Oh, you don't half know what's good in life, do you?
A classic, in line, 6 cylinder, DOHC, Jag - wow. I just love those cars. With all due respect to the MB, BMW, Audi at al., but they will NEVER make a car like that.
The R is a car made by Japanese designers especially for Americans. I wanted to buy Spec V, but my wife is afraid of manual gear sticks.
They have now all the same, except gearbox.
I don't knoiw what is 20l/100 km, but I have always above 30 miles per gallon. Compared to Civic Hybrid from Honda that averages on 36. Armada that did 15 miles per gallon I sold. What a car it was! Flying tank, literally...
Edit: please don't call me"Japanese Patriot!" They really make very good cars!
The Germans don't think so, at least, judging from their "Auro, Motor & Sport" magazine, I believe one of the most serious ones around.
In all their tests, Japanese cars consistently make a grade below equivalent German made models, at roughly the same price.
Now, they rate even below German owned other country products; for example, in a triatlon between Honda Accord, Škoda Superb and VW Passat, the winner was the Škoda Superb, VW Passat came in second and Honda was third. Admittedly, the total score was pretty tight, small differences all around.
But, Czech Škoda, Spanish SEAT and Germany's Audi are all owned by the VW group, and in fact, all of them use very similar mechanics. A friend who works in Germany (Bosch fuel injection systems) told me that VW really does it by selection: best items (lowest tolerances) goe to Audi, second wave goes to VW and third wave goes to SEAT and Škoda.
Locally, we have a hell of a lot of Škodas, always have, and I can vouch for the fact that they are nothing like the Škodas of the communist era (which were terrible, cheap but junk, and ugly to boot), these days they are directly competitive with any world class manufacturers.
I never owned a Japanese car, so I have zero experience, and besides, they often have entire model lines made for the US market only, so it's very hard to compare sometimes.
My current family car is an 11 year olf Daewoo Nubira, which is simply a GM Germany Opel with a different skin, and minus a lot of gadgets, but also minus around $ 7,000 off the price tag. Overall, I have to say that was one of my best technical purchases ever, I actually had no breakdowns, although I have been to the service recently, as mechanical parts start to naturally wear down and need to be exchanged. But calculating back, my annual maintenance cost for that car, including the annual service (oil change, filter change, etc), works out to less than $150 per annum, including labor.
I am now investigating what's on offer in the up to €20,000 price bracket (app. US$ 28,000). Bear in mind that cars are quite a bit more expensive in Europe than in the US. At the top of my list at this time is GM's Chevrolet Cruze, with an GM/Opel diesel engine, 2 litres, 16V DOHC, delivering 163 hp and 360 Nm (app. 215 lb.ft) of torque. Decent performance (0-60 mph in 8.5 sec, top speed 130 mhp) and even better fuel economy, in a car which is totally unbeatable in any price/performance shootout, most bang for your buck hands down.
It's a sort of a modern version of what I already have, but a little pepped up. Being extremely satisfied with what I already have, I think it's natural that I should not change horses.
Now, here's the REALLY odd thing. Chevy Cruze is GM's first really world car, it's made in 5 factories in Asia, North America, South America, Australia and Europe, the European center being (Wavebourn, pay attention!) GM Poland (where my car was also assembled). Everywhere, that car has a standard warranty of 2 or 3 years, EXCEPT in Serbia, where the warranty is 5 years.
Normally, I'd count that as a freak accident, but it goes on and on. Germany's VW group (VW, Audi, SEAT and Škoda) are guaranteed for 2 years in Germany, but 4 years in Serbia. Ditto BMW, ditto MB. How and why, I have no idea (beside the obvious, to raise otherwise very sluggish sales rates), but I am certainly not complaining.
That same Cruze I am looking at costs, according to catalogs, € 21,000 in Germany, and I have been asked for €16,700 for it. Go figure.
I had to buy another car since my 17 year old Mercedes sort of exploded on the highway on Boxing day. Second hand Jags are the best bargain at the moment here in the Netherlands, thanks to the crisis and the high price of gasoline. My last three cars were Mercs, but once you go Jag, you will never go back.
vac
You NEED this to get home?
Any Yeti sightings in your neighbourhood?
Of course, it is not Japanese, I would never buy it.
Here was mine, atached. 5.6 L, V8, 315 horses. Sold after got a job in San Francisco to buy smaller car.
