300HP to the front wheels. Thats nowhere near "good."

7/5/2006 3:21:52 PM

Quote :

"the majority of honda's are assembled either in the states or canada, a lot of the components are now made in the states also"

True. But under Japanese corporate structure.

7/5/2006 3:23:01 PM

^^hatchbacks are ass ugly anyway, IMO

^agreed i am not quite sure who does all the engineering on the components, i would assume that most of that is still japanese based, cant imagine they would turn that over to americans to fuck up but i would bet that if thre is any engineering of major components by americans they are sent to Japan to get the training they need and the head guys in japan have the final say

but what do i know, not much

[Edited on July 5, 2006 at 3:27 PM. Reason : back to the topic at hand]

7/5/2006 3:26:52 PM

Quote :

"cant imagine they would turn that over to americans to fuck up"

Haha, so true. gg.

7/5/2006 3:39:59 PM

I think all the major Japanese manufacturers have US side R&D campuses.

You see, the kind of cars you guys like to drive: big, powerful, loaded, aren't exactly the kind of cars the world likes to drive. Somebody has to domesticate them.

7/5/2006 3:43:13 PM

FWD 300hp could be fun but nowhere near as fun as RWD. It's probably going to run about 24k also and it's ugly. I was just saying....

7/5/2006 3:46:33 PM

Quote :

"a 17yr old needs a reliable used civic that he can beat the hell out of"

7/5/2006 3:50:07 PM

Quote :

"You see, the kind of cars you guys like to drive: big, powerful, loaded, aren't exactly the kind of cars the world likes to drive. Somebody has to domesticate them."

only car i am driving like that is an american muscle car, otherwise i like them small and fuel efficient

^^ gas mileage is gong to suffer in a 4 cylinder car with 300HP, badly

7/5/2006 3:57:13 PM

We need more Muscle cars imo.

7/5/2006 4:00:43 PM

Quote :

" I've had a Mustang, an Eclipse GT and now a BMW and I still think the BMW is the best vehicle, hands down."

durrrrrr

Quote :

"I would spend the money on a used car - I personally don't think it's a good idea to buy brand new because they depreciate too much and ehh...I don't know. Just seems like a poor decision for a new driver who is going to probably have a few accidents here and there. "

yep

Quote :

" It also has some beefy horsepower. "

Scion? "beefy" horsepower?

AHHHH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Quote :

"He will need the space when he goes to college and would find the TC too small to actually cart anyone/anything around in."

maybe. maybe not...I've owned both a 1st generation Miata and an S2000 (with a subwoofer in the meager trunk) as my sole means of transportation, and it suits me just fine.

Quote :

"I was talking to a friend the other day about how, in my opinion, American cars are pretty shitty. She replied, "There's lots of good American cars...like Hondas.""

as far as i'm concerned, it's no longer worth differentiating between foreign and domestic. they're all in bed together, not to mention designed/built all over everywhere.

Quote :

"300HP to the front wheels. Thats nowhere near "good.""

yeah, no thanks. FWD sucks except for a low-powered, economy class commuter.

Quote :

"gas mileage is gong to suffer in a 4 cylinder car with 300HP, badly"

fuel efficiency isn't the focus of anything with 300+ hp, regardless of cylinder arrangement. however, the bigger factors are vehicle mass and coefficient of drag.

my S2000 makes about 360-365 hp, and i get 23-25 mpg. My Miata made about 280 hp, and it got in the very high 20s.

also, turbochargers are good about giving the best of both worlds. if you aren't spooled up, you aren't wasting that gas, and it behaves like a small displacement I-4.

7/5/2006 4:32:58 PM

Quote :

"fuel efficiency isn't the focus of anything with 300+ hp, regardless of cylinder arrangement. however, the bigger factors are vehicle mass and coefficient of drag."

true but i was more talking about MOST 4 cylinder cars are meant to be fuel efficent.... if you want 300 ponies move up in the world and grab a G35 or something else..... that (G35) with 300 HP has better gas mileage than a 4 cylinder will with 300hp

cause it is stock and naturally aspirated, a 4cylinder isnt producing 300 without forced induction, thus killing your gas mileage

[Edited on July 5, 2006 at 4:50 PM. Reason : ]

7/5/2006 4:50:13 PM

Yea but you can drive comfortably under boost in city traffic which would drastically improve your mileage.

7/5/2006 5:01:19 PM

MOVE TO GARAGE, still waiting

anyways, when i got my car, it was a new reliable 3rd family car that was small, sporty, and would be given to me for college....this worked out well

but now my brother thinks he has the right to a new car, and my dad is giving in. He already admitted buying my car, or half of it/we split the cost, was the biggest mistake. but hes about to do it with my brother.

