Wouldn't Be Caught Dead Driving One

thegraduate

Yep Lexus doesn't make a true SUV, neither does MB

What do you consider the Toyota Land Cruiser (Lexus LX470)? It was one of the original SUVs if not THE original. How about the Mercedes G500 vehicle (Overseas Army SUVs with three locking differentials, ultra utilitarian (square) design, and brawny 300hp V-8 engine)?

thegraduate

My post #360 was repeated by others a little earlier, sorry, I had not read that far and had to respond!

snakeweasel

Look up.

I have a friend who bought a brand new G500 and took it up north. He is sorry he did, he says it didn't come back in as good a condition as when he left. Of course he went where most people wouldn't go, but it still didn't hold out to well. FWIW 20+ years ago we took the same trip in a CJ5 which handled it great.

garandman

Every time I see a Hummer it's, "What were they thinking?"

Poser? Wannabee? Don't they realize Privates drive in the Army?

snakeweasel

Don't they realize Privates drive in the Army?

Not always, Flag officers usually have sergeants driving them around. A dignitary being driven around by the Army might even rate a junior officer.

I once got to drive a Humvee (not a Hummer an actual Humvee) it was sort of fun but wouldn't want to drive one on a regular basis (unless it was through a free fire zone).

jefferyg

What do you consider the Toyota Land Cruiser (Lexus LX470)? It was one of the original SUVs if not THE original.

A friend of mine had an older Land Cruiser. I believe it was built back in the 70's. SUV is not what comes to mind when I think about it. It was more like a Willis Jeep on steroids. It was built out of iron and steel, a serious off-roader, the ultimate hunting vehicle, nothing like today's land cruiser. About the only things then and now share are big tires, poor fuel economy, and the name.

scramblinman

"What do you consider the Toyota Land Cruiser (Lexus LX470)? It was one of the original SUVs if not THE original."

If there is one term I would not use to describe Toyota, it would be original. The original Land Cruisers were basically immitations of Willies products. Yes, those older Land Cruisers were rugged offroad machines. But with the addition of IFS, painted urethane bumpers, low hanging running boards and general emphasis on luxury and status rather than real performance, I would hardly be eager to take one offroad on my own dime.

stockmanjoe

Remember how bad the Yugos were?

goodegg

Yes - they were as bad as Kias are now....

fiat600guy

You guys seem to forget the Jeep Wagoneer... and before that, the post-WWII Jeep station wagon.

Just for "yuks," I've been driving FIATs since 1958 and Yugos since 1988. With a reasonable amount of "preventive," I've experienced excellent service from them all and have driven well over 100K on many of them, including the Yugos (FIAT 145).

fiat600guy

Hey, both the PT and HHR were designed by the same guy!

stockmanjoe

I did have a co-worker who recently told me he liked his Yugo and it was a reliable car. But you two I think are the only ones most people I spoke to said they were very bad. The last time I saw one on the road was March 1998.

stockmanjoe

How do you make a Yugo go faster?
A towtruck.

What do you call the shock absorbers inside a Yugo?
Passengers.

Two guys in a Yugo were arrested last night in Oakland following a push-by shooting incident.

The new Yugo has an air bag. When you sense an impending accident, start pumping real fast.

A friend went to a dealer the other day and said, "I'd like a gas cap for my Yugo." The dealer replied, "Okay. Sounds like a fair trade."

I have also said for years that the car is named because "Yugo, but it doesn't".

How can you get a Yugo to do 60 miles an hour?
Push it over a cliff.

snakeweasel

I actually saw a Yugo about two years ago. Was surprised to see it.

jchan2

I saw one too. In October 2000 in an affluent suburb of Columbus, Ohio.

jchan2

I like your Yugo humor by the way...

imidazol97

Does he know any Honda and Toyota jokes?

lemko

...for a 1987 Yugo and it came back as $37.00. I can buy several Yugos with what's in my wallet.

harrychezt

hey, if it ran, for 37 dollars, and you had it 3 or 4 days, you already came out ahead, versus a rental car

harrychezt

had a Yugo, got it @ 30,000 or so mile, and drove it for 2.5 years, to 95,000 miles. He had no problems until 3 weeks before leaving shore duty for a ship.
Tranny was slipping, he said.( think it was an 87, and he got rid of it in fall of 90).

Do not know what happened, as he had 18 days of leave(before going to his next duty station, the ship).

I think he said he paid 1,300?

blnewto

Hilarious movie w/ Danny Devito, Bette Midler & Jamie Lee Curtis. Everyone in town had a Yugo, even the cops, LOL

steven922

Texas Cadillc (A white mid 70's ElDorado convert with the horns on the front.

Speaking of Yugo's and Cadillac's, I remember a car dealer having a radio ad in Hartford Ct. A free Yugo with the purchase of any new Cadillac on the lot. Not a bad deal if
you were going to buy one anyway, but I don't think people were running over there for the free Yugo.

lemko

Anybody remember Boss Hogg's ride? It was a white 1970 Cadillac Deville convertible,

navigator89

I just watched Dukes of Hazzard, and I liked his ride. He had the pistol shaped door handle, and a longhorn on the front. His ride had style.

bottgers

Here's one:

Q: What do the Korean car companies want to be when they grow up?

