But sometimes you find it gets confusing. For instance: certain Camry's are US built (2004 Camry LE) and others in the same model year (Camry SE)are Japanese built and some parts will be completely different between the two.
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Bloodsage says ta-ma-to, I say to-ma-to:
That may be true, as far as it goes, but if I'm going to spend what I spend on a new car, I'll be damned if it's American. Even if technically "reliable," fit and finish--IMNSHO--lag far behind Japanese or German cars, and we won't even talk about the customer service difference.It probably does depend on what part of the market one is discussing.
We put 200K miles on our '95 Explorer before getting rid of it in '05. . .but that experience only confirmed by dislike for American cars.
{Speaking of cars, I just hit SEND on my tax return, and what I paid in taxes this year is damned near a car. Over $16K--WTFO?
}
Like you said, it depends on the cars you're comparing. The 2006 Aura/ 2007 Malibu I would say are better in interior quality than the 2007 Accord or 2006 Camry. The 2008's Accord and Camry have moved back up the line a bit, but that's just because they're brand new. The General and Ford are both making a concentrated effort to build a more upscale, better designed and solid interiors, and they are in a real shooting match with Toyota and Honda now.
Although the small and mid scale trucks are still running the gambit between cheap ass interior on the entry levels to nice on the top of the line, but they are making you pay a premium for those.
For the sake of full disclosure, I hate Honda interiors. Everything feels like thin, cheap, easily broken plastic, even if they end up being surprisingly durable. Toyota isn't much better. My favorite interiors come from Germany because they feel solid and purposeful, which is why I'm glad GM and Ford are aping the VW and BMW interiors on most of their new products. Blindy. fucked around with this message on 04-14-2008 at 09:05 AM.
Haha oh what am I saying fuck the rich!
Our 98' Grand Am (Brand New) had around 7000 miles on it and the engine blew.
Our 94' Saturn dropped it's tranny full out at under 25K and blew a header.
Our 92' Cougar's starter blew up and caught the harness on fire, after being repaired, a few months later the head cracked and botched the engine at under 75K
Our 94' Ford Aspire had over 300K miles on it, had the tranny rebuild twice, no engine issues... It quite litterally just fell apart one day a couple years ago.
Our 89' Lincoln Mark VII had over 297K miles on it and was in perfect working condition,(Interior, Exterior, and Mechanically) except for the blown HCU which was too expensive at the time to replace so we had to hawk it off.
Our 97 Saturn got crushed by a tree within the first couple months of owning it. It therefore has no track record.
Our 94' Dodge Intrepid... Yeah, we won't even go there. It needed an exorcism, and once that failed, we passed it off to ruin the life of some other poor sap for a whopping $50.
Our 92' Old Cutlass has over 220K miles on it currently, and is still running, but it has developed a nasty oil leak and looks, smells, and runs like a piece of shit.
Our 97' Camaro has 198K on it right now, and other than some body, interior, and a desperate need for a tune up at this point, it's doing okay with only a replaced Cat and replced tranny clutch.
Edit: Oh, I forgot the old 84' Camaro I had... They made me get rid of that one for no reason at all. 
Something about family, and economics or some bullshit.
With the exception of the 98' Grand Am, the Caprice, and the 94' Saturn... All of those cars have been within the last 8 years. Faelynn LeAndris fucked around with this message on 04-14-2008 at 09:47 PM.
Head gasket blows at 50k? Whatever. A new set of wheels will set me back the price of a good lunch.
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Blindy. had this to say about Optimus Prime:
WHY DO YOU KEEP BUYING DOMESTIC CARS?!
A few reasons actually. 
The Caprice was my first car, and worth every damn penny I spent on it. I was sad to see it go. It cost me $800 in 1993.
The Grand Am was a stupid purchase, I KNEW it was a stupid purchase, I voice my opinion CONSTANTLY on how stupid a purchase it was... But I was outvoted on that one. I regret having had anything to do with it. $38,000 money sink.
Monica is enamored of Saturn... I don't know why, I despise everything about the company, but that was her car not mine. (Although the second Saturn was another stupid choice, the tree foiled that one!)
The Cougar we got for $1200 from my parents. It was mostly to recover from the stupid Grand Am fiasco.
The Aspire was $1600 and we got our money out of it.
I spent a whopping $1000 on the Licoln, no joke, and it was worth every penny.
The Intrepid... Ugh. That wasn't my decision, or my choice.
The Cutlass was to recover from the Grand Am, Cougar, and the Saturn. It has served its purpose, and I've hated every minute of it.
