5th Mar 2007, 18:44
16:19; I agree with you to some extent, but if Toyota has slipped a little in quality, they still have not dropped to the level of GM. And if I'm not mistaken, Toyota recently said that they are going to scale back production to correct this; something that GM has never done, as they have never built a quality product, or at least not for the last 30 years.
Toyota, just as you say, is famous for the quality vehicles they once produced, and still do produce today. It is the wish of every Big 3 car fanatic that Toyota falls to the level of GM or Ford, instead of embarrassing them as they always have done and still do. Sorry, guys, not going to happen. They may be having some issues right now, but they will be corrected properly, and will continue their well earned reputation for reliability and fine engineering.
No, they don't break down like "domestics" do; rather; not nearly as often. They will continue to rise, GM and Ford will continue to fall, as it should be.
5th Mar 2007, 20:04
I agree, when I moved to my new job, I made a decision to live as close as possible to work, knowing that I would save a lot more gas over the years, compared to if I bought a cheaper house farther away.
Gas prices don't bother me that much simply because I don't buy much gas even with driving older, relatively fuel inefficient vehicles. I've done the calculations, and buying a new car based on fuel efficiency would be a money loser for me, so luckily I have the luxury of driving what I want, which is not an econo-box.
If I were going to buy something based on fuel savings, it would have to be a used car in the $7,200 range that got 30 mpg, and then it would pay for itself in about 5 years.
5th Mar 2007, 21:00
The 33 mpg Honda Fit beat a Ferrari in the slalom according to Car and Driver.
If you think "econoboxes" are boring to drive you obviously haven't driven any.
6th Mar 2007, 02:03
10:21 on 3/4/2007, you hit the nail on the head.
If people bought cars based on quality and value, Mercedes-Benz would be out of business, and the Ford Fusion would sell way more.
6th Mar 2007, 05:10
16:54; call me a tree hugger, but this country and the world in general are in serious trouble partially because people just drive whatever they want with no concern for fuel consumption and waste.
The United States alone uses over 33% of the WORLD'S oil supply, and we put out that much waste also. We are the LAST remaining civilized country in the world that has not adopted more strict regulations when it comes to gas mileage and emissions that are common everywhere else.
The 'econo-box' is the only way to go. Yeah, I know we need other things for construction sites and farms and such, but if a 4 cylinder will get you where you need to go, don't buy a v-8 hemi. Maybe you don't care about this, but science assures us that without some drastic changes RIGHT NOW our kids and grandkids will suffer over it. I don't mean to get all political and environmental on a site not meant for it, but changing what we drive, reducing oil usage and thereby waste products will help correct this.
6th Mar 2007, 09:12
That's fine. When it becomes economically feasible, I'll be glad to buy a hybrid, and over time, even used cars are becoming more fuel efficient as the older ones drop away. In fact, my old 15 mpg truck is about to be retired in favor of a new 23 mpg truck. As for myself, I use less gas driving a fuel inefficient vehicle a short distance than somebody using a fuel efficient car a longer distance. Driving 20 miles per day (round trip) to work in a 15 mpg vehicle uses 347 gallons of gas in a year. Driving 100 miles per day (round trip) to work in a 30 mpg vehicle uses 867 gallons of gas in a year. 50 miles round trip at 30 mpg is still 433 gallons of gas, and 100 miles round trip at 40 mpg is still 650 gallons per year. The average commute now is 50-60 miles, one way (100-120 miles round trip). So, is the econo-box always the answer?? I guess not, since I'm using about half the gasoline that they are. I wish you "tree huggers" would stop ruining the planet with all your irresponsible fuel wasting! You figure you are blameless saints just because you get 40 mpg in some puddle jumper.
6th Mar 2007, 11:34
How about our government coming up with alternative fuels rather than suffer our way of life.
6th Mar 2007, 14:11
To 11:34 - it's not the government's responsibility to make alternative fuels appear out of a hat. It's a bigger, more logistical problem than one would think.
6th Mar 2007, 14:39
12:22 A lot of people think the way you do and that is the problem. No disrespect meant, but your comment is painfully uninformed about the actual science behind this. Yes, science has proven this; very solidly. Do yourself a favor, not because I say so, but for your own education and enjoyment: find a video called "An Inconvenient Truth", watch it, and then see how you feel about the comment you made here. Al Gore narrates; actually, it is a speech and kind of slideshow that he gives that will explain this to you.
6th Mar 2007, 16:54
To 14:11.
Funny the govenment can make wars appear out of a hat. One would think they could put the billions wasted on that to infrastructure changes.
The REAL issue is not so much the infrastructure, but which form of alternative fuel will win. No one wants to spend trillions on infrastructure on a technology that won't be universally accepted.
Or, to put it another way, you don't want to bet the future on Beta when VHS was the preferred format.
7th Mar 2007, 05:02
Maybe private industry will drive the government to follow suit with alternative fuels. In the interim it's a shame that individuals have to lower their standard of life driving in drone hum drum vehicles...
7th Mar 2007, 07:35
How far can we go with this? Lets take public mass transportation buses,trains and have absolutely no cars whatsoever or individuality. Lets strip technological advances to provide a solution and all drive little boxes and potato shaped automobiles. Lets tear down large homes and all live in ranch houses... Come on lets be real. I have to believe that we are all smarter that to fall into this hype. Keep your Hemi, but do not drive it a hundred miles a day using less gas in the end then those doing hefty commutes in the econo boxes burning more fuel.
5th Mar 2007, 16:54
Camry is number 3 in sales in the USA...if gas ever stabilizes it will interesting to see if people will return to buying what they prefer again. I refuse to be herded into the little econo blah vehicles... I cannot lose passion over driving even if the fuel prices are unreasonable. I moved closer to work and feel fortunate to not compromise.