My @#$% car

[86kubicki]

I remain a staunch Mazda fan.

I'm with you Paul, but I had no choice - my father has had a Mazda dealership since the early 80's! My sister has one of the merlot Miatas as well. I keep meaning to compare the Miata finish with RIC's DCM finish - they look similar.

[johnallg]

Water pump went today.

Because of the difficulty in getting at the pump ('01 PT Cruiser), and the fact that you gotta do the timing belt too, it's gonna cost me a little over a grand.

Grrrrrrrrrr

That's a lot of strings, Kenny. Tough luck, but it could have been worse, and if the timing belt went it would be. Suck it up, Bucko!

[ken_j]

The problem, imho is that the US car industry has been resting on it's laurels for far too long.
Producing big gas hogers in a very low quality in terms of finishing and material quality.
The European/Japanese car industry feels much more dynamic and tries to move with the market, it seems that the American car industry tried to move the market with itself...


...And Kenny - as for your water pump problems, MANY cars have the same problem, including all french makers and some German ones. The timing belt can get water from the water pump, that's why when people change their timing belt - the water pump is being replaced as well regardless to it's condition, and yes - when the pump is dead you will most likely need to replace the belt as well. This is a very common engine design and such problems happen all the time...

The US has produced a number of vehicles that get good gas mileage. In fact GM has more models that get over 30 mpg in prodution than any other manufacturer. The full size Buick I leased up until last fall got over 30 mpg hwy and 20 mpg city, not bad for a full size vehicle that did not have DOD or was not a hybryd. In fact it had an older pushrod engine. Unfortunately too many people believe all of the talking heads on the tube that just haven't got a clue.

As far as all the SUVs (Stupid Ugly Vehicles, did I say that outloud?) that they produced, it was because of demand. If you recall back in the 70s and 80s when all of Detroit started downsizing their vehicles consumers ran the other way. "I'm not putting my family in that little thing." So with cafe & emmission standards being written by uninformed politicians, trucks were allows higher mileage standards. These vehicles sold because that is what the public wanted. Even when gas was over $4 a gallon this past year I still had neighbors driving home new Esclades! The fact is that the US industry has produced all sizes and flavors of vehicles driven by customer demand. As far as dependabilty/reliability, other than oil changes I never had one service call on my last two cars.

Had Kenny's car been a GM product it would have a timing chain instaed of a belt. A chain has about 4 times (if not longer) the life expectancy of a belt. Plus water pumps that are chain driven can be easily changed by fastening a small tool to the water pump sprocket to hold it in time while removing the pump. Servicabilty!


End of rant.

[johnallg]

Ken, my '04 Impala gets 35.5 MPG at 55 mph between South Haven and the Zoo on weekends. I'd say that's pretty good.

[jingle_jangle]

But, Paul, how many Ricks can you throw in the back of one of those Miatas?

WE've got an SUV for that, and it held 13 last time we tried, along with 5 people...Mitsubishi Endeavor V6 2.7L. Gets exactly one MPG less than the Miata on the highway.

[jps]

Had Kenny's car been a GM product it would have a timing chain instaed of a belt.

That is very interesting news! I didn't think any company was still using timing chains on lowly passenger vehicles.

[collin]

Had Kenny's car been a GM product it would have a timing chain instaed of a belt.

That is very interesting news! I didn't think any company was still using timing chains on lowly passenger vehicles.

Yep--many Fords too. I just replaced the timing chain and water pump on my Ford Ranger. Chain was completely shagged out....longevity? Bah!

[ken_j]

All of GM's DOHC engines that are produced in this country have a chain drive. That includes the Northstar, Ecotec V6, Ecotec 4 cyl, and the Line 4,5, & 6 truck engines. The chains have better durability than belts with far less maintainence issues. They are quieter too.

[jps]

I am surprised to hear they are quieter than belts.

[rick_ovic]

I'm pleased to advise that this thread helped influence my decision to start shopping for a new car.

I did a deal on this one today.

[ozover50]

In the words on one John McEnroe..................

YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS!!!!

[antipodean]

Trotty needs that bad boy to lug all his gear to gigs, and to accomodate his three burly body-guards!

[jps]

Darren must spend a lot of time on The Outback Blvd.

[rick_ovic]

In the words on one John McEnroe..................

YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS!!!!

Absolutely serious.

[kennyhowes]

OK, so I bit the bullet and got the work done.

Then I got rear-ended in an intersection two nights later!!!