Unashamed Sink Urinator.
To be fair, its usually other things that die on American cars, electrical, A/C, interior bits breaking, etc. Engines and transmissions these days are pretty solid. Some engines suck, like the GM 3.1/3.4 series V6s and the original 2.0 Chrysler/Mitsubishi engine was prone to head gasket failure. But there are millions.....MILLIONS of GM 350 V8s out there, with many, many miles on them. Just like Ford 5.0 liters, GM 3800s, Chrysler 3.3/3.5s. Hell, why do you think they still use Ford Crown Vics for taxis and police cars? Because when you have a fleet, and take care of them, they will rack up 300K with no problem.Originally Posted by Hubbitron
Ever see a Toyota v6 with an engine sludge problem? I have. The engine is essentually a boat anchor afterwards, and I've seen that happen only after 60K. Honda has a shitload of crappy automatic transmissions out there. Hell, the mid 90's Nissan Maxima is one of the biggest pieces of shit on the road today.
Ever seen a properly tuned Mustang at an AutoX event? They tear the shit out of the track. American iron =/= big mushy boat-car.You're smart guys, why all the muscle car gushing? Why make a car more efficient to increase power when you can just make the engine bigger right? I love big/fast cars for all those great aesthetic reasons but I would never argue that they are reliable, efficient or nimble. If I sound like a hatr its because I value those things in a vehicle.
As far as just making the more powerful instead of bigger, well you get trade offs. Look at the Mitsubishi EVO 400 FQ WTFBBQLMNOP. It gets sick power from a soda bottle of displacement.
It also has an oil change interval of 1000 miles, and requires regular service every 15K.
A crate Chevy LS1 with a mild tune gets about 350 HP from 5.7 liters, and weighs in somewhere around 440 pounds, so you see people swapping them into all sorts of things, like FD RX-7s and Nissan 240zs. Why? big, cheap, light weight, reliable power.
Don't get me wrong here, I love making power with small engines. My own (American) project car has a 2.2L with a T3/T4 hybrid turbo, I hope to pull about 270-280 hp when its done, and somewhere around 200 ft/lbs. I have no illusions however that it wont be something Id want to drive more than a hour or two from home so I don't get stranded.
I also love and respect small, nimble, cars. I'd kill for an old 60's British roadster with all modern suspension and brake upgrades. I wish the new Nissan 350z wasn't such a fat-ass. I wish Toyota could build cars that don't induce a coma, but it isn't happening right now.
“The very existence of flame-throwers proves that some time, somewhere, someone said to themselves, you know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I'm just not close enough to get the job done.” -George Carlin
Hormone Collector
According to JD Powers, only Lexus, Toyota, Honda and Infiniti are reliable, and Lincoln, Cadillac and Buick are equally as reliable. Although I don't think it's any coincidence the most reliable American cars are those bought by old people.
http://www.trollhattansaab.net/images/JDpower2006.jpg
A common belief is VW makes reliable cars, yet they are always waaaaay at the bottom of these charts. VW makes beautiful cars, but reliable they are not.
<3
When you're GM, why not? My engine makes 400 hp, 400 ft/lb., and gets me 25 mpg on the highway in a big, 3,700 lb. car (that's a real-world mpg, not just EPA)--naturally aspirated. It's got a broad powerband, makes a wicked noise, and is reliable as hell.
Don't think that big means inefficient. Hater.
Last edited by MarkRyan; 16 May 2007 at 12:25 AM.
Wild Arms Junky.
OMG so much owning. Thank you for laying it out so well. It drives me nuts to see people rag on domestics so hard.
http://www.fvza.org/index.html
I saw it at the auto show. Didn't look as bad as the photos lead you to believe.
Also Chrysler got bought out.
And a ton of new car photos are everywhere. I would post but half the peeps don't care.
I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.
Model D-83
what's to like about 25 mpg? you know gas is over $3 a gallon right?
<3
Making 400 HP and 400 ft/lb and still getting 25 MPG without the help of forced induction or regenerative braking is pretty remarkable, I'd say. My previous car, a 2.5 liter 4-cylinder Impreza, got about the same mileage on the highway (EPA number is about 29, real-world freeway cruising at 70ish got me 25 on the same trip I got 24 in the GTO--I was going about 10 MPH faster in the Goat), though it was better in the city than the GTO. Still, it only made 165 HP and 166 ft/lb.
Model D-83
Honestly I like the new GTOs a lot. Other than my current car, my old 1989 dodge ram van was my favorite car ever. I'm just a sour bitch because of all the bad experiences I had with my ford mustang, plymouth caravelle, and jeep. Fuck those fucking wranglers.
edit: add pontiac lemans and transam
Last edited by Hubbitron; 17 May 2007 at 05:13 PM.
Cars I've owned throughout the years (in order for the most part):
'72 VW Bug, '62 VW Bug (modified, street legal "dune buggy), '76 Trans Am (with the 455), '87 Suzuki Samurai, '89 Suzuki Sidekick, '91 Dodge Stealth R/T Turbo, ~'83 Jeep Wrangler (2nd car, total piece of shit), '95 Ford Explorer, '93 Toyota 4WD 4 Cylinder pick-up, 2002 Honda Odyssey, '98 Ford Explorer, 2002 Jeep Wrangler Sahara, 2003 Chevy Avalanche, 1993 Honda Del Sol (2nd Car).
I'm thinking of picking up something like this: http://newyork.craigslist.org/lgi/car/332820491.html
Are these terribly unreliable?
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