the review was on simular vehicles the CSX is a V8 and cost about $8k more than the others. accord 3.0L V6 0 to 60 7.3 seconds Camry 3.5L V6 0 to 60 7.1 seconds Camry Hybird 2.4L inline 4 0 to 60 8.5 seconds Camry 2.4L inline 4 0 to 60 9.6 seconds Azera 3.8L V6 0 to 60 7.1 seconds Lucerene cxl 3.8L V6 0 to 60 9.2 seconds Lucerene cxs 4.7L V8 0 to 60 7.6 seconds
The buick V8 is beat by the V6 cars in acceleration
>The buick V8 is beat by the V6 cars in acceleration
That probably is a factor of the overall gear ratio and the weight of the full-sized Lucerne vs the mid-sized accord and camry.
Consumers Misreports wouldn't compare a proper GM car with others in the same grouping: the GM car might look better than CM wants it to look. Think about it: Accord, mid-sized; Camry, mid-sized; Azera, ?mid-sized. Never have been able to sit in one. When I go by the Hyonda dealer they are closed.
Think about it... why didn't they compare to LaCrosse and Impala V8 and V6s for mid-sized comparisons. Because they don't want it that way; see above paragraph for comment.
the azera weighs 10lbs less than the buick and beat its acceleration by over 2 seconds with the V6 and by 0.5 against the V8
The Kia amanti weighs about 200lbs more with a smaller engine a 3.5L V6 and does 0 to 60 in 8.2 seconds 1 second faster than the buick and gets better gas mileage. the azera is in the same weight and size range as the buick. they where testing family sedans with similar price ranges and weights. I don't know why people get fixated on brands, I have had Buicks, Fords, Chevys, Dodges, Potiac, Olds, VW, Subaru, and Kia ranging from a 1954 VW to a 2006 Kia. the 1964 Chevy and 1964 dodge where extremely well built, any american car I have had that was built after about 1972 has been pure garbage. 1979 Ford 250 would not start below -5f had 2 front axles fail, 1989 chevy s-10 paint wouldn't stay on re painted every year fenders rusted through after 5 years out of warranty, ford tempo ate front end parts used oil from day one, 1984 dodge Shelby charger dumped after 3 years , ate front wheel bearings 2 sets a year at $180 each +labor, pontiac car was total lemon had for 6 months and got money back from dealer during the 6 months I put about 300 miles on it spent rest of time in dealer shop olds blew engine on drive home returned to dealer, VW ran great no heat though and had problems going up hills. Subarus 1978 to 1984 got rid of them at around 300k miles when I could see ground through floorboards. Buick spent $6k fixing/replacing computers and dumped the car at 45k miles. right now I have a 1972 toyota land cruiser and a 2006 Kia amanti, the toyota has a 455 olds engine in it and a 7.5 foot snow plow on the front, have used it to plow snow for 15 years.
I feel compelled to reply: The Tundra is built in this country, putting Americans to work. Some Chevys are built in Mexico. How's that helping Americans? I'd rather buy a car or truck that was built here regardless of the nameplate. The Ford Fusion is built in Mexico. Since I doubt the Mexican workers make the same money American workers do, shouldn't we be able to buy that vehicle cheaper? Just a thought.
that import nameplates seem to make high quality vehicles here in USA, using American labor, whereas the US makers must outsource their assembly to other nations to avoid US workers...sorry to beat this into the ground, but there really is only one variable...the Ford/GM folks are unionized whereas the import workers rarely are (MB and BMW I believe use unions, but Toy, Honda and Nissan and Hyuandai do not)...
Say what you will about managemnt, the biggest variable for cost and quality is still the union...
Azera, ?mid-sized. Never have been able to sit in one. When I go by the Hyonda dealer they are closed.
I sat in the Azera at the auto show, but for the life of me can't remember what it was like. I don't know if that would imply good or bad though. If it were cramped it would have made an impression, and if it were expansive it would have, as well.
I do remember liking the interior of the Lucerne, though. It felt roomy, both up front and in back. And they're doing a better job these days of hiding the hard plastic.
I do remember not being all that impressed with the Sonata, though. While it certainly felt more plush than a Camry or an Accord, something about it still just seemed a slight step down from either of those. Almost like they were trying to hide an interior that wasn't quite up to snuff with nicer carpeting, fabrics, plusher trappings, etc. And I do remember the rear wheel wells cut sharply into the Sonata's back seat. It might have the shoulder room for 3-across seating, but it doesn't have the butt-room for it!
