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Vans & Minivans 2008 Minivans 
1261 messages, Last post on Feb 27, 2008 at 7:47 AM
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Replying to: marine2 (Feb 25, 2008 8:53 am) The problems with the new 6 speed automatic are pretty well documented, in fact IIRC CR made that front page news. Same with the Tundra's glass camshafts. There is no doubt Toyota has had major growing pains. You can't do that kind of volume, especially with rapid growth, and maintain the level of quality control you had before, when you were smaller. I don't dispute that at all. In fact, an Edmunds member works for a supplier to SIA and surprised me when he said the quality inspectoins for Subaru and more stringent than the ones for the Camry at the same plant. Should we be surprised that Subaru passed Toyota in CR surveys? Toyota dropped from 1st to 5th place. In the context of the Sienna, though, it's still the most reliable van out there, whether you believe Consumer Reports or TrueDelta. They are using a proven engine and transmission, and one small defective spot weld doesn't change that a bit. Also, let's keep in mind Simmermaker is a Union member and runs www.howtobuyamerican.com, not exactly an unbiased reporter. |
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Replying to: marine2 (Feb 25, 2008 8:53 am) But what has happened since gas prices have been on the decline in recent months? The Wall Street Journal reported a "slight" increase in truck sales by American companies, as Ford Expedition sales were up 41% and Lincoln Navigator sales were up 44%. The American media even tries to restrain its applause for home-based auto companies by referring to gains of over 40% as "slight!" And the foreign car lovers will probably also not tell you (or maybe they just don’t know or don’t want you to know) that GM and Ford pour more money into existing American facilities than foreign automakers spend on new plants, usually with little or no tax breaks. GM has already spent over $500 million upgrading two transmission plants this year, and has spent nearly a billion dollars over the last decade, for example, for facility upgrades in Texas. And what do GM and Ford get for making their existing plants more efficient? It isn’t tax breaks. Instead, they get accusations of not being "competitive" enough! Maybe here I should also mention that the average domestic parts content for Kia is 3%, while the average domestic parts content of Ford and GM is 78% and 74% respectively. This means that buying a U.S.-assembled (or even foreign-assembled, for that matter) GM or Ford supports more American jobs than a U.S.-assembled car or truck with a foreign nameplate. Fortunately for our benefit, the U.S. remains the overall global leader in research and development, and a big reason for that is that American automakers - according to the Level Field Institute - invest $16 billion in R&D (Research & Development) annually, which outpaces any other industry one could name. Admittedly, the Level Field Institute counts German-owned DaimlerChrysler as an American automaker, so Ford and GM’s combined R&D contribution to America is closer to around $12 billion. But who’s counting, right? Certainly not the American auto-bashing media. Japanese companies do employ 3,600 American workers in R&D, but that still leaves the foreign competition behind in the dust staring at American rear bumpers. 3,600 sounds like a big number until you realize that 65,000 Americans work in R&D facilities in the state of Michigan alone. In fact, two of the top four R&D spending companies in America as reported by the Wall Street Journal are - you guessed it - Ford and General Motors. The other two are also American companies: Pfizer and Microsoft http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1753099/posts |
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Replying to: marine2 (Feb 25, 2008 9:02 am) WSJ said truck sales - that includes pickups, a much bigger percentage of the total pie. Simmermaker single out a couple of low volume luxury SUVs, a drop in the bucket when it comes to the big picture of pickup truck sales.
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Replying to: ateixeira (Feb 25, 2008 8:39 am) It has cost Sienna owners $ 2,000 per front door to fix the problem with spot welds failing in the front doors of Siennas. Try this link for more information. I could not find the discussion in the Sienna Club about the BIG DEFECT in 2004-2007 Sienna front doors because I am not a member of the Sienna Club. 
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Replying to: marine2 (Feb 25, 2008 9:02 am) Lets discuss the benefits and short comings of these new minivans. But lets not cut our own throat by judging them today by the problems they had 8-10 years ago. All of them had some major problems. All of them are pretty good vans now.
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Replying to: ateixeira (Feb 25, 2008 9:05 am) Toyota hasn't issued a factory recall for the Sienna door problem, perhaps because such notices generate a lot of negative publicity, said Joe Wiesenfelder with Cars.com, a Web site for car enthusiasts.
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Replying to: hansienna (Feb 25, 2008 9:06 am) C'mon now. I am a member of Sienna Club and the issue was discussed over there. When the news arrived from Toyota owners were pleased and the discussion died down. In the 2004+ Sienna threads it's way down the list, 38th to be exact. That thread got a whopping 5 responses. Not exactly the flood of complaints you guys were hoping for, eh? You may find a few complaints here on Edmunds, but nowhere near the mass hysteria being implied by a cover-up scandal. Sorry, it just wasn't a very big deal. |
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Replying to: marine2 (Feb 25, 2008 7:01 am) |
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Replying to: marine2 (Feb 25, 2008 4:42 am) When I was shopping for vans in Sept 2007 I was told by the Toyota salesman that "Our quality shows. For example Toyota has never has a recall". Looks like that was BS. Of course all salesmen will tell you anything to make a sale - not just Toyota's.
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Replying to: hansienna (Feb 24, 2008 2:39 am) Chrysler also needs to offer both darker and lighter leather interiors and carpet for all their vans, not just the lower lines. Give people a choice. |
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