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thanx a lot for your advice. truly appreciate it. i will look into the website you refered and see what is the best for my needs. i probably would be posting a message again cuz im really dumb at fitting stuff(even though im a mechanical engineer!!).
i am new to american cars btw, so pardon me for the dumb question but is it possible to raise the height of the seats. I am 5'11" but i would like the seats to be a little higher.
Thanks,
AJ
sorry but im back with my transmission fluid trouble. My transmission fluid is burnt and i had gone to the mechanic to fix it. Joe had given me advice on how to proceed and when i went to AAMCO transmissions, the guy there was a big talker, he said that right now the best thing to do is nothing but wait when eventually the transmission will go dead. He said not to change the fluid now, and said that after a month or so probably the transmission is gonna give into and then he will rebuild the transmission ($1000). Now i thght that he was just bluffing and wanted the big bucks, but could you tell me if it is a possiblity that i might have to rebuild the transmission. Joe, shall i go ahead and change the pan filter and put new fluid? I do not have any problems when im driving the car with the transmission(automatic). Any help from you guys will be greatly appreciated since i have no clue what to do.
Thanks,
AJ
Are these loud normally?
Also, the cars rear bumper is rotting when looking at it from under the car, but the rest of the underneath looks good! Is this a common problem with the bumper or the design?
I'd appreciate any input.
Thanks, Koko
Koko
Have the pioneer 47DH mentioned earlier too. Will heed the theft warning. Car radio theft appears to be on the rise in this economy - hadn't really heard of it in a while, but then my brother-in-law had a Clariion stolen out of his 95 Cav a couple weeks ago.
Geneve
Then again, maybe that's a pretty fair description of the Cavalier after all.
Vectra to malibu is all the proof you need.
Anyway, I think as long as the temp gauge is "in the green", we're fine. I saw the temp oscillate between 1 and 3 over 195 sitting at the light, so the fan was coming on at about 200 or so.
Good day.
The civic is defintely more of a "driver's car", and the cav is more of a laid-back cruiser, especially with the 4 spd auto, CD and sunroof.
Those are my feelings regarding the two vehicles==for whatever it's worth to my fellow posters.
-- George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950)
Our close friends also have a Cavalier (96 or 97) with 144K Kms on it now and still running fine.
You obviously have your mind made up so what's the point in arguing further.
Want me to say it, YES. If I didn't think my Alero would last, I wouldn't have bought it.
The Japanese domestic market is the perfect breeding ground for small cars. With narrow roads, outrageous fuel prices, million dollar parking spots, and unbearable taxes on larger vehicles, the Japanese have NO CHOICE but to make good small cars if they are to survive.
While the Japanese cars we see here in America are thought to be of high quality, what about all those Japanese cars that we Americans don't get to see? Are you aware of the fact that many "new" Japanese models are at least a year or two old before they arrive in the US? Most Japanese cars are introduced in their home market before they are sold here (this includes the Civic). The most recent examples of this phenomenon are the upcoming Toyota Scions which have been sold in Japan for years. Other recent "new" models that come to mind are the new 4-Runner, Infiniti M45, Rav-4, and CR-V. Japanese cars SHOULD have better initial quality given the fact that most "new" Japanese car models have actually been tested and improved upon for years before they reach the US. Also consider the fact that only the BEST Japanese models ever make it to our shores. As someone who visits Japan often, I promise you that you wouldn't want to drive most of the HUNDREDS of Japanese domestic models that AREN'T GOOD ENOUGH to be sold here. So, only the cream of the crop ever make it here--they should be good.
Have you ever wondered why American car makers are so good at making the large, pick-up trucks and SUVs that you disdain? One word: FREEDOM.
In America, we have the freedom to drive the vehicles that please us. We aren't forced by our government to drive the miniature tin cans that the Japanese people are compelled by law and taxes to endure.
Ask yourself this question: "If the Japanese had the choice of selling 1 million small cars at $2000 profit per unit or selling half-a-million large pick-ups and SUVs at a profit of $8,000 per unit, which would they choose?" Logic tells us the Japanese would choose to sell the high-profit large vehicles just like US manufacturers. So, why don't Japanese manufacturers (whom you obviously believe are superior) sell more large pick-ups/SUVs than American manufacturers? The answer is simple: THEY CAN'T!
