negotiation process. Maybe there hard to come by in your neck of the woods, but in Burnsville, MN, this dealer had two, and one has been sitting around for at least a couple of weeks. Good luck on your search.
Mike.
Meade
Mike (laurakat) my advice is NOT to let her drive at all. My g/f drove the car once. And she managaed to get behind a gravel truck and WHAM. 4 or 5 new chips outta my hood. This was when it wasn't even a month old. For your sanity (and your marriage!!) don't let her drive.
I agree about NOT starting a seperate MP3 board. After all it is still a SEDAN. It just happens to be factory tuned. The only reason that I could see for starting a new MP3 board is because *some* MP3 owners may feel that their cars are much better than a "regular" Pro. If or one would love to be able to talk to some MP3 owners without feeling that I'm invading their territory. Just my opinion though.
Protege owners of the world unite!
hehehehehehe.
Regards,
Pro_fan
P.S. Anybody else have trouble posting/navigating there for a minute or two?
Roger dodger on Krotine. His name's Jason and we've already been in touch via e-mail.
I too think Protege owners should unite! I hate having to keep going over there to grab our wayward vocus and drag him back over here, kicking and screaming, where he belongs.
Meade
Meade
The funny thing is that I had a 1991 Ford Escort GT, which sat on a 323/Protege platform, powered by a Mazda 1.8L DOHC engine, driven by a Mazda transmission, sprung by Mazda suspension, and stopped by Mazda brakes. I never once had a single problem with that car and if they still offered that car on the marktet, I would definitely buy it again. What a terrific car...
My Ranger, practically identical to your B2300 pickup, was and still is absolutely problem free. Not a single problem with anything!! That was wasted money on the extended warranty.
So, as you can see, I have had a terrific experience with a first generation "Protege" much like you have had. I have had a terrific experience with a Ford Ranger/Mazda B-Series, unlike you had with yours. I am having less than stellar experience with my '99 Protege. Perhaps it's not me... perhaps it's just the car that has problems.
Pro_fan - I'll be thinking up every excuse in the book to not let her drive it. I'm not sure I should let her sit in it! We got a quick bite to eat last night at Arby's, and she refills her diet coke and brings it with her in the car. I just looked at her and said "You will NOT be spilling any of that, will you???!!!" I'm much more anal about keeping a car clean than she is. You should see our van after she's had if for a couple of days! The things I put up with...LOL!
So what? What's your point?
My point is that your "problems," for the most part, were not faults of the car itself or its manufacture. They were caused by the DRIVER. And you admitted it ... then you blamed it on the car ... then you admitted it again ... etc., etc.
Meade
She's been at home with the baby, taking a break from work, since mid-May. Being the nice hubby I am, I offered to fully detail her car for her back in June (actually, I was concerned about the stale french fry odor coming from it ... hee hee). When I opened her door, I was confronted with a McDonald's cup that had been sitting in her cupholder, WITH COKE STILL IN IT, for about a month. The Coke had seeped through the cup and bonded the cup to the cupholder. I had to sit there for a minute and figure out how to extricate this "artifact d'aperitif" from the car without spilling Coke all over the car. Eventually I had to bring out a wad of paper towels and soak up the remaining Coke sludge from the cup before I could continue. I then had to remove the cupholder from the car and soak it in the kitchen sink for the ENTIRE AFTERNOON before the remains of cup would dislodge themselves.
Was it Tim Allen who quipped that guys are a funny breed? We can keep a car looking showroom new for years but can't keep the stains out of our underwear?
Meade
Zoom - Zoom and Boom - Boom
Bob
Not only do I have to worry about my wife messing up my Pro, I've got two daughters (5 and 8) who aren't exactly neat freaks when it comes to clean cars. Plus, my 5-year-old has a tendency to get car sick! She's puked four times in the van. We keep a bucket in there at all times!
Mike.
Meade...welcome to the new world!
Since Lincoln and Mercury are paired, Mercury is managed by Ford's Premier Auto Group (PAG) team. However, Mercury is not a member of the PAG. Mercury is holding Lincoln back in a time when competition is very stiff from Lexus, Mercedes, BMW, Cadillac, etc. The brightest move is to either dissolve the Mercury name or move it with Mazda.
I have read several times before that the new Mazda cross-over vehicle due for 2004/5 will be shared with Mercury (replacing the Sable) and I have been recently reading that the new 626 will be shared with Mercury as well (rebodied of course). It would be quite interesting if this happens. Combined, Mazda and Mercury command a whole whopping 2.9% of the automotive market and both companies are bleeding cash. I don't see how they would help each other out, but I would not be surprised if Ford made this move.
