By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
Craig
I have one student who is taking an inordinate amount of my time everyday, and I'm trying desperately to find some solutions to his aggressive behavior. (The bruises from last week's fall are gone, and most of the soreness in the leg ... good thing I still bounce at my 'advanced' age!)
I have a huge project due in about 2 weeks for my college class, and a test tomorrow in the reading training that I'm taking "because I want to". (See how nuts I am?)
I look forward to getting back into the Thursday night chat, but looks like next semester will be worse than this one. I have a Thursday night class in the spring that will require me to be IN class the entire duration of the chat - so I'll have to manage a few between now and the time that starts.
(Good thing the Mister is understanding of all my interests .... - he actually is quite supportive which is why I can do all that I get done.)
See ya 'round ...
Bob
http://www.aiada.org/article.asp?id=27489&cat=Industry
Bob
http://www.iihs.org/vehicle_ratings/head_restraints/details_page.- htm#subaru
-juice
That's right, the 300C with the Dodge Magnum wagon body!
"Huh? you say...
Well, to let you in on a not-so-little secret: Chrysler sells the 300C in that configuration in Europe. So what I saw was truck load of vehicles most likely headed for the Baltimore (or Wilmington, DE) docks, to be exported.
Check out the German Chrysler site, and note the 300C Touring.
http://www.chrysler.de/content/chrysler/de/home.html
Bob
I have been so busy I just haven't had time to hang with the crew in many months. I can only imagine what I have missed.
My 01 Legacy GT is still running strong. 55k miles and only problem since my unfortunate heater core incedent has been a replacement of the seals where the axles enter the front dif. They were leaking a bit and the dealer said it was sort of normal. Missed getting them taken care of under warranty but no big deal.
Heading out tomorrow on another road trip to Wisconsin. Should be about 5k miles round trip. Can't wait.
Hi to all, especially Patti. Will try and check in more often.
bit
Europeans love their wagons, though.
-juice
I thought you were semi retired Bit, you need to slow down and smell the roses.
Cheers Pat.
-juice
http://www.channel4.com/4car/media/spyshots/H/03-large/Honda-Civi- c-002.jpg
http://www.channel4.com/4car/media/spyshots/H/03-large/Honda-Civi- c-003.jpg
http://www.channel4.com/4car/media/spyshots/H/03-large/Honda-Civi- c-004.jpg
http://www.channel4.com/4car/media/spyshots/H/03-large/Honda-Civi- c-005.jpg
http://www.channel4.com/4car/media/spyshots/H/03-large/Honda-Civi- c-006.jpg
http://www.channel4.com/4car/media/spyshots/H/03-large/Honda-Civi- c-007.jpg
Looks interesting.
Bob
Of particular interest is the Jeep Gladiator pickup concept, with a slightly different take on the Baja's switchback. The bed is normally 5'6" but the rear bulkhead of the cab slides forward, expanding the bed to a full 8'.
http://autodeadline.com/Photos?kw=Jeep%20Gladiator
Bob
Nicholas
Oak Ridge Labs puts it at 1.2 million cars by 2008, a sixteenfold increase from this year. The biggest roadblock remains the $3,500 premium. But as more models compete for buyers, auto execs expect that to shrink to about $2,500 in two years and eventually to drop as low as $1,000. "For $1,000," says auto consultant Wes Brown, "who in their right mind would not to go for a hybrid?"
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6479959/site/newsweek/
The biggest surprise (to me) was that many of these cars are going to be marketed for their "high performance" benefit, and less emphasis will be placed on their "eco-friendly" aspects. This will be especially true for larger vehicles with hybrid assist.
This is a very good read, and I recommend anyone with any interest in hybrids to do so.
Bob
Gladiator should be a Crew Cab, does anyone buy 2 seater pickups any more?
The article is interesting, but it may be a bit optimistic. For that sort of market share increase, it would come at the expense of something.
I mean, you're not going to get mainstream sedan buyers used to paying $16-25 grand to suddendly fork out $30 grand in droves.
I think those buyers might come out of near-luxury cars. A TL shopper might get that Accord hybrid, for instance.
Hybrid SUV buyers might come out of near-luxury SUVs. So the RX400H buyer (fifty two grand!?) would have bought an LX470 or GX470.
I don't see how a $52k SUV will become mainstream. $30-40k is where most buyers are. Even the Highlander will be on the very high end of that range.
I'm cautiously optimistic, but they are dreaming a bit.
-juice
The Jeep concept is a 4-seat extended cab pickup. I like the expanding bed feature.
Bob
They say the hybrid adds $3 grand, but compare an Escape hybrid to an Escape 2.3l (because the V6 offers far more performance) and you'll see that Ford is actually charging a whopping $8000 for the addition of the hybrid.
If the RX400H really does come in at $52 grand (more than a Hummer or Escalade), I don't see it being the runaway hit some think it will be.
I can see them going mainstream *IF* they change strategy and don't only offer them on fully loaded models with accordingly sky-high prices.
-juice
~Colin
-juice
-Brian
Thanks for the link. It was an interesting article. It also raised the point that the EPA testing has been off for a while now regarding the mileage. That would also explain why mileage varies so greatly now.