It is hard to compare because Japanese and German cars here and in Evropa are different,
and different are their prices.
Speaking of competitions, Kamaz several times won Paris - Dakar and Paris - Cape Town rally, but I would never buy it. I better buy someathing like Tatra or Volvo. Even though I myself used to work for Kamaz corporation.
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How true.
The old game of special models for different markets is alive and well in the auto industry, but truth be told, just as in other industries as well. Yamaha's top CD player some 9 or 10 years ago, CDX 993, was sold just about everywhere except in North America - why not there as well is a mystery. America's own Harman Kardon had and has models which it sells everywhere EXCEPT in North America (though this may have changed lately, I'm a little out of touch).
But it works the other way as well. For example, Chevrolet Cruze is available in the US with either a classic 1.8 litre, 140 hp engine, or a 138 hp 1.4 litre turbo blown engine - which is not available in Europe. Europe has to make do with classic aspirated 1.6 l (124 hp), 1.8 l (142 hp) and 2.0 l diesel (163 hp). I have my eye on the diesel model - the older version used Italy's MV Motori diesel, but the current crop uses Germany's Opel engine.
My choice would be the 1.4 litre turbo version, but it seems I can't have it.
A friend of mine recently just sold his TVR after almost 40 years. Very emotional. Then he got into his mid-80's Bentley and drove to work. Life is still good. "Everything is failing right on schedule" and at least the Bentley has trunk space to hold a few spare parts. You can buy one for less than a fair Accord and if you keep it on the road as a daily driver, they don't fail much more than a new BMW. I do wonder if you can see the gas gauge actually fall when you stomp on the turbos. It does have "adequate" horse power.
Regarding the Cruze, I have several levels of equipment and 3 engines to pick from, well, two really, because the 1.6 124 bhp engine is for low level entry models only. So, either it's a 1.8 litre petrol engine, delivering 141 bhp with 176 Nm of torque, or the 2 litre diesel with 163 bhp and 360 Nm of torque.
I've test driven both.
The 1.8 litre version is exactly what its name says, a cruiser - it will do 0-60 mph in 10 seconds, top speed some 125 mph with a 5 gear manual box.
The diesel version is a little more perky, it does 0-60 mph in 8.5 seconds, and has a top speed of some 128 mph, with a six gear manual box.
The diesel would be my choice, because it does offer more power, especially in the troque department, and it uses up reasonable amounts of fuel, a bit less than the petrol version. Cost is € 16,900,
Also on my as yet undecided list are Ford Focus and Renault Megane. Both are Golf class cars, both have petrol turbocharged engines and both eat up less fuel than the Cruze in any version.
Ford Focus has the typical Ford attributes - its handling is second to none (in its class, of course), it has very efficient brakes with no fading and is well equipped in the version I am interested in. It's powered by Ford's latest Duratech 1.6 litre turbocharged engine, delivering 150 bhp and 240 Nm of torque, with direct fuel injection, variable cam timing, etc. Cost is €18,200.
Renault Megane is more or less the same as the Focus, no wonder since they are direct competitors. It has a 1.4 litre engine, delivering 130 bhp with 190 Nm of torque, a 6 gear box, and all of amenities. Cost is € 17,400.
It's handling is way behind the Focus, which also betters it in terms of passive safety. But, the Megane is better sprung in my view, more comfortable, it is audibly more quiet inside and has exceptionally comfortable seats, an old trait of most French cars.
The funny thing is, that Focus, although it has a more powerful engine all around, and the weight difference is less than 100 lbs, is actually more perky than the Focus, when it should be the other way around. It appears from brief personal and extensive magazine measurements, that Ford has uncommonly large losses in delivering nominal power to the wheels. I never thought I'd see the day when Ford would be accused of that, this is their first.
Internally, the Cruze wins on available space hands down. The Ford is a little claustophobic to me, I don't like to feel boxed in.
In boot capacity, Cruze wins again, but then it is the largest of all three cars, adding around 11 inches on overall length.
It's self-supporting chassis is GM's last word on the matter, and strangely enough, the Cruze had it before GM's prime time offering, the Opel Astra.
In terms of safety, while all three garnered the maximum European safety mark of 5 NCAP stars, the Focus leads, as it is the newest of the lot.
In this contest, the perkiest of all is definitely the Cruze with the diesel engine, in fact, it feels rather slick behind the wheel. They hit an almost ideal match of the engine with the gearbox, and you can feel it - the car is responsive at all times, and in all regimes of driving.
