Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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I don't have a brand loyalty really, but I refuse to buy any vechicle that has an automatic transmission. And there are some brands I won't buy any of their vechicles based on reputation, and others I might consider if I really liked the dealer.
No, I'd rather have a car company build on quality and reputation so that they don't have to sell on price, at least until the end of the model year. A clearance sale, I understand.
66 impala wagon
74 plymouth duster
80 vw scirocco
76 mercury capri
83 tbird turbo coupe
86 mustang gt
83 f150 pickup
88 tbird sport coupe
89 taurus sho
91 mustang gt convertible(still have)
92 taurus sho
94 explorer
97 explorer
00 expedition
02 explorer(still have)
04 focus(still have)
?? looking around
;-)
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
1941 Chevrolet Special Deluxe
1947 Hudson Commodore
1953 Plymouth Cambridge
1958 Chevrolet Impala
1961 Plymouth Valiant
1964 Chevrolet Biscayne
1967 Chevrolet Bel Air
1974 Chevrolet Impala
1980 Chevrolet Impala
1989 Chevrolet Caprice Classic Brougham
-juice
The old lady that lived next to my grandma (who I guess, would also be an old lady...albut a more pleasant one, eh I digress) had a Olds 98/Buick Park Ave type car from the mid-80s that said Brougham on it and we used to call it Broom, which at the time, I thought was very fitting for the woman to use for transportation.
What are you looking for?
Your car chronology looks similar to mine, except I have spent a lot more money on cars.... In order of appearance:
62 Ford Galaxie 500
66 Ford LTD Coupe
74 Mustang II
74 Mercury Comet (Married into it)
76 Ford Pinto Station Wagon (kids happened)
78 Ford LTD II
81 Ford Fairmont Station Wagon (another kid happened)
83 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham
84 Ford Thunderbird
85 Mercury Marquis
86 Cadillac Fleetwood 60 Special
87 Ford Aerostar
87 Mercury Sable
88 Ford Ranger
89 Honda Civic
90 Mercury Cougar
90 Lincoln Continental Silver Anniversary Edition
91 Jeep Cherokee
92 Lincoln Continental
93 Chevrolet Corsica
93 Ford Tempo
94 Mercury Cougar
94 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer
96 Dodge Caravan
97 Mercury Mountaineer
98 Mercury Mountaineer
99 Lincoln Navigator
00 Infiniti I-30
01 Ford Mustang GT Convertible
02 Lexus LS430
02 Mercury Mountaineer
03 Lincoln Navigator
04 Mercury Mountaineer
05 Lexus LS430
06 Not looking right now, but will be in 07
Bought at 166K miles at 3,500 + TTL = $3,900.
Sold at 200K miles 3 years later for $2,700 cash. Granted, we put almost a grand into it to bring it into tip top selling condition, but still, thats good bang for the buck per mile.
I loved the car.
Honda had a 4-speed out longer than that, actually. IIRC, the Accord first used a 4-speed automatic in either 1981 or 1982. I'm not sure when Toyota started using 4-speed automatics, but my 1985 Consumer Guide lists the Camry as offering a 4-speed automatic and the Corolla as offering a 3- or 4-speed automatic.
I had a 1991 Civic rental with a 4-speed automatic. I dunno what year the Civic started using them, though.
In the 1950s Rolls Royce, Lincoln, Nash, Willys, Kaiser, Hudson and other automakers used GM Hydramatic transmissions.
My first car was a 1947 Pontiac Convertible and it had a 4 speed Hydramatic. Never any problem with it.
Rocky
The thing used a fluid coupling though, instead of a torque converter. I've never driven an old Hydramatic, so I don't know if that hampers it or not, but supposedly a 3-speed with a torque converter, like Chrysler's 1957 Torqueflite or GM's later THM400 and 350, is supposed to be a better setup than a 4-speed without a torque converter.
Ford came out with a 4-speed overdrive automatic in 1980, for use in their big cars. I dunno if they were the first to manufacture one or not, though. GM followed suit in 1981, but again, that 4-speed was only used in their big cars at first. I think Ford's first 4-speed overdrive for smaller applications was the tranny developed for the Taurus, while GM's was the one developed for the 1985 C-body.
I'm not sure when the domestics started putting 4-speed automatics in their truly small cars, but the Japanese had beaten them to the punch. I know in the case of the Neon, it didn't get a 4-speed automatic until 2002!
Buick and chevy did not used the hydramatic. Buick experimented with the dynaflow (later called turbine drive) until the turbohydramatic was developed. Chevy converted from the early dynaflow to powerglide. The powerglide had the same gearbox, but used a simple torque converter and used low gear automatically. Buick wanted the dynaflow to be a shiftless transmission for smoothness.
The torqueflite transmission was cheaper to build than the hydramatic because it was a simpson gear set, a simple planetary gearset. Basically it was about 1.5 full planetary gears. The hydramatic needed two full planetary gearsets, each one different.
The first modern overdrives added another overdrive gearset to the simpson gear boxes. Now we get six speed transmissions from 3 gearsets I think.
For me the reasons were in part happiness with the dealer and part the cars had the features I wanted. I have only owned GM products thus far, mostly Buicks.
#2 I've always have liked GM's car designs through out the years, the best of any company in my "realistic" price range.
Next month I'll be 28 years old and my very first car was a
2WD 1986 Chevy Pick-up. age 16. My grandfathers old truck. After I dinged that up I he and my grandmother, bought me a
1992' Bonneville SSEi supercharged. It had a few after market parts on it.
