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Buying American Cars What Does It Mean?

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Comments

  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    My Miata has no spare. :P

    Of course it's only RWD, so really 2WD and 1WD on ice when the Torsen fails.
  • bpizzutibpizzuti Member Posts: 2,743
    That's not a wheel, it's a donut at best. And a can of fix-a-flat at worst. :shades:
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    edited December 2012
    The made-in-Alabama (*) Hyundai Elantra has no spare, I believe.

    * Like how I snuck back on topic?
  • dieselonedieselone Member Posts: 5,729
    That's not a wheel, it's a donut at best. And a can of fix-a-flat at worst.

    Well that's one area full-size SUV's haven't scrimped on yet. I have a full size spare.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Back in '99 I had to go buy one for my minivan. At least it fit underneath where the donut was. Even the '97 Outback has a donut (a full size will at least fit in it too, but you lose the tray that fits over the donut - I sold my snow tires/wheels and went back to the donut for it).

    Some SUVs (Traverse is one iirc) only offer a full size spare if you get the towing package.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    edited January 2013
    On my wife's last car I also replaced a donut with a full sizer. I bought a set of alloys, so I kept one steelie wheel for my spare.
  • anythngbutgmanythngbutgm Member Posts: 4,277
    edited January 2013
    I made sure to do the same on every one of my Accords that I had in the past.

    Here's a question, who makes the effort (if they have a flat in the front) to swap the rear tire for the front and put the temp on the rear (If you don't have the full size spare)?

    I believe that is a recommended practice but I have seen plenty of people who just swap the front out.

    I remember test driving the Volvo S60 and that car doesn't come with a spare tire at all. Just a can of FaF...
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I got a flat right in the middle of a 3 hours or so drive, so I was glad I had a full sizer.

    That plus I drove over the Bay Bridge, would not want to do that with a donut.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited January 2013
    Haven't heard that about putting donuts on the rear. Seems contrary to the advice to put new tires on the rear of FWD minivans, for example, which is more counterintuitive than putting the good tires on the steering axle.

    Juice, most of my flats have been in the van with the full sized spare, but my last flat was about year ago on the Interstate in lower Michigan in the Outback. We were within an hour of our destination and had gunkholed around the area a little on a prior trip, so we just got on the two lane blacktop and cruised into our friend's house not going more than 50 the rest of the way.
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    The more they would worry about having a "full size spare".

    99% of my customers could care less. Like myself.

    Some people think the car manufactures went to the temp spares to save money when the main reason was to save space and weight.

    And, when used, they work fine too so I never could understand why it was a big deal to just a few people.
  • dieselonedieselone Member Posts: 5,729
    And, when used, they work fine too so I never could understand why it was a big deal to just a few people.

    I agree. The only reason I'd prefer to have a full size spare on a full-size SUV or pickup is I sure wouldn't want to have my boat in tow while riding on an undersized tire.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited January 2013
    Every once in a while I'm lucky enough to drive a long desolated road where any kind of service may be 200 miles away, and even then getting a flat fixed or a tire replaced may be an issue. This has happened to me twice on separate Newfoundland trips - the first time I had to get an odd-ball sized tire just to have a spare for the next 200 mile gravel stretch of road before I got to a town. The last time I was able to find a correctly sized tire within 100 miles, although the tread pattern wasn't all that close of a match.

    Both flats had resulted in ruined sidewalls (no fix-a-flat option), but at least I had a full size spare both times.

    Actually a can of fix-a-flat would be okay with me, but my wife wouldn't be too happy. The last flat in the van caused us to miss a ferry because my jack didn't work and we had to flag someone down. Met some nice folks from Toronto though.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,638
    Some people think the car manufactures went to the temp spares to save money when the main reason was to save space and weight.

    I've actually thought about trying to find a compact spare to put in the trunk of my '76 LeMans, mainly because its trunk is fairly small and the full size takes up a lot of space. And annoyingly, it's mounted so that it takes up the deepest, most useful spot of the trunk. So when I go to my car shows, I have to position the beer cooler just right, and at a slight angle, and put a towel over it so it doesn't rub against the bottom of the trunk.

    I think those compact spares are more useful on some cars than others. For instance, on my '76 LeMans, a compact spare would have helped tremendously with freeing up some trunk space. But, on the downsized '78 models, the spare was stowed almost upright, but still at somewhat of an angle, on the right side of the trunk, and had a little well to hold it. That well would also hold a full-sized tire, and because of the positioning, the full size wouldn't have taken up all that much more space.

