Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to learn more!
Options
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
Yes, it'll be THREE years in May. Hard to believe. I've been volunteering at our local Food Bank all of this time too.
When I was about eighteen, this "old guy" told me..." Craig, the older you get the faster the time will pass". The old guy was probably 50. I didn't believe him at the time but it's true.
I remember when you bought your Intrepid quite well and wasn't it a 2000 model? 13 years ago??
Your likely right.
It still happens on occassion out here in rural Illinois. At least once a summer a drunk teenager gets killed or seriously hurt from falling out of a pickup truck bed. But riding around on the farm is a lot different than riding in a truck bed going down the Dan Ryan in Chicago.
Now that would be a ride that could rival Six Flags;)
Yep, bought it November 6, 1999, and it got hit-and-runned on November 18, 2009. With the way the time has been flying by, it feels like I just bought it last night, and it got hit this afternoon.
An "E" ticket ride. Do they still have E tickets at DisneyWorld???
I know they did in 1985 on my last time there. Got stuck on the Rocky MT Railroad ride for over an hour when it had a glitch.
A magical day! LOL
So let me add that whatever vehicle you were writing about (70 posts back) I am writing that I didn't like it either...and I don't even know what vehicle it was and what was wrong with it, but I like jumping on the bandwagon for ANY reason...:):):)...
It's a slow evening, as you can tell, and I really have nothing to say..... :P
Can't you just add your Edmund's posts to your hourly billings? :confuse: :P
Sat night, intensive research, Edmunds, 4 hours..........$ 4,000.00
Sat night, Edmunds posting, ADD'L 4 hours.................$ 6,000.00
Total: $10,000.00
And that was just for a client who retained me to draft a $100.00 bill of sale............................:):):)
You could always tell them that since 50% of your income goes to taxes, this is really a way for them to do their part for the government... :P
Here, " all" mean ALL and not "some" or " a lot" or "most"
Must be a regional thing I suppose...
At any rate, I'm sorry for questioning your reading comprehension skills. Let's just move on from this, as I do enjoy reading about the experiences of those involved directly in the business.
My concern is that the problems with automatic transmissions on V-6 Hondas and Acuras from the 1999-2004 model years are pretty common knowledge. Minimizing it doesn't do anyone any good. Especially when many people bought those vehicles specifically because they wanted to avoid that sort of major mechnical meltdown, based on Honda's reputation. I don't want to see this company ruin its reputation through denial.
And, yeah that may have been a bit strong on my part but I couldn't believe you really said that the ALL failed. now, that I know ALL means differnt things in your neck of the woods I do understand.
I didn't try to minimize anything. I totally agree that the failure rates during that time were much (see, I said MUCH again) higher than normal for Honda.
Still, the majority of owners never had a problem. A cojuple of people even jumped in and recounted their own experiences.
And, yes, I did imply that often abuse plays a part and it certainy does on ANY car. People tend to overload minivans and skimp on service. Some people never bothered to change their transmission fluid for example.
But...I do agree with you. Honda got a well deserved black eye over this. It was only your word ALL that got me going.
I have watched Honda step up to the plate and cover things well out of warranty. This was a good example of this.
For all the accusations of bias, CR actually did show those trans, Mazda (Ford Cd4E) transmissions, etc. The issues we tend to talk about a lot are reflected in their scores.
CR goes back 8 years, so they've pretty much fallen off the charts at this point.
I have the Buyers Guides at work dating way back. There were black dots...
Side question, esp for this topic...someone had posted awhile ago a website or a catalof where everything (and I do mean everything) was made in America, whether clothes, garden tools, you-name-it...
Cam anyone re-post that name or web address???...thanks...(I wouldn't be surprised if the one who knows it was cannon3...:):)...)
https://www.howtobuyamerican.com/store/index.php
This is my first go to page.
http://www.buyamerican.com/alpha.php?message=Loading%20Great%20American%20Produc- ts.%20Please%20stand%20by...
http://www.pittsburghtoday.org/CurrentPM25US.html
Sooner or later they're going to have to realize, they have to play by the rules. Dirty production is not sustainable.
