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21520 messages,  Last post on Dec 08, 2009 at 10:26 AM

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What is this discussion about? BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, Volvo, Porsche, Jaguar, Audi, Maserati, Maybach, Car Comparisons, Coupe, Convertible, Sedan


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#21244 of 21520
Re: Status quo, yet so different... [tagman] by lexusguy
Nov 02, 2009 (7:35 am)
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Replying to: tagman (Nov 01, 2009 8:48 am)

Any of you gentlemen truly know what causes an individual car to become a lemon?
 
A combination of bad plants and bad design certainly enables the possibility of lemons. As I just mentioned in my last post, the quality of cars built at Nissan's Tennessee plant in the mid '00s was horrendous. When you cut corners at the design stage and the work is slipshod at the build stage, you're going to end up with lemons. Mercedes had similar problems with their Alabama plant, leading to a lot of lemon ML320s.
 
In other instances, it's new technology that hasn't been tested well enough, which was the cause of most of Mercedes' headaches over the last decade.
 
A single root cause could result in a lot of faults, as parts fail as a result of an initial failure. If a suspension system for example has some kind of problem in the design, it could lead to all kinds of issues. Or it may not be mechanical at all. Computers and software control tons of different sub-systems in luxury cars, and something as simple as bad software could lead to a lemon.
#21245 of 21520
First Ride: 2010 Aston Martin Rapide by skarie
Nov 02, 2009 (7:51 pm)
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2010 Aston Martin Rapide
 
My ride in the Rapide, code named VH400 for Vertical-Horizontal 400-series, was supposed to be about the audio system, but I couldn't help notice the rest of the car. Yeah, the rear seat armrest was missing and the center console was taped up, but I did gather some interesting facts on what it's like to be in the car at speed. Most obvious? The Rapide feels and looks like a DB9. There is nothing that indicates the presence of expanded rear space. The rear seats are low, with enough leg room to be comfortable, but not to the extent of, say, a Lincoln Town Car. It's more like the passenger seat of a Honda S2000; I liken it to being coddled in performance. Clearly these are the rear seats of a sports sedan — not a luxury sedan.
link title
#21246 of 21520
Re: Status quo, yet so different... [lexusguy] by m4d_cow
Nov 02, 2009 (11:24 pm)
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Replying to: lexusguy (Nov 02, 2009 7:06 am)

Ah of course, I totally forgot about the TN plant. It was also the one who got hail stormed that year wasn't it?
#21247 of 21520
Re: Status quo, yet so different... [blkhemi] by tayl0rd
Nov 03, 2009 (5:25 am)
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Replying to: blkhemi (Oct 28, 2009 1:39 pm)

Wow! I will get out of the passing lane if I see your mom in that S6! She sounds a lot like my mom, who 94, drives her 2004 SL500 like she stole it! No Buick Roadmasters, Mercury GM's, or Lincoln TC's in her garage! Just that and my late father's 2006 Dodge Ram 3500 dually that she refuses to sell as that it is what she uses to pull our Coachmen when going to the mountains(of course she makes me drive!). She refuses to stop... Ah, and the old man bought a brand new '06 Z06 before he passed on 93! ...
 
Stories like this give me reassurance that I don't have to give up performance cars or performance driving just because I'm aging! Here I'm only 38, yet I wonder if I'm getting too old to be dreaming of buying another Mustang GT and modding it up to near race levels. (Performance racing, not drag racing.) I know, it's not a high end car! But let's face it. Not all of us want (or can afford) to buy 911s, M3s (and 911. Plus, that's where a good 60% of the fun comes from; modding it!
 
Anyways, I'm rambling. Back on point, it's nice to hear that old folks are still doin' it up behind the wheel!
#21248 of 21520
Re: The "Race" [lexusguy] by tayl0rd
Nov 03, 2009 (5:35 am)
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Replying to: lexusguy (Oct 28, 2009 5:00 pm)

... US auto blogs don't have Top Gear's kind of power to just assemble a bunch of supercars on a track whenever they feel like it.
 
What do you mean? I'm pretty sure they can. In fact, as I recall, some years back when C&D or Motor Trend tested the Ford GT, that was an owner's car. When the Enzo was tested, that was an owner's car. When the Carrera GT was tested, that was an owner's car. When the Continental GT was tested, that was an owner's car; an Iranian sheik, IIRC. Along with many more tests. They may not be able to always get them from the manufacturers, but they don't have problems getting the cars. As you can see, there are tons of supercar owners who have to problem lending their rides out to the mags for testing. Some enjoy it as they get a chance to see the performance abilities of their new toy; not to mention the bragging rights at the lodge to be able to tell the rest of the puff-&-fluff club, "Hey, that's my car in that review."
#21249 of 21520
?? by jlbl
Nov 03, 2009 (11:32 am)
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TM, in which experiments are you involved?
 
