What kind of car?

[ima_nerd]

My car:
2001 Saturn SL1, silver outside, black inside, 5 speed stick shift (a dying breed it seems), keyless entry (fancy!), power locks (kinda goes with previous), CD player, AC, 1.8L 105 HP inline 4 (raoowrroar!).
39,850ish miles
Cost me $10k.
Fin.

[Munkay]

I could have sworn a similar topic was posted a while back. So far searches have come up empty.

I vaguely remember a Corolla and a story of its trials and tribulations, from grandparent to current owner. I beleive it was from a friendly poster of the northern country. I beleive it may have been DeeBye, in which case I retract the last statement and replace it with "I beleive it was from a dumb Canuck" :D

Long story short: 1992 5.35i BMW. White car, black leather, fully loaded. Most likely putting it up for adoption to pay for school.

-Munk

Edit: Found it! Here I was wrong about the Corolla, it was a Tercel. But it was that scurvy Canadian mate of our's, DeeBye.

[yangman]

Technically under my mom's name, I did drive it quite a lot during my first semester of university and the summer before it.

2003 Toyota Matrix XRS, 5-spd auto, various electronics, some leather trimming, 1.8L 173HP inline 4 (used to be 180HP, but Toyota lowered the rating), with "lift".

Created by a partnership between Toyota and Pontiac, the Matrix seem to have gained quite a lot of popularity on the Westcoast where I live, despite the almost non-existant effort to market it beyond the few months after release. The funny thing is how the Vibe, Matrix's Pontiac twin-sister, received an award for fuel efficiency in 2004 and boasts it proudly despite the fact that it contains a Toyota engine, and from what I hear, the drive-train is identical to those of the Matrix, also by Toyota.

Automatic transmission was only avaliable for the 2003 model Matrix XRS, and now days the XRS is only avaliable in manual transmission. However, it is a family car, where no one really drives stick, and I did get the chance to really push it from time to time.

If I were to ever purchase my own car, it'll probably be a Toyota Echo Hatchback. I seem to have an obsession with hatchbacks, and the Echo Hatch is surprisingly roomy and comfortable for a class of cars that I usually have trouble even getting into. And, it's cheap.

[Tal]

2003 Mazda Protege 5
5 speed
Air, cd, power windows and locks, etc.

Edit: Yes I am parked under a no parking sign in that picture. ;)

[DeeBye]

Edit: Found it! Here  I was wrong about the Corolla, it was a Tercel.  But it was that scurvy Canadian mate of our's, DeeBye.

It's a Camry, and it's still runnin' fine :)

[Sir_Die_alot]

Right now I'm driving a 96 Ford Escort and its biggest "fancy" features are air conditioning and those power seatbelts (whoever invented those should be tied to a post and shot). :(

I used to have a 78 Thunderbird that ran like crap while stinking of power steering and radiator fluid. I deliberately left its clock broken because every time I fixed something, something else would break; the clock I could live with. It was ugly as sin and 18 and 1/2 feet long which made it impossible to park... It fit my personality perfectly, damn I miss that car. B)

Edit: I take that back. The inventor of those steatbelts does not deserve a post.

[Wapptor]

Wapptor's suped up little VW :D





Its a 2003 VW Passat 1.8t with a tiptronic transmission. To make a long story short, I've got it so it produces about 205-210 horsepower and 245lbs/ft of torque. It does 0-60 in about 6.5 seconds. I'm immensely proud of it and I guess I'm bragging about it, but its all of my doing. The car came stock with about 170 hp/166 lbs ft of torque and 0-60 in about 8.5. Not to mention the wheels and suspension...

Don't get Wapptor started about his car!
-Wapptor

[Wapptor]

Just for your information, the Toyota Matrix "lift" you are talking about is what Toyota calls VVTL-i or Variable Valve timing and Lift with intelligence. Its an advanced system that uses two cam shafts to optimize power at different RPMs among other things. It makes a lot of power out of a small displacement engine (1.8 liters in your case) by allowing you to utilize higher RPM's better.

-Wapptor :ph34r:

[--Pete]

Hi,

When we needed something to drag four adults and their golf gear around for a ten day golf vacation, I traded my Fierro for an Explorer. That was in '93 and I still have that car/truck. I've used it for hauling everything from large shrubs (small trees), to enough sheet-rock to do a 500 sq ft room, to a bunch of people and their ski gear. I love it for long trips, since it is one of the few things out there that puts you in a sitting rather than semi reclining position (I'm not as flexible as I was when I drove Atlanta, Georgia, to Pullman, Washington, in four days in an AH 3000 Mk. 3). And the four wheel drive (which can be turned on by pushing a button on the dash -- no messing with wheel hubs) has been useful both for play and for "real".

Since I only use it if I'm going someplace alone or if its capacity is needed, it only has 82 thousand miles on it. But, since it is a Ford, it keeps breaking down anyway :)

My only regret: I held a gun to the salesman's head and forced him to find me a stick. Big mistake, since that is indeed the weakest link in that power-train. Other than that, she has served me fine. Yes, she's a "she". Some of my cars have been "he's" some "she's" and one in particular was no better than an "it". :)

--Pete

[yangman]

The VVT-i system (notice the lack of an L) now days is present on almost all Toyota engines, from it's low-end 1.5L inline-4 all the up to the high-end engine used in SUV's and the company's Lexus line of cars.