The 97' Camaro... It's purple... It's a stick... and it's covered in full Tinkerbell regalia. I don't touch that car. For the most part it's the first car THAT WASN'T A FUCKING SATURN, that Monica would actually BUY. So I kept my mouth shut. In any event, they are cheap to repair and maintain, which concidering our track record is a nice payoff.
The 84' Camaro cost me $800 and was my resto/toy car. It was my prodject car, back when I could afford to do that, and really nothing more. Again though, cheap and easy to maintain and repair myself.
Most of those car choices have been dictated by our currently shitty circumstances and doing what we have to do.
Personally, I have no problem buying domestic within a certain spectrum of cars and years. Notably, aside from the two Camaros, none of those cars I've listed are among them. (Although I was quite happy with the Caprice and Mark VII)
The 3.8 went away in 2006 and was replaced with a 3.9 liter. I'm hoping it will have as great a track record as it's predecessor.
I'm with Call on this, I perfer Toyota and Honda because of the low cost of ownership. Less troubles overall. I will admit I'm impressed that GM is finally giving the Camry and Accord a run for thier money with the Malibu. And being a child of the 70's, I love the retro looks of the Mustang, the coming Camaro and the coming Challenger.
4wd automatic necessary everything else is optional Maradon! fucked around with this message on 04-15-2008 at 12:20 AM.
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How.... Faelynn LeAndris.... uughhhhhh:
prodject
Alidane fucked around with this message on 04-15-2008 at 01:00 AM.
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Did someone say Maradon!:
Maybe they'd be more competitive if they didn't have to pay union job banks and the highest corporate tax rate in the world.Haha oh what am I saying fuck the rich!
If only Honda and Toyota built their cars in America and were subject to the same taxes and job market, then we'd have an even playing field!
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This one time, at Blindy. camp:
If only Honda and Toyota built their cars in America and were subject to the same taxes and job market, then we'd have an even playing field!
I see what you did there
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Peanut butter ass Shaq Blindy. booooze lime pole over bench lick:
If only Honda and Toyota built their cars in America and were subject to the same taxes and job market, then we'd have an even playing field!
Haha, nice try.
They do assemble the cars in America - at non-union plants in Ohio and Kentucky respectively. Trying to call that a "level playing field" to the boundlessly corrupt socialist paradise that is Michigan is stretching it a little far.
There's a reason why Michigan lost a net of 30,000 citizens to intranational migration and still has the second steepest negative growth of any state in the union.
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And coming in at #1 is Maradon! with "Reply." I'm Casey Casem.
4wd automatic necessary everything else is optional
I'm partial to Nissan. I own a 97 4x4 pickup, and my dad owns an '04 Frontier 4x4. Both are nice, reliable trucks. I dunno if the new Frontier is any good, though.
Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite. - John Kenneth Galbraith
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Maradon! got served! Maradon! got served!
I was looking at Nissan too, since I need to buy used and they ostensibly stand up to mileage really well.
I would agree. My own truck is extremely durable and reliable. Even after 12 years, I've only just agreed to replacing some sensors and fluids purely because I got sick of the engine lights being on. While my dad's truck is 8 years newer, it's been rock solid so far.
Just be aware though, that the Frontier was basically rebooted in 2005. New body, new frame, new engine and transmissions. I can't speak for how good they are. For 2004 and older, I can say with reasonable confidence that they're solid trucks.
Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite. - John Kenneth Galbraith
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Maradon! was naked while typing this:
Hey kag what midsize truck would you recommend?4wd automatic necessary everything else is optional
Still fairly partial to Toyota, the new Tacoma has almost a full size truck feel to it. It's quite nice. Go with a 4 cyl engine for economy and reliability. The 6 cyl aren't bad usually but there's been a few that aren't worth the trouble.
Nissan isn't bad, but I just can't get by the fact that Nissan is now owned at least partially by Renault. I just can't get the image of the LeCar out of my mind sorry.
Skip Mazda, it's just a Ford Ranger.
Chevy's Colorado is just a freak of nature, there's some Toyota parts hiding in the suspension which isn't a bad thing. I can count on my right hand how many Toyota ball joints or tie rods I've ever had to replace. But some of them have an inline 5 cylinder engine 
and I have no idea WTF they're thinking of there.
And it's not like the concept of an I5 is new. VW/Audi has been doing them off and on forever. Blindy. fucked around with this message on 04-16-2008 at 10:46 AM.
