yellowlightman

I didn't realize Saleen was involved in the production of the GT, but I've been reading about all the recalls and going "WTF?" Ford made a big deal about it being the "pace car" for the company (says so on the GT poster right next to my computer...) and that they'd allow so many botchups is troubling. Especially since Ford seems to be making serious improvements in quality (and they've been turning around the companies they own-- like Jaguar), I'm surprised they'd let their $200k supercar have so many problems.

So much would I have to kiss your ass to get a drive in the Elise if you get one?

I agree that a sports car should be under 3000lbs, but with safety regulations and comform ammenities it's hard to meet that weight requirement. The Celica isn't a great car, BTW. It's FWD for one (I refuse to believe a sports car can be FWD) and the motor sucks (makes most of it's power in a very narrow, almost undriveable RPM range).

I still can't believe how good that looks. I showed it to a few friends and they thought it was a picture of a model kit.

That's a damn cool picture man, although Minmei does look a little baked.

I'd be interested to know where you got that number, considering I didn't think much was known about the '06 M3. The numbers from my previous post were from edmunds.com, which I forgot to mention. 2005 Mustang GT: 3450 lbs 2005 Pontiac GTO: 3725 lbs You were saying about heavy...?

Yeah, because paying half-naked women to pretend to be interested in you is a lot cooler than debating a 20 year old cartoon.

You're wrong about being heavy for their size. 1999 Z28 Camaro Curb Weight: 3574 lbs. 1999 328is Coupe Curb Weight: 3142 lbs. (Sedan is 3197 lbs) 1999 Mustang V6 Curb Weight: 3069 lbs. (Couldn't find the weight for the GT, which woudl be more applicable) 1999 Audi A4 1.8T Curb Weight: 2998 lbs. (the Quattro is 3241 lbs)

I think it has more to do with the management than the country of assembly. The majority of Camry's and Accords sold in this country are manufactured in the U.S. as well as a lot of other Japanese models. Contrast this with most American companies that have many of their cars assembled in Mexico. It doesn't matter where you have your car built, if your company cares enough it'll be built well. But chances are if you're cutting costs and moving production to Mexico, quality probably isn't a top priority...

Well, obviously you do because you're getting so upset about it. Like a few posts back: Anyways, I made attempts to have a discussion with you but you still have yet to give any evidence against my claim that the Japanese make the best all around/value for money cars. Comparing them to Ferrari's doesn't count. Pop Quiz: What do '92 Civics have that your '03 Mustang doesn't? Modern (actually, ahead of it's time) suspension, double wishbone suspension. Superior build quality and reliability: I just replaced the original clutch... it had 200k on it. The motor's never been rebuilt and doesn't leak or burn oil. Mileage: Screw hybrids, I can get 40mpg on a freeway-driven tank of gas Sporty Interior: The Mustang interior looks like it belongs in a minivan Resale: A Civic will hold it's value far better than a Mustang You might dismiss them as econobox's, but even the lowliest Japanese car has better engineering and technology behind it than comparable American cars. Not that it always matters, the Z06 has push-rods (hah) and rear leaf springs (seriously, wtf) and still performs better than lots of cars with more modern technology.

Wow, an elitist snob who can't afford a decent car. No wonder you are such an asshat. If I had to drive something like that, I'd be bitter too. Do you have a set of those spinning plastic wheel covers from Autozone that makes you really cool? What's not decent about a Civic? It's reliable as hell, gets great gas mileage and is affordable to a college student like myself. I noticed you live in Missisipi, so in case you didn't know "college" is another school you go to after you graduate from high school. Oh please, that has been my problem with you from the start. You have gone out of your way to knock on cars you don't like and automotive sports that *you* don't approve of. It is annoying when you have spent a long time perfecting what you do, and some a-hole who has probably never worked on a car in his life can hide behind a computer screen and make fun of it. You don't have to like it, but why insult it unless you have some need to feel superior? 338167[/snapback] I love how you completely ignore the rest of my message to whine about me being a mean guy. You've been running away from any sort of discussion and getting mad at me for hating on your sweet rides. Perhaps if you were more secure in yourself, you wouldn't get so butthurt about what some poor college kid says about them. Are you implying you've spent a lifetime perfecting working on Ford's? Well, I won't argue with the fact that they probably give you a lot of chances to practice. I was going to point out which of these statements were jokes and which were serious, but I figured it'd be for fun if you tried to guess. Good luck!

True, but would anyone actually wear something like that in public? I suppose it wouldn't be that bad if you had a bike that was close to the color of the helmet. I still think it would look silly though. Not as silly as someone would look wearing a DYRL? style Macross helmet, but silly nonetheless. I still wish I could find one of the Yamato Macross helmets for display though. 338105[/snapback] Those Gundam helmets really aren't any worse than typical sports bike gear, which by and large is defined by flashy graphics and bright colors.

Such witty repertoire. Do you do stand up too? I could always use a butler or a gardner...The one thing I don't need: my own forum troll. 338100[/snapback] Good job ignoring the rest of my post, but so far all you've done is complain about my "hating" on American cars, so that's no surprise. I'd be willing to do some garden work for you, but getting the push mower around all those cars on cinderblocks in your front yard would be a pain. Subjective or not, some things are just inferior to their competitors. I do rather like the new F-150's and Mustang's, but everything else Ford has made in the last 15 years looks and feels like junk. The interiors are horrible, they look cheap and feel flimsy. It isn't much better on the outside, howabotu Ford's "oval" stage when the Taurus, Escort and Contour looked like suppositories? The interior on pre-'05 Mustangs feels like less of a sports car than my '92 beater Civic. It wasn't my intention to hate on other's peoples cars, everyone has different tastes. All said and done, there are many aspects to a car which have a quantifiable value. Pick up Consumer Reports and look at the highest ranked cars, Japanese cars by and large beat out other cars in their class. It's as simple as that.

