Why is that great news, unless fan boy means "shareholder?" Removing competition (even relatively poor competition) is only going to slow innovation and eliminate aggressive pricing. I'm already having a hard enough time as it is finding a 4 door sedan/hatchback with a standard transmission that hits all the right features.
FCA gets a bad rap, but they're not really "awful" - just worse than the average. And "worse than average" in 2018 is generally still better than a great car from 1995 or even 2005.
My in-laws have two Chryslers, a 200,000 mile Ram and a 160,000 mile Grand Cherokee. Both have been solid vehicles - the Jeep's even still running the original air suspension.
I doubt a newer Jeep or other FCA is going to be more reliable than my 1997 Civic.
I would be suuuuuper impressed if they lasted 20 years, regularly, by just going regular maintenance.
*shrug* My brother briefly owned a 1998 Civic, and it was a complete pile. Electrical problems and suspension problems especially. Every company makes occasional lemons. My 1992 Civic, by contrast, was a beacon of reliability.
The Ram is a 2002, so it's closing in on that 20 year mark. I'm pretty confident it has at least 4 years of life left in it. So far the only notable repairs outside of oil changes/spark plugs have been an AC condenser fan and a heater core.
The Jeep is a 2012, so FCA era. Not 20 years old yet, but 160k reliable miles is nothing to sneeze at.
I do think in general cars these days are quite a bit more reliable than they used to be, though there are obviously a lot of exceptions. The '15 Renegades definitely had a lot of issues, but I think that's mostly due to them being the first model year. Mine was previously a fleet rental vehicle and had 38,000 miles when I bought it, but has been running perfectly so far. In general as long as basic maintenance is kept up most vehicles should last at least 150k easily, if not more. My biggest concern with new vehicles (like mine) is all the electronics that are put in them these days that may not last quite as long.
Why is that great news, unless fan boy means "shareholder?" Removing competition (even relatively poor competition) is only going to slow innovation and eliminate aggressive pricing. I'm already having a hard enough time as it is finding a 4 door sedan/hatchback with a standard transmission that hits all the right features.
Mazda is a relatively small manufacturer that is still pushing some interesting boundaries in design and ICE engine ideas. Its good news because...since they make exactly what you 're looking for.....(compact cars of great quality both in sedan and hatch and sell them with manuals) lack of competition from much MUCH bigger companies like Ford means that more people will buy Mazdas, and that means more money for Mazda which means more progression in that segment from them. It wont slow innovation from Mazda since that's really what they do anyway. If anything, lack of Ford clogging up the tubes allows some more growing room for Mazda.
Honda dropped the ball in a few areas and we need room for fun compact cars. Mazda can take that ball and run with it.
The new Toyota Corolla hatch with 6-speed manual also looks very interesting, so I don't think the market is going to die yet. Just seems that the American automakers are abandoning ship.
I wouldn't say it's a mistake, Ford's decision is risky but defendable. Fusion and Focus are selling half of what they were a few years ago, and they are forced to give substantial discounts just to compete with the Toyotas and Honda's of the world. But the sedan market really stinks right now for everyone, so I can see why Ford decided to cut bait and cede the field to the Japanese giants.
Yup fords main brand is selling "mans vehicles" so its trucks/SUV's/crossovers are just a huge portion of their business. It probably does make some sense to focus on whats making you money although they do have a lot of risks just ceeding huge areas to their competition.
Why is that great news, unless fan boy means "shareholder?" Removing competition (even relatively poor competition) is only going to slow innovation and eliminate aggressive pricing. I'm already having a hard enough time as it is finding a 4 door sedan/hatchback with a standard transmission that hits all the right features.
Mazda is a relatively small manufacturer that is still pushing some interesting boundaries in design and ICE engine ideas. Its good news because...since they make exactly what you 're looking for.....(compact cars of great quality both in sedan and hatch and sell them with manuals) lack of competition from much MUCH bigger companies like Ford means that more people will buy Mazdas, and that means more money for Mazda which means more progression in that segment from them. It wont slow innovation from Mazda since that's really what they do anyway. If anything, lack of Ford clogging up the tubes allows some more growing room for Mazda.
Honda dropped the ball in a few areas and we need room for fun compact cars. Mazda can take that ball and run with it.
I suppose that's a fair point. My partner was looking for a new car a couple of years ago and we test-drove the 6 which was way nicer than my 3 (2010) but she wanted an suv/crossover so we got a Forester.
I wish the 2018 6 with the turbo-spec didn't only come in an automatic, otherwise it would be on the short list. My 3 has just under 100k on the odometer so it should (knock on wood) have plenty of life left. I had been poking around on websites looking at used BMWs but my brain keeps warning me not to invest in a money pit, particularly as I don't know what problems to look out for in a used car, nor do I have a trusted mechanic in town.
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Nova_CI have the needThe need for speedRegistered Userregular
So, it looks like I'm in the market for a car for this summer. Timing may or may not work out, but while I've been very happy with my 2009 Impreza, I would like something with some more grunt and a nicer interior.
AWD is a must. That is my #1 requirement, but I would like a coupe in the sport luxury segment. I've got four primary contenders in my price range and I was wondering if people had any experience or advice to offer. I'm thinking BMW M235i xDrive, Infiniti Q60, Lexus RC 350 or the Audi TT (Impractical as hell, but I answer to no one).
As backup my fall back is the Subaru WRX, but that's if none of the above work for me.
When the weather is turning hot here (don't laugh, it does that sometimes!), the driver's door window of my XF is opening fine but not closing until I can cool the door down; a couple of miles of driving is enough for it to move and raise to closed, but it's squealing and juddering almost all the way. It behaves properly if it's cold weather, and the other door windows are all fine.
So I'm figuring there's probably nothing obstructing it, and it's more likely in need of some lubrication. I'm now wondering if getting the door card off and doing it myself is within my (very limited) capabilities, or if I should take it to my friendly garage and get them to have a look at it...
EDIT: Okay, getting the door card off doesn't get you access to the window "bay" without what looks like significant further disassembly, so at that point I'm thinking I'll get the garage to do it. It might involve a regulator/motor replacement too.
But if I find what I want with very low miles and big discount, I might do that instead.
Luxury cars have monster depreciation losses the first two years. Subarus have very low depreciation so they make sense to buy new. Luxury? Not unless you're special ordering.
The cynic in me wonders if that's viral marketing for that skateboard company featured on the dashboard immediately after the crash. Who puts a bumper sticker on their McLaren, let alone on the interior?
The cynic in me wonders if that's viral marketing for that skateboard company featured on the dashboard immediately after the crash. Who puts a bumper sticker on their McLaren, let alone on the interior?
Current state of the GTI. Assumptions were correct, the leak is coming from somewhere behind the oil cooler/oil filter housing, outlined in red.
Tackling that tomorrow since I still have to drain the oil and it was 11:30 when I finally got to that point. Yes that's a wagon full of tarps supporting the radiator and intercooler.
So we get stiff once in a while. So we have a little fun. What’s wrong with that? This is a free country, isn’t it? I can take my panda any place I want to. And if I wanna buy it a drink, that’s my business.
So Saturday I got new tires for the beast and today she got detailed, so she's nice and clean. So far the Michelin's are so much better than the Pirelli's ever were, even when they were fresh.
My GTI has also been to the mechanic for oil leak problems over the last two weeks as well as a leaky exhaust. My oil leak was exactly as described in this video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0_Z5GiOay0,
but I did the rear main seal too because that was leaking on it's own. My exhaust, turbo back from AWE, had cracked on the flange that connects to the headers. It's been a rather expensive month but hopefully I'm good to go for a while now.
I did have my timing chain checked too and at 88,000'ish miles it's doing fine. That was a major relief.
So we get stiff once in a while. So we have a little fun. What’s wrong with that? This is a free country, isn’t it? I can take my panda any place I want to. And if I wanna buy it a drink, that’s my business.
I called the VW dealership today looking for the assembly. Gave him my VIN, told him what I needed. He says "the part that holds the filter right?" I say no, the whole assembly, the part that bolts to the block. Somehow he has one in stock for a 10 year old car, it's the whole assembly, filter housing, new filter, seals and everything. He says "Ok, so that's $price wholesale." (it's about $80 cheaper than I've been able to find online) I say, wholesale? He balks and asks, "Are you calling from a shop?" I say no, I'm just working on my car. He says, "You're replacing this yourself?" I say, yeah. There's a beat and he goes "You know, I'll give it to you wholesale still." So that's awesome.
That is... I have no words Looks like a Mad Clarkson creation!
I'm one of the (seeming) few who likes the TR7, at least to look at; but I've always had a soft spot for '70s wedge cars.
And NA Miata represent. :bro: @CommunistCow I had a '92 one years ago. Amazing car. It became a legend for a reason. Well, many reasons. I still mull over getting an NC...
I bet an RX7 1st or 2nd gen would look pretty good sitting on big tires.
I'm just coming back from Africa and a number of people are running mildly lifted sedans with off roady tires and they look pretty good. Whole new world of car customization.
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Why is that great news, unless fan boy means "shareholder?" Removing competition (even relatively poor competition) is only going to slow innovation and eliminate aggressive pricing. I'm already having a hard enough time as it is finding a 4 door sedan/hatchback with a standard transmission that hits all the right features.
*shrug* My brother briefly owned a 1998 Civic, and it was a complete pile. Electrical problems and suspension problems especially. Every company makes occasional lemons. My 1992 Civic, by contrast, was a beacon of reliability.
The Ram is a 2002, so it's closing in on that 20 year mark. I'm pretty confident it has at least 4 years of life left in it. So far the only notable repairs outside of oil changes/spark plugs have been an AC condenser fan and a heater core.
The Jeep is a 2012, so FCA era. Not 20 years old yet, but 160k reliable miles is nothing to sneeze at.
You can't give someone a pirate ship in one game, and then take it back in the next game. It's rude.
Mazda is a relatively small manufacturer that is still pushing some interesting boundaries in design and ICE engine ideas. Its good news because...since they make exactly what you 're looking for.....(compact cars of great quality both in sedan and hatch and sell them with manuals) lack of competition from much MUCH bigger companies like Ford means that more people will buy Mazdas, and that means more money for Mazda which means more progression in that segment from them. It wont slow innovation from Mazda since that's really what they do anyway. If anything, lack of Ford clogging up the tubes allows some more growing room for Mazda.
Honda dropped the ball in a few areas and we need room for fun compact cars. Mazda can take that ball and run with it.
Yup fords main brand is selling "mans vehicles" so its trucks/SUV's/crossovers are just a huge portion of their business. It probably does make some sense to focus on whats making you money although they do have a lot of risks just ceeding huge areas to their competition.
I suppose that's a fair point. My partner was looking for a new car a couple of years ago and we test-drove the 6 which was way nicer than my 3 (2010) but she wanted an suv/crossover so we got a Forester.
I wish the 2018 6 with the turbo-spec didn't only come in an automatic, otherwise it would be on the short list. My 3 has just under 100k on the odometer so it should (knock on wood) have plenty of life left. I had been poking around on websites looking at used BMWs but my brain keeps warning me not to invest in a money pit, particularly as I don't know what problems to look out for in a used car, nor do I have a trusted mechanic in town.
AWD is a must. That is my #1 requirement, but I would like a coupe in the sport luxury segment. I've got four primary contenders in my price range and I was wondering if people had any experience or advice to offer. I'm thinking BMW M235i xDrive, Infiniti Q60, Lexus RC 350 or the Audi TT (Impractical as hell, but I answer to no one).
As backup my fall back is the Subaru WRX, but that's if none of the above work for me.
It's Mazda's prestige brand IIRC, so I would doubt it.
Steam | XBL
No. Infiniti is Nissan.
Ah, okay. I knew it was a prestige Japanese brand, but wasn't sure who was the parent.
I can always go to UHaul and rent a pick up, tho.
All the reviews I've been reading say something similar regarding the BMW.
I adore the new look of the TT as well. If those are the two best from my list, I hope they're comfy to drive...
So I'm figuring there's probably nothing obstructing it, and it's more likely in need of some lubrication. I'm now wondering if getting the door card off and doing it myself is within my (very limited) capabilities, or if I should take it to my friendly garage and get them to have a look at it...
EDIT: Okay, getting the door card off doesn't get you access to the window "bay" without what looks like significant further disassembly, so at that point I'm thinking I'll get the garage to do it. It might involve a regulator/motor replacement too.
Steam | XBL
Luxury cars have monster depreciation losses the first two years. Subarus have very low depreciation so they make sense to buy new. Luxury? Not unless you're special ordering.
http://dailyhive.com/toronto/toronto-mclaren-crash-video
Steam | XBL
You can't give someone a pirate ship in one game, and then take it back in the next game. It's rude.
Too bad I can't remember what that company is.
Tackling that tomorrow since I still have to drain the oil and it was 11:30 when I finally got to that point. Yes that's a wagon full of tarps supporting the radiator and intercooler.
but I did the rear main seal too because that was leaking on it's own. My exhaust, turbo back from AWE, had cracked on the flange that connects to the headers. It's been a rather expensive month but hopefully I'm good to go for a while now.
I did have my timing chain checked too and at 88,000'ish miles it's doing fine. That was a major relief.
You can't give someone a pirate ship in one game, and then take it back in the next game. It's rude.
Definitely at least a bad gasket, but as I don't want to do this again I'm going to replace the whole assembly.
Kali Ma, you damn German engineers.
Up next is door panels, stereo, brakes, and then a hard top for the summer months here in America's Wang.
Also, I randomly saw this old Triumph TR7 the other day. It was definitely an interesting way to run across one of these old British cars.
Origin ID: Discgolfer27
Untappd ID: Discgolfer1981
I'm one of the (seeming) few who likes the TR7, at least to look at; but I've always had a soft spot for '70s wedge cars.
And NA Miata represent. :bro: @CommunistCow I had a '92 one years ago. Amazing car. It became a legend for a reason. Well, many reasons. I still mull over getting an NC...
Steam | XBL
I'm just coming back from Africa and a number of people are running mildly lifted sedans with off roady tires and they look pretty good. Whole new world of car customization.