The 2ZZ engine on the Matrix XRS, previously used on Toyota's Celica line of cars, and now even on the XRS model Corollass, contains an enhanced version of the VVT-i system, called VVTL-i, where the L refers to "lift".

"Lift" is referred to a stage in the RPM range in which, when combined with the right engine conditions, the stroke length of the engine valves are slightly increased, allowing for longer intake/outtake time, higher fuel intake, and hence overall power of the engine. IIRC, the lift is set to kick in at 7500rpm, when the pedal is close to fully pressed, and the engine is sufficiently warmed up. On flat ground, the difference in power can be felt and heard quite clearly. It's quite a lift.

B) :ph34r:

[yangman]

But, since it is a Ford, it keeps breaking down anyway :)

It's quite humurous to see how desperately Ford is trying to rid themselves of the reputation of building unreliable cars through its participation in world racing leagues.

In the FIA World Rally Championship, Ford has so far pushed for nothing but getting manufacture's points, which are awarded to the manufacturer of vehicles for successfully completing stages, essentially measuring reliability of the cars.

But, since they are Fords, they kept breaking down anyway. :P

The two Focuses seem to be doing much better now days, however, and has one driver fairly high in the ladder, and another winning Rally Argentina, where almost everyone who's been leading the championship so far were forced to retire, and also gaining the status of The Most Successful FIA WRC Driver Ever.

What remains to be seen, however, is how well one car is able to redeem a company as big as Ford from such a long and infamous reliability record.

[Wapptor]

Thanks for all the info, I was never too sure about VVTL-i... I did know it was used in the Celica and all but now they're putting it in a Corolla? Too bad, that car's looks don't really justify the performance it could have. So Lift makes up for small displacement I guess, but 7500rpm's is insane. Guess its why they've now thrown this motor in the Lotus Elise.

-Wapptor

[--Pete]

Hi,

I mean, what do you expect from the "Fix Or Repair Daily" company?

Seriously, though. I had had three Fords when I bought the Explorer, one was a Pinto wagon and the other (which was really Magi's car) was a Taurus (first year they made them, '86 IIRC). Both of those gave excellent services with only minor maintenance. Then Magi traded in her Taurus for a Turbo Probe ('90, I think) which had some teething problems but otherwise worked fine.

By then I was convinced that Ford either didn't deserve the reputation or had overcome their problems. Then came this Explorer and a year later Magi's SHO. Both of those cars have been a maintenance nightmare, causing just enough trouble to keep us PO'ed at them but not enough to make us get rid of them (until recently when Magi had had enough and traded her SHO for a Honda Civic Hybrid -- the choice being between power and economy and economy won).

Right now, the Explorer's cruise control is busted, the "keys left in the ignition" ding goes off constantly when a door is open, the air conditioner is dead, etc. etc. Reminds me of the '50s and '60s British sports cars that would always get you there, but dropped unessential bits and pieces along the way. :)

So, after the Explorer and SHO, I couldn't care if Ford wins every race and rally (and gymkhana) event from here to Antarctica. The only way I'll have another Ford is to win one, and then I'll only keep it as long as it takes some used car dealer to write me a check.

Ford tried this same kind of crap in the '60s -- at that time using the sports car manufacturers championship to try to "prove" it put out a good product. About all they manage to prove was that an unstable powerful car on the back straight of Le Mans could fly for a little while.

I've had my fair share of unreliable cars, a trade I was once willing to make for "performance". But now that the roads are so packed that progressive driving is impossible (last time I did any street racing was around '90 or '91), I no longer want a car, just a reliable vehicle. And if Ford wants to prove to the world they make reliable vehicles, then possibly actually doing so will be more successful than winning trophies in a field that is only followed by people that know what a POS a Ford is in the first place.

--Pete

[Zafarium]

Hey DeeBye,

Whats your subliminal slogan?

[Munkay]

(insert subliminal slogan here)

Just kidding. It really says (Plunder. Be a Pirate. Pillage).

[DeeBye]

Hey DeeBye,

Whats your subliminal slogan?

It wouldn't be very subliminal if I told you, now would it?

[Lord_Olf]

Opel Vectra 2.5 V6 here. 170 horses, leather interior, sports package and some more bells and whistles. Black, of course.

Take care,

Lord_Olf

[Sir_Die_alot]

Pete a suggestion for your Explorer: All those same problems my Mom has experienced with her explorer except she has one more for that the list: the 4wd button shorted out. You might want to have them check and replace that proactivly, because that is something that is more than just an inconvenience when it goes out. (I was driving in Sierra overnight snow WEEEE! :wacko: )

[Zafarium]

Guess not.

Darn!

[kandrathe]

We might imagine it is a slogan from "Was tun, wenn's brennt?" -- "Break what breaks you!" DeeBye Anarchist.