This is an e-mail received today from Nature Science Journal Group:
 
  Nature Publishing Group
        Asunto: At Last, a Convenient Alternative to TaqMan
 
Oh, I know it was TaqMan.
But before realizing it, I was sincerely astonished!
 
Regards,
Jose
#21250 of 21520
Re: ?? [jlbl] by dewey
Nov 05, 2009 (9:56 am)
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Replying to: jlbl (Nov 03, 2009 11:32 am)

TaqMan probes are hydrolysis probes developed by Applied Biosystems to increase the specificity of real-time PCR assays. The TaqMan probe principle relies on the 5´–3´ nuclease activity of Taq polymerase to cleave a dual-labelled probe during hybridization to the complementary target sequence and fluorophore-based detection.[1] As in other real-time PCR methods, the resulting fluorescence signal permits quantitative measurements of the accumulation of the product during the exponential stages of the PCR; however, the TaqMan probe significantly increases the specificity of the detection.
 
You know Jose I think this Taqman Probe thing is very dangerous and can cause immediate extintion within this forum.
 
Taqman probes are not as engaging as "Hey I got a hot hot stock for you to buy today". Or I think the "Dow Jones will be 11683 by Feb 27th leap year or no leap year".
Who knows maybe just maybe luxury cars or performance cars may draw more attention than the Taqman Probe? Or maybe not?
 
#21251 of 21520
Re: ?? [dewey] by tagman
Nov 05, 2009 (10:56 am)
Reply

Replying to: dewey (Nov 05, 2009 9:56 am)

You know Jose I think this Taqman Probe thing is very dangerous and can cause immediate extintion within this forum.
 
I agree. I, for one, have nothing more to say here... especially about stocks.
 
Maybe I should change my name to ProbeMan... although that name is probably in use on an adult website.
 
Goodbye and good luck. Immediate extinction engaged.
 
TM
#21252 of 21520
Re: Status quo, yet so different... [lexusguy] by smarty666
Nov 05, 2009 (6:03 pm)
Reply

Replying to: lexusguy (Nov 02, 2009 7:35 am)

well they might be better but they still have a long way to go; I' have a 2010 Maxima SV from the Tenn plant and I have three separate vibrations/rattles in the car since day one! having a Nissan regional specialist by so I can have her hear the noises
 
It's been my experience over the years, at least with the Japanese manufactures, that the Acura's, Infiniti's, and Lexus's products I've had over the years that have been completely built and assembled in the Japanese plants and shipped over on the boat have had absolutely no problems in regards to quality control, build quality, rattles, etc: whereas, the Acura's, Nissans, and Toyota's I have had over the years built and assembled in American Plants have had quality, rattles, and other problems
 
Here is a perfect example of what I'm talking about: take Acura for instance: I had a TSX one time, completely made in Japan and had not one rattle or problem with the car: my second TL, built and assembled in Ohio, has been filled with quality issues and rattles that can't be fixed: when I got my TL, there was a green stain on the front driver carpet floor, the ambient cabin lighting did not work, the auto-up feature on the driver door did not work, when hitting the trunk release the trunk did not pop open, and the rear tail-lights developed terrible condensation when it rained, was foggy, etc: suffice it to say I had a completely different quality control experience with my TL then I did with the TSX and the only difference between the two cars was where they were built and assembled; luckily all those issues I just mentioned with my 08 TL were replaced and fixed by my Acura dealer but a brand new car should not have been delivered to me in that condition
 
now I know not everyone will have the same experience but that is what I have seen and dealt with over the years: I'm not saying that every vehicle completely made in Japan is perfect because I am sure there are some cars from Japan that were missed for quality checks but not as often as I've seen with the American plants; the majority of the people I talked to have seen and felt the same trend in quality control between the American and Japanese Plants that I have!
#21253 of 21520
Re: Status quo, yet so different... [smarty666] by m4d_cow
Nov 06, 2009 (6:04 am)
Reply

Replying to: smarty666 (Nov 05, 2009 6:03 pm)

Can't argue with that. My TSX served me for over 3 years with absolutely zero problems, needing no more than scheduled fluid change and normal wear items replacements. While my previous Civic had almost as much problems as my Escape, which was ridiculous. On a side note, TSX is considered as one of the most reliable cars ever in existence, so comparing it might be a bit hard to do.

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