The Mw Automotive Thread Ii

[pfunk]

i think i threw up in my mouth a bit,,,,,,,,,,,it will probably sell well as the others. It seems Toyota can do no wrong

[Rocket Punch]

i think i threw up in my mouth a bit,,,,,,,,,,,it will probably sell well as the others. It seems Toyota can do no wrong

391655[/snapback]

Maybe it's because they make reliable cars?

[emajnthis]

I think people are just brain washed into thinking they're reliable. Both Toyota's i owned had severe transmission defects and also horribly cheap suspensions (the MR2's was cheap all around, the Supra just had a horrible setup). Great Economy cars; price to performance in their sports cars really leaves you hanging, especially for parts and maintenance (highest mark up on parts of any other manufacturer).

[Rocket Punch]

I dunno. I've owned 5 Toyotas and they were all tanks. My '89 Corolla DX sedan lasted 289,000+ miles with very little maintenance.

Maybe you just have bad luck?

[Rocket Punch]

(highest mark up on parts of any other manufacturer).

391748[/snapback]

Really? Even compared to the European brands (MBZ, BMW, Jag in particular)?

[reddsun1]

As day-to-day "use and abuse" cars, I'll come down on the side that says 'yotas are very good cars. My current daily driver is a '93 Camry XLE. It's a one-family car, owned and hand-me-downed since new. My family and I put 210,000 mi. on it before the motor finally spun a bearing. And another 35,000 or so after the engine swap, before the trans finally started acting up. Unbeknownst to us, the trans cooler had gotten clogged up shorty after the engine swap, so the t'axle was getting hot and basically cooking itself from the inside out. Despite this, she still soldiered on as my commuter, doing about 100 mi/day for many weeks before the trans finally started showing signs of distress. I got a chance to see the innards of the t'axle just before the rebuild and saw the scoring on some of the planetary gears, etc. By all rights, it never should have run as long as it did.

My favorite saying is: when 'yotas are taken care of, they run good--but when they break, they break good too.

Edited April 17, 2006 by reddsun1

[Lightning]

What about Millen in the GTO?

391582[/snapback]

AFAIK, Rhys Millen isn't competing in D1GP right now. Probably because he was too busy filming the racing scenes in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.

This thread is quickly turning into a Mustang thread. 

Yeah, I guess we should stop here for the moment. I'll post pics of my Mustang next time.

391585[/snapback]

Gittin's staying over here, he just won the all star event. Millen totaled his GTO in a practice crash at the same event. However he came back with another GTO and placed 2nd at the Long Beach Formula D event.

Btw, anybody have any engine bay pics of that PJ '06 'stang?

[reddsun1]

Dodge's new Caliber could be another runaway hit, like the PT. The price point [just over $14K] should promise to make it very popular. But I'll believe it when I see it; right now that's all it is, an empty promise. Expect near-extortion price gouging, much like the PT Cruiser when it came out.

My one question though is: we heard nary a peep about this thing, and boom! it's ready to hit the showroom floors. Now the Challenger on the other hand, is anxiously awaited, folks are on pins and needles wanting these beasts--and they won't release it for at least another year, maybe two?! I wonder can lightning strike twice for Daimler/Chrysler with the upcoming Challenger? Concept versions of the 300 were met with rave reviews and enthusiasm; they listened to the favorable public reaction, gave it the green light, and it seems to have been doing very well since. Everyone I know who's commented on it have said to the effect they like the styling and would have one, given the choice. A good case of their NOT heeding public opinion and taking their lumps: Dodge Charger. They seemed to ignore public reaction to the Charger: "too ugly, too many doors." And it seems to be reflected on the sales room floor, too. Chargers are much more sparse in traffic than the 300, comparatively. Good case of the possible outcomes from listening or not listening to your potential customers.

[Raptor]

I love the wheels on that bronze race-modded Mustang (although it's probably a tube frame car...)...

Also, that Scion is HORRIBLE. As if the xB wasn't bad enough. The xA and the TC are... eh.

[Rocket Punch]

The MazdaSpeed3 is supposed to go heads up with the Caliber SRT-4. It'd be interesting to see who comes out on top.

[Rocket Punch]

Subaru Legacy GT spec.B becomes production model in 2007

Subaru's "Intelligent-Drive" system sounds intriguing. Might have to take one for a test spin and try it out.