A: Toyota or Honda.

bumpy

That's not funny if you're Toyota. Hyundai is already larger than Honda by sales volume, and they're larger than Nissan if you include Kia.

andre1969

I've heard a few jabs, directed mainly directed at Toyota. These were from the Mopar Mailing List I belong to...mainly in member's signature blocks in their emails.

One guy's sig block read "I'd rather have a real 'Ota than one of them Toy ones!" And another read "The last thing I want is a car for 'everyday people'".

I know there's an acronym list for car names on the web somewhere. I don't remember what the acronym for "Toyota" was, but "Honda" was "Had One, Never Did Again"!

A few other gems...
"Hope You Understand Nothing's Dependable And Inexpensive"
"Can Hear Every Valve Rattle On Long Extended Trips"
"Old Leisurely Driven Sedan Mostly Based On Buick's Illegitimate Leftover Excrement"
"Killed In Action"

And one that tends not to get mentioned in Mopar forums...
"Mostly Old Parts And Rust"! :P

snakeweasel

True, Hyundai is grow and improving by leaps and bounds. If I were either Honda or Toyota I would be watching the very closely.

BTW where did you get those sales figure, they don't seem right to me? I would think that Hyundai was way behind both Honda and Toyota is sales volume.

jchan2

That's funny.
I don't see Mercedes, Lexus, or Infiniti up there.

snakeweasel

When you get some let us know.

jchan2

Sure will... Those seem to be harder than others... Especially Infiniti, with all those I's.

andre1969

you might want to go back in your message and edit "Pontiac"...the list you found is a politically incorrect version. These days I've usually seen the word "Ninny" used.

jrosasmc

Don't forget this one-

SAAB:
Sure Ain't A Bimmer

bumpy

BTW where did you get those sales figure, they don't seem right to me? I would think that Hyundai was way behind both Honda and Toyota is sales volume.

Hyundai is way behind Toyota and Honda in US sales. Honda's sales are largely in Japan and the US, with some modest numbers in Europe. Hyundai holds a sizeable chunk of the Korean market, plus growing sales in the US, China, and India puts them up over Honda. 2005 sales numbers should be coming out before too long.

snakeweasel

sorry didn't notice that, thats what happens when you cut and paste :P

Since its past the allotted time for editing would a host please edit it?

I e-mailed a host about it.

mango3

Don't buy the Honda Odyssey. I have had nothing but trouble since I bought it 7 weeks ago. There is now a crack in the transmission that occurred in the factory. Honda will only replace it with used parts and refuse to give me the serial number of the part so I can tell if it is a hurricane Katrina part. Honda service has turned American. I hope the American car companies take this opportunity to make a comeback. Working with Honda is like living on Pearl Harbor on 12/7/1941

snakeweasel

Working with Honda is like living on Pearl Harbor on 12/7/1941

I have a relative who spent several hours on the tarmac on Hickam field with shrapnel in both legs who would strongly disagree with you on that point.

PF_Flyer

We cannot edit posts, don't have that ability. Had to delete it.

andre1969

Okay, here it is again...the PC (more or less) version! I tried to look through it real quick to see if there was anything else questionable. Often with "Ford" you get the many acronyms that use a naughty word. And "BMW" has spawned a few racial epithets in its time...

ACURA:
Another Crummy, Useless, Rotten Automobile
Asia's Curse Upon Rural America

AMC:
All Makes Combined
A Morons Car
Another Major Catastrophe

AUDI:
Accelerates Under Demonic Influence
Automobile Under Demonic Influence
Another Ugly Deutsche Invention
Always Undermining Deutsche Intelligence

BMW:
Brutal Money Waster
Beastly Monstrous Wonder
Born Moderately Wealthy
Brings Me Women
Broke My Wallet
Blasphemous Motorized Wreck

BUICK:
Big Ugly Indestructible Car Killer
Big Ugly Imitation Chrome King

CHEVROLET:
Can Hear Every Valve Rap On Long Extended Trips
Cheap, Hardly Efficient, Virtually Runs On Luck Every Time
Constantly Having Every Vehicle Recalled Over Lousy Engineering Techniques

DODGE:
Drips Oil & Drops Grease Everywhere
Damn Old Dirty Gas Eater
Dead On Day Guarantee Expires
Dead On Delivery, Go Easy
Dear Old Dads Garage Experiment

EDSEL: Every Day Something Else Leaks

FIAT:
Failure in Italian Automotive Technology
Fix It Again, Tony!
Feeble Italian Attempt at Transportation