My father for my graduation present gave me his 1994' 3.1 V-6 Chevy Lumina Van "The Space Shuttle" as my friends called it. :P
I was sick and tired of getting ripped by my friends so I swapped it off for a 1988' Cadillac Eldorado that fall. It had a 4.5 V-8, and was pretty quick. It later had some electrical issues and a leaking sunroof I didn't know about when I bought it.
I then got a better job, and thus bought a 1993' Oldsmobile Bravada that was in excellent shape at a car auction. I drove that for about a year or so and spotted a red 1995' Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Convertible with white leather. This car was pretty fast as it had a 3.4 DOHC, a K&N, along with a chip. I switched out the cassette player for a factory CD/Cassette combo player. I use to get whistles from the ladies in this ride. :shades: I drove the Cutlass for about a year and a half (I think) then put in a early order for a 2000 Monte Carlo SS. That summer I waited 4-months and was told by my dealer it wasn't going to arrive until Febuary, so I said screw it. I then bought a Black 2000' Chevy Silverado Z-71 "Sidestep" It was a nice truck.
I will probably sell the 96' Dodge
My future new car short-list includes:
2007-2008' GMT-900 GMC Sierra Denali Pick-Up w/ 2-stage hybrid.
2008' Lincoln MKS turbocharged
2008' Cadillac CTS Super-V w/ 500-600 hp. :shades:
2008-2009' Buick Velite Roadster/Convertible :shades:
Small possibility (depends if I could swing some sort of a lease deal) for a 2007' Volvo S80 V-8 loaded.
Well that's my short-list for now and as y'all know I'm subject to change as often as the Panhandle of Texas's Weather.
Rocky
High school car:
1990 Acura Legend/1992 Honda Accord LX (whichever one my dad's not driving)
College/Grad School car:
1997 Honda Accord LX (my baby, passed down to my sister)
First car purchased by myself:
2006 Lexus IS350
As you can see I was (and still am) a Honda loyalist and the IS350 was suppose to be an Acura TL. However, the 306 HP and RWD ultimately changed my decision as I have gone to the dark side (that's what I call Toyota :P ). Hopefully I'll be able to go back to Honda when Acura introduces the next gen TL with 330+ HP and either AWD or RWD
2009' could end up being a scarey year for me also when Acura does introduce the SH-AWD TL. :surprise: It could end up being my favorite car, thus I need to buy something before hand to not be tempted again to go back to my personal dark side.
Rocky
Car manufacturers' leapfrog each other every year with performance, safety, features.
I guess if someone pinned me down, the things I look for, in this order...
1. Performance
2. Styling
3. Build quality
4. Functionality
5. Price
That said, my son, who is going to college, still lives with me. He's driving an '03 Hyundai Elantra....been a really good car.
I'm the only other driver, but have 3 vehicles at my disposal.
1. '06 BMW 330i
2. '04 Toyota 4Runner
3. '05 Caddy STS (belongs to my mother, but she couldn't get her license renewed since she can't see well enough, so it's sitting in my garage)
The Caddy is on what seems to be a permanent loan.
It might be easier to think of what I haven't owned.....
Never owned a....
-Plymouth
-Oldsmobile
-Porsche
-Rolls
-anything ever made by AMC (or anything that was ever associated with AMC)
-Buick
-Jag
-Volvo
-Jeep
-Mercury
-Lincoln
-Lexus
-Lotus
-Infiniti
-anything made in Italy, or Yugoslavia
...every other brand has been pretty much fair game, in one way, shape or form.
thanks for answering that question.
the logical side of my brain (the small part) says wait until next year.
kid #1 headed to college, would like to pay down some debt, amt.
otoh, bought the mustang with a less than 2 year old and another on the way. WE have never regretted that decision.
Rocky
-juice
Rocky
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061017/AUTO01/610170354/1148- - - /AUTO01
Rocky
P.S.
If he wants people like me to believe him, he better sell his Lexus. :mad:
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061017/AUTO01/610170373/1148-
Rocky
Rocky
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061017/AUTO01/610170419/1148- - /AUTO01
Looks like the Chinese, are brand loyal to the GM brand. :surprise:
Rocky
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061018/BUSINESS01/610180322/10- 14
Not that he has a problem with that: Fields commended the team that developed the vehicle, saying he liked it from the moment he saw it.
He will have more influence on later models, starting with the next-generation F-Series and the Lincoln MKS flagship sedan, both of which are expected to debut in 2008.
So it is official one of my favoritest cars (MKS) will be here in 08'
Rocky
He should have traded it in the day he became CEO. Get a Lincoln LS or something.
-juice
Yeah, embarassingly Bill Ford, said jokingly the workers are right now out in the parking lot keying it. :surprise:
He should have traded it in the day he became CEO. Get a Lincoln LS or something.
Juice, he could of at least recieved a new 2007' Volvo S80 if he liked his LS that much.
Rocky
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Ummm, not even I would drive that vehicle. The new concept that I saw a few days ago, I would drive happily. He luckily has a MKS coming out by next year to happily drive. :shades:
Rocky
He should keep the Lexus as a reminder of why the company he agreed to helm gets its butt kicked in on a daily basis.
Rocky
looked pretty good. the same dealer has volvo's too. they were another step up in price.
Rocky
Cadillac, perhaps will be that once again to another generation of kids/teens since GM, has allowed this dinosaur of a brand to become "Life. Liberty. and the Pursuit." What that means to me is the Pursuit of driving "The Standard of the World" and Cadillac, is on the right track IMHO to regain it's crown from Lexus.
GM, has been pumping million$ of dollars in R&D to insure this brand reaches that goal, and the future looks very bright in achieving that greatness once agin.
IMHO if the Escalade, series is any reference of the future quality, and craftmenship, rolling down those GM, assembly lines that crown will be back here within a few years.
Rocky :shades: