déjà vu all over again :Subaru
 

On Tue, 13 Dec 2005 14:31:52 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:

I dunno about that Japanese engine thing, Chuck. I had a 1982 Tercel. At
160k or 180k miles or so

============================================

We had an '81 Corolla purchased used as a "station" car. It had over
180K and was still running (although getting tired) when we sold it.
Another Corolla that we bought new in '89 was over 200K and still
running last we heard of it. I bought a '92 Camry new when I started
commuting from the NY burbs to NJ every day. Our youngest son is
still driving it regularly in NYC traffic and it's up to 192K. My
2002 Tundra is barely broken in at 55K and we tow a 6,000 lb
boat/trailer with that. Our 7 y/o Honda Accord is over 100K and still
runs like new. We always replace the timing chain, spark plugs and
water pump at 100K miles as routine maintenance on all of our cars.
Other than that, and one new radiator on the Camry, nothing other than
routine stuff. Detroit hates us and the feeling is mutual.

déjà vu all over again :Subaru
 

On Tue, 13 Dec 2005 03:24:46 GMT, Shortwave Sportfishing
wrote:

What's the most common vehicle?

=============================

Dodge Caravans are right up there with the best (worst).

Tranny problems most likely based on our experience.

déjà vu all over again :Subaru
 

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 13 Dec 2005 03:24:46 GMT, Shortwave Sportfishing
wrote:

What's the most common vehicle?

=============================

Dodge Caravans are right up there with the best (worst).

Tranny problems most likely based on our experience.


If I was blindfolded in the passenger seat, I could tell you with almost
100% accuracy when we were following a Chrysler van, just by the stench.
Even the younger vehicles seam to melt down quickly.

déjà vu all over again :Subaru
 

"Shortwave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 13 Dec 2005 14:37:18 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:

I had a Bobcat wagon (Mercury's Pinto equivalent). I'd still like to meet
the moron who designed the threaded ring that held the stick shift onto
the
transmission.

ROTFLMAO!!!

That was a wonder of engineering wasn't it?

In all fairness, it's harsh to expect knowledge to be transferred easily in
a country as large as ours. Sometime between 1960 and 1965, my friends and I
discovered that you could melt toy soldiers with heat from various sources.
Should we assume the Ford engineers also knew plastic could melt?

déjà vu all over again :Subaru
 

Doug Kanter wrote:
"Eisboch" wrote in message
...

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
"FREDO" wrote in message
.. .
Subaru's are designed to crumple in order to absorb impact. Also, they
are designed to push the engine and transmission downward under the
passenger compartment in a frontal crash via a "Pitching Stopper" to
lessen the possibility of the engine coming into the passenger
compartment. They consistently receive 5 star ratings from the U.S.
government in crash testing.

Saw that happen back in the 1970s with an Eldorado. The engine vacated
its compartment completely, and crushed & burned the driver. Not pretty.


Reminds me of a recall on GM cars back in the late 60's or early 70's.
Seems a whole bunch of Chevys, Buicks, Olds, etc. were shipped with faulty
engine mounts that, when they failed, would allow the engine to drop
between the frame and hit the ground.

The fix was, believe it or not, a steel cable around one of the exhaust
manifolds with the other end bolted somewhere in the engine compartment.
The mounts still failed, but the engine oil pan would not hit the
pavement.

Eisboch


I had a Bobcat wagon (Mercury's Pinto equivalent). I'd still like to meet
the moron who designed the threaded ring that held the stick shift onto the
transmission. The ring was plastic. 4" to the right was the exhaust pipe.
One day, I downshifted from 3rd to 2nd in traffic and the shifter popped out
of the tranny. Luckily, I was 2 blocks from work, so I carefully ran 2 red
lights in 2nd gear and parked the thing. The heat from the exhaust had
melted the threads on the ring. The dealer said they'd never heard of such a
thing. My father managed to change their way of thinking because his company
did all its fleet business with them. They fixed it, but it happened two
more times. A mechanic friend and I finally modified the thing. Accessing it
involved removing the console. Unfortunately, the console screws were 6"
below the rim of the carpet. We had to remove the front seats to remove the
carpet.

Pass the ammo!

My wife (before I met her) had a Pinto that got stolen in San Francisco
where she worked. She called the cops, the cops came, and of course,
she was crying about her car.....the cops asked her the make, she said
Pinto with the Rolls Royce looking front, and they laughed, asking,
so....what are you crying for??

déjà vu all over again :Subaru
 

On Tue, 13 Dec 2005 17:36:53 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:

Should we assume the Ford engineers also knew plastic could melt?

