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A lot of people go by what they hear. That's why long standing opinions are so hard to overcome with new facts. If someone keeps badmouthing a car brand or company, that takes a long time to go away. When some keep goodmouthing an undeserving company, some buyers just keep on buying because Maude at cards said she loves her Camry and has had almost now trouble with it, e.g..
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
'17 Chevy Volt Premiere
The mid size market has grown, but the the additional market share has gone to the Camry competitors.
Oh, #6, the Malibu, is also made in the USA in KS.
The Fusion is the 3rd highest selling Ford in the US.
Averaged 22 mpg overall and 24+ was not uncommon on a long highway trip.
The only time the tires spun was when I took it through some mud under power.
Ford is going to make Fusions in Flat Rock Michigan at the old plant they shared with Mazda, but they had to re-tool the whole plant for Fusion and and that takes time and $$$. $775 million to be exact. (Detroit Free Press). That's good news for thousands of existing employees, and over 1200 new hires.
Thanks for investing in the Detroit area Ford. Thanks very much.
CSKI: You seem to be a good detective for info. By any chance can you find out how many people the KIA plant employs now? And what is the total number of vehicles it made last year?
Usually for every employee actually at a car plant there are several working at smaller factories that are part of the supply chain making seats or whatever to go in the cars.
All of these employees, of course, spend their money and there's a spillover or multiplier effect as other jobs are created.
I've bought cars made in Japan and Germany, and I believe in free trade, but I prefer for my cars to be made in the USA.
PS Saw an Optima the other day in black. That is a very nice looking car!
"On Nov. 16, 2009, Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, Inc. (KMMG) began mass production of the 2011 Kia Sorento, the first vehicle produced at the brand new state-of-the-art facility in West Point, Ga.There were several important events leading up to that momentous day at Kia’s first North American automobile manufacturing plant including the announcement on March 13, 2006, that a Site Acquisition and Development Agreement had been signed between the State of Georgia and Kia Motors America (KMA), Kia’s sales and marketing headquarters in the United States, to bring the $1 billion plant to the 2,259-acre site in Georgia. This project is the largest in the state’s history.
A grand opening ceremony was held at the plant on Feb. 26, 2010.
Since then, the Kia Sorento has taken off as the most successful Kia vehicle of all-time in the U.S., leading the way with record-breaking sales since production began. This is a testament to the focus and pride each KMMG team member places on building a quality vehicle.
KMMG has now hired more than 3,000 team members at its West Point location. When factoring in positions created at suppliers throughout the region, more than 10,000 jobs have been created in association with KMMG.
In April of 2011, KMMG began a $100 million expansion project that would increase the plant’s capacity from 300,000 to more than 360,000 vehicles per year, starting in 2012.
On Sept. 2, 2011, KMMG officially began mass production of its second Kia product, the 2012 Optima and now has three full shifts operating at the plant 24 hours a day/five days per week".
In total, Kia built 1.6 million vehicles as of August 2012.
I was following a top of the line 2013 Optima SX-L on a local road yesterday, and I noticed that he had removed "Optima" from the back of his car, and replaced the "KIA" emblem on the trunk with "K" badges. So, I had a feeling that he was on the enthusiast site. (www.optimaforums.com). At the light it turned out he was so we exchanged pleasantries. It really is a small world...after all!
Try experimenting with lowering various windows.
I have a sunroof and usually drive with it cracked open and the right rear window down.
The air gets sucked in the back window and swirls around to the left side and forward, then out the roof.
It provides a nice breeze.
I do the exact same thing in my '09 Sonata GLS V6 with a sunroof. Great breeze!
'17 Chevy Volt Premiere
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I have to admit that I have not been inside a new Accord in person, but in the detailed pictures I have seen, it looks like a lot of car for $22,470 (LX) or 24, 490. (Sport). Of course, I would be all over the Sport if I lived in an area where the 6 speed stick would be more appropriate. I am almost glad it wasn't available when I bought the Optima because I would have agonized over the decision!!
I think we need to keep that in mind in an increasingly technical world, that a handshake means something, and honoring that handshake means something more. Honesty and keeping ones word.
It's certainly been a win-win for Georgia and KIA.
Progressive roadside assistance was awesome guys. Flatbed driver dropped me off at my door after waiting for me to fill out paperwork at the shop. I called his boss and put in a good word for him.
NTB/Merchants does not have my OEM tires in stock, so I had to order them.
PS: The tow truck driver said he tows more hybrids than any other type of modern sedan.
'17 Chevy Volt Premiere
It took me a couple of months before I tuned to FM and realized I had not set anything.
Then all you need to do is set your auto-scan on...and search through all your stations every 10 seconds. In 6 minutes you're done and can start from the top again since you've forgotten anything worth listening to; and more than likely what you did find interesting has already ended.
This way you can have a perpetual scan where you do not need to commit to any channel...
Huh?
As I have said before, mid size sedan manufacturers try to design for the buyer who wants it to be the jack of all trades. Difficult market.
Boneyard and Hair Nation are my faves.
Now.. handling? What handling?
Interesting about the tow truck driver's comment about hybrids. Sounds like he meant all hybrids (including the apparently very reliable Prius) or do you think he was referring to the Optima Hybrid?
