15th Nov 2011, 16:10
That is exactly why when I buy a high performance vehicle, it is to be taken off the truck in my presence, and I am to be the only driver of it. I too worked at a couple of dealers, and we did the same crap. I had a Mustang going 80 in third gear after power sliding it around a corner on dry pavement... with 8 miles on it. I know all too well what yahoos at dealers do to the cars.
You are probably right about the lack of damage on a new engine, but I still don't like paying for something and having some thoughtless punk beat the heck out of it before I get it. I once was that thoughtless punk... LOL!!
15th Nov 2011, 20:25
I was all set to buy a 2012 Accord based on research.
When I test drove it however, I discovered that the headrest pushed my head forward no matter how I set the seats. This would not only be uncomfortable, it would give me a back ache. I researched this specific issue and discovered others complained about it also. I found this to be a problem for all Honda and all Toyota models. I am not sure about other cars yet. I would love to hear from others who experienced this.
16th Nov 2011, 13:49
Nearly all cars have this type of headrest nowadays. It really does prevent whiplash in a rear end collision. Some are more comfortable than others. I actually had an Accord, and when I first bought it, I felt like you did. The seat head rest was very intrusive and I felt uncomfortable with it. The reason for this is that I wasn't used to feeling it on the back of my head, so I was compensating for that by pulling forward so it wasn't touching me. Then I realized I was causing my own discomfort, and started just relaxing against the headrest. After that, I started to enjoy the headrest as it actually took the strain off of my back, by adding that extra support. It's just something you have to get used to. My Ford has the same angled headrest in it. Now that I am used to it, I wouldn't want to go back to the days of useless low headrests that did nothing to actually support you.
26th Feb 2012, 13:34
I took a road trip recently with a friend in his new Accord. It was on a stretch of rural interstate. I was shocked at the horrible level of road noise in the car. We had to shout at each other to be heard. None of our three cars (two Fords and one GM) require yelling inside in order to carry on a conversation. Is this a typical trait of all Accords? If so, I can't fathom why people buy them. I certainly wouldn't.
27th Feb 2012, 08:45
Hmmmmm, this sounds suspiciously similar to the RAV 4 comments about noise. It's always a friends car... maybe I am just imagining things...
Okay, I had an Accord. It was an LX-P so basically entry level, and in NO WAY was it noisy. I actually found myself going up over 75 with it many times because it was so darn quiet you couldn't tell how fast it was going! It is on par or better than the rest of its class for noise levels. I chose the car over the Fusion V6 because of its smooth ride and super quiet cabin.
Seriously, why people keep coming up with these "I have to shout to carry on a conversation" stories is beyond me. It is not reality. In fact there is NO CAR built today that requires shouting back and forth to converse. This is nothing but a claim by someone who obviously hates imports, and who is trying to win some argument that domestics are better, when they clearly have never owned the import they are complaining about.
I really wish the comments would be kept in the realm of reality here. Shouting back and forth in a car? PLEASE!!
3rd Sep 2012, 02:22
You notice that he talks about the "two Fords and a GM"... sure they were quiet, because they were either in the shop, so he wasn't driving them, or was sitting quietly at the side of the road waiting for a tow truck!
After my experiences with my last THREE American cars, all of which cost me THOUSANDS in repairs by 100K (including my current 2000 continental), my next car WILL be a Honda or Toyota.
3rd Sep 2012, 21:11
There absolutely are cars that are so loud inside at freeway speed, that you have to yell to carry on a conversation. The very noisy RAV4 is definitely one of them. Another is the base Honda Accord. I have been on trips in both these cars, and the road noise inside at 70 is just deafening.
4th Sep 2012, 09:47
I had a 2008 RAV-4. That vehicle had enough road noise to drive me insane. It was like driving on gravel at all times.
4th Sep 2012, 11:56
You are going from a Lincoln to a Honda? How about a new Cadillac with the LS motor and a 6 speed trans. It is an engineering marvel. Sure you will see some great strides since 2000. Their wagon alone is the fastest domestic car in 2012.
5th Sep 2012, 10:06
Are we seriously talking about road noise? I recall seeing these exact same comments before. I'm willing to bet the next comments will be about some distant cousin who owned such-and-such Honda or Toyota, and they were far worse than their "domestics" or some other generic meaningless statement.
5th Sep 2012, 13:17
No offense, but this is absolutely not true - I could carry on a conversation at highway speeds in my old Jeep Wrangler, with 31" off-road tires, and the aerodynamics of a brick.
I've driven and ridden in plenty of Honda Accords, and they were as quiet as any car.
If you have to shout to carry on a conversation in any car, it must have bad wheel bearings and severely cupped tires.
Today's vehicles are so quiet, I didn't even have to raise my voice to carry on a conversation in either my Saab 9-3 Convertible or my Chrysler Sebring Convertible.
I would have to agree with those who suggested that this might be more anti-import comments. Which if it is, is just a shame that this behavior continues on this fine web site.
If you really must slam imports, please start your own site and leave the rest of us alone.
14th Nov 2011, 18:35
I always laugh out loud at the comments about driving a car "gently" for the first few miles. I worked for a dealership (Ford), and can assure you these cars get far, far more abuse from the dealership staff and sales crew than any customer could ever dish out. I've seen dealership employees do burn-outs in cars with less than 10 miles on the odometer. I've watched salesmen and service techs do 180-degree spins with the emergency brakes, blast over speed bumps at 60mph and red-line brand new engines left and right. Modern domestic cars are designed to shrug off this sort of treatment. It doesn't hurt them at all. Some of our customers would have had a fit if they had known what their brand new cars had been through before they got them.