20th Nov 2006, 04:55

My parents drive a Lincoln Navigator. They are far from unrefined. Hopefully we have learned a lot from the hard work and education they passed on to us. I prefer domestics myself.

20th Nov 2006, 08:36

If someone disagrees with owning a Toyota they are not worthy of an intelligent conversation. I do not know what your background or intelligence level is. With all due respect I am not going to base my buying decision on an individual cruising solo in a Tacoma. I cannot see how you can make random comments on an entire automotive industry. It doesn't follow. There are business owners that purchase fleets of pick ups, company cars etc. on here that read these reviews. I would rather read their experiences. That would benefit my situation more than this. I prefer domestics.

20th Nov 2006, 10:30

Where is the refined ride? I drive 3000 miles a month. I own a 2005 Silverado V6 and already have over 70,000 miles with minimal routine maintenance. The V6 runs smooth and gets good mpg. I most of all do not want a harsh bouncy ride. My Silverado is comfortable and I love it! Too much hype. Drive what I do a month as far as the mileage and report back.

20th Nov 2006, 11:14

In response to comment 16:18: THANK YOU!! It is very refreshing to read comments from honest and intelligent car owners such as you. My family has also owned a Toyota (a Celica GT) and found it to be no more reliable or inexpensive to drive than our 1977 Buick LeSabre (which went 230,000 miles without a problem). As a therapist I'm very familiar with how people's thought processes work, and all your comments regarding how people perceive value are right on. I could drive a Mercedes if I wanted to impress people, but I prefer spending my money more sensibly and choose American made cars because they are far and away the best in value. My cars are meticulously maintained and never have problems. My total repair costs on my family's Ford, GM and Chrysler cars and SUV's since 1989 has been exactly ZERO. I don't see how you can do any better than that, plus they offer style, comfort and performance that is lacking in the imports. Thank you for your very intelligent and factual comment. I wish others on this site were as thoughtful and honest.

21st Nov 2006, 02:25

My first car was a 89 corolla. Got it real cheap because at a little over 60k the head blew. Fixed it up with my dad, and aside from being frugal on gas it was slow, boring to drive and scary on the freeway when larger cars passed you by.

It didn't last me long, and it wasn't Toyota's fault either, because it got totaled by an old Ford F-150, that only received a small dent in the bumper.

Morale of the story? Reliability is overrated. You should always consider Safety first, then running costs.

I still wish one the manufacturers would make a 4 cylinder diesel midsize truck.

BTW: I visited the GM Pontiac plant, where they make the Full size pickups for Chevy & GMC and I was amazed.

21st Nov 2006, 05:48

To 2:25. I want to be safe too, but I disagree. You don't need to drive a boat like a Ford Excursion to be safe. There's nothing wrong with those smaller cars, until they get hit by some soccer mom on her cell phone in a Chevy Suburban, who thinks that her vehicle has to be large enough to serve as a movie theater and a playground for her kids.

21st Nov 2006, 14:57

Exactly! I wouldn't be caught dead driving an underpowered, tiny car like a corolla. The fact is I see more maniacs driving around in small cars, but it doesn't matter what runs into you if your car is the size of a toaster and weighs next to nothing, you'll still be a LOT more hurt, or dead!

I'm not going to buy some econo-box, and just HOPE I won't get smashed headlong into by a delivery truck, pickup or SUV, that doesn't seem very smart to me.

21st Nov 2006, 15:41

Well maybe its time for a brand new 2007 GM for safety purposes alone. Gm has the Onstar system... hands free on all GM's. In the ceiling is a voice actuated phone system that auto dials the #. I never take my eyes off the road. In addition my twin DVD's in the rear quietly occupies my children without front seat distraction. I would much rather have this setup then what I see in morning rush hours, How about the compact young lady drivers applying makeup, using the hand held cell phones, brushing their hair with a occupied child seat in the back. Granted it costs more for an economy oriented car driver with young children to have a safe setup like the new GM's. But they offer it in all the GM models. I agree safety is #1. You should sell immediately and get for safety since you have a particular obsession with safety!! I think Onstar is the best feature I have ever owned. If my wife and kids are lost, in an accident, the air bags deploys help is on the way. I think hand held cell phones should be banned from driving in all states... hands free only.

21st Nov 2006, 16:51

Here are some more interesting facts: last year, Toyota had 12 recalls, covering 2.2 million vehicles. Ford had 17 recalls, covering 6 million vehicles, and General Motors had THIRTY recalls, covering over more than 5.1 million vehicles. Some Impala's, as well as other GM vehicles, have faulty gas tanks, a fire hazard. Some '06 GM's have faulty seat belts. Some Fords have faulty connections at the fuel filters, a fire hazard. This was by far Toyota's worst year for recalls, and they still are ahead of Ford and GM by no less than 3.8 MILLION vehicles. Also, Toyota recalled cars with the airbag problems after having only SEVENTEEN incidents reported; the kind of thing that Ford or GM would probably have let go until it was too late. They have let worse issues slip by.

21st Nov 2006, 17:47

Size doesn't always matter in collisions. Several years ago, before air bags were made mandatory because of idiots who refused to wear seat belts, I came upon a really bad collision between a small subcompact and a full-size American made car. The subcompact was very badly damaged, but the lady who had been driving it had had her seat and shoulder belt on and was not hurt at all. The lady driving the full-size car had apparently not wanted to wrinkle her dress by buckling her belts. She had died instantly of a broken neck even though her car (a Ford LTD) had hardly any damage at all. Modern safety equipment protects even drivers of small cars really well.