Maybe I'll have to go check out the Azera again, just to really give it a fair shake.
That '03 Accord Coupe V6 of mine just went past 58,550 miles for me, and I still haven't had to put a dollar into it other than for regularly scheduled maintenance.
I'm nearing the mileage I got a certain Dodge nameplate from 1995. I'm still thousands and thousands behind in supplementing Dodge, and other independent mechanics' bank accounts though. I'm also about 3 tow truck driver payments behind where I was with that certain American nameplate.
SHAME on the Japanese!!!! They are ruining our economy by making mechanics and tow truck companies go out of business. SHAME on Honda & Toyota for doing that. Those poor mechanics and tow truck drivers can't make money from me anymore. I do miss paying my hard earned money to them.
:P :shades:
'18 Porsche Macan Turbo, '16 Audi TTS, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
And you SHOULD be ashamed, I now demand that you donate 4% of your earnings to the "Unemployed tow truck drivers association due to the tsunami of Japanese reliable automakers" fund, so they, too, can enjoy a life of leisure like you...:):):):):)
reviews I have found say that the V8 lucerne gets around 14mpg average, at current gas prices that will be one very expensive car to drive. I guess that that will give you a different reason to call a tow truck, out of gas instead of broke down.
How is buying a Mexican made Tacoma helping put americans to work ? How bout a Mexican made Jetta ? My point is the Big 3 aren't the only ones who have plants in Mexico, China, etc. The Big 3 still have by a huge margin the most "american/domestic content" of all the auto manufactor's with GM leading the pack.
And for GM and Ford the headquarters are in the US and North America. And many suppliers including Delphi if they don't go on strike as the rattles are sounding.
"The Big 3 still have by a huge margin the most "american/domestic content" of all the auto manufactor's with GM leading the pack."
Completely immaterial IMO.
When buying a vehicle, you are buying JUST THAT ONE VEHICLE. You aren't buying everything that manufacturer makes so your 'composite' domestic content is higher than an import brand's.
For example: when shopping for a midsize family car (if % of domestic content is important), one should look at the content of the individual cars being considered (Ford Fusion, Chevy Impala or Malibu, Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Hyundai Sonata).
Personally, I wouldn't give a rat's behind if the % domestic content of Ford Trucks raised the overall Ford % of domestic content; I would only care about the content of the Fusion vs. the competitors.
"How is buying a Mexican made Tacoma helping put americans to work ?"
And how is buying a Canadian made GM truck helping put americans to work? The Canadian sourced parts/labor are labeled 'domestic' yet the Mexican sourced parts/labor are not.
Maybe those labels shouldn NOT read 'domestic %'......perhaps they SHOULD read 'UAW/CAW %'. That, after all, was why the Canadian stuff gets labeled 'domestic' while the Mexican stuff does not.
It'd be like claiming you like GM trucks because they offer 16259 different combinations of truck model, drivetrain, trim, options and color combinations. My response would be "So what, how many trucks can you drive at one time?"
btw - that number was pulled out of thin air; no need to check to see just how many different variations of GM trucks there are....
You know, people always complain that even the new domestic cars aren't up too snuff, and I'm not going to sit here and have a debate about that, because as far as I'm concerned they are. However, what I would like to say is, my uncle has a relativly new ford f-250. In the winter he would put animal furs on the seats, and eventually, so much hair fell off the furs and collected in the buckle, tjhat it jammed the assembly, and rendered it inoperable, also, these trucks have manually locking hubs, and he would just drive around with them locked all the time, 24/7, which isn't good for them, and put a strain on the hubs, and now they are making a squeaking noise. Anyways, he blamed these problems on the car being a crappy American car, until he was proven wrong, and shown that these problems occurred because he didn't take care of his car properly, and I think that this happens often, where people mistreat their cars, and then say that its just a crappy American car when things break.
fords with the auto hubs where eating front axles here, When a car eats 2 sets of SEALED wheel bearings per year at $180.00 each + labor that shows a crapy design, the bearings failed because they used a plastic cage and normal high temp grease, well in the winter at around -5 that grease was solid and broke the plastic cage and the bearing ate itself. when a vehicle eats trannys at under 10k miles that also shows poor construction. To see they true quality of american vehicles go look at stats on what type and year vehicles get towed most often and then look at TSB's for each dealer, my car has 4 items listed , 1 issue was with the 04 year only, others are minor that do not affect vehicle operation, then take a look at what they have listed for the 2000 through 2007 dodges, and look at how many of those problems carry over from year to year, the US dealers do not in general change design to remove problems, look at how many years ford has had problems with the electrical system causing the vehicles to catch fire and they still haven't fixed it, the number of items I can mention is beyond the space allowed in a message and more than I really want to type.