Show me ONE full-size pick-up or SUV built in Japan and I'll show you TWO American examples that outsell it by at least 2 to 1. There must be some reason I'm able to do that...could it be that Americans excel at something that matters to them?
You may be correct in saying that Japanese car makers build better small cars than we Americans, but that's only because we have the freedom to build and buy what we like. We clearly don't like small cars, so we don't build them. It's that simple...
By the way, the Cavalier that you obviously hate is sold in Japan as a TOYOTA.
who makes the best midsize cars? heard of the accord, altima, camry and mazda6. there's the passat, but that's not american. fifteen years ago the japanese were non existent in this market.
who makes the best near luxury cars? the japanese and germans dominate this market. luxury cars. heard of lexus and infinity? cadillac is more competitive in this market than the cavalier is in its market though. fifteen years ago a luxury japanese car was laughable.
minivans. heard of the odyssey and the new sienna? they may not dominate the market, but those minivans are considered among the best.
SUVs. again the japanese entries are among the cream of the crop in this market. the buick rendezvous may out sell the acura mdx handily but the mdx is much better.
Full size Trucks. yuck. but i suppose the domestic entries will eventually have competition from japan.
your argument that japan "tests" their cars in the home market first is flawed and inaccurate. they for the most part develop cars for our market specifically. hell, the accord as we know it only exists in north america.
profits. i guess you haven't kept up with the sales figures from toyota and honda lately, the only thing THEY CAN'T do is build enough minivans and SUVs to keep up with demand.
what the japanese has done in our auto market since the mid eighties is nothing sort of remarkable. former gm head honcho roger smith once made your argument that the japanese are pretty good at small cars but don't have the know how to move into the larger markets. at the time when roger smith made his argument the japanese were pretty much only in the small economy car market. What's your excuse?
"your argument that japan "tests" their cars in the home market first is flawed and inaccurate. they for the most part develop cars for our market specifically. hell, the accord as we know it only exists in north america."
My only response to this is that you simply have NO IDEA what you're talking about. While it is true that some cars like the Accord, Odyssey, Pilot and a few others are North America-only designs, virtually every small Japanese car model sold in the US is available in Japan or Europe for at least one model year before it comes to the US. They usually aren't called by their US-market names, but they are substantially the same cars. I recommend that you visit Honda's, Toyota's, and Nissan's Japanese websites and look at the cars there. If you can't recognize the Nissan Cedric/Gloria (which has been available in Japan for years) as the 2003 Infiniti M45, then you're not looking close enough. Try going to Toyota's site and see if you can find the newly-available Scion Xa and Xb (which have also been available for at least two years there). While you're there, check out the precursor to the new 4Runner (aka Prado). Finally, if you want to see the next Honda CR-V, look at Honda's site where you'll see that the CR-V adds body-colored bumpers and lower cladding (it might not come in 2004, but you can bet it will be here in 2005).
" SUVs. again the japanese entries are among the cream of the crop in this market. the buick rendezvous may out sell the acura mdx handily but the mdx is much better."
How do you determine what makes a vehicle the "cream of the crop?" In 2002, Ford sold more Explorers than ALL TOYOTA SUV MODELS COMBINED. Chevy sold as many TrailBlazers as ALL HONDA/ACURA SUV MODELS COMBINED (that doesn't take into account for the 110,000 GMC Envoys that GM sold as well). Chrysler sold more Jeep Grand Cherokees than ALL NISSAN/INFINITI MODELS COMBINED.
I'm not saying that popularity makes one vehicle superior to another, but unless you assume that all ONE MILLION or so people who bought American SUVs rather than any comparable Japanese model are idiots who got taken when they bought an inferior product, then your argument that Japanese SUVs are the "cream of the crop" doesn't hold water.
"Full size Trucks. yuck. but i suppose the domestic entries will eventually have competition from japan." Ford sold more F-series than ALL JAPANESE PICK-UPS COMBINED. Ford must be doing something right...Oh yeah, the same goes for the Silverado/Sierra.
"profits. i guess you haven't kept up with the sales figures from toyota and honda lately, the only thing THEY CAN'T do is build enough minivans and SUVs to keep up with demand".