FORD:
Frigin' Old Rebuilt Dodge
Fix Or Repair Daily
Found On Road Dead
Fast Only Rolling Downhill
First On Race Day
First On Recall Day
Fails On Rainy Days
Fatally Obese Redneck Driver
Fireball On Rear Denting
Forward Only; Reverse Defective
Forlorn, Old, Ratridden Dustbin
Fork Over Repair Dough
Fumes and Odors Readily Detectable

GEO: Good Engineering Overlooked

GM:
General Maintenance
Great Mistake
Garbage Motors
Generally Miserable
Grossly Misconceived
Gluteus Maximus

GMC:
Garage Man's Companion
Gotta Mechanic Coming?
Generally Mediocre Cars
Gods Mechanical Curse
Got More Crap
Great Mountain Climber
Great Motor Car

GTO: Gas, Tires, Oil

HONDA:
Had One Never Did Again
Hang On, Not Done Accelerating
Hallmark Of Non-Descript Automobiles
Hallmark Of Non-Destructable Automobiles

HYUNDAI: Hope You Understand Nothing's Driveable And Inexpensive...

JEEP:
Just Eats Every Part
Junk Engineering Executed Poorly

KIA: Killed In Action

MAZDA: Most Always Zipping Dangerously Along

MG: Money Guzzler

MIATA: My Intention: Always To Accelerate

MOPAR:
Many Odd Parts Arranged Randomly
Miscellaneous Oddball Parts Assembled Ridiculously
Most Often Passed At Races
Mostly Old Parts And Rust
My Only Problems Are Repairs

MUSTANG: Motor Under Strain, Transmission Almost No Good

OLDSMOBILE: Overpriced, Leisurely Driven Sedan Made Of Buick's Irregular Leftover Equipment

PINTO:
Put In Nickel To Operate
Paid Inspector Nicely To Overlook

PLYMOUTH: Please Leave Your Money Out Under The Hood

PONTIAC: Poor Old Ninny Thinks Its A Cadillac

PORSCHE: Proof Of Rich Spoiled Children Having Everything

SAAB:
Send Another Automobile Back
Swedish Automobiles Always Breakdown
Sad Attempt At Beauty
Shape Appears [non-permissible content removed]-Backwards

SUBARU: Screwed Up Beyond All Repair Usually

TOYOTA:
Too Often Yankees Overprice This Auto
Torturous On Your Old Tired [non-permissible content removed]
The One You Ought To Avoid

TRIUMPH:
This Really Is Unreliable Man, Please Help!
Tried Repairing It Until My Parts Hurt!

VOLVO: Very Odd Looking Vehicular Object

VW: Virtually Worthless

PF_Flyer

Thanks for editing that! This has been a strange week!

snakeweasel

Coasties have (or at least had) a habit of driving cheaper cars. I guess it comes from all that experience of running the service on a shoestring.

bottgers

I highly doubt that Toyota and Honda haven't been taking notice of what the Koreans are doing. They didn't get to where there are today by resting on their laurels. I can assure you they will do whatever is necessary to stay on top and they possess the knowhow to do so.

snakeweasel

I am sure they are watching the competition especially the Koreans. Its just that some of the "I love Japanese cars why don't you?" crowd don't think Hyundai is a threat to Toyota and Honda.

There is another competitor that has it in their power to trump the Japanese and are making some of the right moves. Lets see if they can keep it up and lets see who holds what cards in 2010.

bottgers

....Hyundai (or any other auto maker for that matter) is only a threat to the likes of Honda and Toyota if they allow them to be. Honda and Toyota have proved over the years they can trump anything the competition brings to the table. As long as they realize they have to stay on their toes to stay on top, they will. The end result is better vehicles for the consumer.

bottgers

....someone says " I wouldn't be caught dead driving a minivan" as they're getting into their SUV.

snakeweasel

Companies who take that approach usually wake up one day and say "what happened?". The only way Honda and Toyota will stay where they are and/or grow is if they view every other manufacturer a serious threat.

xrunner2

Guys driving these have to be with-it 100.00 percent of time behind the wheel. They don't get second chances. I don't know about anyone else, but I don't even want to pull up next to one of these to wait for a light at an intersection. Hope that traffic works out that I am well behind at a light. Wonder if these drivers need some type of special driver's license.

Read that about 50+ years ago in Chicago, a streetcar and gasoline truck collided and many were burned to death.

edklein

Careful now. It took the Japanese a long time to get to where they are. There was a time when you would have been declared crazy if you suggested that the likes of Toyota would have ever been a challenge GM.

snakeweasel

Wonder if these drivers need some type of special driver's license.

No special license, but they do need to be certified and there are a lot of regulations regarding the transportation of hazardous materials such as training and registration.

however they are pretty safe, with very few incidents each year. I feel much safer around one than an SUV driven by someone that looks like they just got their license.

The street car incident was the fault of the street car not the gasoline truck and most people died because there was a bar across the windows (to prevent people from sticking the heads out the windows and getting hurt).

guss

someone says " I wouldn't be caught dead driving a minivan" as they're getting into their SUV.

Or tries to squeeze 4 kids into a Cavalier.