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What Keeps You Loyal To A Brand?

628 messages,  Last post on Mar 13, 2013 at 9:32 AM

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Messages Page 59 of 64

#575 of 628 Re: Ahhhh, the Electra 225..... [andre1969] by lilengineerboy

May 27, 2007 (5:10 am)

Replying to: andre1969 (May 26, 2007 5:53 pm)
So maybe the 3.0 was standard in early models, and then later on in the model year they decided to just make the 3.8 standard?
 
I didn't know they had a 3.0. I thought the 2.8l V6 got punched to 3.1l. Did the 98/Park Ave platform go FWD in 85 or was it still RWD for another year?

#576 of 628 Re: Ahhhh, the Electra 225..... [lilengineerboy] by andre1969

May 27, 2007 (5:44 am)

Replying to: lilengineerboy (May 27, 2007 5:10 am)
I didn't know they had a 3.0. I thought the 2.8l V6 got punched to 3.1l. Did the 98/Park Ave platform go FWD in 85 or was it still RWD for another year?
 
You can thank GM's divisions still having a lot of their own engines for that confusion. Buick came out with a 3.0 version of their 3.8 V-6, for 1982 I believe. It was used mainly in the Century and Cutlass Ciera. I think the Omega and Skylark X-cars still used Chevy 2.8's. It had a 2-bbl carb, and was rated at 110 hp, interestingly the same as the larger 3.8 2-bbl.
 
For 1985, when the Grand Am/Calais/Somerset Regal were introduced, they got a fuel injected version that put out 125 hp. Also, I just looked in another used car book I have, that covers 1977-86, and it does show the 1985 Electra/98 offering the 3.0 2-bbl V-6.
 
I think the 3.0 was dropped after 1985 in everything except the Grand Am and its siblings. Centurys and Cieras started phasing in the Chevy 2.8, with a Buick 3.8 being optional.
 
The Chevy 2.8 is the one that got enlarged to 3.1, and eventually it started showing up in most of GM's midsized/compact offerings, but I don't think that was until around 1990 or so. Also, Buick tried fielding yet another version of their 3.8. I think it was a 3.3, and offered for a few years in the Century/Ciera, before they all just went to 3.1's.
 
And yeah, 1985 was the year that GM downsized their C-bodies. However, Cadillac kept a RWD version around, calling it simply "Brougham".

#577 of 628 Hyundai, Nissan, Honda by prosource1

May 27, 2007 (7:29 am)

Have owned Hyundai Sonatas (1990, 1992, 1995), Nissan Maxima 1997 and two Honda Pilots 2004 and 2006. Our family does 40,000 on each of our vehicles and all of the above were outstanding. The early Sonatas were not as refined as today's Hyundai's but were very reliable and durable. My 1995 Sonata is still in service with 250,000 on it. The 97 Maxima was flawless and fun to drive. The two Honda Pilots have been without issue. The first one was driven 100,000 miles in 2 years and it never saw but oil, fluid, brake and tire changes. Perfect truck. The 2006 already has 30,000 on it and has been perfect.
I am buying a 2007 Elantra for my daughter. My brother has a 1998 Elantra with 140,000 miles and it has been a perfect car with only one minor repair. No reason to pay $2k more for the smaller Civic if she is going to drive it for 5-7 years and put tons of mileage on it.
Loyalty? I would have to say that I am very loyal to Honda and Hyundai. Nissan doesn't have a car I want so I'll stick with Hyundai and Honda.

#578 of 628 Japanese and Korean for me by mirde98

May 27, 2007 (10:26 am)

I've owned two 1985's Honda Civic's, one 94 Hyundai Excel, one 98 Mitsubishi Mirage and i just bought a new Mitsubishi Lancer. I've never had any major problems with any of my vehicles. I owned the Mirage 9yrs and i sold it in perfect conditions. As it for now my first choice is Mitsubishi. 2nd would be Hyundai and 3rd choice would be Honda.

#579 of 628 Re: Ahhhh, the Electra 225..... [andre1969] by ateixeira

May 30, 2007 (10:01 am)

Replying to: andre1969 (May 27, 2007 5:44 am)
My dad had an Electra, 1977 IIRC, and loved it so much he cried when he sold it.
 
For some reason, in the 80s he got an Olds instead, and then he switched to Fords for a while.
 
I think he left GM because he liked the Explorer better than the first 4 door Blazers, which were pieced together a bit much for his tastes.
 
He had a bad Taurus and now drives an Outback.
 
No loyalty from him!

