03-Cobra Special Vehicle Teams 390hp

Mariner · Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2004 10:01 am Post subject:

No rebuttle huh? Hmmm, wonder why Confused

You should have read through 'Jeeps Rule' a little more carefully. Had you done so, you'd have seen just how badly they actually stack up against the competition. Real place, real trials, real result........but not for Jeep. I know for l watched it. If you live in Australia, what you drive is dictated by the environment and that necessitates having a vehicle you can rely on. Jeep does NOT even figure. If you want to survive, you run a Toyota. Toyota=survival. Period.

Oh, and a Swiss Army spec Jeep ain't going to cut it outside of Northern Europe, even if it does have an all electric pack...actually, that is a big minus, lot more to go wrong. And, if you really know your stuff, you'll be very much aware of the effects of HEROS.

Even the US Military dumped Jeep for the Hummer, though there's more to it than just reliability.

What you have to try and see is the end game. Auto makers have one thing in mind, it being to sell you their cars. To do this, the makers need a marketing tool. This can be quality, durability, performance, fuel effiency.....or any combination of these.

What actually grabs the typical male buyer is performance. The manufacturers know it and go to great lengths to exploit this.
To take this further, they tie themselves in with motorsport teams and produce performance variants of certain production models. Another story and something l could bore you to death with.

Small taster; All major motorsport manufacturers use British technology and l do mean all. Yes, there have been exceptions but, they are just that, exceptions. Penkse; Brit designed and built. Roush Motorsport; just bought out Mountune. McLaren-Mercedes; Ilmor engines. All you guys Stateside think Ilmor is a US outfit. No way, Jose. Brit through and through, might say Mercedes on the motor, but designed and built in UK by a company Mercedes would kill to be able to own.

Ultimately, for the everyday buyer, it comes down to how much bang you get for your buck and, in the USA, the good people want a lot of bang for their buck. And there's your problem. The term 'Fully Loaded' is something that's taken for granted. If it ain't fully loaded, people don't want it.

If GM can knock out a fully loaded car of a certain size and class for $XXX US, then so too must Ford and every other manufacturer if they wish to compete and maintain sales. To achieve this, makers call on their 'Bean Counters' to cut every corner known to the auto industry.

Now, you guys in the USA know what happens when that happens and you don't need me to tell you what a disastrous effect this has had, causing injury and death....and increase your insurance premiums. All this in the name of cost cutting by the bean counters, just so you can have that fully loaded car you promised yourself for as little cost as possible. It's an old problem and it won't go away all the time you want it all for as little as possible.

If you move to the other end of the spectrum, there are the 'up market' cars, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, BMW etc, where you get what you pay for....usually too much for most folk.

Then, there are the industry 'Tie-in's'; Ford and Mazda, GM and Iszusu, Renault and Nissan, Daimler and Chrysler, Ford and Jaguar, Aston Martin,ZZZZZZ and on it goes.

Enter the Japanese. Great reliability and durabiliy at a cost that's a trade off between home grown junk and top marque motors. But hey, that's a story of it's own.

ltdave · Trooper Joined: Apr 09, 2004 Posts: 19 Location: USA

in response to fildznutz...

my 96 dodge dakota 3.9L has 148,000 on it. i put 2 batteries in it, an idler pulley and 3 sets of tires. still starts everytime and hauls pallets of crushed marble (way more than its designed for) without blinking an eye...

my 91 oldsmobile regency 98 3800 has 164,000 on it. granted the headliner is coming down in back and it has some rust in the rear wheelhousing lips but 22-25 mpg at 75-80 mph runs all day long. i DID just (yesterday) have a $150 module replaced but it rides and drives like it did when new. will need shocks here by summer though...

my dads 93 chrysler lebaron 3.0L has 127,000 on it. he would like to get a new sebring convertible but cant stand to get rid of such a good running car. hes put 2 sets of struts on it, replaced the thermostat, and had the heater control replaced. the mixer door got stuck and he couldnt get out of the HOT setting. boy that was tough in july!

my 88 ford mustang 5.0L had 168,000 when i sold it. i got $3200 for it back in 97. it was getting beaten up pretty good suspension wise on the potholes in michigan but it still would run 120+. i put an alternator on it because the integral regulator (in all brands now) went bad and i had 2 exhaust systems put on it. i must have put on 5 sets of tires since new. i had WAY TOO HEAVY a right foot...