Of course with the Yen the way it is, that would only make sense at this point.
Scion and Lexus not included, though.
Suppliers invested heavily in their plants beginning in 2010, but delayed hiring until the automotive recovery was firmly under way. Now, they plan to expand their payrolls by tens of thousands of jobs.
About 476,000 people work for automotive parts suppliers in the U.S., and those companies are expected to add about 44,000 jobs this year, according to the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor."
Auto suppliers gear up for hiring surge in 2013 (Detroit News)
They also let me know that the new transmission was warranted for at least another 36,000 miles (starting the clock over).
Dodge hasn't sent me any letters or reimbursement checks for their auto tranny that lasted all of 60,000 miles. Now there is some real denial over at Chrysler, for sure. Didn't get a letter about the bad head gaskets that last about 40,000-45K miles, nor a letter for the bad A/C system that lasts 36,001 miles or 3 years and 1 day (literally).
Guess I was a dummy for not buying the extended warranty, but as I said, if it needs an extended warranty then I don't want it.
The way Honda handled my issue made me not hold it against them, and I'd still buy them to avoid having "major mechanical" issues.
Given that the car had great reliability otherwise, and still was drivable when I turned it in for repairs (no tow truck required), it was a minor issue really.
The Dodge required 4 tow truck trips in 65K miles, and when I say require, I do mean require.
The blame falls directly onto the Environmentalist in the USA. They have forced the dirty industries and mining out of this country. The demand for the products still exist so China, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Africa etc will do the dirty work. I am still waiting for a Hybrid to be made 100% in the USA. It is a DIRTY VEHICLE in the manufacturing stages. No free lunches.
I see the new governor of Indiana is planning to cut taxes and silly regulations to bring more jobs to his state.
http://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/news/10854305/indiana-governors-budget-cuts-ta- xes-limits-spending-growth
I wonder if that tax rate goes to zero once you hit 250K.
Unfortunately they can build so cheap, if they make 10 and only 6 pass inspection, they can probably toss those 4 bad ones and still do it for less $$$. :sick:
Not so dirty, is still too dirty for many pushing the Green agenda. If we cannot make a CFL in this country because of the mercury regulations, how do you make them without mercury? We were at one time the largest producer of REEs in the World. Now China is far and away the largest producers. We have re-opened a mine and are shipping the ore out of the USA for refining. We have given up much of our industrial base. It is easier to leave than fight the endless red tape and regulations. We do have to compete on the World stage.
The last item in the list refers to the ability of Toronto-based Neo Material, now a Molycorp subsidiary, to process a range of rare earth elements (REEs) from facilities in 10 countries.
http://rareearthinvestingnews.com/7679-molycorp-china-production-boost-rare-eart- h-elements-price-united-states.html
I don't see any such reduction. What I am seeing reading the proposals is a positive attempt to get more stuff made in the USA. He has put a moratorium on all new regulations and is implementing the ability to see if existing regulations are needed and are not blocking small businesses from starting. We need governors that are not just tax and spend. While allowing the businesses to leave for greener pastures.
A bill passed in the 2012 session of the General Assembly, SEA 311, requires OMB to review its cost-benefit analysis after a regulation has been in place for three years. Taking a time-out from new regulations will allow OMB to shift resources from reviewing new regulations to reviewing
existing regulations as well as examining business fees, regulatory performance metrics, and its new responsibilities under SEA 311. Indiana has 35 boards that regulate 70 occupations through more than 200 permits that directly regulate the occupations of more than 460,000 Hoosiers. Fully one in seven Hoosier workers is in an occupation regulated by the state of Indiana. Recent research cited by the Regulated Occupation Evaluation Committee (ROEC)10 indicates that occupational regulation can create barriers to entering job fields and also raise prices for consumers.11 The sheer number of licensed occupations has been growing for some time (see Chart 2). ROEC was created to review all existing licenses and issue reports and recommendations to Indiana lawmakers. We will restructure ROEC for the express purpose of reducing the number of occupational licenses. The restructured board will be renamed the Eliminate, Reduce And Streamline Employee Regulation Committee (ERASER Committee) and should utilize crowdsourcing to solicit input from the public on occupational licenses under review.
