NationStates Jolt Archive

Tell me, which do you prefer. Personally, I am a Dodge person. Now I must vent. Has anyone here ever worked on a mini-van before? Namely, a '96 Ford Aerostar. Let me just say that it is the hardest thing in the world to change the spark plugs in that thing. The spark plugs, mind you. That's all I need to do, is change the spark plugs. In order to do this, I have to remove the air filter assembly, the right front tire, and half of the interior dash board. WTF? If this were a simple Dodge or Chevy mini-van, the spark plugs would have easily been accessable. But noooo, my mom had to buy a Ford. Now I would like to thank to brilliant minds of the Ford engineers for the magical pile of horseshit that they have concocted that is the Ford Aerostar. That is all, I am done now. Thanks for listening...

Now, which do you prefer?

Hyundai. They have copied the best Japanese designs and are nearly as good, but a lot cheaper. They sell them here with five year waranty on even the cheapest model. I'm guessing they will remain almost trouble free for 10 years or so. The best buy I've found. (But not good to repair yourself.)

The fuel economy is good so even if oil prices triple I can still drive it around. (But I'll go easy on the gas pedal.)

Now, which do you prefer?
Porsche. All the way.

If I had to pick one, Honda. But most car makers have their redeeming qualities. There are a few who don't though, like SAAB.

Personally, I'm a General Motors fan, because my father's worked for them for 29 years and I get lifelong discounts :D

But if I didn't have family loyalty hanging over my head, I would only drive Mercedez and a black '69 Mustang....

In Australia we have Holden cars which are the best.

They are owned by GM so i chose that one

Volkswagen :D

I like Toyota. My parents owned a Toyata truck for nigh on 30 years, never had a breakdown worse than a slight problem with the starter that required a change of one washer and said wire.
Of course, sometime in 2000 the transmission went, so we sold it.
This left us with a Chevy suburban that had, a few years ago, conked out in the middle of an intersection with a broken drive train.

Toyota for me :P

It's my second Mazda. This one's a Protege 5 (hatchback). It's got correct performances and is very reliable.
Appreciated: lots of space for people, luggage, stuff; reliable even in the worst of winter; very stable; decent fuel slurping
Downsides: noise isolation isn't very good; heating & A/C too weak

If I had to buy a new car, it would be a Mazda 6 or a Mazda 3. The new engine is much more powerful and generates less noise.

Well my mom didn't buy my car for me but I know little about them. I want a Honda when I get a new car. They're safe.

Well my mom didn't buy my car for me but I know little about them. I want a Honda when I get a new car. They're safe.
Perhaps if hit another Honda. Maybe. But if you hit something bigger, like a truck or something, you don't stand much chance of surviving. You will be a spot on that truck's bumper.

For some reason I like Nissan and Hyundai.

Anything that brings me from A to B

From now on Honda and Hyundai are inferred under the Toyota, Nissan option.

Volkswagen :D
That would be a division of Daimler/Chrystler...

Lamborghini! :D

Now I must vent. Has anyone here ever worked on a mini-van before? Namely, a '96 Ford Aerostar. Let me just say that it is the hardest thing in the world to change the spark plugs in that thing. The spark plugs, mind you. That's all I need to do, is change the spark plugs. In order to do this, I have to remove the air filter assembly, the right front tire, and half of the interior dash board.

My dad bougth a Toyota mini-van years ago, the model that came rigth before the Toyota Previa. It looked like a soap box with a little angle on the noze. The motor was located under the drivers and passenger seat. The only way to acces it was to balance both seat back. NOW THAT WAS A PAIN IN THE ASS.

But I'm still a japanese fan tougth; Toyota, Mazda, Honda, Nissan...

Morris Minor/Volvo.

Morris Minor/Volvo.
:D :D :D Pffft

I was a GM fan all my life, from my 1979 Chevy Malibu to 1984 Cutlass to 1991 Riviera. (For those of you keeping score at home, yes, they were all 2 doors, and were basically the same car with increasingly better interiors...)

I bought a Chrysler 300M in January 2001 and will probably keep it another year or three.

After that, I'm not sure. I'd like to buy American, but I'm so annoyed with US dealerships I'm seriously considering buying a newer (1-3 year old) BMW when I get rid of the 300M.

