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#1
12-01-2003, 03:17 AM
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American Hits and misses for the last year (or decade)..
Misses...
Okay, here goes guys/gals, feel free to pipe in... The Chevy Cavalier sucks. Any year, any version, they are all crap. What are you going to do? The Pontiac (any Pontiac, really) Grand Am from the 90's and forward. Yeah, I'd say any of them suck, but the early version with the 6.6L and the shaker hood (way back) is kind of cool if only for kitschy reasons. The one from the 90's is pee. Not much improvement since. The Grand Prix isn't much better and the "tiptronic" deal is gimmicky. This new Chevy Malibu-What? Total crap. I can be more foregiving with a decent product badly delivered but this one sucks all around. The nothing special car for people who expect nothing special. Who wouldn't buy asian? The Chevy Avalanche. Gross. Did you know they gave a "contractor's special", so people who would use them as work cars got a price break b/c they sold so badly? Just too weird. Not to pick on GM alone-how about the Escape/Tribute. Some new body work made it half way decent, but overall not up to the competition. Bad ergonomics, mostly. I hate Camaros in general. Let it die gracefully and come out with something else thats cool. Hits... Most Caddy's. The SUV hybrid thing rocks and the CTS is cool. Anyone who disagrees should toss one around on a track-I have and they are really impressive. Just wait 'till the 400hp V8 version shows, I'd buy one one in a heartbeat. Finally parts bin engineering works for the consumer. The new Dodge Neon HiPo deal. Yeah, many nay sayers, particularly re: build qual., but I say cool. Finally a less expensive performance car that isn't a Mustang/Camaro deal that looks contemporary and can hang with foreign stuff. Not my cup of tea but few things are, if they were I wouldn't ramble on the net. The Pontiac Vibe GT. Yes, the Vibe. Same as Toyota Matrix. With the GT pack and the 5 sp., its actually a driver's car. Drive one and you'll see what I mean. I would never buy one, but I'm a single with no kids person. This car is practical and drives well. Quite a surprise. The Lincoln LS. I don't really know what to think about the car, but I wish they would up the luxury ante and come out with an LS wagon to go vs. with the BMW 5-series/MB/Audi/Volvo wagons. I think its a decent car and it looks pretty cool , color depending. The Crossfire. Have any of you seen one on the road? This car looks cool, and it IS cool. A true GT coupe. I haven't driven one of these yet, but I want to. Hat's off to whoever designed this car. Chrysler has a way of coming up with "cool" cars(Viper/Prowler) and stupid cars (Reg. Neon/Sebring) and Minivans. This is a car that reaches more than a slit-hair of the demographic spectrum and is really kind of cool. Other thoughts on the last year/decade? 
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#2
12-01-2003, 10:42 AM
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American sheetmetal I appreciate:
(my quick list….there may be others) Dodge Viper Corvette Z06 Panoz AIV Roadster and Esperante Ford GT ’03 Mustang Cobra Ford Crown Vic Police Interceptor American sheetmetal I don’t prefer: Lincoln Navigator / Ford Expedition Hummer H2 Jeep Liberty Any minivan Chevy Corsica and Cavalier Ford Taurus
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#3
12-01-2003, 12:14 PM
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American cars I like take el presidente's list and ad Hummer H1, and almost anything made before 1970.
American cars I don't like; anything made after 1970. (I am not including Chrysler after 1998, as they were bought by Diamler.)
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#4
12-01-2003, 12:44 PM
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Domstic vehicles I like. The Dodge truck with the Cummins engine. IMO, it represents the same level of value as any of the old MB's - so long as you keep the truck simple.
I also like the Jeep Liberty, and plan to put one in the driveway after the diesel version is made available, and I free up some of the pile of debt that I'm currently dealing with. The Crossfire looks great, but I don't see myself owning one. Same for the Viper and Prowler. Vehicular losers? I'll sum them up in one company name - GM. Why that company fails to understand why they continue to lose market share is beyond me. The disposal of my Saturn VUE is yet another example of a product shipped out with too little attention to quality detail. Too bad, it was an excellent fit for me as a car. GM has been known for some of the most infamous failures in the auto market. Olds and Buick gasser cum diesels, the Vega, Citation, Crapalier, Chevette, Corvair, DECADES old electrical woes, interior materials that make a Yugo feel luxurious. At least Fords worst claim to infamy was the exploding on impact Pinto.
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#5
12-01-2003, 12:46 PM
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Biggest Miss
HAS TO BE.......... (Drumroll please)
The Pontiac Aztec. Totally for the "what were they thinking?" file. I ask myself that every time I see one. I just can't possibly understand what would possess a company to produce such an unbelievably ugly vehicle. It's almost like they went out of their way to make it uglier.
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#6
12-01-2003, 12:54 PM
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Ponticac asstek
DC comics come to life!!!
 I often find myself liking ugly cars. No, I don't like the asstek, but I will predict that the abomination will gain some form of cult status in the future.
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#7
12-01-2003, 09:33 PM
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The Fiero is my runner up to the Aztek. I didn't think anything could give the Iron Duke 4 a bad name.
I basically like Caddys but a 930 going in reverse probably handles better than a FWD V8. Sixto 95 S420 87 300SDL 83 300SD ... $1100, see cars forum
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#8
12-02-2003, 01:51 AM
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Quote:
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#9
12-02-2003, 05:11 PM
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If you could get a Ford F-250 or F-350 with a Cummins engine, then you would have a hit. We have a 2000 F-350 Powerstroke with about 47,000 miles. It has had oil changes with Motorcraft filters and Rotella oil every 3,000 miles since new (except for two oil changes that went past 4,000 miles). It has started to use oil, which is weak for a truck with less than 50,000 and a pretty good maintenance history.
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#10
12-02-2003, 06:02 PM
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Quote:
The sad thing is though that 3 out of the 5 cars that Orkrist mentioned on his "hits" list are on foreign platforms... CTS, Crossfire, Vibe. The only car that is actually a domestic, not owned by a foreign manufacturer either, is the Lincoln LS. A car that looks like a wannabe BMW 5-series, the old E39 5-series that is (pre-Bangle), and thus has no character of its own. In light of that, I think its a pretty sad day to be an American car buff...
__________________
Jonathan 1998 S600 2001 E430 1994 E320 1991 560SEL 1994 Turbo R
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#11
12-03-2003, 10:19 PM
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Well, not all Pontiacs suck. You cant beat a 1977 Pontiac Trans Am Special Edition for cool.* Also, look at anything with the letters "GTO" on it made before 1980.
I really want a Dodge Magnum SRT-8. I might give up my benz if they make it. I have to agree that GM's use of substandard materials really sucks. I had a 1989 Berretta that wont open from the inside anymore, the door plastic is falling off, the headliner is about gone, the trunk got water in it when it rained, etc etc etc. THe plastic SUCKED on that thing. Using plastic in general will make the vehicle suck. *See Smokey & The Bandit for a reference.
__________________
http://comp.uark.edu/~dmgill/signature.jpg
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#12
12-04-2003, 03:09 PM
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Yeah, I actually love the old Trans Ams. I'd love to have an old 6.6L with the eagle graphics and everything. I would also have loved to have been a fly on the wall for the design committee meetings when they decided to go with the decals!
I also didn't mention any crazy cars that are just beyond the reach of most people or outside normal desires, like the new Ford GT which is pretty cool. Also, the next gen Mustang is very interesting.
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