Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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you must have a really short garage since the intrepid is barely any longer than the 300m...?
Usually the rule is Take care of it and it will take care of you.
here are those measurements since i had nothing better to do at the moment...
300m 197.8"
intrepid 203.7"
concorde 207.7"
i didn't realize the concorde was that much longer than a 300m...
I don't think that extra length would make much difference in most driving, since the ends of the cars taper off so much that you could probably do maneuvers that you couldn't in a shorter, but more squared-off car. But when it comes to parking, you still have to squeeze all that length in, so that's where it gets ya, I guess!
Would I buy one? Perhaps, but I would also look at the Intrepid SXT. It is similar to my 2000 Intrepid R/T before the R/T became the loaded model, though mine does have ABS and autostick.
I don't need or want all the gadgets they put on most cars now-a-days. My 67 Galaxie has retaught me that.
I have a feeling that Nissan 3.5 is going to require premium fuel, too...
wing emblem in black as well as the silver backgound with black inserts and one with a black background with gold
inserts.The labels will be 2-3/4" x 5" rectangular with rounded edges. As I had said before use the following
catalogue numbers to order them as the web site still only shows the ones for the PT cruiser.
VISORSV-05 for silver
VISORBK-05 for black
VISORGLD-05 for the gold.
They are $16.00 a pair U.S. The site is at http://www.ptwarehouse.com/index1.htm
I'll wait to see what the new LX is like, but the 2003 Crown Vic sounds pretty interesting to me.
As for the government "bailout", well, it was actually a loan guarantee. Chrysler paid that back too, with interest, and ahead of schedule. In 1983. So it cost the taxpayers nothing. In fact, it was probably a good thing the government stepped in. Just think of all the people that would've been put out of work if Chrysler closed its doors in 1979. GM and Ford were already running at maximum capacity, so they wouldn't have been able to produce more cars to take up the slack if Chrysler bailed. We were already teetering on the brink of recession as it was, and even though we plunged into it anyway, I'm sure it would've been a lot worse if Chrysler went under.
I will Der Schrempp credit if the Chrysler Pacifica turns out as nice as it seems at first blush, which is basically a modified Chrysler minivan and Chrysler drivetrain. I should be more generous due to the fact that not only are they running Chrysler poorly, they are destroying Mercedes as well. Can they ruin Mitsubishi and Hyundai as well?
I don't think a RWD sedan will catch on for the family sedan mass market. Crown Vic's sell well to police, and the Gran Marquis sells extremely well in Florida (no surprise, eh?), but the numbers are small compared to Camry, Accord, Taurus, etc. I'm not convinced a new RWD LX sedan is a good move for Chrysler/Dodge, but it does help Mercedes amortize design costs on the E-class.
imo, maxima is certainly nothing special. a close friend of mine has an '00 and other than a smooth and refined powertrain, i'm not really sure what the big deal is. his car rides like a go-kart and requires premium to get the full advertised hp. the exterior has been massaged enough over the past few years that it now looks fairly well integrated...but, i still don't understand the cache' associated with said car...
i always get a kick out of people associating any quality/perceived quality increase in chrysler vehicles as being solely attributed to daimler. almost all of what's out there now and to be released soon was well on its way before daimler tookover chrysler. i'm sure daimler has brought some good ideas to the relationship, but it was definitely not a one way street.
i must admit i'm also wondering about the move to rwd. it prolly makes sense in the case of the 300m and maybe even concorde, but not sure about the intrepid. i read somewhere that dc is going to push all the lx cars upmarket in price and options. seems to me that they'd wanna keep some models at least close to the price of the taurus, camry and accord, etc. especially now that the camry is getting ever closer in size to the current lh cars and i'm sure the next accord will also be larger than it currently is. will be quite interesting to see where they go with the lx cars...!
I think Chrysler will keep the Intrepid to compete with the Taurus and the Malibu. Especially now that they changed the Concorde/LHS.
300michael I can only speak from personal experience, of all the cars I have owned the Decrepid Intrepid was by far the worse. The only time it met my expectations is before I drove it from the dealership yard.
I think it's interesting that, once upon a time, cars like the Superbird and Daytona were offered to the public, because to be able to be raced, it had to be based on a production car. So if they wanted to use that nose and wing, they had to offer it on a production car. Too bad that doesn't hold true today...I wouldn't mind having a V-8, RWD, 2-door Intrepid!