Are you kidding me? Do you really believe that the only factor limiting the number of Japanese minivans and SUVs sold in the US is production capacity? If so, you must be one of those geniuses who paid more than MSRP for a Pilot the day it came out! If Honda could sell every Pilot it could build for 3 times the profit of an Accord, why wouldn't they? Are you telling me that there's no land available in Canada to build a new Pilot manufacturing plant? Does Honda have a problem raising capital that 10,000 US bankers wouldn't be fighting one another to help solve? Perhaps Honda is just going for exclusivity? Or is it possible they CAN'T actually sell every SUV and minivan that they could possibly make?
OK, you brought up the mid-size car thing so I might as well talk about it. The same PROFIT argument that applies to small cars applies to mid-size cars. Even huge companies have some limits on their resources. ONE of their primary reponsibilities is to maximize shareholder wealth. The Big 3 have determined that they can't do this by selling relatively low profit small and mid-size cars when they could be dedicating their resources to building and selling higher profit full-size pick-ups and SUVs. It's all a matter of economics.
While this might be a poor strategy in the long term, the Big 3 have to pay the bills and keep shareholders relatively happy today and selling primarily large vehicles allows them to do so. That said, I think you'll find that US manufacturers are actually beginning to concentrate more on the smaller cars and the near-luxury cars you cite. You may be surprised by some of the new Cadillacs, Fords, etc.
By the way, I am "PRICELESS". I don't own any of the vehicles we're talking about so I don't have a vested interest in talking up any of these cars.
given more time you'll see honda and toyota gain more and more market share of the SUV market. especially the upmarket portion of it. right now they don't even come close to having the capacity to build them in the numbers that ford, gm and dodge can. but what is available from honda and toyota ARE among the best rated vehicles.
Honda is a relatively small car company with limited resources compared to GM and Ford and can't magically pump out tons of SUVs. They are under capacity when it comes to their SUVs and minvans. Honda's record profits and market share growth has come from their SUVs and minivans. So yes, Honda is probably hard at work planning new plants.
Your assertion that Honda and Toyota CAN'T build SUVs in larger numbers is mind boggling. If you're talking about the home (japan's) market, you have a point. There's nothing magical about an explorer compared to a Pilot. To the contrary.
Pick up trucks may be difficult for japan. i can't see the average joe who buys a truck buying a japanese one no matter how good it may be. ford, gm and dodge do have lots of experience in trucks, but it's not like the engineering needed is beyond japan's scope.
As I said earlier, you guys might be surprised by the Big 3 in the next few years. It's been a long time coming, but I think they're about to turn the corner. Look for Cadillac to lead the way...
this is the same with europe too. There are plenty of european vehicles not sold in our market too.
for whatever reason you seem to have in your head that the Japanese are only good in small cars. whatever. they concentrate a lot more on the midsize car segment.
i'll stick with Honda because i'm know them best.
Civic. they're not tested in the home market first. they're essentially released at the same time as the japan version. and the current generation civic had plenty of "bugs" in its first year. by honda's standards i would say the latest civic is a loser. this car really didn't push the envelope for small economy cars when it was released.
CRV. the first generation CRV was really a vehicle designed for the japan market. honda saw the runaway success of the RAV and had to something. The current CRV was designed with our market in mind and seems to be doing quite well.
Accord. as mentioned before, the accord as we know it only exists here. a shame really because i preferred the european accord over ours. but now you can get an european accord too, it's called the acura tsx.
Odyssey. the first minivan was too small and under powered. the current odyssey is a runaway success. they still can't build enough of these. the new sienna is suppose to be even better. Japan was non existent in this market just a few years ago. Along with Chrylser, honda and toyota offer the most "appealing" minivans in the market.
Pilot. this is where honda really got caught with its pants down as evidence by selling the passport for all those years. But the current pilot is consumer reports top rated SUV. its highly rated by other sources too. oddly enough the more expensive MDX sells better. the biggest problem for honda is that they don't have the capacity to build more of them. as of now.
brings me back to the civic. i don't think this car line is really a high priority to them any more. the civic is not what honda does best (that would be the accord and the more expensive accord based tl). not in our market anyway. the england built hybrid civic is a nice piece of engineering though.
the cavalier is not that much more problematic than a civic (in the short term, gm falls off in jd powers long term reliability surveys). but in the way the car drives and feels i would say the civic has a big leg up on the cavalier.