I don't like Ford, barring a very few models like the now disco'd T-bird convertible or Mustang 5.0...

Honda fan for life, We've had 3 Hondas, and a Ford, the ford always had problems.

Hondas are safe, and very durable.

I want a Ridgeline so bad, wait, I have one. :)

In 1988, I started with a 1980 Toyota Tercel. I drove it until it collapsed, which was 120K miles on top of the 75K it already had on it. FOUR FORWARD SPEEDS -- that's right, no 5th gear. The freeway was a noisy experience.

Once that died, I graduated to a 1982 Corolla 4-door. Great car. Only a nagging wheel-bearing problem that I never had the money to fix.

When I broke my clutch leg in 1995, I had to get a manual transmission car. I chose a 1981 Celica coupe. In its day, it was a great car, but it was older than the high school kids I was teaching at the time, and lasted only three more years.

In 1998, I bought a 1991 Acura Integra on the strength of both Consumer Reports and my family's experience with Honda products. It had 69K miles on it then, and it has, as of now, 160K. Only thing that ever stopped me from driving was the ignition module: A little metal square that stops your engine cold when it failed. It failed twice, but my mechanic told me I didn't have to pay for the second one or the second tow because the replacement part had failed within a month of the initial failure. My '91 Integra gets 31mpg in normal commute/city driving and 35+ on long trips. I can easily drive at or over 400 miles on a tank of gas. It has a dime-like turning radius (I love parallel parking on the opposite side of the street by making a tight U-turn).

In short, my next car will be another Acura. Used, 'cause I'll never afford a new one unless they start paying teachers. I'd like the last year model of Integra (2001?) before the introduced the RSX. The ideal would be the 4-door TSX. Of course, the pipe dream is the lovely TL.

I would not rule out the Mazda 6 or Toyota Solara, though. The prime concern with me is the gas mileage to horsepower ratio. My Integra scoots when I need it to, but sips gas. Smaller cars like the Hyundais I've tried are really gutless and devoid of any kind of driving zip.

My dad bougth a Toyota mini-van years ago, the model that came rigth before the Toyota Previa. It looked like a soap box with a little angle on the noze. The motor was located under the drivers and passenger seat. The only way to acces it was to balance both seat back. NOW THAT WAS A PAIN IN THE ASS.

I hear ya on that...

I work for half of them -- as a tech writer.
Sorry guys, I CAN'T vote. :D
PS: I get to see the new models specs before they're even announced.

None of the cars are made in Bavaria, so that means they are all bad... :D

And here's a very similar topic: http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=430435

Tell me, which do you prefer. Personally, I am a Dodge person. Now I must vent. Has anyone here ever worked on a mini-van before? Namely, a '96 Ford Aerostar. Let me just say that it is the hardest thing in the world to change the spark plugs in that thing. The spark plugs, mind you. That's all I need to do, is change the spark plugs. In order to do this, I have to remove the air filter assembly, the right front tire, and half of the interior dash board. WTF? If this were a simple Dodge or Chevy mini-van, the spark plugs would have easily been accessable. But noooo, my mom had to buy a Ford. Now I would like to thank to brilliant minds of the Ford engineers for the magical pile of horseshit that they have concocted that is the Ford Aerostar. That is all, I am done now. Thanks for listening...

Now, which do you prefer?
I've got to take exception with your idea that spark plugs in a Voyager or T&C are accessible. The front three are easy, I'll admit, but if you want to change the rear three, you have to take off the throttle body and the intake plenum. And that's the easy way!

Still, Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth has done a much better job overall in engineering the systems on their cars. I took off the throttle body on a Chevy Impala one day, but only after I drained the coolant from the radiator. The boneheads at GM had run antifreeze through the throttle body.

My favorite car is still my 1995 E300 Diesel. The 124 chassis was the best Mercedes ever made and the 606 engine is just bullet-proof.

Peugeot. I've had my 306 for five years now, it's a great little car.

Aston Martin, Jaguar, TVR, Noble, Westfield, see a trend emerging here?

Anything made in Britain i bound to be the best car manufacture ever... the racing heritage is there. LOL!

