4th Aug 2007, 15:43

08:14 Be realistic. How many cars did Toyota sell in 1977? Very few. So it's not really a surprise that you don't see a lot of them. Everybody was buying GM and Ford crap left and right, and it wasn't realized by the public yet that Toyota was way better than both of them.

People know this now, which is why Toyota is on the rise, and the other two are almost extinct. Try and remember the cars manufactured this year. In 15 years, it'll be the Camry's and Corolla's still on the road, while practically all of the scrap-heap Malibu's and Taurus' will be in the junkyard.

Another thing, if I'm going to spend $15,000 on any car, even if it's an 'economy' car, I'll gladly spend the extra 3 dollars a quart for some oil every 3000 miles; I think that this is just common sense. Nothing is more important to a car than good motor oil as opposed to cheap dollar-a-quart convenience store oil.

5th Aug 2007, 18:06

The same person posted five different times on August 4th. He must really be desperate to prove to himself that Toyota really is as good as Ford or Chevy.

He tries to side-step the Toyota engine sludging, and pretend that all American cars look the same, so nobody really sees old ones on the road. When in fact, it is the Japanese cars that look the same, and have remained boring since their inception.

And by the way, my '73 Dodge and '85 Dodge really are daily drivers, and not with 20,000 miles, either! The '73 Dodge has 135,000 miles on it, and the'85 Dodge has over 260,000 miles on it.

Sorry Toyota, but you have NOTHING to offer me!

6th Aug 2007, 10:17

Obviously the American cars have nothing to offer either, with slumping sales and Honda taking over Chrysler for sales, and Toyota already ahead. I do not think you guys stand a chance.

6th Aug 2007, 10:39

What if the oil/filters have always been done at the dealership? I never do my oil just to document and hope the warranty is honored.

6th Aug 2007, 13:40

The old adage is; 'if you want something done right, do it yourself'. Anyone capable should change their own oil. It usually takes about 20 minutes at most. I trust no one to work on my vehicles, and I never take them in unless it's a major repair that I don't have the tools or the time to do myself.

Then again, since I started buying Toyota's, I've never had to repair anything in 15 years. I've heard way too many horror stories from people that take their cars to someone else to fix, even something as simple as an oil change.

For example; the oil or filter, or both were never actually changed, the drain plug or filter was overtightened or not tight enough, a rag was left under the hood and caught fire, oil cap was never put back on, car got scratched... I could go on.

Do yourself a favor. Change your own oil; if you can't or don't want to, at least be SURE you trust whoever is doing it. Watch them do it. If the drain plug is left loose just once; you're driving with the radio turned up, and you run out of oil and the car overheats or seizes up, it's too late, the damage is done.

6th Aug 2007, 20:18

18:06 Well, I guess 260,000 is pretty impressive for a Dodge. For a Toyota owner, it's just routine. I get a kick out of this site. I, along with most of the rest of the people in the country, have known for a long time that Toyota are superior. They don't have anything left to prove. They're ahead in every possible way.

6th Aug 2007, 20:23

13:06, Toyota's were never plagued with head gasket problems? Please, be serious... You are either misinformed, or trying to pull the wool over everyone's eyes. Toyota's were notorious for head gasket problems for many years on both their four and six cylinder engines. I know several people who have had that problem, one just recently in fact on his Tacoma truck, and it is extremely serious. Try doing a Google search on that issue.

I would definitely agree that all car makers have their good points and bad, including Toyota. All have had their share of mistakes. But my personal experience tells me that the notion of Toyota's being superior is just a myth that keeps becoming more and more ridiculous every year. Toyota is now the industry leader in recalls- recalls which by the way they were forced to make, not ones they conducted voluntarily. To me, that is not an indication of quality.

7th Aug 2007, 07:26

I think we would be seeing all new cars across the board having issues with sludging. I have no issues with my 3 new domestics. If enough owner surveys indicate they are having this as an issue it indicates an inherently poor engine design in my opinion. The Toyota fanatic will not acknowledge ever any issues. In all fairness I would not buy certain Chryslers that seem to have the same issue. Owners automaticatically seem easy to blame over oil changes and if its done at the dealership I guess its still the owner. I change every 3000 miles oil and filter.

7th Aug 2007, 10:26

Cross your fingers and hope the drivetrain lasts... this is a truck not based on the little economy import theory. Truck buyers are very discerning and not like the car shoppers.

7th Aug 2007, 15:48

07:26 'Toyota fanatic' here. Guess I'm stuck with that name now.

Let me set the record straight: Toyota has problems occasionally. They're machines. All machines break. What sets Toyota apart is that they have far fewer problems because they try a lot harder (and succeed) to build a quality car that lasts a long time.

GM, Ford, and Dodge (as well as many other makes) do not do this. They produce as many as they can, as quick as they can to rake in a buck, whether the car is of quality or not, and with those three, it RARELY is.

Of course Toyota mass-produces too. But the quality control is clearly much more important to them. Sorry if you disagree, but it's true. The names 'Toyota', and 'Honda' carry the reputation of being high quality vehicles, because they are. GM, and Ford especially, do not. What you hear is 'found on road dead', and so forth. They've earned their reputation for making cheaply made vehicles.

You can argue it; I don't care, because the proof is in the sales trend that's been happening for years: the 'imports' get better quality ratings, and sell more vehicles. The 'domestics' lose face every day, and are losing market share even faster. That's a fact.

If you're writing in with a story about a domestic that has very high miles and has had no major work done, then you are in the extreme minority (assuming it's true at all). That's also a fact.