P.S. the GMC that my friend owned is property of the dealer as of late yesterday and this afternoon I had the vehicle impounded.
>To see they true quality of american vehicles go look at stats on what type and year vehicles get towed most often and then look at TSB's for each dealer, my car has 4 items listed , 1 issue was with the 04
Is there a link for that information? Sounds interesting.
IIRC, there have been 5 recalls out for the 2000 Intrepid. And the last time I looked, there were something like 20+ TSB's out for that generation.
Luckily, only two out of the 5 recalls actually affected my particular car. The first one was really stupid. They forgot to put a section in the owner's manual that covered proper installation of a child car seat! :surprise: Yes, believe it or not, the car really was recalled because of that! However, they just sent a supplement in the mail, with the recall notice, and said to keep it with the owner's manual. So I didn't have to take it back to the dealer to get the manual fixed. :P
The second recall involved two bolts that hold the backrest of the driver's seat in place. They weren't up to spec, and could break without warning, making the backrest fall back. I remember when I called the dealer about it, I asked if I could just bring it in and get it done quickly or if I had to leave the car with them. They said I'd have to leave it, because it was considered a half-day job. I think they got a little perturbed when I asked "A half-day to replace TWO bolts?!". They responded that they had to take the seat out of the car to do it. Okay, so a HALF-DAY to remove FOUR bolts so that you can take out the seat to replace the TWO bolts?.
There used to be a guy in these forums who worked on that assembly plant in Ontario. He said that on the assembly line, it took about 11 seconds to put those two bolts in.
I've had one TSB done to my car, as well. Back in late 2003 the oil pressure light would come on when stopped, at idle, when fully warmed up. Such as waiting at a traffic light after the car's been running at least 10-15 minutes or so. Turns out there was a problem with the wiring around the sensor getting hot, and in just those conditions it would get hot enough to trigger a false reading. The fix involved venting the area somehow so it stayed cooler. They did it for free, when the car had about 90,000 miles on it. It was a bit annoying, but I guess it's better to have the light come on when there's no real problem, versus having it NOT come on when there really is!
I stumbled across an online database of car complaints going back well into the the 60's. As I recall, one complaint for the 1968 Dart was that the 6-cylinder wasn't powerful enough but the V-8 was overkill. Too bad nobody ever made a 7-cylinder engine, I guess. :P
Ya, a buddy of mine just bought a G6, and I gotta tell you I fell in love with that car. Before he got one, I had seen pictures, and thought it was a nice enough car, but figured the interior was only average. Well after actually riding in one, let me tell you, it is first rate. That is one NICE car. The interior is beautiful. It's black leather, and all the controls and center stack and everything impressed me very much. Also, this car handles very very well, and while the 3.5 liter engine is only rated at 201 hp, its got 222 lb ft of torque, so that things got some get up and go. My buddy was planning on buying a Sonata, but saw a used G6, and took it for a drive, and was just so impressed with the interior, the way it drove, and the power even compared to the Sonata with 230 hp, but around same torque, that he bought the G6. I have to compliment GM on a job well done with this car, and it seems that hopefully more ppl are starting to realize what a gem it is. Also, one other good thing about it is that it looks very small, but get inside, and its very spacious.
Yep, My mom had the first (G6 GTP Blue Coupe) in Grand Rapids, Mi. She told me she still loves that car today as musch as the first day she bought it. :shades:
I love the way the article is titled "Older vehicles suddenly hot sellers". The Impala is all-new for 2006. The G6 was all-new for 2005 and the 4-cyl and 3.9 liter GTP are new for '06. The PT Cruiser was given a refresh for '06 and may qualify as "old", but to my mind the Impala and G6 don't. Sloppy writing and research. Can't explain the Ion, except that it's a solid reliable car, but it's still fugly. My step-mom loves her Ion, and she does 25K a year. So far NO issues. She bought it new in '03 (I think...the 1st year of the Ion).
From cars.com, the most American cars in terms of parts origination, where assembly is, and how many are sold in the US. I expected the Camry to do well, but I was surprised the Accord didn't make the list. Guess the Accord isn't as American as we thought.