I'm willing to give my brother my car, and get my dads in return...but my brother doesnt want it. Plus its already got a great system, etc in it. First of all, what a snotty little bitch, who would turn down that car....i hate him, but he is my brother and i do try to look out for him. Anyways thanks for the help


[Edited on July 5, 2006 at 5:09 PM. Reason : and just to let him know, how many of you would turn down a 03 spec v with 57k miles for free]

7/5/2006 5:07:19 PM

if his self worth depends on his car, avoid mazda and scion
to be safe, avoid japanese cars and buy an old muscle car

between the mazda 3 and the scion, the scion looks better
but the mazda drives better

7/5/2006 7:53:06 PM

Quote :

"to be safe, avoid japanese cars and buy an old muscle car "

please to explain?

7/6/2006 8:09:00 AM

The mazda 3 I tested from the place behind crossroads drove like shit. It wobbled on a turn, and you sit so high up it's like being in a mini SUV. This may be because I've always driven low to the ground cars that have far more stability.

The power wasn't there either. Either the car had problems or your statement is wrong because my Toyota Celica had more pickup than that. The one thing I did like was the semi-manual transmission you get to use. Telling it when to shit up etc, but it wasn't quick to shift so definitely not a replacement.

The biggest thing to me was that the car was not comfortable at all. I'm not sure what the seats are made of but it was like sitting on a rock.

The interior also felt cheap and easily breakable. Very much like the Ford Focus.

I did like the cargo room

7/6/2006 9:39:11 AM

Quote :

"please to explain?"

"if his self worth depends on his car"



[Edited on July 6, 2006 at 11:14 AM. Reason : pic ]

7/6/2006 11:11:05 AM

If the interior of a Mazda 3 felt cheap to you then you need to go ahead and avoid all economy cars.

7/6/2006 11:14:41 AM

i recommend the 3 - fiance has had the 5speed for over 2yrs now and loves it

7/6/2006 11:16:27 AM

Did you seriously just use a VW commercial to make a point?

As a side note, I love how they neglect to mention that the Passat is one of the priciest cars in its class.

7/6/2006 11:24:56 AM

irony

7/6/2006 11:59:11 AM

^^^^^damn...check ou the lip on those rims!!

7/6/2006 12:33:17 PM

Quote :

"First of all, what a snotty little bitch, who would turn down that car....i hate him, but he is my brother and i do try to look out for him."

Well, what you need to do is hold his punk ass down and shit on his goddamn head.

And your dad needs to say, "Listen here, you goddamn little shit. You'll get what I give you and LIKE it. Even if it's a used Toyota Echo."

7/6/2006 1:08:31 PM

The Mazda 3 has sporty seats, designed to hold you in place. If this bothers you, then you don't need a sporty car. Also the interior is about as great as you get for the class. As far as power, if you test drove a 2.3 I don't know what to tell you since it is a much more powerful engine than what you can could get in any Celica. And if you want to feel power in an economy car you have to get the manual, none of this automatic bullshit.

[Edited on July 6, 2006 at 1:14 PM. Reason : k]

7/6/2006 1:14:08 PM

The GTS has a bit more of a Screamer.

For the record =)

7/6/2006 1:24:25 PM

yeah it has a 180hp...but the 2.3 has way more torque.

[Edited on July 6, 2006 at 1:27 PM. Reason : f]

7/6/2006 1:26:51 PM

so around that price range is a new pontiac solstice... any reason not to spring for that?

7/6/2006 1:27:56 PM

^probably b/c it only holds like 4 sq ft of cargo

7/6/2006 1:36:02 PM

but oh so sexy. i would get a solstice if i had 20k lying around.

7/6/2006 1:51:09 PM

Quote :

"First of all, what a snotty little bitch, who would turn down that car....i hate him, but he is my brother and i do try to look out for him."

Exactly. Geeze it would have been awesome if my parents could have gotten me a car when I went to college. But as it stands, I just now got my first car, 7 yrs later, and it's a decent used $2k one. I doubt I'll ever end up with a brand new car because of the depreciation.

7/6/2006 2:07:06 PM

First off, I think the best option is a used vehicle to start (or give him yours, as suggested). By the time you're ~22-25, you will not want the car you had at 17. It's a waste to get a new one now, and the wrecks teens in are plentiful. I had 1 wreck myself, and that cured me of sloppy driving...