"One pleasant surprise when driving the Civic Hybrid was how quiet it remained inside the cabin. While sitting in the backseat, it was possible to hear people in the front conversing in normal voices without asking them to turn their heads. The low decibel level is due to additional insulation under the car, along with underside panels that make it more aerodynamic."
For the rest of the story see "edmunds" home page.
I was recently shopping, in the used car market, for a second car for my wife. Based on my wife's choices, I test drove the Accord, Mazda 626 and Camry. I ended up buying the 2000 626.
I hated the accord's transmission. I drove 2-3 accords and found every one of them to be jerky when shifting. The Accord might have a reputation to run forever but the ride is a punishment when compared to the Concorde. I found the Concorde to be much more refined than the Accord. The Camry was smoother than the accord but I could not get the price and color combination. Also, the horror stories in the Camry forums about the engine sludge made me cautious. So ended up with the 626, not that they don't have horror stories but I got a good deal on the price.
After the test drives I have found new reasons to appreciate the Concorde. I find the Concorde to be more stable and comfortable than any of the above mentioned cars. Contrary to what many reviewers say, I like the design/layout of the light/wipers/parkingbrake controls on the Concorde better than the Accord/Camry/626.
If you have a need to compare the Intrepid to the hybrid Civic - or any other vehicle - please go to our Comparisons board.
Thanks.
Pat
Host
Sedans Message Board
As for course or rough roads, yeah, it is kind of a constant rumble booming through the interior. I think your 2 best bets are to 1)Get rid of the noisy tires and 2)Invest in some sound insulation, both sheeting and foam.
Oh yeah, we tend to have a lot of rattles too. It's odd, but I haven't heard many lately though? I think a MSN Carpoint review title I read sums it up best: "Noise on Wheels!"
Other than a speaker which was bad out of the factory, the Intrepid has been the most trouble free new car any of my family has had in a while (4 Explorers, 1 Expedition, 2 Grand Marquis, 1 Windstar, and a Chevy Malibu) over the past 8 years.
By the way I prefer Coke over Pepsi, and Miller Lite is better because it tastes greater more than I find it less filling.
So no, the car hasn't been perfect. But overall I'd say it's been pretty damn good. I'm taking a trip to Texas in about 3 weeks, so I guess that'll be a true test of the car's endurance!
before i bought the '00 intrepid i test drove a honda accord coupe. i was simply amazed at how noisy it was. but interestingly enough, when you read an accord article in a car mag, noise is rarely mentioned. anyhoo, i never said the intrepid was the quietest car out there. but imo it is certainly not objectionable. if dc decides to bump the cars up in stature with the next redesign, i'm sure the noise levels will drop even further...except of course for the awesome sound that the hemi will produce as it blows other cars off the road!!! especially overpriced foreign jobs...
If one did compare the Civic to an Intrepid it would be like comparing apples to oranges or maybe better described as comparing apples to lemons.
Some poor souls will even purchase a truck to better enable them to make the statement their Intrepid was "normal" when it came to road noise, how ironic.
When the lights turned green, I drove my Concorde slowly and surely ahead while the Avalon spun in the snow for 3 seconds then drifted to the side before he caught up with me at the next traffic lights.
This happened again and when he caught up with me at the next lights he was grinning stupidly at me.
Is your lexus any better ? Are you not worried about the engine sludge that is bothering those guys in the Camry forums, in the maintenance & repair section, considering you have the same engine ?
As far as the Civic goes, my girlfriend's 99 Civic LX and my sister's 99 Accord EX 4 cylinder are both noisier than my Intrepid, other than the tire noise. Actually, I was surprised how noisy the engine in the Accord actually is.
The Civic is a nice commuter car, but the seats are terribly uncomfortable, the ride is stiff, and it is too narrow. When she and I go anywhere, I always drive by both party's choice.
In the article, the Civic was a hybird, when running on electric, the gas engine is shut off.
I have keyless entry on my 2000, and I have not had problems with it yet. Of course, I have only 19,000 miles on it.
I have to say, I did buy an extended warranty when I got the car, but obviously have never had to use it yet.