Unfortunatly, most of the above are owned by Ford or are too small for anyone to care, so i'll have to vote ford, shame on me.

Aston Martin, Jaguar, TVR, Noble, Westfield, see a trend emerging here?

Anything made in Britain i bound to be the best car manufacture ever... the racing heritage is there. LOL!

Unfortunatly, most of the above are owned by Ford or are too small for anyone to care, so i'll have to vote ford, shame on me.
You have obviously never needed to fix up a Lucas electric system in the middle of nowhere so that you could get to somewhere. I had a Triumph TR-6 when I was in college and that was the most fun car to drive, when it would start. Lucas sucks.

That would be a division of Daimler/Chrystler...
No it's not.
VW is together with Audi, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Skoda, SEAT and so on one of the largest manufacturers on the planet.
They have nothing to do with Daimler.

A lot of makes were forgotten. You completely forgot Korea (Hyundai, Kia, Daewoo), whose cars are actually becoming quite good in terms of reliability and build quality. Also those communist cars (Yugo, Lada, FSO Polonez, Skoda, Trabant) are missing.
My personal preference is for GM. I have a 2002 Chevy Cavalier, which is actually a good car, in spite of what Consumer Reports says about them.
Does anyone have a Yugo or has anyone driven one? I'd really like to know what it is like.

Hyundai. They have copied the best Japanese designs and are nearly as good, but a lot cheaper. They sell them here with five year waranty on even the cheapest model. I'm guessing they will remain almost trouble free for 10 years or so. The best buy I've found. (But not good to repair yourself.)

The fuel economy is good so even if oil prices triple I can still drive it around. (But I'll go easy on the gas pedal.)
Hyundai are dodgy. We were going to buy a Lantra about 4 years ago, but went with another company despite it having less features and costing more.
I saw a 4 year old Lantra the other day, it was falling to pieces and just generally looked like shit. Ours is still working and looking fine, and will probably resell for about half its initial price.
This was a family thing, personally I hate cars.
I am considering getting a little european thing that will last forever, and just keep it very well maintained in a garage and seldom drive it. Peugeot has those HDi cars that are really fuel efficient and produce no emissions through filters and such, which solves most of my qualms of owning a car, but when I see 10, 20 year old models on the road they look pretty run down. I don't know, I don't even have my license yet, and I anticipate I'll be living in all different places around the world throughout my life (always in big cities with good public transport) so having a car would be pretty impractical.

Aston Martin, and Ducati for two wheeled transport.

Hyundai are dodgy. We were going to buy a Lantra about 4 years ago, but went with another company despite it having less features and costing more.
I saw a 4 year old Lantra the other day, it was falling to pieces and just generally looked like shit. Ours is still working and looking fine, and will probably resell for about half its initial price.
This was a family thing, personally I hate cars.
I am considering getting a little european thing that will last forever, and just keep it very well maintained in a garage and seldom drive it. Peugeot has those HDi cars that are really fuel efficient and produce no emissions through filters and such, which solves most of my qualms of owning a car, but when I see 10, 20 year old models on the road they look pretty run down. I don't know, I don't even have my license yet, and I anticipate I'll be living in all different places around the world throughout my life (always in big cities with good public transport) so having a car would be pretty impractical.

I'm thinking of trading in my 306 & getting a 307 HDi, for the very reasons you outlined.

<bait>Why would anyone buy an American car?</bait>

Seriously though, they havehigher fuel consumption, are generally badly made and over priced.

Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Fiat, Pagani, Lancia. Lamborghini.

Notice a trend here? Italian or nothing! Actually, I learned to drive in an Acura and of the 6 cars I've driven regularily, 4 were Acuras (essentialy Hondas) and 1 was a Honda hatchback. My current car, the first & only car I purchased myself (rather than borrowed) is the first and only Italian car I've had. The Acuras were all AWESOME cars for their class. (90 Integra, 94 Integra, 98' TL, 02 CL) the Honda was fun but wimpy (96 Civic Hatcback). Incredibly well designed and engineered cars. None of them were anywhere near as fun as my Fiat Dino Spyder (comes w. Ferrari engine) and precious few cars on the road have styling as awesome and original as my FIAT (http://www.grandprixdetours.com/engages2004/fiatdino1968.jpg).