    On my '79 5th Ave, the compact spare stows upright, out of sight, tucked up against the right side...they actually took advantage of that drop-down area on the side of the trunk floor. However, the full size spare won't fit in there, so if you got a full-size, it was stowed flat, forward, in the center. And it looks like it takes up half the trunk. However, when I had a full size in there, it was a big tire on a 7" copcar rim, so it was a bit extra bulky.

    On my deceased Intrepid, and the Park Ave, the spare is in a well under the floor, and there's a Styrofoam spacer, so I think a full size would fit in there.

    When the Intrepid got junked, I kept its compact spare to use in the 5th Ave, as it's the same bolt pattern. Believe it or not, it will actually fit the DeSoto as well. But, it's not like the DeSoto is hurting for trunk space. And I have a feeling that the compact would be so much smaller than those tall bias ply tires, that it would list worse than the Andrea Doria on July 25, 1956...
  • oldbearcatoldbearcat Member Posts: 197
    I agree with you. The system Jaguar used on the X-Type was an exception though. Jag sold X-Types in their home market sans the AWD, and, they were FWD cars. The AWD models sold here had a transfer case/viscous clutch setup that biased the drivetrain to rear drive under normal conditions. It worked pretty well, but, the transfer case suffered reliability problems. Jag is now offering AWD again on some of the new models. It'd be interesting to see what the new setup looks like.

    Regards:
    Oldbearcat
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,027
    I miss full-size spares. Last car I had one with was my new '93 Caprice Classic.

    First car I saw with a min-spare was the new '78 Malibu. My Dad was appalled at seeing that in a new car (not one he owned, BTW). That and the no-roll-down rear windows in a sedan was a turnoff to a lot of people, and understandably, even though the cars were nice cars otherwise IMHO.

    2011 Malibus had no spare as standard equipment. When I had my dealer search for a car, a compact spare was a requirement. Good thing, because not two weeks later the car had a complete flat in our garage...my wife ran over something. Still, I hate donuts as I think you're more forced to get a new tire right away, obviously, than if you could just throw a full-size spare from the trunk on. But there I go again, being old-fashioned.
  • dieselonedieselone Member Posts: 5,729
    I miss full-size spares.

    I understand, but honestly, I haven't changed a tire on one of my cars in over 10 years. I've had several slow leaks, but I've always been drive to a shop for the repair.

    Even with a full-size spare, the rim usually doesn't match those on the vehicle, so I would want to repair/replace the original ASAP.

    OTOH, if you were on a long trip, at least you could get home on a full-size spare. No way would I want to drive very far on a mini-spare.
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    My 07 Sequoia has a full size spare with the matching aluminum wheel. I scratched one of mine and had the spare tire mounted on it when I bought a new set of tires. The OEM Dumlops only lasted 25k miles, :sick:

    I cringe when I see someone driving 75 MPH on one of those little spare donuts. Most of the time on the front.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    edited January 2013
    I have a slow leak right now. Holds pressure for ~10 days or so.

    Will be patched this weekend. No spare to use in the meantime.

    Was just reading the latest CR last night and the new Malibu has no spare at all, also.
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    Wow...no spare at all? Not even a can of fix a flat?

    The compact spare tires are much improved over the early ones. You can drive fairly long distances now. Still, I would keep my speeds down.

    Tire shops hate fix a flat. It makes it hard to clean a place to patch them from inside.

    I would never plug a tire. I've done this successfully but it's just a cheap way to "fix a tire and the plugs can blow out.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    That's what CR said, if they're wrong don't shoot the messenger. :shades:

    The 2nd half of your message is exactly why I'm taking my tire in this weekend for a proper internal patch. $26 at Sears...or do you think they will nickel-and-dime me for the valve and the TPMS "service"?
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    Are you serious? 26.00??

    Some chain tire stores like Big O and Discount tire will actually fix flats for free in the hopes they can earn your future business.

    A leak that slow isnt going to be easy to find!
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Neither of those 2 franchises are near me. I welcome suggestions, though.

    I got tires from TireRack and they had Mr. Tire as the installer, but those guys wanted $30.99.

    Let me call the dealer real quick...no answer. They push the upsell too hard anyway. I had a free oil change, and the guy tried to push a car wash. The car had just been waxed and was spotless. He then said, "So, do you want it?". :sick:
  • robr2robr2 Member Posts: 8,805
    Around here Tire Fair Tire offers $4 flat repairs. I've used them 2 or 3 times in the past couple of years for flat repair and yes I did buy tires from them but only but only after going through a convoluted price match.

    They won't mount new tires or rims bought elsewhere and I can understand that. But they will take my 1 year old snow tires bought elsewhere and mount them on used rims I bought elsewhere.
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    Maybe I'm just out of touch.