Take another look at the Impala. It is NOT all new for 2006. Just freshened up the looks to be more Accord like in nature and that's about it. Same platform, different day.
The G6 sedan looks like a worm style wise, and has GM electric steering. Would possibly consider the better looking G6 Coupe GTP, but only used.
Why those two cars would suddenly start selling is beyond me. Are there super duper bargain pricing at dealerships of those cars? Extra fleet sales? As for the Ion, I have no idea how they ever sold one. That's life - just full of surprises! :shades: Loren
Sorry. The '06 Impala has a new exterior, new interior, three TOTALLY new engines, etc. That makes it a "new" model, even if the W-body platform is still used. The same way Honda retained the 1998-2002 suspension and chassis pieces for the 2003 Accord redesign.
paperwork turning ownership to the dealer was done July 20 and on July 21 I had it impounded, it is now sitting in an impound lot for abondened vehicles, the dealer is going to have to pay all towing fees, storage and impound charges. Friday the dealer called me on when would be a good time to come get the truck, I think they where a bit upset when I told them it has been in an impound lot for over 3 weeks now.
Another American car, another review about poor fit/finish/build quality. what does that mean? Most likely another American car that will have terrible and poor reliability.
'18 Porsche Macan Turbo, '16 Audi TTS, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
Why those two cars would suddenly start selling is beyond me. Are there super duper bargain pricing at dealerships of those cars? Extra fleet sales?
I remain convinced that the main reason the Impala sells so well is because the Century got canned. The Century used to be a strong seller, but like the Impala, a lot of them went to fleet sales. Then, a few years back, GM started cutting Century production. Around that same time, it seemed like Impala sales started to rise. Also, Pontiac cut out the ultra-cheap version of the Grand Prix with the 2004 redesign, making the 3800 standard in even the cheapest one. Prior to that, there was a 3.1 model that saw a lot of rental fleet sales. I think GM has been trying to tone down the Grand Prix and LaCrosse's exposure to rental fleets, so that leaves the Impala as the Enterprise darling. I'm not saying that GP's and LaCrosses DON'T get put into rental fleets, because they do. But just not in the same volume that the Century and the '03 and older Grand Prix did. Also, Ford's been phasing out the Taurus, so the Impala might be picking up some of that slack. The Five Hundred sure isn't!
As for the G6, well, now that the old-style Malibu "Classic" has finally been phased out, maybe they're pressing more G6es into rental fleets? I think the G6 also makes more sense than the Grand Prix, so maybe buyers are picking up on that, and would-be Grand Prix buyers are going with the G6?
...if one reason police departments are buying Impalas versus Crown Vics is concerns about fuel economy. Cruising city streets doesn't call for big engines and the 3800 is definately up to the task. Only the highway patrol needs the big V-8s for speed and performance.
I just happened to look at the original sticker from my Jeep Liberty (a DC product) and it said that 81% is US/Canadian parts content with the Engine and Transmission built in the US and assembled in Toledo, Ohio. The Jeep was probably not on the list because it does not fill the criteria of number of sales which the article also mentions.
use 3.5's, 3.9's, or the 5.3 V-8? I could definitely see police departments going for a V-6 Impala over a Crown Vic if they don't need the power. However, another concern is just flat-out durability. The Crown Vics are better at pushing disabled cars off the road, hopping curbs, etc. So in the long run, an Impala police car might get run into the ground more quickly than a Crown Vic. I'd imagine that the Dodge Magnum/Charger police cars might suffer the same fate. Sure, they're RWD, but they're not exactly simple, with their unitized construction, independent rear suspensions, and other fragile bits.
These things just aren't beefy and durable like the Crown Vics, or the Caprices, RWD Impalas an Diplomat/Gran Furys were.
Any coincidence, lads, that these vehicles are mules of the rental fleet? Dollars to donuts, Thrifty etc just placed big orders. BTW, I just had a new Impala from Budget for a week in CA. Not bad overall. Trunk very large, fuel economy averaged about 24 combined iwth 4 people and luggage. Only major dislike was throttle response when decelerating. My tsx backs off as soon as I remove throttle. Impala would more or less maintain speed, requring lots of braking when coming up to slower traffic. Also, first sign you're in a wallywagon is the auto door locks.
My tsx backs off as soon as I remove throttle. Impala would more or less maintain speed, requring lots of braking when coming up to slower traffic.