[roborob23]

i know that its not the fastest thing around but its my baby . the kanji in the front mean "blue thunder".the symbol of course is the UN SPACY symbol but in different blue colors(what can i say blue is my favorite color). the bird was from the last act of robotech or mospeada when the invid or inbit are leaving earth, in the last scene a bird appear which i loved so i have to have on my car . the camaro is a 94 3.4L V6 auto, am planning to put a new ring and pinion gear in the rear (3.73) and a shift kit for the transmission. also a cold air intake and a new muffler. within the year i also plan on putting a new high performance computer and vertical door kit. well so much to do so begins the legend of the TRUE blue thunder.

[reddsun1]

I love the wheels on that bronze race-modded Mustang (although it's probably a tube frame car...)...

Also, that Scion is HORRIBLE.  As if the xB wasn't bad enough.  The xA and the TC are...  eh.

391811[/snapback]

Those wheels are most likely BBS, from the looks of 'em. Could be Fikse or Joengblood, though. Actually, that car is a production body shell, most likely a "body in white" [basically a rolling shell sold directly to racing teams]. Built by Multimatic, these things are actually quite pricey, easily into the 6-figure price range. Last I checked, these things cost about the same as a GT3 Cup Porsche, just north of $100K. But they were very competitive last season, garnering Ford the mfr's championship in Grand Am last yr--I'm not sure how they're faring this season.

[reddsun1]

These wheels are also BBS; these are one-piece, and incredibly light, only about 7 or 8 lbs bare. Relatively easy to mount and balance, able to lift/handle a wheel and tire one-handed. Definitely a joy to work with. Quite expensive though, about $2000/set, IIRC. Although, as they were on the car in this pic, they were a bit of a sonovabitch to work with. Ferrari of Wash. put some kind of powdercoating on them or something to get the black finish; they'd eventually start chipping, and the fuggin' weights kept coming off of them, causing them to come out of balance during a stint. Got to be a real PITA.

Edited April 18, 2006 by reddsun1

[areaseven]

i know that its not the fastest thing around but its my baby . the kanji in the front mean "blue thunder".the symbol of course is the UN SPACY symbol but in different blue colors(what can i say blue is my favorite color). the bird was from the last act of robotech or mospeada when the invid or inbit are leaving earth, in the last scene a bird appear which i loved so i have to have on my car  . the camaro is a 94 3.4L V6 auto, am planning to put a new ring and pinion gear in the rear (3.73) and a shift kit for the transmission. also a cold air intake and a new muffler. within the year i also plan on putting a new high performance computer and vertical door kit. well so much to do so begins the legend of the TRUE blue thunder.

391902[/snapback]

That's a nice F-body you got there. I like the decal arrangement.

[Phalanx]

Roborrob, iIm really digging that camaro with a smooth cerulean blue paintjob with those characters on it. I have a huge fetish for camaros. I wish I had a hunter green camaro with characters on it like your car.

[myk]

Rob,

3.73 for your F-body, huh? Sounds pretty drastic, and I hope it doesn't run your RPM's up too high, although with both my 'Stang and Z28 running 2.73 gears I can't help but be jealous.

If you're also looking to tighten up your handling try a strut-tower brace; I just bought one and I'm pretty sure it's helped out, although with a twisty convertible body it's hard to tell otherwise...

[David Hingtgen]

roborob---is your Camaro repainted? That doesn't look like Quasar Blue Metallic, and I know of no other blue anywhere close to that color for a mid-90's Camaro. And I notice lots of the normally black parts are also blue.

PS--that's my fave Camaro wheel style, and one of my all time fave wheels period. Was that style ever available from the factory chromed?

Edited April 18, 2006 by David Hingtgen

[LORD KUNGFU]

roborob, I think you car is cool. But just to nit pick. I think the front end is too busy with the fog lights, the chevy bowtie, the camaro symbol, then the asian letters/characters on the hood all lined up like a stripe. It just throws off the smooth lines of the car. IF you just had the asian symbols or just the bowtie it would look cleaner IMHO. I do like the mospeada bird of light idea. I might need to incorporate that into my racecar design scheme.

-Lord K.

[emajnthis]

Actually (in proportion) yes, you pay much more for a generic parts than any of the "Luxury" brands in proportion to your vehicle value. Often times to cheat the system i'll tell people to take their luxury brand car to their generic brand counterpart (Infiniti to Nissan, Acura to Honda, etc) for maintenance because you can often get the work done cheaper, thus is not the case with Toyota/Lexus.