    It's been a long time since I managed a Sears Auto Center.
  • dieselonedieselone Member Posts: 5,729
    I've never had any tire place fix a flat for free. OTOH, last year when I had to take the Expedition back for a problem with the window regulator which the dealer had replaced a few months prior, my low tire light came on when I pulled into the dealer. I told them about it and they fixed the regulator and tire for free;) That's the only goodwill I've ever received from a service department.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited January 2013
    Les Schwab fixed a couple of flats for me free (including one from a lawn tractor). Even had a hard time trying to tip the guy one time. Other times they only charged $5.

    In American car news, GM to invest $600M at Kansas City plant

    Navitas Systems LLC plans to bring on board about 40 A123 Systems Inc. employees in southeast Michigan, following its $2.3 million acquisition of the government and research side of the battery maker's business.

    Navitas Systems acquires A123's government, research side

    Ford workers' $8,300 profit-sharing checks 'good news for Michigan economy'

    Chrysler's $1.7 billion profit nets workers $2,250 bonuses Those are all UAW workers.

    All links from today's Detroit News.
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,027
    The $600M investment is obviously a good thing. It's nice to see a car company invest in the midwest.
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    It is good they are updating their plants to be competitive. It will not provide any more jobs in the USA. I notice the job growth is in their Brazil operations. Maybe if we added big tariffs to foreign built vehicles like Brazil does we would have more manufacturing in the USA.

    Honda Motor Co (7267.T)(HMC.N) launched its subcompact City in Mexico, starting at $16,000. The price tag in Brazil: over $30,000.

    Brazilians still bought three times as many Hondas last year, but their sunny spending habits are dimming as they tire of buying one car for the price of two.

    http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/08/28/us-autos-brazil-idINBRE87R0PS20120828
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    edited January 2013
    We hardly import anything form Brazil any more. NAFTA basically told Mexico "all yours".

    Wanna know why OJ used to be a buck, and now it's $3-4? Ask Emmerson Fittipaldi, the family owns groves in Brazil. US taxes the daylights out of OJ.

    Mercosul formed in response. They get car designs from Europe.

    There's been little/no cooperation between the US and Brazil, I'd actually like to see more. Coffee, guarana, OJ, etc.
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    Sounds like both Ford & GM are building a lot of vehicles in Brazil from their EU designs. I think they did end the tariff on Brazilian Ethanol. Like we really need that crap in our gas.
  • roadburnerroadburner Member Posts: 17,288
    Once, I responded to a poster by telling him the exact page in the owner's manual where he could find the answer.

    He responded in a most negative way, stating that if he was interested in looking it up in the manual, he would have already done so.


    I had the exact thing happen on one of the Edmunds forums; I told the poster that I wasn't about to perform research that he/she was perfectly capable of doing on his/her own...
    Moron.

    Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive

  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Lots of people don't have owner's manuals though. Either they are lost or they drove a different car to work (where they are browsing the forums :shades: ) or the car is in a parking garage three blocks away.

    That's when you can refer them to How To Find Your Car Owner's Manual Online.
  • busirisbusiris Member Posts: 3,490
    OTOH, many that DO have owner's manuals never bother to open them.

    I know I'm old-fashioned, but when my daughters got a new car, I refused to let them drive it until they at least familiarized themselves with the manuals... Knew where to find out what the dash warning lights meant, where the spare tire/jack/tire tools were located, how to check the fluids, etc.

    In college, both girls became the "go-to" kids for car questions from their friends.

    It paid off in other ways for my daughter when she began her clinical sessions in Seattle (i live in SC, a country away from her). Something happened to a relay, and the radio would continuously stay on, key in or not. Of course, this happened late on a Saturday night. She was able to locate the correct fuse using the manual and pull it, keeping the battery from dying.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited January 2013
    I do that before I buy a new car. Good thing for the salespeople that I only buy one a decade. The last guy was cool though and even gave me his "comparison" book to flip through to compare the van to the competing models.

    It's really irritating that Toyota and VW and some other companies don't offer that online, although I guess Toyota lets you download the manual chapter by chapter now. But geeze, that's 35 different downloads and that doesn't include the Nav and maintenance schedule.

    An American car company wouldn't make you jump through so many hoops. :shades:

    I bet your daughters check out the controls before driving off in rental cars too.
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    It is rare for me to look at a manual for anything. I like to figure it out for myself. The only thing I wanted to know about the NAV in the Sequoia was not in the manual. How to over ride the lockout while moving. I got it online through a forum. I check the maintenance schedules and that is about it. Most vehicle manuals are so poorly written and laid out it would drive me crazy to read them.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Brazil is going to E25 if you can believe that.

