Odd Cars....did you own one?

[Doramius]

That's what I love about Manual Celica's. Mine was a 5-speed. And I'll be damned if I wasn't through the intersection and part-way down the road when the guy to my side was just entering passed the crosswalk when the light turned green. The speedometer topped out at 140, but I've had the needle buried on my 84' several times on back roads. That thing gripped the road like it was riding a rail with rubber lining. SMOOOOTH! I could do donuts in that thing without any snow. In snow I could donut circles forever. Just hold the wheels hard left and stomp on the gas. I would freak friends out doing Rockford spins instead of 3-point or U-Turns. I went through tires like crazy on it though. Never had a blowout, just burned the tred down. I would leave tire skids all over town and the back roads.

[BJ_M]

There's even probably more too it than is being said or known. I highly doubt that DeLorean was anywhere near high fault on the whole thing, but it got his company shut down and threw a huge blacklist to his name. Honestly, I'm sure if a new car company got ahold of him and tried to push forth a new type of car using some or many of Delorean's ideas, that car would be pretty popular, powerful, and stylish that lasts a LONG time.

his company got shut down because no one wanted to buy those cars is kinda the short end of it ... the rest of the stuff happened when he was trying to save it ...

[hech54]

That's what I love about Manual Celica's. Mine was a 5-speed. And I'll be damned if I wasn't through the intersection and part-way down the road when the guy to my side was just entering passed the crosswalk when the light turned green. The speedometer topped out at 140, but I've had the needle buried on my 84' several times on back roads. That thing gripped the road like it was riding a rail with rubber lining. SMOOOOTH! I could do donuts in that thing without any snow. In snow I could donut circles forever. Just hold the wheels hard left and stomp on the gas. I would freak friends out doing Rockford spins instead of 3-point or U-Turns. I went through tires like crazy on it though. Never had a blowout, just burned the tred down. I would leave tire skids all over town and the back roads.

A friend of mine had a new (two years ago) Mustang GT.....automatic. We were playing around coming back from the fishing cabin. I hit 125mph....he quit at about 110. That big V8 Mustang was VERY nice but it's hard for an automatic to beat a 5 speed car with any kind of decent engine in it. Especially a 135HP 5 speed.
He actually tried to tell me he had one more gear to go.... ....I told him that the people in the next town would have heard that car in 3rd gear doing 110mph....and I didn't hear him....he wasn't THAT far away... He finally gave in and told me he was afraid he could not make the next bend in the road since the last one scared the shit out of him..
I drove his Mustang....they are a bit scarry....sort of like my Supra was. It was a bit erratic at high speeds.

My first Supra (not shown) had a digital dash....I got it to 101 once. Then a 300ZX thought I was racing and passed me like I was standing still....crazy bastard HAD to be doing at least 140.

[Doramius]

It's really hard to say nobody wanted to buy his cars, though. He barely produced any. The cars even became extremely popular after the whole ordeal due to the show Miami Vice. I think the sales would have been much better had the company been able to stay afloat. KIA also had funding problems in the beginning, some worse than DeLorean, but they are doing well now. the first 2 years of sales were crap in the US, too.

Only difference is KIA still sucks.

[BJ_M]

kia went bankrupt and is owned by hyundi now ..

was a DeLorean on Miami Vice ? i dont remember that ..

[hech54]

I thought Kia, Mazda and Ford were together in some way. The late 80's (1988) Ford Festivas were Kias.

[BJ_M]

Miami Vice had a White Ferrari Testerossa

[BJ_M]

I thought Kia, Mazda and Ford were together in some way. The late 80's (1988) Ford Festivas were Kias.

mazda and ford yes--

kia is not anymore ..

it is called even "Kia/Hyundai Motors" now

[Capmaster]

I thought Kia, Mazda and Ford were together in some way. The late 80's (1988) Ford Festivas were Kias.

mazda and ford yes--

kia is not anymore ..

it is called even "Kia/Hyundai Motors" now

I think the Mazda Miata had a Ford Escort frame, IMSC.

[Doramius]

A friend of mine had a new (two years ago) Mustang GT.....automatic. We were playing around coming back from the fishing cabin. I hit 125mph....he quit at about 110. That big V8 Mustang was VERY nice but it's hard for an automatic to beat a 5 speed car with any kind of decent engine in it. Especially a 135HP 5 speed.
He actually tried to tell me he had one more gear to go.... ....I told him that the people in the next town would have heard that car in 3rd gear doing 110mph....and I didn't hear him....he wasn't THAT far away... He finally gave in and told me he was afraid he could not make the next bend in the road since the last one scared the shit out of him..
I drove his Mustang....they are a bit scarry....sort of like my Supra was. It was a bit erratic at high speeds.

