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Post by puffy on Nov 29, 2018 16:25:21 GMT -5
It seems that the American car companies aren't going to make 4 door cars in the near future.Trucks,SUV'S and Vans are in these days.The building that I worked in for General Motors is one of the ones that are being closed.I have mixed feelings some good as well as bad memories about the place.It's sad in a way to see it go.I guess though they have to sell what folks want to buy.I drive an SUV myself so I understand why other folks do.I just hope they can shift the workers to other places so they they don't lose their jobs...One of the good memories is that I could smoke a pipe while I worked.
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Post by just ol ed on Nov 29, 2018 17:02:44 GMT -5
from what I've read/seen, yer right on. Wifie has a little Saturn puddle jumper, fine for around town but useless on open road (acceleration). My '05 Ford Ranger still in good shape, 148k miles & was Zeibart when new. Tiny bit of rust here/there but considering age, very good. My next truck, good selling Toyota Tacoma. Asked my mechanic place why no true compact pickups. Seems doors have to be wider to accomdate side airbags (makes sense. Nice thing about the Tacoma, I can have the near 280hp V6 AND can row the gears myself. Weird part, for '19, if you want the 4cyl...gotta have the slushbox. Chevy Colorado or GMC twin out...if want the big engine, gotta have the slushbox. Agree that hope those jobs come back any way can be done.
Cheers, Ed (Duncan)
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Post by pepesdad1 on Nov 29, 2018 17:47:02 GMT -5
Glad I have our little Chevy S-10...we've taken good care of it since we bought it new in 2000. 19 years later, I only 2 months ago had to put in a new radiator and water pump...everything else is still factory stuff. We take care of the truck, maintenance on it regularly and it still looks like a new truck...paint is still good and only a couple dings in the rear tailgate, other than that it has never had anything go wrong with it. Surprisingly, the resale is still pretty high on it. No plans to trade it in or replace it with anything...has the big 6 engine and low rear end...so take off at the light is pretty quick...was a demo when we bought it. Loved it then and still love it now.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2018 17:54:11 GMT -5
I have a large 4WD SUV. I will probably replace it with a smaller 4WD SUV when the time comes.
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Post by slowroll on Nov 29, 2018 18:10:03 GMT -5
I have a big SUV also, a 2005 Hummer that I have to keep running because they don't make 'em anymore. I need it to get out of my long driveway so I don't have to rush to plow snow until it gets over a foot. Nothing else has the ground clearance.
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Post by trailboss on Nov 29, 2018 18:21:31 GMT -5
A lot of guys I work with drive $70,000 pickups... F350’s, Ram 3500 Big Horns, all leather etc... Let alone the cost and registration, the fuel and maintenance schedules... more power to them, my Nissan Frontier looks like a dog by comparison though.  Got this a couple of years ago, it has been a great car. thebriarpatchforum.com/thread/274/new-car |
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desolbones
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Post by desolbones on Nov 29, 2018 19:00:46 GMT -5
If all the four door cars disappear what's gonna happen to the drive ins?
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Post by blackmouth210 on Nov 29, 2018 19:12:34 GMT -5
I'm a full-size truck guy.
But, hey, I'm in Texas...what did you expect. 😀
But I was in the market for a sedan for my wife recently and did some looking at the small/mid-size SUV's.
Y'all can keep them.
Some of them had less passenger room than the sedans.
All of the ones we tried drove worse than the sedans we compared them to.
Every SUV cost more than the sedans.
And some had only slightly more cargo room overall. (That really surprised me)
My wife commutes mostly highway. She never goes on unpaved roads. And there is no snow/ice around here to speak of.
The choice to pick a sedan was an easy one.
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Post by oldcajun123 on Nov 29, 2018 19:19:49 GMT -5
 Full size 07 Tundra for me, Gen II Prius, for wife 11 yrs old, just bought a new Hybrid battery , 2000$ installed with a 3 yrs warranty, figured it’s better than a car note. Later if there is a later it will be one vechile as we don’t run the roads anymore and it will be a Tacoma.
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driftingfate
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Post by driftingfate on Nov 29, 2018 20:01:51 GMT -5
Grew up with GM sedans, went to sports cars as lad, then into trucks and SUVs, now back to sportish sedans for me - just love the handling instead of wallowing. However, the wife is currently in a puddle-jumper and is lusting after a mid-sized SUV. You can guess what I'll be purchasing in the next year or so.
As far as GM and Ford moving away from cars, let the market speak.
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arturo7
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Post by arturo7 on Nov 29, 2018 20:38:08 GMT -5
EPA mileage and emissions standards are far more restrictive on passenger cars than they are on trucks. Ford and GM are getting out of the car business because the costs of meeting those standards are getting higher every year. As the price rises, demand for passenger care falls.
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rmb
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Post by rmb on Nov 29, 2018 21:00:40 GMT -5
Funny, we are going shopping for a 4 door sedan for my wife tomorrow! Hopefully low demand will make for high selection and good deals!