    Most cars are flex fuel anyway.

    Saw a gallon of OJ for six bucks! Ouch!
  • andres3andres3 Member Posts: 13,724
    I know I would definitely check to see if the floor mat or anything else was loose that could potentially interfere with my operation of any of the foot pedals, even in a rental car.

    I would also shift into neutral if the accelerator got stuck, and/or turn off the motor/ignition.

    You don't need a manual to tell you those common sense things though.
    '15 Audi Misano Red Pearl S4, '16 Audi TTS Daytona Gray Pearl, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    I had to consult one a while back in a rental car. Was happy that the rental even had a manual in it. Was having trouble figuring out the climate control or something.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,072
    Strange thing, as the US has given decent sums of foreign aid to Brazil. But, I can think of worse destinations, several of which receive much more.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Lula didn't help relations much, smoking cigars with Castro and all...

    Dilma isn't much different. She was his right hand man woman.

    The car guy's president was Collor. He opened the flood gates, you could buy any car in the world (for a price) when he was President.

    Of course he was so corrupt we impeached him. I mean really impeached, as in left office.
  • andres3andres3 Member Posts: 13,724
    I'd like to see some Chrysler execs join Wagoner, and then other Wall Street Bailout company execs in a prison cell somewhere in Mexico for the next 25 years.
    '15 Audi Misano Red Pearl S4, '16 Audi TTS Daytona Gray Pearl, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
  • andres3andres3 Member Posts: 13,724
    That I wouldn't be suprised if some Neon owners ended up with Viper engines in their car. ;) :P

    Oops, that motor wouldn't fit, so I guess that would be a hard mistake to cover up. Cover up a mistake? The big 3? never! :sick:
    '15 Audi Misano Red Pearl S4, '16 Audi TTS Daytona Gray Pearl, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    I'd like to see some Chrysler execs join Wagoner

    That would be tough to take. Wagoner got a $23 million pension package guaranteed when he left. That is bad considering he took GM from $70 per share to under $4 per share in 8 years. And lost 10% of their market share.
  • dieselonedieselone Member Posts: 5,729
    That would be tough to take. Wagoner got a $23 million pension package guaranteed when he left. That is bad considering he took GM from $70 per share to under $4 per share in 8 years. And lost 10% of their market share.

    LOL, sign me up. I promise to give at least 1/2 away to charity;)
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    That is over $500,000 per year if he lives to 100. The stockholders should have sued him for every penny he had. Too many of these execs have cost companies huge amounts of revenue, then walked away with their pockets filled. If you make money for your company, good pay is deserved. Wagoner ran GM down from the moment he took over in 2000. He lost them money when it was flowing like a river.
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    edited February 2013
    January 10, 2013. HOUSTON, Texas – Hennessey® Performance (HPE) today announced that on January 10, 2013 its street-legal Venom GT® supercar accelerated from 0-300 km/h in just 13.63 seconds, thus establishing the vehicle as a new record holder according to Guinness® WORLD RECORDS (GWR). The acceleration time was an average of two runs made in opposite directions within one hour and validated by a VBox 3i GPS-based data logging system. VBox officials were on hand to certify the numbers as required by Guinness® rules. The first run was completed in 13.18 seconds with a 4 mph tailwind. The second run was made in 14.08 seconds while encountering a 6 mph headwind. The resulting two-way 0-300 km/h average was 13.63 seconds.

    Hennessey® only plans to build a total of 29 Venom GTs, with one-third of the production run already being sold. Thus, the Venom GT® is not only the fastest accelerating production car in the world, it’s also one of the most exclusive. The Venom GT® costs $1.2 million US Dollars plus shipping and not including options. Each vehicle is custom built to order and requires six months for completion


    http://www.desktopmachine.com/press/1970/Lotus_Exige_Hennesey_Venom_GT/
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    If you want to order one here is the website:

    http://www.hennesseyperformance.com/
  • bpizzutibpizzuti Member Posts: 2,743
    The car is assembled in Silverstone, England. The chassis is a modified Lotus Exige chassis, also built in England.

    The engine comes from Texas, but is sent to England to be mated to the car.

    The company itself is headquartered in Texas where they build the engine, which begs the question of why they export the engine for assembly instead of importing the chassis.
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    Thank you Paul Harvey, now I know the rest of the story. I tried to find that info on their website. It is possible most of their sales are in the EU. May save on corporate taxes as well. Many good reasons NOT to build stuff in the USA. At least an American nameplate holds the record.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    It's the modern day Shelby Cobra, basically.

    Still, inside beats an American heart.
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