Like I said, a comment obviously from someone who doesn't know what they're talking about - thank you for confirming that. 338036[/snapback] Well, don't bother providing any evidence to the contrary or anything. That would be silly.

Yeah, he was one of Dr. Lang's assistants on the SDF-1, but stayed behind after the SDF-3 left and performed "experiments" on Dana Sterling.

And the Z06 is $50k more, so for the price the Supra comes a hell of a lot closer to it in terms of performance. And that $5k Foxbody with mod money will only be improved in one area: 1/4 mile times. The suspension geometry and handling on those cars is atrocious. I suppose it is unfair comparison, given how quickly Mustang's lose their value, but the fact remains you could spend that much plus "mod" money and still get a much better car in all areas. They race riding lawn mowers too, maybe you should just ditch your Cobra and get one of those, then?

Spoken like a person who hasn't actually watched any Gundam. 337748[/snapback] Gundam ceased to exist after Char's Counterattack, without Char and Amuro there isnt any point to continue. But still. Whiny. Protagonsists. Every. Series.

Awww shieet, I think you just figured out why Ridge Race 6 won't end up being the greatest racing game of all time: NO CRUISE MISSILES. Hopefully they'll still have time to work them in after those "fictional" New York and Tokyo tracks. Wait, aren't those real cities?

The retail is still extraordinarily high, but in all honesty... they're worth it. The performance combined with Toyota reliability and build quality? The 2JZGTE motors are bullet proof and the rest of the car is just overbuilt. Would I buy one? Doubtful, but all things considered it's probably one of the greatest performance cars of all time... if not the greatest. No matter how much money you pump into a Mustang it's still going to handle like garbage, and have the grotesque Ford design, build quality and reliability. The Supra is a superior car made to a higher standard than the Mustang and that's not something you can fix by just putting "mod" money into it. I don't have a problem with people liking different cars but some cars are superior; that's a fact. The Japanese make better cars and their superiors; that is a fact. As as much as you might accuse me of sounding like the import loving 'Merican-hater stereotype, you sound just as much like a V8-loving, technology-hating redneck 'Merican car enthusiast. If anything, I'm probably one of the most open-minded car enthusiasts you'll meet... I just don't like crap and I voice that. A few months ago I was drooling over of the new Z06, so my tastes have nothing to do with one country being better than the other. And the only cars I envy are Alfa's, so don't flatter yourself.

Damn! Sorry JBO, I was just looking forward to discussing a REAL racing game in this thread...

Leaving the Z06 Corvette out of it (which is the one redeeming performance car the American's have made in the last 30 years) and the GTO which is AUSTRAILIAN not American, I have an easy answer for you: Used twin-turbo Supra. Performance wise a 10-yar old Supra will destroy a Mustang (Supra's can actually turn). The shoddy build quality of American cars doesn't need to be discussed, and the reliability of the 10 year old Supra still eclipses previous generation Mustangs. Who knows how the '05 Mustangs will fair, but it is still a Ford... Viper's are really stupid. They're for dumb people with too much money that want to show off and don't have the sense to pick up a better performing and cheaper Corvette. Funny thing about British cars... They're all owned by American companies. Land Rover, Aston Martin, Jaguar... all American owned nowadays. And comparing ANY car to the Elise is unfair because it's unlike any other street-legal car in the U.S. It is a track car designed to also be driven on the road, not a road car. Also, the engine is Japanese. Lexus gets better reliability and customer satisfaction than any European luxury cars. Not to mention you realize the SLR and Maybach are so ridiculously different from regular cars they have no reason being in this comparison, right? There's a big difference between an "exotic" car manufacturer like Ferrari or Maserati and companies liek Toyota and Honda. Good job missing the point though. Tell you what though, the Mistubishi Lancer Evolution MR released in Europe is just as fast around a track as a Murcielago. You might call the Lancer an econo box, but it's still an econo box that will poo over cars that cost many times what it does and carry four adults comfortably... I'm not sure what the point of your post is. You're comparing cars that are designed for specifically different purposes. There's no way Toyota will compare with a Ferrari (well, at least until the new Lexus supercar comes out). The truth is, the Japanese have superior engineering, reliability and build quality than other other nation's car manufacturers. Will a Maybach have a better interior than a Lexus? Hell yes, but a Lexus will cost a fraction of the cost.

I guess thats why every new Gundam series has practically the same storyline with a whiny male protagonist?

I haven't used a PS2->XBOX adaptor, but I've used PS2 adaptors for USB and Dreamcast. Sites like www.play-asia.com have a good selection of adaptors.

I was gonna make a joke about them only coming in XL, and then I remembered it was Japanese so sizes are always way smaller. Oh well.

Yeah, the Elise is an awesome car. The combination of the reliable Toyota motor and performance just makes a lot of sense. I've been seeing a lot of them around lately, a house a block or two away from me has one parked in the dirveway all the time. From what I understood the Espirits were absolute garbage. That new design looks atrocious .