Mind you, the opinion anyone insane enough to drive a vintage Italian sportscar as a daily commuter vehicle (guilty!) probably doesn't count for much in a poll so slanted that 3 of the 4 options (besides "other") are American. Get a real poll next time please.

http://www.mitsubishicars.com/images/2006/ecl/photos/normal_4_ex.jpg

<bait>Why would anyone buy an American car?</bait>

Seriously though, they havehigher fuel consumption, are generally badly made and over priced.

Because I'll live when I hit a deer. Seriously. There have been at least 3 occasions where if I wasn't driving a big piece of Detroit steel that I'd likely have been killed by 200 pounds of venison. :(

Otherwise, American quality isn't all that bad. Honda and Mitsubishi have slipped from the "golden 80s" a bit, and Mercedes is now worse than Kia in terms of defects.

I'm not saying that my Chrysler 300M's 25mpg (miles per gallon) is GREAT, but it's not nearly as bad as an SUV. Personally, I'd love to see the average car get 40mpg... :(

I'm a fan of the German makes, personally. Volkswagen, BMW and Porsche all make for very nice drives.

My favorites:
The manufacturers of the Datsun 240z
Porsche
Hyundai
Lotus
Lambourgheni
BMW
Honda is pretty good

I didn't see any of these companies on your list.

Toyota obviously, as they are the leader in hybrid technology. Ford, I believe, is still trying to figure out how to make an efficient hydrogen powered car, but that will take many more years. Also, Toyota is soooo much more reliable than any other car. (except volvo, maybe.)

In Australia we have Holden cars which are the best.

They are owned by GM so i chose that one

Absolutely, Holdens kick ass.

Absolutely, Holdens kick ass.
They would, if they'd finally get the VX220.
"Not enough of a market" my arse. Grr.
:mad:

Toyota, hands down. They last forever (if basic maintenance is kept up) and they keep a higher resale value than nearly every other vehicle on the market.

BTW, Toyota also owns Lexus. Mazda and Jaguar are owned by Ford...and Lamborghini is owned by Daimler-Chrysler.

...and Lamborghini is owned by Daimler-Chrysler.
Actually, Lamborghini is owned by Audi, which is in union with VW. You're thinking of McLaren.

The manufacturers of the Datsun 240z
Ummmmmmm... that would have been DATSUN. :rolleyes:

BTW, Datsun is now Nissan.

Actually, Lamborghini is owned by Audi, which is in union with VW. You're thinking of McLaren.
Actually... I think you're right. But, didn't D-C use to own Lamborghini?

Actually... I think you're right. But, didn't D-C use to own Lamborghini?
No idea...

Your kidding!

Nobody has said Daewoo yet?? :p

Anyways...Dodge for me as well.

Dodge for me as well.
Dodge used to create wonderful, reliable vehicles...but over the last decade or so, they've turned into complete shit...the new trucks, especially. Lemonville.

I wonder why there is so few non-American firms in the poll.
Toyota is the largest car-manufacturer on the planet, why does it have to share with Nissan (which is in union with Renault)?
Where is VW/Audi, or BMW? Or any of the Koreans?
And who owns Fiat/Ferrari/Alfa/Maserati?

I learnred to drive in a honda, Great little car.

Though I prefer my ridgeline by FAR!

American cars tend to not be as good as there eruopean or asian ( stuff Like Acura,Honda,Toyota and nissian ) counterparts. They're not engineered nearly as well.

My ridgline is called the " anti truck " where I live for some reason.

Volkswagen....That would be a division of Daimler/Chrystler...

Since when has Volkswagen been part of Daimler Chrysler?

I tell you what I don't like, and that Vauxhall - part of GM, for all those in North Americ.

Also known as Opel in Europe.

They have (or had) an image problem in the UK, although that's sort of been rectified slightly with the VX220 and the Monaro.

They're still rubbish in my eyes anyway.

My favourite car...the 1995 Rover 214SLi...only because I have one, and it might become a collectors item....