#580 of 628 nissan in my garage for ever by rafa

Sep 09, 2007 (9:11 pm)

Well let me start bye saying that nissan are great cars for young people because they design cars that we want. I am 26 and my wife is 23 years old and right now in our garage there is a 2005 nissan maxima that she drives and a 2007 nissan titan that i drive we love our cars so much. We have had a 2001 nissan maxima,2004 nissan titan,2005 nissan armada, and now 2005 maxima titan. Will always own japan made. I know what you guys are thinking these cars are usa made which they are assemble here but all the parts come from japan all made in japan. Will never buy american cars from gm ford chrysler because they dont make any cars that we want they make cars for old people and piece of s...

#581 of 628 Re: nissan in my garage for ever [rafa] by qbrozen

Sep 10, 2007 (7:09 am)

Replying to: rafa (Sep 09, 2007 9:11 pm)
But what other brands have you owned? And for how long? At 26 years old with 6 nissans under your belt, it doesn't sound like you have formed much of a fair comparison.
 
PLUS, seeing as how all 6 have been in the past 6-7 years, you also have owned one long enough to make much of a reliability/longevity judgement.
 
I'm not knocking nissan. I think they are good. I'm just saying it seems a bit premature on your part to be so loyal. Kinda like marrying the first girl ya kiss, no? ;b

#582 of 628 Re: nissan in my garage for ever [rafa] by andre1969

Sep 10, 2007 (9:28 am)

Replying to: rafa (Sep 09, 2007 9:11 pm)
I know what you guys are thinking these cars are usa made which they are assemble here but all the parts come from japan all made in japan.
 
IIRC, the Nissan Altima is something like 65% domestic content. So in addition to being assembled in the United States, it's a safe bet that a lot of its components were sourced from the US as well.
 
The domestics and imports actually share a lot of parts nowadays. GM makes automatic transmissions for BMW. The a/c compressor in my Dodge Intrepid is supposedly the same component as what's in a Honda Accord. My a/c is failing, BTW, so who do I blame? The Japanese or the Americans? Or the Germans, maybe, since Chrysler was under their control by the time my car was made?
 
I've also heard varying opinions on Nissan quality. Not enough to scare me away from ever buying one, but I'm not going to blindly put them up on a pedestal, either. My Mom & stepdad had a 91 Stanza that was in need of some pretty steep repairs by the 90,000 mile mark. Among them, the tranny and exhaust system. I've personally known a few examples of the 2.4 4-cyl and the 3.0 V-6 from that era that had timing chains fail prematurely and reduce the engine to rubbish. The tranny in my Mom & stepdad's '99 Altima crapped out at 35,000 miles. But to that car's credit, tranny #2, which was put in under warranty, is doing fine and I'm sure that car has about 240,000 miles on it by now.
 
And I've heard some people say that these older Nissans were the durable ones, and that the new ones aren't as good! The Titan/Armada was pretty unreliable when it first came out, although they may be improved by now. Still, if you didn't have any problems with those earlier models, count yourself lucky.
 
Nissan does have a sort of youth appeal to it, though. A friend of mine bought an Xterra last year. He was also considering a Chevy Equinox. The "cool" factor of the Xterra is what won out, though. And I'll admit I like the 2002-06 Altima a lot, along with the new one.

#583 of 628 Re: nissan in my garage for ever [andre1969] by steve_ HOST

Sep 10, 2007 (10:12 am)

Replying to: andre1969 (Sep 10, 2007 9:28 am)
My '99 Quest (assembled by Ford in Ohio) seems pretty good, especially considering my maintenance habits. The stuff coming out of the newish Canton MS factory has had a lot of growing pains. Pf_Flyer has had several Nissans over the last couple of decades and he likes to put a couple hundred thousand miles on them. Hopefully he'll have similar luck with his new Versa.
 
While I think the (Japanese) drivetrain on my Quest is good (touching wood at 119,500 miles), my next car will be based on the most bang for the buck. Just like the Quest was, and the Voyager before it, and the good old '82 Toyota too. The other car here now is a Subaru, so I guess I'm most loyal to my bank account.

#584 of 628 Re: nissan in my garage for ever [steve_] by andre1969

Sep 10, 2007 (10:19 am)

Replying to: steve_ (Sep 10, 2007 10:12 am)
Pf_Flyer has had several Nissans over the last couple of decades and he likes to put a couple hundred thousand miles on them. Hopefully he'll have similar luck with his new Versa.
 
While I'm not really a fan of little cars, I've thought about trying to force myself into something smaller and more fuel-effient the next time I buy a new/new-ish car. I checked out the Versa when it first came out. Not a bad little car, although the driving position was a bit tight for me, with respect to legroom.

Messages Page 59 of 64

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