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driftingfate
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Post by driftingfate on Nov 29, 2018 21:23:40 GMT -5
Funny, we are going shopping for a 4 door sedan for my wife tomorrow! Hopefully low demand will make for high selection and good deals! FYI, the new Accord has gotten rave reviews as one of the best 4-doors in recent memory, at least for Japanese brands, but is underselling the Camry, IMHO, due to styling issues, so you might find some good deals at the Honda dealer. (No association, etc...) |
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Post by monbla256 on Nov 29, 2018 22:21:34 GMT -5
Funny, we are going shopping for a 4 door sedan for my wife tomorrow! Hopefully low demand will make for high selection and good deals! FYI, the new Accord has gotten rave reviews as one of the best 4-doors in recent memory, at least for Japanese brands, but is underselling the Camry, IMHO, due to styling issues, so you might find some good deals at the Honda dealer. (No association, etc...)  |
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Post by Ronv69 on Nov 29, 2018 23:11:09 GMT -5
I love big cars. The only new cars that appeals to me all are the biggest Cadillac and the new Continental. I learned to drive in an Olds 98,took my driving test in an Olds Starfire, and my first car was a Rambler Classic 4 door.
I drive a 2013 Ram 1500 shortbed that has been perfect for 70k miles.
The wife drives a 2012 Scion XB, and at 87k miles it has been great and it is still like new. I am afraid we are past contribute to the automotive industry.
These will last the rest of our driving career and then we will rent a robocar.
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Post by PhantomWolf on Nov 30, 2018 1:09:44 GMT -5
You work on the Chevy Cruze? I heard they nixed that. Was it the Lordstown plant in OH? GM is supposedly cutting their lineup down to a few models, but four door cars are not going away anytime soon.
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Post by smellthehatfirst on Nov 30, 2018 10:55:01 GMT -5
I love big cars. The only new cars that appeals to me all are the biggest Cadillac and the new Continental. Better get on it then. 
- 2019 will be the last model year for the big Cadillac. GM announced massive cuts this week.
- The future of the Continental is clouded because it's based on the same platform as the Fusion, and the Fusion has also been canceled.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2018 14:39:58 GMT -5
Truly the last great GM car I owned was a 1998 Olds Delta 88 it had great seats and plenty of room. The ride was excellent and it was quiet inside with lots of power from a 3.8 v6. From now on it is GM trucks for me reliable and comfortable avg MPG city is 16.5 not to shabby.
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Post by Ronv69 on Nov 30, 2018 18:11:21 GMT -5
Truly the last great GM car I owned was a 1998 Olds Delta 88 it had great seats and plenty of room. The ride was excellent and it was quiet inside with lots of power from a 3.8 v6. From now on it is GM trucks for me reliable and comfortable avg MPG city is 16.5 not to shabby. The last one I drove was a company car, a 1972 88 with a 455.I put over 100k miles on that car. I worked for my brother's inventory service and always carried a 6 man crew. Six big men in comfort. They don't make them like that anymore. |
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Post by pepesdad1 on Nov 30, 2018 20:26:10 GMT -5
Had a 98 Mercedes C280 4 door...brother gave it to me when his wife passed. Damn thing cost me an arm and a kidney every time I turned around...guess I should have figured that it was on its' last legs...was only driven in Miami around town. Gave it to a friend who used it for a charity donation (homeless dogs...no kidding) so at least it got used for something worthwhile.
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Post by Ronv69 on Nov 30, 2018 21:00:17 GMT -5
I don't know why the American cars get such a bad rap. Those old Oldsmobiles and Buicks would go for 200k miles with little maintenance. Never stranded me or anything like that. My experience with imported cars has been mostly trouble, except for the 2007 Nissan pickup and the Scion we have now. If I won the lottery, I think I would get a completely restored 1965 Sedan de Ville.
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Post by smellthehatfirst on Nov 30, 2018 22:54:45 GMT -5
I don't know why the American cars get such a bad rap. Those old Oldsmobiles and Buicks would go for 200k miles with little maintenance. The B-body was probably the best GM product of its day, that's how.
Ask anybody who owned an X-body how they feel about General Motors.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2018 23:29:51 GMT -5
The X body does not count we had to meat emissions standards while cars from J A Pan did not. Well that and shade tree mechanics who thought they knew how to work on cars. I dont be needin this smog crap I can bypass it, Uh Huh. Sell me a point distributer for my new truck. I can still diagnose a 80s car with a paper clip while the dash flashes. Ever see a 80s Honda with 100 foot of vacuum lines. Toyota 22RE timing tensioner anyone. How about Dodge with the clean burn carburetor. Ford with a variable venturi. The worst cars on the road today are Dodge, Jeep and Nissan don't take my word for it ask a tow truck driver. It is not a brand name per say in this day and age. Ford and GM worked on the new automatics. GM sells a Nissan transport van. Some GM cars had Honda as well as Toyota engines. UAW killed themselves by demanding ever higher benefits and wages they priced them selves right out of jobs. YMMV
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Post by smellthehatfirst on Dec 1, 2018 2:49:50 GMT -5
The X body does not count we had to meat emissions standards while cars from J A Pan did not. Well that and shade tree mechanics who thought they knew how to work on cars. I dont be needin this smog crap I can bypass it, Uh Huh. Sell me a point distributer for my new truck. I can still diagnose a 80s car with a paper clip while the dash flashes. Ever see a 80s Honda with 100 foot of vacuum lines. Toyota 22RE timing tensioner anyone. How about Dodge with the clean burn carburetor. Ford with a variable venturi. The worst cars on the road today are Dodge, Jeep and Nissan don't take my word for it ask a tow truck driver. It is not a brand name per say in this day and age. Ford and GM worked on the new automatics. GM sells a Nissan transport van. Some GM cars had Honda as well as Toyota engines. UAW killed themselves by demanding ever higher benefits and wages they priced them selves right out of jobs. YMMV Japanese exports to the U.S. most definitely met U.S. emissions standards, then and now.