As far as reliability, my friends Corolla has over 200,000 miles on it and is running like a well bred horse. However, on the flip side, my friend's Supra TT is on it's last leg and will probably turn over and die soon. Their economy cars are wonderful, its their sports cars that have problems (especially the transmissions). Plus, their newest V6's with the high HP ratings aren't very strong (compared to their competitors) but so long as they're driven like economy cars and not sports cars they should hold up. The third gear synchros in my Supra TT were almost completely shot and same thing with the second gear in my MR2 (the powerful gear ) by the time i was ready to get rid of them. And i definitely didn't have the 2grand to blow on replacing it (the way their designed doesn't allow you to take it apart to fix individual pieces, plus it'd be a pain to do if it was an option).

Other than that, after doing their internet sales for so long, and having a new Toyota to drive each week, they last a long time because they stick to things that are cheap but effective. Just look at any of their cars and the parts that they use, definitely not on par compared to the price of their Japanese bretheren (Subaru, Nissan, Honda, etc) but their manufacturing and QC allow them to get away with a less effective part since they know it'll last longer (except in the case of the Sports car).

(highest mark up on parts of any other manufacturer).

391748[/snapback]

Really? Even compared to the European brands (MBZ, BMW, Jag in particular)?

391792[/snapback]

[areaseven]

roborob---is your Camaro repainted?  That doesn't look like Quasar Blue Metallic, and I know of no other blue anywhere close to that color for a mid-90's Camaro.  And I notice lots of the normally black parts are also blue. 

391958[/snapback]

It might be a recent paint job, as the reflections look hazy. All it needs is some waxing and buffing. Otherwise, it's just the camera.

[Rocket Punch]

As far as reliability, my friends Corolla has over 200,000 miles on it and is running like a well bred horse.  However, on the flip side, my friend's Supra TT is on it's last leg and will probably turn over and die soon.  Their economy cars are wonderful, its their sports cars that have problems (especially the transmissions).  Plus, their newest V6's with the high HP ratings aren't very strong (compared to their competitors) but so long as they're driven like economy cars and not sports cars they should hold up.  The third gear synchros in my Supra TT were almost completely shot and same thing with the second gear in my MR2 (the powerful gear  ) by the time i was ready to get rid of them.  And i definitely didn't have the 2grand to blow on replacing it (the way their designed doesn't allow you to take it apart to fix individual pieces, plus it'd be a pain to do if it was an option). 

391980[/snapback]

What year is your friend's Supra? Even if it's the last US production year, that makes it at least 10 years old. Any sportscar that old will eventually run into problems, and that's not factoring in how your friend drove/treated the car.

I owned a '95 MR2 Turbo for 4 years and did a lot of speeding/commuting (40 miles from the San Fernando Valley to Long Beach one way and then back again 8 hours later, 5 days a week), plus canyon runs (specifically Mullholland) on the weekends and had no problems whatsoever. Did you buy your MR2 used?

And concerning Toyota's V6s, the IS350's V6 (a sports sedan, not a pure sportscar mind you) has more power/torque than the Acura NSX and Infinity G35/Nissan 350Z (which are, with the exception of the G35, pure sportscars). I'm sorry but I don't know which competitors you are talking about posting bigger numbers (unless you're going across the Atlantic to Europe).

I suppose we'll just have to agree to disagree when it comes to the Big T.

Edited April 18, 2006 by Rocket Punch

[roborob23]

well yes the car was originally green and yes the color is sonic blue from fords 2005 paint. everything on the car is custom paint, "NO DECALS", the kanji in front was hand brush and cleared over so it can blend with the car, and that goes for the rest of the design. all of this didnt cost me to much since my dad does body work and custom paint job for work(self employed of course, but it pays the bills). i im planning on buffing it sometime this coming week but something really missed up yesterday. some little bastards decided to tag up my passenger side door with graffit, i was reallly frakin pisssed , lucky my dad and me managed to take most of it off but some of it is still there frakin gold spray paint..................w/e if anything ill repaint the entire door again but from now on im parkin my car inside(damn miami thugs).

hey david,saddly no factory never made them chrome i bought these rims from another camaro for like 195 with tires. what i plan to do is wet sand the rims them paint it with the same silver then put like 3 coats of clear. chroming would make them look nicer but its to expensive so thats my solve.

o lord kungfu, i unforturly had a car crash back in november and the bumper was all farted up and both fog light were gone. so i bought a new bumper, repainted it, and bought new fog light blue of course. also keep in mind, im a big yukikaze fan(super slylph and mave:FRX-00 best non-transforming fighter planes ever made )and inspiired by how the name is on the noise of the plane, so i did the same thing only its name is blue thunder

hey myk, glad u like the car and ill look into that thanks.