my 99 ford f250 7.3L diesel has 122,000 on it. its just getting broken in although i had to have ball joints put in about 33,000 ago...

so i wouldnt say that ALL american brand cars are unreliable. i wouldnt say that the quality of foreign brand cars is all that much more better...

my dad had one honda in his lifetime. a 1977 civic with the standard 1.2L engine. we got rid of it because the floorpan rusted out around the front wheel housings...

keep sending your money to foreign companies. im not going to...

david

Mariner · Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2004 12:05 am Post subject:

Anything Japanese from the era you mention would rust away before your very eyes. The motors though, were a different ball game.

Stripped out many Jap motors to ascertain build quality. Couldn't fault them. Typical Datsun -now Nissan, had beautifully finished cranks. No-one anywhere could produce mass produced motors like the Japanese.

Japanese cars have come a long way since the seventies. Body rust is no longer an issue for them.

I'd expect at least 250,000 from a 3.9 litre motor. And, 350,00 froma 5 litre. In the UK, the Range Rover runs a Buick motor; one that was not wanted in the States, and they can regularly turn in 250,000 miles from 3.5 litres. Must be something seriously wrong with US build quality if you can't achieve the figures i've quoted.

I've personally run a 2.25 litre diesel LandRover for 300.000 with 35 mpg, and thats with standard transmission = low gearing. Imp gallons larger than US gallons.

In Europe, small engined cars are very popular, not least for their excellent fuel economy. But, when you can turn 90BHP from a 1.4 litre motor and return 40 - 45mpg and, have it run for 200,000 miles, well, shames big bore engines in terms of longevity.

DeleterFX · Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2004 9:42 am Post subject:

Every honda I've ever seen has died before 200,000. I've never seen one in the states that could even be called reliable and ALLLLL my friends had them. I hate people who by into myths and silly fads. People who think volvo's are the worlds safest cars, Yes way back when, they had airbags when others didn't they used higher grade steel and put into safety when others didnt. NOW THEY'RE THE SAME AS EVERY CAR ON THE MARKET, they're not any safer anymore. Hondas DONT last forever I've never seen one that did and if it did it's seen more of the inside of the shop than it has your garage.

The only well-built car is a german built car im(obviously not so humble)opinion. My 1985 GTI has 250,000 and has never even been in a shop. Orginal EVERYTHING and I mean everything, clutch, engine, (ok TIRES ARE NEWER but now your just splitting hairs), electrical, CIS injection, EVERYTHING. Runs like the day my dad bought it Brand new. 1985 car of the year. Black, Recaro bucket seats with micro adjustion god I love driving that car.

Oh and we own a Honda Accord, 98'. My Dad loathes Hondas and japanese cars because of several bad experiences with them. They're junkie, interiors are always cheap and tacky. The only reason we own this car is because of the amazing deal we got on it for knowing the owner of a dealership. We're starting to regret it AGAIN, because the thing is in the shop a lot. I'll give them credit, the engine is pretty nice as far as response and power (its the V-tec i not the V6). But the car overall is just a pain in the @$$. The car's paint is crap, the alloys are peeling, when you put it into park, if you dont move it back and forth you cant get the key out of the ignition, the electronic locks, will randomly lock down if the car is left unlocked for a period of time (so if you leave your keys in there to grab a soda from a quik-e-mart you may come out to your keys locked in). Oh did I mention the "Maintenece Required" light sticks on for about a week then goes off, back on again in another week. The garage we go to we've been going to forever, we know the guy, he works on our Liberty (decent car), and of the two times it has been needed to be fixed it STAYS fixed the old problems dont come back.

Ok I'm starting to rant, and I'm gonna stop myself. This is me voicing my opinion please don't take offence to it, but I hate Hondas more than most than anything, and Nissan's are no better my friend has CONSTANT trouble with his, and my uncle worked for them, he refuses to drive one.
...ENDING THIS

- Rant Mode Deactivated

Mariner · Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2004 10:30 am Post subject:

What can l say....Hmm, J.D. Power. Check the survey. US company. Results based on user input and tech details.


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