-Larry
Regards,
Protege_fan
When the aftermarket starts coming out with some tweaks for the car, it will be important to share information. I would be most interested in increasing horsepower, for example, and would like to know what other owners are doing with this rare and very special car.
Any ideas? Or maybe start a separate board??
That's why going to message 3500 leads you to (the visible and undeleted) message number 3450. That means about 50 deleted messages are sprinkled along the way (from 0 to 3500) but just not visible because they've been marked deleted.
If you want a more detailed (geekish) explanation, think linked list with logical deletion - but I don't think we want to go there :-)
(If someone does, I'd be happy to explain!)
On a side note, I washed and polished (Turtle Wax wax/polish - the one that says "Once a Year", and its my 2nd time in 4 months already!) last weekend and driving in yesterday's heavy rains have left huge splashes all over my nice white car :-(
Don't you hate when that happens?
Zoom safely.
If we get the Pro, it will be Mazda #3. Get this, my first was a 1973 RX2 purcahsed new in 1975 (2 year left-over). It was exceptionally quick and smooth with 2 stage carburation. A big surprise to the then quite anemic 2002's of the time. Handling was dicey at times but improved by aftermarket shocks and front swaybar. Mazda#2 was an 81 GLC, base model and ultimately too lacking in equipment but otherwise a solid enough car. Since then I have been driving Hondas (2 Civics and an Accord) and then moved on to a 90 Saab 900, which will be replaced now and a 99 Passat 1.8T. After living with an eleven year old Saab, a reliable Pro would be great.
Jace
At 24,500 miles, my Poortenzas are almost ready for the dump. The right front one is showing its treadwear indicators this morning, and the others give Mr. Lincoln's hair a nice buzz when I stick a penny in the tread. You know, I love the car ... but these tires have to go. I don't understand why there hasn't been a class-action suit against Bridgestone over THESE models too. I feel VERY unsafe in wet weather. I don't know how you guys fare in automatics that have these tires (1999-2000 ES's), but with the 5-speed, it seems I have no grip at all when taking off from a stop on wet pavement. They seem to take corners better than they take straight-line acceleration in the wet.
Larry, for the safety of me and my family, I'm replacing these suckers very soon. I'll have a "book report" and hands-on exhibit on Yokohama AVID T4s at MAPP II. (Uh, no kicking of my tires, please!)
And good morning, everyone. Let the postings commence!
And no hard feelings, Jerry? I hope your car's doing OK.
Meade
I got rid of the car one year later, after I'd had to replace both front brake ROTORS (why? because the pads FELL OFF and the calipers grinded into the rotors during a mountain trip -- the rotors were as smooth as GRAVEL when I got home), the much-touted "Bosch K-Jetronic Fuel Injection System" needed to be replaced, etc., etc. It really was a pity -- that car was the most comfortable, fun-to-drive and (for the early 80's) technologically advanced car I've ever had.
When it was running!!!
Meade
The tires are OK when the road is dry, but they are terrible in rain or snow. Enough to make me "tiptoe" around curves and ease up on the gas when starting etc.
Still looks like I'm only about half-way through the treadlife, but I'm going to replace them before this fall anyway. Can't stand going through another wet season with them.
Potential replacements: AVID T4, Bridgestone RE910, Micheline X-One. Should I stick with 185/65R14 or go to 195/55R15? I think that narrows it down to the AVID T4s then (most other tires cost mucho bucks at that rare size). But I'm wondering about handling/noise/comfort trade-offs. Wonderfully as the Pro handles, it's sometimes a little jarring over potholes and messed-up RR crossings.
-Larry
Meade
P.S. I received an e-mail from another interested MAPP II attendee this morning, bringing the total number of potential Proteges (including both of yours, Larry) to 11! -- That is, of course, if everyone who sent me an e-mail and requested info actually comes. More realistically, I'd say we have 6-8 Proteges now and about 10-12 people.
BTW, what do you have against the Protege's filter? It's made for the car ...
Meade
Nikecar, did you sell your Altima SE?
I do think you got scammed on that interior treatment -- the interior already comes with a fabric protector. And I accidentally tested it a few months ago -- I had my cell phone and charger sitting in my cupholders, so I placed this BIG cup of Diet Pepsi on the passenger seat. Yeah, you know what's gonna happen next, right? I went around a turn and SLOSH! The lid failed and the whole thing emptied in the passenger seat. To my surprise, it just sat there like a little lake in the seat! I had a towel in the trunk, so I quickly found a place to stop and placed the towel over the spill. It slurped up everything, no stain, and the seat was hardly wet afterward!
You know, I didn't learn from my lesson and I still place drinks there from time to time. I've noticed that condensation droplets will stay as beads until I wipe them up -- kind of like paint when it's just been waxed. I don't know if the stuff is Scotchguard or just leftover Hiroshima radiation but it works!
Meade