When you use XM or whatever, and you want to listen to..let's say Johnny Winter: Serious Business. Or dial up Wayne Hancock: Tulsa..do you have a menu where you choose alphabetically, or punch it in letter by letter, or are you restricted to, like a radio stn that features songs that they decide falls into that type of music category? If it is the latter (which I think it is and is why I have never gotten excited about radio you pay to listen to without getting a choice in what you listen to) then the odds of you finding a stn that actually plays Johnny Winter, or even knows who Wayne Hancock is, will be very poor indeed. Out of curiosity have any of you who have sat radio, EVER heard either one of those artists on the radio? Johnny Winter is blues rock like Jimi Hendrix and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Wayne Hancock is a lot like Hank Williams Sr with a mix of Hank III (Shelton Williams, Hank Sr's grandson) thrown in.
Second question is about sound quality distortion at loud sound levels. I once listened to a friends GPS that he dubbed into the sound system in my 03 Matrix. I forget how it was done, but was a portable setup. So the GPS had what I guess was an MP3 memory, and believe me, there was SERIOUS sound quality loss once it made it to the cars speakers. Is sat radio like that, or is it EXACTLY as clear and capable of the same song as if you had inserted a CD? Question open to cski especially, cuz I think he loves his music, although not sure how loud he plays it, and everyone of course..
BTW, same question if you plug an iPod or some other USB device in. Are some combinations more distortion free than others, or are they all universally so good there is no perceptible difference than if you had put a CD in..and again, I'm talking at loud volumes which should reveal any weakness the best.. Even if clear, is the db (sound volume) drop if on sat radio or iPod, requiring you to raise the volume control more than if you had a CD in?
Also, Camry is in my opinion the worst looking car in the entire midsize segment.
Handling is also about at the bottom according to most car magazines.
Bang for the buck? Yes. To somewhat misquote Princess Leia: "If bang for the buck is what you care about, that's what you shall receive."
There's really no bad choice to be made at this point when it comes to midsize, but Camry would be about last on my personal list.
Everyone gets to make their own choice and have their own favorites. It's a free country!+++
'17 Chevy Volt Premiere
Digital music (satellite, mp3) is by definition compressed. MP3s have different bitrate settings (128K vs. 192K vs. 256k etc.). The higher the bitrate the better the sound (and more storage required). Some people can't tell much difference and some people claim it's night and day.
With satellite there is another compression layer. There is limited bandwidth on the satellites so they compress the signal even further to fit more channels in. You also have the quality of the original recording which affects final sound especially on 60s and 70s music.
How it sounds depends on your stereo, the original recording quality and the source and bitrate.
Audio CDs are the least compressed usually, followed by analog FM, digital FM (HD Radio) and XM/Sirius. MP3s could be anywhere in between depending on bitrate. The quality of the device is also a factor - ipod vs. cheap mp3 players or gps.
'17 Chevy Volt Premiere
I don't think you're quite right about a few things. The test isn't that new, a lot of cars at this point have been tested, and most have passed. Only the Camry and Prius V were rated "Poor." If safety is a lower priority to you, then ignore the test. But if safety is a significant issue for you, you should probably chose one of the dozen or so midsize cars that passed this test.
http://autos.jdpower.com/content/blog-post/NOdSoru/new-2013-midsize-family-car-c- - - - rash-test-ratings-issued-by-iihs.htm
"....Among the midsize sedans, two models earned the highest rating of "Good" in the new small overlap test: the redesigned 2013 Honda Accord Sedan and the discontinued 2013 Suzuki Kizashi.
Of the remaining 16 midsize sedans evaluated, 11 models received an "Acceptable" rating. They include the following models, which are rated as "Top Safety Pick+" models for 2013:
2013 Chrysler 200
2013 Dodge Avenger
2013 Ford Fusion
2013 Honda Accord Coupe
2013 Kia Optima
2013 Nissan Altima Sedan
2013 Subaru Legacy
2013 Subaru Outback
2013 Volkswagen Passat
The 2013 Mazda 6 and the 2013 Nissan Maxima also received an "Acceptable" rating in the new small overlap frontal impact test, but because their rear-impact protection ratings are "Marginal," they do not qualify for a "Top Safety Pick" rating in 2013.
Three models received a "Marginal" rating in the new small overlap frontal impact test. They include the redesigned 2013 Chevrolet Malibu, 2013 Hyundai Sonata, and the 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Sedan. All three models retain their "Top Safety Pick" status for 2013, but do not qualify for the new "Top Safety Pick+" rating.
The two models receiving a "Poor" rating include the Toyota Camry and Toyota Prius v. "Toyota engineers have a lot of work to do to match the performance of their competitors," Lund says.
In the test for the Camry, the impact pushed the front left wheel into the driver's foot well, moving the parking brake mechanism into the driver's leg space. The windshield pillar bent, moving the instrument panel and steering column. As a result, the crash-test dummy's head glanced off of the driver air bag and, because the side curtain air bag does not extend far enough forward to offer protection, struck the dashboard....."
They have since corrected those issues for the last 5 years or so at least.
CR is spot-on.
You are saying that an iPod is much cleaner than the best MP3? or?
This is all very good info. I appreciated your post a lot. Answered many questions/wonderments I have always had ever since the first MP3 type file came along. My nephew has created many digital files for DJ work. I have heard some at an outdoor party once, but not in an environment like your car or home where you can make a memory comparo. I have a feeling he must use a high bitrate...oh..I recall he was using an iPod docked to something else, a big mixer of some sort I think.
If it was really that easy, all the bad undeserving companies out there would spend all their marketing dollars good-mouthing their vehicles.
Maybe they do, but it doesn't seem to work as many companies have been bailed out recently, and some multiple times (Chrysler).
IPOD's have Apple Lossless audio format, but I don't think I-tunes sells it. You can take your CD's and make apple lossless files though. Keeps about 99% of the quality, whereas in 256k I'd say your getting 80 to 90%.