http://www.roadmapforindiana.com/pdfs/Regulation.pdf
Moreover, onerous federal regulations hamstring Hoosier businesses. According to the Small Business Administration, there are currently more than 400 federal regulations that directly affect small businesses. These regulations burden the nation’s economy to the tune of a staggering $1.75 trillion annually. Why has hiring still not picked up across the country? Part of the reason is that the cost of complying with regulations averages $10,585 per employee. The problem is only getting worse. Since 2009, the Obama administration has finalized 193 “economically significant” rules that cost the economy $100 million or more, and there are more than 4,000 new federal regulations in the federal pipeline. The federal regulatory thicket is growing at a frightening rate (see chart).
http://www.roadmapforindiana.com/pdfs/Federalism.pdf
I agree there are problems, but labor costs and the social issues intertwined with them are the key. The environmental overregulation is just a blip.
We need some regulations, but not all of them, no doubt.
When it comes down to it, the states who can offer the most kickbacks, or have the most skilled labor, win.
CA has regulations for no good reasons: Only an insane person would start a business in CA. Or a corporation looking for losses to offset huge profits like Apple for example.
By Laer Pearce
California’s hostility towards business, and willingness to tax it into oblivion, is storied. As State Senator Ted Gaines, R-Roseville, is quoted in my recent book, “Crazifornia“:
“I am tired of my constituents and other business owners here being treated like pinatas by regulators and politicians who smack them around until some fine or penalty falls out.”
Crazy tax policies also play a huge part in states that are anti business like CA.
Or, for that matter, some newly created tax liability — like the new retroactive (to 2008) tax that’s going to smack the Golden State’s golden goose upside the head. Henry Blodget explains in Business Insider:
“As a way of encouraging entrepreneurs and investors to start companies in California, the state has long offered a tax deduction for those who start, invest in, and eventually sell companies.
“This tax deduction allowed entrepreneurs and [investor] angels to exclude 50 percent of any gain on the sale of ‘Qualified Small Business’ (QSB) stock.
“California’s capital gains taxes are a high 9 percent, so the deduction reduced the capital gains rate to 4.5 percent. This encouraged the entrepreneurs to start and keep their companies in California, instead of decamping to lower-tax states.
“And, for many years, California entrepreneurs and investors have taken advantage of the deduction.
“But now the state has apparently decided that it no longer needs to encourage entrepreneurs to start and keep their companies in California.
“So it is eliminating the tax deduction.
“Far more startling, the state is eliminating the deduction retroactively–going all the back to 2008.” (Emphasis in original)
As you can imagine, those QSBs, the companies that qualified for the reduction in taxes but now suddenly don’t qualify, are not reacting positively to this news.
http://www.calwatchdog.com/2013/01/22/crazifornia-franchise-tax-board-kills-the-- golden-state-goose/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=facebook
Only because corrupt politicians allow and or encourage them. Why would someone like Meg Whitman spend $144 million of her own cash to become governor of a bankrupt state? Politicians are power hungry and corporations feed that hunger. Which makes the politicians the criminals not the corporations or capitalism. Guys like Obama CHOOSE to become puppets of the oligarchy to be the Monarch of a powerful government. Yes they are figure heads because they sell their souls for the glory and power.
Anyway, as population in NA continues to grow, and mass transit continues to not exist, there will still be cars built in the US - maybe that counts for something. The race to the bottom that pseudo-capitalists espouse hasn't killed that demand yet.
Probably won't be in California though, where residents whine, but won't leave :P
No thanks, I'll stick with imports.