[areaseven]

Well, yes, the car was originally green and yes, the color is sonic blue from Ford's 2005 paint.

392075[/snapback]

Ah, so that explains the purple tint. Axelay owns a Sonic Blue 2005 Mustang GT.

Everything on the car is custom paint - "NO DECALS." the kanji in front was hand brushed and clear-coated over so it can blend with the car, and that goes for the rest of the design. All of this didn't cost me too much, since my dad does body work and custom paint job for work (self-employed of course, but it pays the bills).

I didn't realize that. Awesome job on that.

I'm planning on buffing it sometime this coming week but something was really messed up yesterday. Some little bastards decided to tag up my passenger side door with graffiti. I was reallly frakin pisssed. Luckily, my dad and me managed to take most of it off, but some of it is still there. Frakin gold spray paint..................w/e if anything, I'll repaint the entire door again, but from now on, I'm parkin my car inside (damn Miami thugs).

Man, sorry to hear that. Normally, a clay bar and some lubricant (i.e. Meguiar's Quik Detailer) would be able to scrub all that graffiti out. Did you try using that? Also, a good wax like Simply Z-Best Car Wax would be able to protect the finish from further tagging. If a panel were tagged, you just need one drop of the wax and some buffing to wipe it all out.

Edited April 18, 2006 by areaseven

[emajnthis]

Notice my choice of adjectives when i say "strong" not "powerful", and the IS350 has more HP than its competitors but also more weight to go with it (and also less torque to pull that weight than its competitors at 277lb-ft). Furthermore, you cannot currently purchase a manual transmission or AWD with their 3.5liter V6 which definitely reflects in its performance statistics against the out of date G35 and M3 sedans. The real test for the IS250/350 will be when the new M3 and G35 are released next year.

My MR2 i purchased a 91 naturally aspirated, hardtop, used, with 40,000 original miles on it. I swapped both the motor and trans out with a 3SGTE rear clip that i purchased straight from Japan that had 20,000 miles on it. The gear synchros going bad in the transmissions of both the Supra's and the MR2 are very commonly known problems but Toyota refuses to come up with a fair solution that doesn't make your pocket cry. My Mark IV Supra i purchased was a 94 with 60,000 miles from the original owner (technically from Carmax because i worked for them and got it wholesale, but carmax purchased it from the original owner), the original owner had all of the paperwork including scheduled maintenance, oil changes, and everything in between. When the car was delivered it had the synchro problem and that's when i started to do my research and discovered that i wasn't the only one in this predicament.

I will admit my friend drives his car like an idiot, but his also had the same problem that mine did when he purchased it. The difference between his and mine is he had money to fix it and i didn't it didn't matter much though, because i sold the Supra for way more than i paid for it (or ever would have paid for it).

As far as reliability, my friends Corolla has over 200,000 miles on it and is running like a well bred horse.  However, on the flip side, my friend's Supra TT is on it's last leg and will probably turn over and die soon.  Their economy cars are wonderful, its their sports cars that have problems (especially the transmissions).  Plus, their newest V6's with the high HP ratings aren't very strong (compared to their competitors) but so long as they're driven like economy cars and not sports cars they should hold up.  The third gear synchros in my Supra TT were almost completely shot and same thing with the second gear in my MR2 (the powerful gear  ) by the time i was ready to get rid of them.  And i definitely didn't have the 2grand to blow on replacing it (the way their designed doesn't allow you to take it apart to fix individual pieces, plus it'd be a pain to do if it was an option). 

391980[/snapback]

What year is your friend's Supra? Even if it's the last US production year, that makes it at least 10 years old. Any sportscar that old will eventually run into problems, and that's not factoring in how your friend drove/treated the car.

I owned a '95 MR2 Turbo for 4 years and did a lot of speeding/commuting (40 miles from the San Fernando Valley to Long Beach one way and then back again 8 hours later, 5 days a week), plus canyon runs (specifically Mullholland) on the weekends and had no problems whatsoever. Did you buy your MR2 used?