Someone did an analysis that showed the plastic would not melt until a
month after the warranty expired. After being hailed as a cost saving
genius, they were promoted into senior management to look for other
similar "opportunities". And so another once great industry slid into
decline...

déjà vu all over again :Subaru
 

Wayne.B wrote:
On Tue, 13 Dec 2005 14:31:52 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:

I dunno about that Japanese engine thing, Chuck. I had a 1982 Tercel. At
160k or 180k miles or so

============================================

We had an '81 Corolla purchased used as a "station" car. It had over
180K and was still running (although getting tired) when we sold it.
Another Corolla that we bought new in '89 was over 200K and still
running last we heard of it. I bought a '92 Camry new when I started
commuting from the NY burbs to NJ every day. Our youngest son is
still driving it regularly in NYC traffic and it's up to 192K. My
2002 Tundra is barely broken in at 55K and we tow a 6,000 lb
boat/trailer with that. Our 7 y/o Honda Accord is over 100K and still
runs like new. We always replace the timing chain, spark plugs and
water pump at 100K miles as routine maintenance on all of our cars.
Other than that, and one new radiator on the Camry, nothing other than
routine stuff. Detroit hates us and the feeling is mutual.

One of my vehicles is a '95 Jeep Cherokee with a quarter million + hard
miles on it. Cracked radiator, water pump, and routine maintenence is
all it's ever seen, still runs like a top.

déjà vu all over again
 

Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:
On Tue, 13 Dec 2005 08:44:42 -0500, "Lord Reginald Smithers" The
fastest and most accurate Gun in the World wrote:

Tom,

I read and lost the post where you said you used the Lucas Oil Stabilizer,
and found it to be a great additive. 15 yrs ago I used to use Slick 50, and
thought I got better gas mileage and Slick 50 said it protected better than
regular oil. Unfortunately, it also clogged up engine.

You are obviously smarter than the average person. You obviously are very
mechanically inclined. Didn't that report make you wonder if the additive
was protecting the engine and components when the engine was running at high
RPM?

I've never turned over 2k on that truck since I've owned it. In
cruise mode, it runs somewhere around 1.4/1.5K so comparatively
speaking, it's not running high rpm. We're also talking rear end
gears here which are an entirely different animal than engine oil.

I know guys who mix Marvel Mystery Oil in their gas at 200/1 too -
never been convinced that works either. :)

I wouldn't do that with today's fuel delivery systems.

déjà vu all over again :Subaru
 

"Shortwave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 13 Dec 2005 14:37:18 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:

I had a Bobcat wagon (Mercury's Pinto equivalent). I'd still like to meet
the moron who designed the threaded ring that held the stick shift onto
the
transmission.

ROTFLMAO!!!

That was a wonder of engineering wasn't it?

Have worked in auto plants over the years, it was always amazing how stupid
decisions were made like that for the inane reasons. I swear that the "Big
Three" were the most wasteful and incompetent corporations. No wonder the
Asians and Europeans are kicking their asses.

déjà vu all over again
 

Doug Kanter wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
Doug Kanter wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
Doug Kanter wrote:
"Skipper" wrote in message
...
Bert Robbins wrote:

Consumer Reports is a joke. They just do cursory evaluations of the
vehicles.
They're even worse with their boat reports. Many of the reports stoop
to
the misleading superficial levels of a Chucky boat review.

--
Skipper
When did CR begin evaluating boats? There is nothing to that effect in
their index of reviews. Are you drunk again?
Many, many years ago, in the 1950s, CU used to evaluate outboard motors.
I'm not sure when that stopped. I don't recall any CU boat reviews,
well, maybe canoes.

No...nothing at all, at least as far back as their index goes, which is
quite a few years. It would be ridiculous anyway. Scupper's drunk again.

Maybe he's got that laser light pointed in the wrong direction.
You oughta zip down here to try out a variety of handguns before you buy
one...One of the local ranges has about 40 you can borrow and try out.

Harry, I won't even drive to certain parts of this city because commercial
strips disgust me so much. No way I'd drive that far to look at a gun! A
$3000.00 Alembic bass guitar....maybe. But not a gun.

Speaking of which, I had the pure pleasure last week of playing a
Walker handmade archtop guitar, worth $6000 dollars. It is a beautiful
looking, beautiful sounding piece. If I remember correctly, he's from
Connecticut.