That might be a result of the Impala's tall axle ratio. GM tends to gear their mid and full-sized cars fairly tall, so they're pretty good coasters. Take your foot off the gas and they'll usually coast for awhile before slowing down, whereas a quicker axle ratio would start to slow you down the moment you took your foot off the gas.
yeah, gearing could definetly be a part of it. My car runs at much higher rpm than the impala did under most driving.
One interesting aspect of our trip was coming down a road in Sequoia National Park. The road had tons of very steep switchbacks and warnings not to burn out your breaks. I was in 1st for lots of it. A bozo in a Taurus was taking it pretty fast, passing me 2x, and then I noticed lots of smoke coming from it. The impala did a good job though I smelled either boiling brake fluid (not likely) or tranny fluid. Went away after a few minutes. Got passed coming down this slope by an Audi A6 - just went flying through the curves.
way to steep for 3rd to do anything. Second slowed the car on most areas, but only 1st could slow it enough in the steepest sections.
Back on topic: I think GM may just turn this ship around, even though another credit downgrade occurred today. The Saturn brand may be its leading division if they build Euro cars in USA, complete with fuel efficient euro engines and suspensions. One thing I cannot understand is why auto companies have been so reluctant to offer diesels across their vehicle range. It would seem to me that there is and has been a huge market for this for a few years, so why wouldn't mitsu or gm offer diesels to differentiate themselves from the rest of the market? Did we need another Malibu, Ion, etc? Ironically, the Ion apparently began life as a Euro design, buy GM designers and engineers destroyed it translaing it to their perception of American tastes. Lutz promises this will not happen again.
Umm I'm in Alaska everything is just about highway, I drive 120 miles one way to see doctor and do my grocery shopping. Crown vics had a problem with catching fire when rear ended with all the police gear in the trunk, also the crown vic did not do well in the winter here, always saw then stuck when they had heavy snow falls, don't know if the impala will do any better. Most front wheel ford cars I have seen do very poorly on mixed snow/ice roads, my Tempo and Topaz got stuck in 4 inches of snow over ice with new studded tires they would sit and spin one wheel, my 1980 subaru 4x4 wagon would push through fresh powder snow that was up to the top of the hood and my 1978 subaru gl sedan front wheel drive would push through fresh snow that was up to the top of the bumper.
Gotta love those Subarus... Its amazing, ever since the Subaru/GM partnership fizzled away I have been more interested in Subaru cars. And I need to buy a winter car pretty soon and Subies ARE great in the snow......
Basicly what really defines whether a car is listed as Amreican made or not come down to where the overpriced CEO happens to live!!!! GM, Ford as well as Chrysler should be ashamed of themselves!!! Frankly Toyota, Honda , Hyundia build quite a few of thier american sold cars right here in the USA, While the so called American companies are building more and more of their cass OUT of the country. I bought my last so called American car in 1986 when I then discoverd by american Bronco II was built in Canada with foreign parts!!!. Today if I truely wanted to buy American car I'd buy a Honda, Toyota or Hyundia. At least their providing jobs for Amrican where as the so call big three are cutting American jobs and building more of their cars in Mexico or Canada claiming thier American made.
Japanese companies are investing in America by building new factories which employ Americans. American auto-makers are closing their doors and laying off Americans.
That said, I currently drive an American car (1999 SVT Cobra) but don't see myself ever buying another. My Cobra has under 40K miles and while I haven't had engine problems, the interior and exterior trim is falling to pieces because of poor design. So far, headlights were eaten by sun and need replacement, both power windows, tweeter broken loose, window trim replaced, rusting speaker grills, and numerous loose trim pieces. I've also had 3 recalls. I get the impression that my American cars were built to last through warranty (so they wouldn't have to fix it) and then start to have problems ensuring their dealers a steady stream of repair work.
Due mostly to coincidence, over the past 15 years I've alternated between American and Japanese cars: Chevy Celebrity, Honda Civic, Ford Taurus, Mazda 929S, Ford Cobra. I've had problems with the American cars starting between 35 and 60K miles. I've had no problems out of the Japanese cars out past 100K miles.