<bait>Why would anyone buy an American car?</bait>

Seriously though, they havehigher fuel consumption, are generally badly made and over priced.
Ah, so ignorant. Here, learn a lesson:
From JD Power the top five nameplates in lowest defects per 100 vehicles are
1. Lexus ( for 11 years)
2. Porsche ( no surprise there)
3. Lincoln
4. Buick
5. Cadillac
What do you know, not a Toyota, Honda, VW, or BMW in the bunch.

U.S. cars show up again at
8. Mercury
12. Ford
13. Chevy
14. Chrysler

The industry average of 237 defects per 100 vehicles is slightly worse than Chrysler. Land Rover and Kia share the honors for worst.

The entire chart is at jd power (http://www.jdpa.com/pdf/2005089.pdf)

Volkswagen :D
When they still made air-cooled cars.

I (currently) like the SMART (DaimlerChrysler) cars (http://www.smart.com/-snm-0144316892-1120477606-0000016534-0000001765-1121095736-enm-is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/WFS/mpc-uk-content-Site/en_UK/-/GBP/SVCPresentationPipeline-Start?Page=issite%3a%2f%2fmpc-uk-Site%2fmpc-uk%2ecom%2fRootFolder%2fsmart%2fmodelle%2epage). Turbocharged air-cooled subcompacts... with a cool sportscar package.

Too bad they won't sell them in the US.

When they still made air-cooled cars.

I (currently) like the SMART (DaimlerChrysler) cars (http://www.smart.com/-snm-0144316892-1120477606-0000016534-0000001765-1121095736-enm-is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/WFS/mpc-uk-content-Site/en_UK/-/GBP/SVCPresentationPipeline-Start?Page=issite%3a%2f%2fmpc-uk-Site%2fmpc-uk%2ecom%2fRootFolder%2fsmart%2fmodelle%2epage). Turbocharged air-cooled subcompacts... with a cool sportscar package.

Too bad they won't sell them in the US.
I've seen a couple of those driving around in Atlanta. They must have been imported by the owners, then modified for U.S. laws. Cute little things, aren't they.

Renault

I didn't read through all the replies (shame on me), but the answer has to be:

MINI Cooper, a division of BMW. MINI's (not Mini's) are very well built. They are sturdy, fast, and get great gas mileage! the only negative is cargo space, but for 2 people, there's still plenty of room to travel.

:cool:

I've seen a couple of those driving around in Atlanta. They must have been imported by the owners, then modified for U.S. laws. Cute little things, aren't they.
I saw them at the Chicago Auto Show (humorously, they weren't far from where International was showing off their Monstosity SUV/Truck the CXT (http://www.internationaldelivers.com/site_layout/xtfamily/cxt.asp))

I like small and aircooled. I don't even like water cooled motorcycles.

I have a toyota and love it
though...with gas prices and pollution problems today, I feel like I would just be better off riding my bike...though there are problems with that, like getting places rather far away

I didn't read through all the replies (shame on me), but the answer has to be:

MINI Cooper, a division of BMW. MINI's (not Mini's) are very well built. They are sturdy, fast, and get great gas mileage! the only negative is cargo space, but for 2 people, there's still plenty of room to travel.

:cool:
Minis score almost last on the JD Power survey. They are only exceeded in the lack of quality by Land Rovers and Kias.

Incidentally, U.S. manufactured cars lead their segments in all but Premium Luxury (Lexus), Sporty (Miata), Premium Sport (Porsche), and most of the SUV classes. Pretty good showing for Detroit!

I did not know that. I saw the 2005 model in consumer reports and it scored very well, with cargo space being the only real downside that they rated.

I guess different rating criteria or something :)

I did not know that. I saw the 2005 model in consumer reports and it scored very well, with cargo space being the only real downside that they rated.

I guess different rating criteria or something :)
The predicted reliablitity in Consumer Reports is fair. I guess that jibes with the JD Power report of 350+ defects per 100 vehicles.

On the other hand, C/R rated owner satisfaction as excellent. That certainly is a big factor in choosing a car.

Since when has Volkswagen been part of Daimler Chrysler?
Never has been, is not, and will hopefully never be!

Audi, Skoda, Seat, Bentley, Bugatti & Lamborghini, on the other hand, belong to Volkswagen.
:D

(Just saw that Leonstein posted a similar response before me. Thanks, but I'll post this one anyway :p)