The X-body was just piss-poor design and implementation, while the B-body was proof that GM could, when they cared to, make a proper car.
Your proverbial 80s Honda is doubtlessly the Honda CVCC, a single-model masterpiece of insanity. The very last carburetor car, meeting emissions standards via 100 ft of vacuum line and delicate valves. It was shocking that it worked at all, but it did. (Not only that, but you still see them on the road from time to time -- as long as the hoses get replaced before they rot, the unholy mess is, somehow, reliable)
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Post by smellthehatfirst on Dec 1, 2018 2:52:48 GMT -5
The CVCC is not a representative Honda. The Japanese firms adopted fuel injection and ECMs with the rest of the industry. But Honda insisted it was possible to meet American emissions with a carburetor, and, well, it was, sort of. If you wanted to deal with 100 ft of vacuum hose, and depressing engine output.
Honda made perfectly adequate fuel injected engines in the same period. But the CVCC existed. And they're still out there, on the roads, somehow.
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Post by Ronv69 on Dec 1, 2018 10:26:09 GMT -5
We had a Pontiac Phoenix that I believe was an X-body. It wasn't a bad car for the money. All of the cars had major issues at the time. My wife got a promotion and upgraded to a 1985 Riviera.
Before the Phoenix we were both driving the little Honda Civic "bugs". Those had tons of issues with the brakes, clutch, and head gaskets. I can honestly say that I never had a problem with any American made vehicle that I bought new, except for the 1979 Ford Ranchero GT that ate computers. I carried a spare and could change it in 5 minutes on the side of the road. When my wife got the Riviera, I bought an Isuzu Trooper. 96hp 4 cylinder that would pull my SeaRay at 90 on the Interstate with no problem. That was one damned good truck.
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Post by toshtego on Dec 1, 2018 10:34:25 GMT -5
I still want a Ford Crown Victoria. Not a police car. While not the greatest MPG, they can achieve 25 MPG with plenty of room, comfort and safety from road hazards. As a car salesman once said to me about a different full size sedan, "An accident in a Crown Vic is like a revolution in Africa. You know something has happened but it is too far away to worry about."
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Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2018 12:54:57 GMT -5
The biggest turd of a vehicle I ever owned was my first one. A Chevy Vega wagon my Dad gave me. But it was my first vehicle and I was grateful and really got a lot of use out of it. The second worst vehicle I have ever owned was a 2004 Ford Expedition. Horribly unreliable and short lived piece of crap. I have had great luck with GM/Chevy, Honda, Mazda, Subaru and Toyota. (I manage the family fleet, you know)
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Post by smellthehatfirst on Dec 1, 2018 13:50:20 GMT -5
I still want a Ford Crown Victoria. Not a police car. While not the greatest MPG, they can achieve 25 MPG with plenty of room, comfort and safety from road hazards. As a car salesman once said to me about a different full size sedan, "An accident in a Crown Vic is like a revolution in Africa. You know something has happened but it is too far away to worry about."
I used to drive a Crown Vic. It was a tremendously comfortable car, and relatively inexpensive. IIHS rates it as pretty good in a frontal impact, not so great in a side impact.
Gas milage was both better and worse than you would imagine. EPA rating was 15 city, 25 highway. I found it was more like 7 city, 30 highway.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2018 14:04:53 GMT -5
4 door 2007 Prius still running strong, 110,000 miles. Lithium battery appears to be charging fine, no worries so far. Question I have is whether time or miles kills the battery? Gent I worked with put over 200,000 miles on his 2005 G2 Prius before the battery required replacement and that was some time ago. Obviously different factors in play as well, urban v. interstate miles? I've seen $800 replacement batteries on line and it looks like a single harness connection, nothing very complicated with the right tools. I'll cross that bridge when necessary but will keep the Prius until the motor dies.
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Full size 07 Tundra for me, Gen II Prius, for wife 11 yrs old, just bought a new Hybrid battery , 2000$ installed with a 3 yrs warranty, figured it’s better than a car note. Later if there is a later it will be one vechile as we don’t run the roads anymore and it will be a Tacoma. 