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Blindy. had this to say about Reading Rainbow:
What's wrong with inline fives? They aren't natural harmonic balancers like i6's, but they do offer more power than an i4 without the complication of a v6.And it's not like the concept of an I5 is new. VW/Audi has been doing them off and on forever.
See my afore mentioned dislike of Eurotrash vehicles. Makes me think the 5 cyl is perhaps made by Saab.
I much perfer the KISS (Keep it Simple Shithead) method for automotive technology. I got out of automotive for almost a decade while the industry was trying hard to kill itself. There were too many different engines and fuel delivery systems. Electronic Carborators, Central Fuel Injection, Multi Port Fuel Injection and Sequential Fuel injection and every single car company had it's own computer connection and programming. When OBD-II was finally required in the US in 1996 it standardized all manufacturers programming and made diagnostics much easier. Once all the 80's era of cars went away to the junk yard that is... I told the boss I will do basic engine diagnostics on cars from the 80's and early 90's but once I have to haul out the old scanners and flow charts I'm charging by the hour.
How is your opinion on Ecotec engines? I've never worked on one but I've been told they are about a billion times better than the old 2200's and 2.4's.
(Daddy wants a Solstice GXP)
The many cars my wife and I have owned.. god.. Foreign or Domestic, she can kill everything. She drove a fucking Accord to death. Right now, she's working on killing a Neon. Our mechanic is making a valiant effort to prevent it, but.. I mean.. she killed a fucking accord..
My own theory on finding a good car..
Ask your mechanic what he doesn't see very often.
Ask a used car salesman what he can't keep in stock.
Compare the lists.
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Everyone wondered WTF when Blindy. wrote:
How is your opinion on Ecotec engines? I've never worked on one but I've been told they are about a billion times better than the old 2200's and 2.4's.(Daddy wants a Solstice GXP)
The Ecotec has been pretty robust so far. I haven't done any major work to one which is a very good thing. The 2.4 (Quad Four and Quad Tech) were garbage! The Solstice (And Saturn Sky) both have the supercharged Ecotec as does the Saturn Ion Red Line. I've driven the Ion Red Line and it's damned fun to drive. The supercharger gives it just the kick any manual transmission needs. If I deceide to have a midlife crisis I just might add one of the little sportsters to my list of cars to buy. Both the Solstice and Sky have great lines.
http://windev.weblogsinc.com/tag/pontiac+solstice+coupe/
Also the current Solstice GXP/Sky Redline has a 260 hp 2.0 direct injected turbo, while the Ion redline you drove has a 200 hp 2.4 supercharged that was on the Ion Redline and Cobalt SS for a few years and has just been replaced with the 2.0 turbo engine. Don't think this will change your opinion of it but just FYI. Blindy. fucked around with this message on 04-17-2008 at 03:58 PM.
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Blindy. had this to say about Knight Rider:
The current thought is that the solstice coupe should be out in 2009 as a 2009 MY car. And have 300 hp.http://windev.weblogsinc.com/tag/pontiac+solstice+coupe/
Also the current Solstice GXP/Sky Redline has a 260 hp 2.0 direct injected turbo, while the Ion redline you drove has a 200 hp 2.4 supercharged that was on the Ion Redline and Cobalt SS for a few years and has just been replaced with the 2.0 turbo engine. Don't think this will change your opinion of it but just FYI.
Ah yes... direct injection. The next thing to make my job just a touch more dangerous. Higher fuel pressures. As if the high voltage of hybrids wasn't enough.
I'm just being a grump. I do enjoy working on cars quite a bit.
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Blindy. impressed everyone with:
Don't the fuel systems depressurize the second you turn the engine off? I know my GTI re-pressurizes the fuel lines when you open the door, so I assumed the pump let the pressure bleed off.
Nope. Part of how we check fuel pumps is to attach a gauge, pressurize the system and then turn off the key, check the pressure after 5 or 10 minutes to see if it's dropped more than 5 or 10 lbs. Faulty pump will allow pressure to bleed off completely or bleed off too much. Fuel systems do eventually bleed to zero, it just shouldn't do it right away.
Also current pressures are only around 55 PSI. These direct injection vehicles will have pressures much much higher. I think I've read up to 350 PSI. This allows better atomization of the fuel which mixes with air better and some tests are showing up to a 35% increase in efficiency. Also some of the higher pressure fuel systems are going to essentially be diesel type systems (but burning Petrol or Ethanol instead of diesel). No spark plugs needed. It's still rather new, I've only read a little bit about these engine thus far. I'm sure more intensive training will be coming soon from corperate headquarters...