Its most outstanding fault is that it becomes a bit noisy at maximum allowed speeds on European highways, i.e at 130 kmh/h (81 mph). Installing deflectors on the front windows (an optional extra, very cheap) reduces noise very significantly and it drops back to average levels in that price class.
I am looking at this car as a family car, not a personal runabout. Therefore, comfort takes precedence over sporty.
Bloody X Type 2.5V6 Jag has gone wrong yet again.
She (and this one is a definite SHE) has decided to snap a front suspension spring at 100K miles.
Last job was replacing both fuel tanks and both fuel pumps (£800). It's actually a single tank but as it goes over the transmission tunnel it has two halves.
She (and this one is a definite SHE) has decided to snap a front suspension spring at 100K miles.
Last job was replacing both fuel tanks and both fuel pumps (£800). It's actually a single tank but as it goes over the transmission tunnel it has two halves.
Wow! €1,000 for a replacement fuel tank? That's steep.
I am also looking at the possibility of doing the same for my current Daewoo Nubira. First it's to be taken off, cleaned and inspected. Then, if there's need for it, something can be replaced.
But I'm at the 50k miles mark.
£1000 seems normal for a main dealer to change a fuel tank.
A few years ago Autocar magazine filled up a few of their diesel long-term test cars with petrol and drove them until they stopped to compare how different dealers deal with that.
The worst was the Chrysler Voyager where the dealership insisted that the entire fuel system (tank, fuel lines, injectors, pump etc) has got to be changed at a cost of £5000.
BMW just drained the tank and changed the fuel filter at a cost of £250 and Skoda did the same for £145. Neither thought that changing anything would be necessary and it wasn't. Warranties were not affected.
A few years ago Autocar magazine filled up a few of their diesel long-term test cars with petrol and drove them until they stopped to compare how different dealers deal with that.
The worst was the Chrysler Voyager where the dealership insisted that the entire fuel system (tank, fuel lines, injectors, pump etc) has got to be changed at a cost of £5000.
BMW just drained the tank and changed the fuel filter at a cost of £250 and Skoda did the same for £145. Neither thought that changing anything would be necessary and it wasn't. Warranties were not affected.
I just took the car to the dealers' place. I explained what was my problem and was told that if it all boiled down to muck in the fuel thank, the cost of dismantling the tank, and the entire fuel line to the engine, washing them and putting them back on would cost me some €66, or about 51 quid.
If I am out of luck, and the fuel pump needs to be changed, I'll have to pay some €255 or about 200 quid. for a new one, on top of the above price.
So, worst case event about 250 quid. Not cheap, but not overboard either.
This is the offcial service of the importer. If I went all private, I could get away with about 50 quid less, but also with the risk of work quality all on me. Not worth the risk.
If I am out of luck, and the fuel pump needs to be changed, I'll have to pay some €255 or about 200 quid. for a new one, on top of the above price.
So, worst case event about 250 quid. Not cheap, but not overboard either.
This is the offcial service of the importer. If I went all private, I could get away with about 50 quid less, but also with the risk of work quality all on me. Not worth the risk.
An INFINITELY more interesting test would have been the other way around, if they poured diesel fuel into petrol engines. Then you'd have seen some differences in prices running wild. 1 will get you 100 that some would demand that they change the entire engine.
The springs LOOKED easy.
On the X type they are fairly long bottle springs and the local mart spring compressor couldn't reach far enough to compress them. I've had to buy another pair so that I can compress the springs enough.
And its been F*****G R*****G all day, I've been sat in an increasingly big puddle all day.
On the X type they are fairly long bottle springs and the local mart spring compressor couldn't reach far enough to compress them. I've had to buy another pair so that I can compress the springs enough.
And its been F*****G R*****G all day, I've been sat in an increasingly big puddle all day.
That was second hand parts. One fuel tank, two fuel pumps and an eon of labour.
With the Jag they had to drop the rear suspension (its four wheel drive) to change the tank.
Car manufacturers have a problem to maintain their networks of dealerships, with razor thin margins, less periodic maintenance and increased mtbf's. Well, a worn down clutch is just regular wear, something which is bound to come up, so why not hide it as far away as you can, just to throw some work to the dealers? I am sure my thinking is more evil than big capital will ever be, so it must just be awkward design or an oversight.
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