Comments
accord 3.0L V6 0 to 60 7.3 seconds
Camry 3.5L V6 0 to 60 7.1 seconds
Camry Hybird 2.4L inline 4 0 to 60 8.5 seconds
Camry 2.4L inline 4 0 to 60 9.6 seconds
Azera 3.8L V6 0 to 60 7.1 seconds
Lucerene cxl 3.8L V6 0 to 60 9.2 seconds
Lucerene cxs 4.7L V8 0 to 60 7.6 seconds
The buick V8 is beat by the V6 cars in acceleration
That probably is a factor of the overall gear ratio and the weight of the full-sized Lucerne vs the mid-sized accord and camry.
Consumers Misreports wouldn't compare a proper GM car with others in the same grouping: the GM car might look better than CM wants it to look. Think about it: Accord, mid-sized; Camry, mid-sized; Azera, ?mid-sized. Never have been able to sit in one. When I go by the Hyonda dealer they are closed.
Think about it... why didn't they compare to LaCrosse and Impala V8 and V6s for mid-sized comparisons. Because they don't want it that way; see above paragraph for comment.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Rocky
The Kia amanti weighs about 200lbs more with a smaller engine a 3.5L V6 and does 0 to 60 in 8.2 seconds 1 second faster than the buick and gets better gas mileage.
the azera is in the same weight and size range as the buick.
they where testing family sedans with similar price ranges and weights.
I don't know why people get fixated on brands, I have had Buicks, Fords, Chevys, Dodges, Potiac, Olds, VW, Subaru, and Kia ranging from a 1954 VW to a 2006 Kia.
the 1964 Chevy and 1964 dodge where extremely well built, any american car I have had that was built after about 1972 has been pure garbage. 1979 Ford 250 would not start below -5f had 2 front axles fail, 1989 chevy s-10 paint wouldn't stay on re painted every year fenders rusted through after 5 years out of warranty, ford tempo ate front end parts used oil from day one, 1984 dodge Shelby charger dumped after 3 years , ate front wheel bearings 2 sets a year at $180 each +labor, pontiac car was total lemon had for 6 months and got money back from dealer during the 6 months I put about 300 miles on it spent rest of time in dealer shop
olds blew engine on drive home returned to dealer,
VW ran great no heat though and had problems going up hills. Subarus 1978 to 1984 got rid of them at around 300k miles when I could see ground through floorboards. Buick spent $6k fixing/replacing computers and dumped the car at 45k miles.
right now I have a 1972 toyota land cruiser and a 2006 Kia amanti, the toyota has a 455 olds engine in it and a 7.5 foot snow plow on the front, have used it to plow snow for 15 years.
Say what you will about managemnt, the biggest variable for cost and quality is still the union...
I sat in the Azera at the auto show, but for the life of me can't remember what it was like. I don't know if that would imply good or bad though. If it were cramped it would have made an impression, and if it were expansive it would have, as well.
I do remember liking the interior of the Lucerne, though. It felt roomy, both up front and in back. And they're doing a better job these days of hiding the hard plastic.
I do remember not being all that impressed with the Sonata, though. While it certainly felt more plush than a Camry or an Accord, something about it still just seemed a slight step down from either of those. Almost like they were trying to hide an interior that wasn't quite up to snuff with nicer carpeting, fabrics, plusher trappings, etc. And I do remember the rear wheel wells cut sharply into the Sonata's back seat. It might have the shoulder room for 3-across seating, but it doesn't have the butt-room for it!
Maybe I'll have to go check out the Azera again, just to really give it a fair shake.
I'm nearing the mileage I got a certain Dodge nameplate from 1995. I'm still thousands and thousands behind in supplementing Dodge, and other independent mechanics' bank accounts though. I'm also about 3 tow truck driver payments behind where I was with that certain American nameplate.
SHAME on the Japanese!!!! They are ruining our economy by making mechanics and tow truck companies go out of business. SHAME on Honda & Toyota for doing that. Those poor mechanics and tow truck drivers can't make money from me anymore. I do miss paying my hard earned money to them.
I guess that that will give you a different reason to call a tow truck, out of gas instead of broke down.
Rocky
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Completely immaterial IMO.
When buying a vehicle, you are buying JUST THAT ONE VEHICLE. You aren't buying everything that manufacturer makes so your 'composite' domestic content is higher than an import brand's.
For example: when shopping for a midsize family car (if % of domestic content is important), one should look at the content of the individual cars being considered (Ford Fusion, Chevy Impala or Malibu, Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Hyundai Sonata).
Personally, I wouldn't give a rat's behind if the % domestic content of Ford Trucks raised the overall Ford % of domestic content; I would only care about the content of the Fusion vs. the competitors.