And concerning Toyota's V6s, the IS350's V6 (a sports sedan, not a pure sportscar mind you) has more power/torque than the Acura NSX and Infinity G35/Nissan 350Z (which are, with the exception of the G35, pure sportscars). I'm sorry but I don't know which competitors you are talking about posting bigger numbers (unless you're going across the Atlantic to Europe).

I suppose we'll just have to agree to disagree when it comes to the Big T.

392071[/snapback]

I'll agree to disagree for Toyota... but never for VW, those bastards.

Edited April 18, 2006 by emajnthis

[peter]

i know that its not the fastest thing around but its my baby . the kanji in the front mean "blue thunder".the symbol of course is the UN SPACY symbol but in different blue colors(what can i say blue is my favorite color). the bird was from the last act of robotech or mospeada when the invid or inbit are leaving earth, in the last scene a bird appear which i loved so i have to have on my car  . the camaro is a 94 3.4L V6 auto, am planning to put a new ring and pinion gear in the rear (3.73) and a shift kit for the transmission. also a cold air intake and a new muffler. within the year i also plan on putting a new high performance computer and vertical door kit. well so much to do so begins the legend of the TRUE blue thunder.

391902[/snapback]

Sorry, little off topic here, but does anyone know what ever happened to "Blue Thunder" the helicopter? I mean the movie/tv show prop? And "Airwolf" for that matter.....childhood memories flooding back....

[areaseven]

Sorry, little off topic here, but does anyone know what ever happened to "Blue Thunder" the helicopter?  I mean the movie/tv show prop?  And "Airwolf" for that matter.....childhood memories flooding back....

392311[/snapback]

You might want to discuss that over at the Aircraft vs. Super Thread 2.

[areaseven]

Last night, SpikeTV aired the second annual AutoRox. Here are the results:

Best Luxury Car - Audi A8

What?!? The cheapest car of the bunch beat both Benzes?

Best Tuner - Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX

Wow...the most problematic of the bunch won. But then again, that was expected.

Hottest Exotic - Ferrari F430

Well, at least the Rolls didn't win it.

Best Concept Car - Chevrolet Camaro

Is this awards show predictable or what?

Deal of the Year/Bang for the Buck - Chevrolet Corvette Z06

For the money, it actually makes sense.

Best SUV - Land Rover Range Rover Sport

The least-capable off-road beat all the other off-roaders.

Best Truck - Honda Ridgeline

The smallest of the bunch wins this one.

Muscle Car Award - Ford Mustang GT & Dodge Charger SRT-8 (tie)

Who the hell voted for the Charger?!?

Best Sports Car - Chevrolet Corvette Z06

One more for the Vette.

Best Drop Top - Pontiac Solstice

Bullsh*t! It's the worst of the bunch!

Car of the Year - Chevrolet Corvette Z06

Just like last year's AutoSux, the Corvette scored the most.

This is probably the most bogus awards ceremony ever aired. Not even hot chicks like Courtney Hansen and Leann Tweeden could save this sinking ship.

Edited April 19, 2006 by areaseven

[Rocket Punch]

This is probably the most bogus awards ceremony ever aired.

392385[/snapback]

Durr. It's on SpikeTV for God's sake.

[JGrizzle]

booo mustang? what about GTO?...I guess mustang won because it is the poor mans muscle car.

[areaseven]

booo mustang? what about GTO?...I guess mustang won because it is the poor mans muscle car.

392426[/snapback]

The GTO's not exactly expensive, either (starting at under $32,000). And muscle cars weren't exactly for the rich and famous to begin with.

[Lightning]

these days it sure seems like it....

[JGrizzle]

booo mustang? what about GTO?...I guess mustang won because it is the poor mans muscle car.

392426[/snapback]

The GTO's not exactly expensive, either (starting at under $32,000). And muscle cars weren't exactly for the rich and famous to begin with.

392432[/snapback]

oh no I know that, they were mainly grocery getters and such. What I meant by the poor mans muscle car was that it was easy to afford so more people had them thus making them more popular.

[myk]

I voted for the Charger! Oh no wait, I voted for THIS one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CetEQZ-k6vs...odge%20chargers

[reddsun1]

The Top Gear segment on the Charger was also quite amusing. Never seen the "Bendover" commercial for the new Charger [the next two vids at the above link]; that one's hilarious.