Many American cars are erratic at high speeds. American's like Power, though speed is up there with it. You go to a lot of european countries and Speed & acceleration is high priority, power comes a bit later. Renault is not a bad engine company, but they wear out way too easily. They have excellent acceleration. A lot of European Exotics are fast, but they don't have the durability, if they do, they aren't as fast. THere's a balance in there, and all car companies know it. There's nothing like the autobahn in the US, so eratic is not the big worry. However, people are attracted to the "wild" side of American sports cars. And that's how they sell them. Why else would we be calling them MUSTANG, VIPER, COBRA, and other wild names. IT's just what they are.

I've been in a Lamborghini before and it's smooth, and rides nice. But I would never consider it a wild car. Yet it still gives you a ride of your life.

(FYI - I rented a Lamborghini for an hour once. Had to save up the $115 bucks to do it too. Nice place on the strip here rents these exotic dream cars, but the Deposit on some is $350 in cash, debit, or Mondey Order.)

[BJ_M]

GM used to sell toyota corolla also as NOVA 's for awhile there also .. but besides their joint NUMMI plant (the worst auto plant in USA - but toyota turned it around big time- it used to make camaro 's ) --

but gm doesnt own any of toyota ....

gm later called those NOVAs , Prizm's..

Corolla is the best selling car in the world ..


most corollas are built now in Canada , so are most civics

[hech54]

I drive one of the Autobahns almost daily.... Many of those drivers are completely insane but the truckers ALWAYS behave themselves.

[Doramius]

You didn't mention the other Toyota-GM joint venture that flopped, and GMs Chevy line took the vehicles.

GEO - ADV (America's Disposable Vehicle) Line

Those things are carboard and aluminum human deathtraps. Metro, Sprint, Tracker, etc.

They had a concept car that didn't take off very well that was called the Speck. Can't hardly find any information on it.

[hech54]

The Chevy Spectrum was an Isuzu...then became a Geo Spectrum.
Geo Tracker.....Chevy Tracker...and people think the Chevy Tracker is better because it says Chevrolet on it now. The same people would NOT buy a Geo Tracker the year before....people are REALLY dumb sometimes.

[Capmaster]

You didn't mention the other Toyota-GM joint venture that flopped, and GMs Chevy line took the vehicles.

GEO - ADV (America's Disposable Vehicle) Line

Those things are carboard and aluminum human deathtraps. Metro, Sprint, Tracker, etc.

Ford has their version - the Ford Fetus ...ermmm ...Festiva

50,000 mile disposable car :P

[BJ_M]

I thought Kia, Mazda and Ford were together in some way. The late 80's (1988) Ford Festivas were Kias.

mazda and ford yes--

kia is not anymore ..

it is called even "Kia/Hyundai Motors" now

I think the Mazda Miata had a Ford Escort frame, IMSC.

All ford focus's, and 500's and escapes and freestyles use mazda engines in one model or another . the freestyle is exactly a volvo XC90 for 15 grand less money but the exact same parts ..

since ford also owns volvo ...

[hech54]

You didn't mention the other Toyota-GM joint venture that flopped, and GMs Chevy line took the vehicles.

GEO - ADV (America's Disposable Vehicle) Line

Those things are carboard and aluminum human deathtraps. Metro, Sprint, Tracker, etc.

Ford has their version - the Ford Fetus ...ermmm ...Festiva

50,000 mile disposable car :P

My dad bought an 88 Festiva....YUK.

[hech54]

VW owns Lamborghini and Bentley and Seat and Skoda...

[Doramius]

I could proably make a safer car than a festiva using a bicycle frame for roll bars and aluminum foil for door skins. maybe thrown in a 4-stroke John Deere engine.

[BJ_M]

You didn't mention the other Toyota-GM joint venture that flopped, and GMs Chevy line took the vehicles.

GEO - ADV (America's Disposable Vehicle) Line

Those things are carboard and aluminum human deathtraps. Metro, Sprint, Tracker, etc.

They had a concept car that didn't take off very well that was called the Speck. Can't hardly find any information on it.

that was with suzuki .. the geo metro and tracker anyway ... that was(is) the CAMI plant in Ingersoll Ontario ... the suzuki sidekick was built there and some other models -- the SIdekick/tracker used different engines though , the susuki built engine is far better and lasts and lasts ... the 4wd transfer case in them was good also (i had one) , but the interior was cheap plastic and so were a lot of the other parts .. i put 200k on the one i had and sold it working perfectly well .

[BJ_M]

Chevrolet Equinox is now built at the CAMI plant with suzuki .. they still build the tracker/sidekick there also along with the Vitara (which are supposed to be real crap)

[Doramius]

You didn't mention the other Toyota-GM joint venture that flopped, and GMs Chevy line took the vehicles.

GEO - ADV (America's Disposable Vehicle) Line

Those things are carboard and aluminum human deathtraps. Metro, Sprint, Tracker, etc.