Following the article, I would guess that Subaru is going to have to roll out their hybrid version sooner rather than later. Now it just goes to see which model. I figure the Outback/Legacy line, as that is more widely recognized as a Subaru.
Mark
Oh well, people don't usually buy civics for how they look, right? ;-)
Hybrids are a great idea- except only the Toyotas are truly more environmentally friendly than low emissions non-hybrid cars. The Hondas are just ultra-low emissions vehicles, not near zero like the prius. That and the fact it would take 10 years to recoup the $3000 price difference in gas savings. Cool idea, but not practical. . . yet.
tom
Toyota overall is not the green company that everybody thinks they are, though. Their 4.7l V8 is one of the grossest polluters on the road, far worse than even the Hummer.
-juice
Owen
I see it as more wedge shaped. At least from the front.
-juice
http://www.vwvortex.com/artman/publish/volkswagen_news/article_10- - 62.shtml
but it also looks very Japanese. I see some Accord influence in it.
Bob
6-speed tip and DSG 6-speed manual available. Subaru better get moving on some new tranny options soon.
Ken
The A3 is the only handsome car on this platform.
The profile indeed looks like the Accord, especially that C-pillar.
Note the wheelbase is 2" longer than the Forester's now.
-juice
These are VWs that are built in the Czech Republic, I believe the Octavia is almost identical to the European Passat but at less cost.
Both my brother and brother in law own diesel versions in Ireland, and they quite impressed both of them use them as taxis and both are on their second Skoda.
Cheers Pat.
Wonder if Skoda will step up in WRC now that the French bailed. Subaru needs some competition.
-juice
Anyway, problems with my home DSL required me to uninstall and reinstall my DSL SW over the weekend. Since that time I've been unable to login from home, which also kept me from joining last night's chat. Not sure what I need to do to restore that (cookies are enabled) so for teh foreseeable future I will only be popping in from the office (not like I wasn't doing that before ;-P - but just less frequently).
Ed
I saw lots of new Golfs in Germany - very dumpy looking. Looks as though VW bought the overstock of '03-04 Forester XS alloys from Subaru and put them on the GTIs. The use of black paint around the GTI grille to emulate the new Audi grille looks cheesy as well IMO.
Ed (owned a Jetta II back in the day)
They had a 2 wheeler based on a bike that was fully enclosed. It had "training wheels" that would pop out at 4mph, but was fully weather proof.
Fast and very fuel efficient, too. I'm sure it would cost a fortune (they didn't specify).
-juice
Bob
just put my motorcycle up for the winter, though.
~c
2 seats tandem, one model even had head rests front and rear. Fully equipped with HVAC and stereo.
-juice
At highway speeds the revs fluctuate. I was driving it the other weekend and this is what I experienced... Was cruising along the highway at about 60 mph when the RPM's starting to fluctuate. Looked like it was shifting in and out of 4th. No bucking. Just a 500 or so rpm shift. Finally sputtered and died as I pulled over to the side of the road. As it was dying, the check engine flashed (I'm guessing that was because the engine died.) Started right back up and I was able to get to the next exit without it dying again. (It did fluctuate a couple more times when I was at higher speeds.) Drove it home on surface streets with no problems. It shifted fine. Mechanic replaced the EGR valve since the OBD code said it was bad, but the problem has continued. There were no other codes and he couldn't get the problem to happen while testing it. Most of the time the revs fluctuate, but the car doesn't die. The problem only occurs at highway speeds and is intermittent. I'm thinking the fuel pump may be starting to go bad. Any other ideas?
replace fuel filter and air filter first. then replace the following in order:
fuel pump
spark plugs
spark plug wires
ignition coil(s)
that should nip it in the bud. it's probably not ignition related because that tends to throw a misfire code.
~Colin
Cheers Pat.
Her grandfather lives out there, and he just got a 300C (loaded up, it stickered for about $37K). He only has 600 miles on it after a month and a half. Very nice car, and the apparent quality is impressive for a Chrysler. Fit and finish was excellent, and the car rides/handles pretty nicely with plenty of power. However, the interior styling did not appeal to me at all -- I think they were trying to chase after the Buick crowd (in which case it is a smashing success).
We ended up getting an 04 Mustang convertible as a rental. We enjoyed the convertible aspect of it coupled with the great weather, but otherwise, it was the worst car I have ever driven. Ford should be ashamed of a vehicle like this; it's no wonder they are in trouble. And I seriously question the brains of anybody who bought the previous (82-04) generation Mustang. Keep in mind that I had low expectations to begin with -- rental car, convertible structure, outdated platform, 6-cyl -- and the car still managed to disappoint me on top of all that. Just an all around piece of junk!
And then we get back to the airport after a long plane ride home and get into my Outback XT. Wow! Great seats! Cool-looking and attractive interior! Fast and responsive! Great ride and handling!
Craig
http://www.autoweek.com/article.cms?articleId=101178
Isuzu's future
http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=101233
This what got Audi chief fired:
http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=101222
http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=101267