"How is buying a Mexican made Tacoma helping put americans to work ?"
And how is buying a Canadian made GM truck helping put americans to work? The Canadian sourced parts/labor are labeled 'domestic' yet the Mexican sourced parts/labor are not.
Maybe those labels shouldn NOT read 'domestic %'......perhaps they SHOULD read 'UAW/CAW %'. That, after all, was why the Canadian stuff gets labeled 'domestic' while the Mexican stuff does not.
Rocky
P.S.
Myself probably will end up buying a Volvo, since the Delphi parts will be crappola. :sick:
It'd be like claiming you like GM trucks because they offer 16259 different combinations of truck model, drivetrain, trim, options and color combinations. My response would be "So what, how many trucks can you drive at one time?"
btw - that number was pulled out of thin air; no need to check to see just how many different variations of GM trucks there are....
When a car eats 2 sets of SEALED wheel bearings per year at $180.00 each + labor that shows a crapy design, the bearings failed because they used a plastic cage and normal high temp grease, well in the winter at around -5 that grease was solid and broke the plastic cage and the bearing ate itself.
when a vehicle eats trannys at under 10k miles that also shows poor construction.
To see they true quality of american vehicles go look at stats on what type and year vehicles get towed most often and then look at TSB's for each dealer, my car has 4 items listed , 1 issue was with the 04 year only, others are minor that do not affect vehicle operation,
then take a look at what they have listed for the 2000 through 2007 dodges, and look at how many of those problems carry over from year to year, the US dealers do not in general change design to remove problems, look at how many years ford has had problems with the electrical system causing the vehicles to catch fire and they still haven't fixed it, the number of items I can mention is beyond the space allowed in a message and more than I really want to type.
P.S. the GMC that my friend owned is property of the dealer as of late yesterday and this afternoon I had the vehicle impounded.
Is there a link for that information? Sounds interesting.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Luckily, only two out of the 5 recalls actually affected my particular car. The first one was really stupid. They forgot to put a section in the owner's manual that covered proper installation of a child car seat! :surprise: Yes, believe it or not, the car really was recalled because of that! However, they just sent a supplement in the mail, with the recall notice, and said to keep it with the owner's manual. So I didn't have to take it back to the dealer to get the manual fixed. :P
The second recall involved two bolts that hold the backrest of the driver's seat in place. They weren't up to spec, and could break without warning, making the backrest fall back. I remember when I called the dealer about it, I asked if I could just bring it in and get it done quickly or if I had to leave the car with them. They said I'd have to leave it, because it was considered a half-day job. I think they got a little perturbed when I asked "A half-day to replace TWO bolts?!". They responded that they had to take the seat out of the car to do it. Okay, so a HALF-DAY to remove FOUR bolts so that you can take out the seat to replace the TWO bolts?.
There used to be a guy in these forums who worked on that assembly plant in Ontario. He said that on the assembly line, it took about 11 seconds to put those two bolts in.
I've had one TSB done to my car, as well. Back in late 2003 the oil pressure light would come on when stopped, at idle, when fully warmed up. Such as waiting at a traffic light after the car's been running at least 10-15 minutes or so. Turns out there was a problem with the wiring around the sensor getting hot, and in just those conditions it would get hot enough to trigger a false reading. The fix involved venting the area somehow so it stayed cooler. They did it for free, when the car had about 90,000 miles on it. It was a bit annoying, but I guess it's better to have the light come on when there's no real problem, versus having it NOT come on when there really is!
http://www.infotraxx.com/
http://www.carcomplaints.com/
check these sites.
I'm on a mailing list for one, next time I get an e-mail I'll have to remember to book mark the site and put the address here.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060729/AUTO03/607290301/1148/AUT- O01
Rocky
Rocky
Take Care, And Not Offense.
Let's agree to disagree, w/o being disagreeable
http://www.cars.com/go/advice/Story.jsp?section=top&subject=more&story=amMade&re- ferer=advice&aff=national
The G6 sedan looks like a worm style wise, and has GM electric steering. Would possibly consider the better looking G6 Coupe GTP, but only used.
Why those two cars would suddenly start selling is beyond me. Are there super duper bargain pricing at dealerships of those cars? Extra fleet sales? As for the Ion, I have no idea how they ever sold one. That's life - just full of surprises!
:shades: Loren
The suspense is killing me. What's going on with the truck?