They had a concept car that didn't take off very well that was called the Speck. Can't hardly find any information on it.

that was with susuki .. the geo metro and tracker anyway ... that was(is) the CAMI plant in Ingersoll Ontario ... the susuki sidekick was built there and some other models -- the SIdekick/tracker used different engines though , the susuki built engine is far better and lasts and lasts ... the 4wd transfer case in them was good also (i had one) , but the interior was cheap plastic and so were a lot of the other parts .. i put 200k on the one i had and sold it working perfectly well .

I stick primarily with Chrysler-Dodge and Toyota & VW for imports. I don't buy too many Imports though.

I've got A Nevada State Issued Document that says I got a Chrysler Concorde past 120MPH. And Dang was it smooth and controllable.

(FYI - yes the document was a ticket.)

[hech54]

I stick primarily with Chrysler-Dodge and Toyota & VW for imports. I don't buy too many Imports though.

My wife works for VW....quess what we drive....

[BJ_M]

VW owns Lamborghini and Bentley and Seat and Skoda...

and audi and that new company they formed in china and 1 in brazil

[BJ_M]

VW's reliability takes a knock

Steven Morris

The Guardian

For years they have been associated with rock-solid reliability, but the reputations of two of Germany's most famous car brands were dented by a Consumers' Association survey yesterday.

Volkswagen crashed into the poor category of the reliability survey while two other VW-owned companies, Seat and Audi, slipped from good to average. The Audi TT, seen as one of the most stylish new models of recent years, received one of the lowest scores for reliability in years.

Another German car company, Mercedes-Benz, slipped two categories, from best to average, in reliability. No German carmaker managed to make it into either the best or good categories of the survey, published by the association's magazine Which?.

BMW at least held its own, maintaining its place in the average category, where it has been since the 1999 survey.

Dominating the top reliability places for both manufacturers and individual car models were the Japanese, with Honda, Hyundai, Lexus, Mazda, Nissan and Toyota all in the best category of maker-reliability. Based on break down rates over the past 12 months of cars up to two years old the most reliable were the Honda Accord, Honda Jazz, Mazda 323, Nissan Almera Tino, Nissan X-Trail, Smart car, and the Toyota Celica.

At the other end of the reliability table the least-reliable model apart from the Audi TT was the Ford Galaxy, followed by the Citroën C3, the Mercedes E-class, and the Saab 9-3. The survey found that about one in 20 new cars was likely to have broken down in the past year.

[hech54]

VW hasn't been a favorite in America since the Beetle. SOO many people used to ask me "How can you drive a VW?" Then I would ask them if they had ever owned one....they said no.
I've never had a problem with any of my VW's....and I've had MANY. Rabbits, Golfs and Sciroccos in the U.S and a Golf and a Touran here in Germany....no problems.

[Doramius]

I like the Jettas. In Fact, I want a Jetta with V-6 & Manual Transmission. Those are nice and powerful cars. I don't think they're crap.

Citroën - Now there's a crap car consistently, but tons of Europeans drive them. Is it because they're so cheap? They can't have them in the US because they aren't anywhere near the safety ratings they need to be. There are other cars that aren't sold in the US, but many can at least make a proper car that meets the ratings and guidelines if they decided to sell it in the US.

[BJ_M]

VW hasn't been a favorite in America since the Beetle. SOO many people used to ask me "How can you drive a VW?" Then I would ask them if they had ever owned one....they said no.
I've never had a problem with any of my VW's....and I've had MANY. Rabbits, Golfs and Sciroccos in the U.S and a Golf and a Touran here in Germany....no problems.

that was an europe report - not usa ...

ive had some really really bad experiances with vw 's including a Golf that my wife and sister-in-law almost got killed in because it would die on the highway and lock its transmission ... and the dealer said there was nothing wrong with it and on the third time we took it in (with only 300km on it) the mechanic wrote it off on the highway -- when it stalled and locked up and he rolled it ..

they gave us another GOLF ... it went through sparkplugs like mad (every 1000kms) and kept blowing fuses , lights and electroncs ... we had that taken back under the lemon law and got a jettta in replacement .. it was pretty good (really nice driving car) .. never really had much problem with it except the rear door handles would stick ... but i sold it in 3 months anyway as i was worried about something GOING to happen .. and my wife refused to drive it .. i was able to sell it for what golf number 1 cost (all i paid for the jettta) , so it never cost me anything ..

only other vw bad experiance is a vw van we rented with some friends and it died in the middle of nowhere in portugal .. engine blew and it had about 5k on it ...

ive had other rental vw's and they were fine ..

[hech54]

The Golf won Australia's Best Car award for 2004.....

[BJ_M]

BEST CAR awards never take in reliability as a factor either ...