But to address this:

Quote :

"how many of you would turn down a 03 spec v with 57k miles for free"

You can bet money I'd turn it down if I knew I could get a brand new car for free instead...

EDIT: And about the Passat, I hate that commercial. Who spends madd money on a NEW car and doesn't want to feel cool or special in it? I want my car to scream "awesome" or "new" or "cool". Why the heck else spend the premium on a new car? That commercial is a joke.

[Edited on July 6, 2006 at 2:15 PM. Reason : .]

7/6/2006 2:14:29 PM

Quote :

"but oh so sexy. i would get a solstice if i had 20k lying around."

anything that doesn't come with a/c and power windows standard (as well as the other "options" that don't come standard on that pos) is ruled out in my eyes immediately

7/6/2006 2:49:09 PM

hey, your loss.

7/6/2006 3:18:14 PM

so my girlfriend bought a tC yesterday.... traded in her Mini (reliability sucks, expensive parts, etc).

i am very impressed with the tC so far. it was mostly between that and a Civic, and at about 3-5k cheaper (depending on how much honda would have dropped). it should have only been like 1-2k difference, but honda had thrown so many extras on all their civics, so they all cost $22k. the whole "pure price" thing with scion is weird... they will not haggle at all, even employees don't get a discount.

it's got more power than the civic, but suffers a little on the fuel economy... but coming from the mini (premium gas only) it's not a big deal.

the only annoying part was the first scion dealership we went to tried to low ball us soooo bad on the trade in. Edmunds and KBB said the car should go for $15.5-16k on trade in... and the guy tries to give us $12k and wouldn't budge (walking out the door he'd still only go to $12.5k). 2nd dealership gave us a fair amount and the deal was done.

7/10/2006 11:57:38 AM

I assume you mean MINI Cooper S, otherwise 15.5-16 for trade-in is BS, unless its pratically new.

7/10/2006 1:28:59 PM

regular mini, 2003, under 36k miles, excellent condition. KBB and edmunds give the same amount.

7/10/2006 1:45:27 PM

maybe I'm wrong, but aren't they just over $20k new?

7/10/2006 1:50:40 PM

They can range from $17k-ish to around $25k brand new, I'm sure it all has to do with the options and whatever you have on it. I want to say they have gone down in price - I am pretty sure when I was looking at some a few years ago, I saw some around $28K, but this was around when they first came out in the US. The convertibles are cute.

7/10/2006 2:04:02 PM

No, that would be the Cooper S.

Cars don't really come down in price by that much.

7/10/2006 2:05:46 PM

I just looked it up on Yahoo Autos and on a dealer's website - it said the MSRP of an 06 mini cooper S is $20,900 - but I am sure that is bare bones with no options. The convertibles were what was getting into the higher $20k's...I also looked on Hendrick's Mini dealer website and they do get more expensive, but that's because tons of options are added. The most expensive one on there is $31k for an S convertible with the premium packages and whatnot

7/10/2006 2:18:34 PM

Recently bought an '05 Mazda3. Wanted a manual 2.3L but had to go with the auto 2.0L b/c new it was impossible to find this car with the options i wanted and without the ones i didn't and you can't order an '06 anymore. But anyway, great car with the exception of the ride which can feel hard but i got a price you couldn't beat. Fun to drive and sporty feeling inside and out. Don't regret buying it one bit. /my$0.02

7/10/2006 2:51:55 PM

Quote :

"Why the heck else spend the premium on a new car?"

some people want a warranty..

7/10/2006 2:55:27 PM

^^ my friend's dad wanted a mazda 3 sport I think, a brand new one, with manual and they were impossible to find, so he negotiated with them and a bunch of other stuff, and they finally found one in like...North Dakota or something and had it shipped there. Was a bunch of hassle, but he basically told the sales people he would 100% buy the vehicle if they could get him what he wanted.

7/10/2006 2:56:11 PM

When was this?

7/10/2006 3:02:30 PM

About a year ago. Since she got a full out of state scholarship to univ. of delaware (worth $110K), her dad gave her his brand new car, and now he gets to drive her 11 year old Protege

7/10/2006 3:11:44 PM

Because I bought my Mazda 3 2.3 5 spd (traded for an evo) a year ago.

Sports package, no leather.

They had a billion of them at the dealership

7/10/2006 5:46:48 PM

a year != a month ago. they are all bought up now. i didn't know you got a Mazda3 and now an Evo. dang, we need to catch up man.

7/10/2006 8:05:50 PM

well hes still deciding, im pretty sure im just gonna sell my car and get my dads envoy....that lil bitch will get what he wants one day

7/10/2006 10:20:26 PM