Friday the dealer called me on when would be a good time to come get the truck, I think they where a bit upset when I told them it has been in an impound lot for over 3 weeks now.
I remain convinced that the main reason the Impala sells so well is because the Century got canned. The Century used to be a strong seller, but like the Impala, a lot of them went to fleet sales. Then, a few years back, GM started cutting Century production. Around that same time, it seemed like Impala sales started to rise. Also, Pontiac cut out the ultra-cheap version of the Grand Prix with the 2004 redesign, making the 3800 standard in even the cheapest one. Prior to that, there was a 3.1 model that saw a lot of rental fleet sales. I think GM has been trying to tone down the Grand Prix and LaCrosse's exposure to rental fleets, so that leaves the Impala as the Enterprise darling. I'm not saying that GP's and LaCrosses DON'T get put into rental fleets, because they do. But just not in the same volume that the Century and the '03 and older Grand Prix did. Also, Ford's been phasing out the Taurus, so the Impala might be picking up some of that slack. The Five Hundred sure isn't!
As for the G6, well, now that the old-style Malibu "Classic" has finally been phased out, maybe they're pressing more G6es into rental fleets? I think the G6 also makes more sense than the Grand Prix, so maybe buyers are picking up on that, and would-be Grand Prix buyers are going with the G6?
These things just aren't beefy and durable like the Crown Vics, or the Caprices, RWD Impalas an Diplomat/Gran Furys were.
That might be a result of the Impala's tall axle ratio. GM tends to gear their mid and full-sized cars fairly tall, so they're pretty good coasters. Take your foot off the gas and they'll usually coast for awhile before slowing down, whereas a quicker axle ratio would start to slow you down the moment you took your foot off the gas.
One interesting aspect of our trip was coming down a road in Sequoia National Park. The road had tons of very steep switchbacks and warnings not to burn out your breaks. I was in 1st for lots of it. A bozo in a Taurus was taking it pretty fast, passing me 2x, and then I noticed lots of smoke coming from it. The impala did a good job though I smelled either boiling brake fluid (not likely) or tranny fluid. Went away after a few minutes. Got passed coming down this slope by an Audi A6 - just went flying through the curves.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Back on topic: I think GM may just turn this ship around, even though another credit downgrade occurred today. The Saturn brand may be its leading division if they build Euro cars in USA, complete with fuel efficient euro engines and suspensions. One thing I cannot understand is why auto companies have been so reluctant to offer diesels across their vehicle range. It would seem to me that there is and has been a huge market for this for a few years, so why wouldn't mitsu or gm offer diesels to differentiate themselves from the rest of the market? Did we need another Malibu, Ion, etc? Ironically, the Ion apparently began life as a Euro design, buy GM designers and engineers destroyed it translaing it to their perception of American tastes. Lutz promises this will not happen again.
Crown vics had a problem with catching fire when rear ended
with all the police gear in the trunk, also the crown vic did not do well in the winter here, always saw then stuck when they had heavy snow falls, don't know if the impala will do any better.
Most front wheel ford cars I have seen do very poorly on mixed snow/ice roads, my Tempo and Topaz got stuck in 4 inches of snow over ice with new studded tires they would sit and spin one wheel, my 1980 subaru 4x4 wagon would push through fresh powder snow that was up to the top of the hood and my 1978 subaru gl sedan front wheel drive would push through fresh snow that was up to the top of the bumper.
hmmmmm
car I'd buy a Honda, Toyota or Hyundia. At least their providing jobs for Amrican where as the so call big three are cutting American jobs and building more of their cars in Mexico or Canada claiming thier American made.
That said, I currently drive an American car (1999 SVT Cobra) but don't see myself ever buying another. My Cobra has under 40K miles and while I haven't had engine problems, the interior and exterior trim is falling to pieces because of poor design. So far, headlights were eaten by sun and need replacement, both power windows, tweeter broken loose, window trim replaced, rusting speaker grills, and numerous loose trim pieces. I've also had 3 recalls. I get the impression that my American cars were built to last through warranty (so they wouldn't have to fix it) and then start to have problems ensuring their dealers a steady stream of repair work.
Due mostly to coincidence, over the past 15 years I've alternated between American and Japanese cars: Chevy Celebrity, Honda Civic, Ford Taurus, Mazda 929S, Ford Cobra. I've had problems with the American cars starting between 35 and 60K miles. I've had no problems out of the Japanese cars out past 100K miles.