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Sedans Luxury Lounge
21520 messages, Last post on Dec 08, 2009 at 10:26 AM
You are in the Sedans Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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Replying to: jlbl (Nov 03, 2009 11:32 am) 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? 
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Replying to: dewey (Nov 05, 2009 9:56 am) 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 |
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Replying to: lexusguy (Nov 02, 2009 7:35 am) 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!
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Replying to: smarty666 (Nov 05, 2009 6:03 pm) 
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A college junior connected to me through the alumni network asked me this question yesterday: "When a specific make/model comes with a twin or clones like GM's Lambda quadruplets or the Ford-Mercury lineup, how do you decide which one to choose from, particularly in used form? I'm currently trying to make up my mind between a Subaru WRX wagon and Saab's 9-2x, and this whole twin, triplet, quadruplet thing is killing me." That's it. What do you guys think?
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Replying to: smarty666 (Nov 05, 2009 6:03 pm) In many cases that's true, though there are plenty of examples where it is not. The Mazda3 for example is built in Mazda's Hiroshima plant, and has been very reliable. The Mazda6 comes from Flat Rock MI, and doesn't have a great record. The CX-7 and CX-9 though are both built in Japan, and both have terrible quality records. The Japanese built 2005 Acura RL had loads of electrical problems, and the earliest cars were sent to dealers without the AWD system diff fluid in place, which lead to the system completely locking up. The worst new car introduction in Lexus' history in terms of quality was the Japanese built '06 GS300 AWD. The '07 ES350 also shared the transmission problems of the '07 Camry V6, despite being built in Japan. The previous gen Infiniti G35s that burned through their brake rotors after 10K miles were also Japanese built. The average Japanese assembled car will probably have fewer rattles, tighter gaps, etc. than the average NA assembled car from a Japanese brand, but there's certainly no guarantee of getting a flawless car just because it came from Japan.
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Replying to: m4d_cow (Nov 06, 2009 6:10 am) If the only difference is the styling, then pick the one that looks better. The Fusion/Milan twins for example are almost identical except for their grilles, lights, and a couple of trim pieces. I hate the Fusion's enormous razor blade grille, so I'd go with a Milan. The so called "Saabaru" was not identical to a WRX. If I remember correctly, it had things like leather seats, automatic climate control, and an automatic transmission. The vast majority of WRXes out there are going to have cloth seats and sticks. |
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Replying to: lexusguy (Nov 06, 2009 8:30 am) even as you said, Lexus is not immune to this: I have two family members who both have ES350s: both were made in the Japanese plant but one is having all kinds of quality and technical problems, much like I did with my TL, while the other family member has absolutely no problems with their ES350 whats so ever I've been reading on the RX350 blogs that the new 2010 RX has had some quality issues: I know some are made in Japan and others in Canada but regardless of where they were built, people have commented on problems with the front fender loosing up and either forming a gap with the headlights or has fallen off completely: also some issues with interior panels and technology, namely the nav system, sat radio, and climate control functions not working properly so I think it is a hit or a miss, but as I've mentioned I think your chances are better in regards to quality control, build/assembly quality from the vehicles that are made in the Japanese plants then they are in Canadian or American plants
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Replying to: smarty666 (Nov 06, 2009 8:38 am) This is partly why I've gone back to German cars. When I bought my first Lexus back in '96, the Japanese, especially Lexus, were miles ahead of Germany in both reliability and technology. Today, Japan's technological advantage is gone, and in many areas they are behind the Germans. Some Lexus models still come with cassette decks! There's still a reliability gap, but its far smaller than it used to be. In the '90s, a new Lexus was pretty much guaranteed to be flawless, which made up for the lack of styling and character. That just isn't the case anymore, and thus I've totally lost interest in Lexus. Acuras are now the ugliest cars on the road, and their interiors are still full of the same cheap plastic and fake wood and aluminum trim that have kept them out of the real luxury arena. IMO, Infiniti is the only one with interesting products. They've had their own problems with low grade interiors throughout most of their existence, but the EX35 started to change that, and the 2011 M finally has to make absolutely no excuses for its design or interior quality. The Germans are launching their latest assault on the mid-lux class over the next two years, and most likely only the M will be able to challenge them. |
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Replying to: lexusguy (Nov 06, 2009 2:29 pm) Regards, OW |
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