23rd Nov 2006, 11:59
I agree... first car... probably male never owned any of the true America classics. There is no way anyone that's owned a classic big block Chevelle Super Sport, GTO,442,Grand Sport, Corvette, Camaro SS or Z28 to name a few would feel the same as someone owning a Camry sedan. And the domestics were available in Convertibles!! There are however some cool new models coming out with better and better technology and even faster than in the past. I don't get the armchair reviews, resale etc. wheres the passion and excitement?? I guess I want a lot more than just getting around.
23rd Nov 2006, 15:32
A really great example of a true American (future classic) muscle car is the 500hp 2007 Shelby Mustang. It has all the sportiness of the older (64-70) Mustangs and has the advantage of all the latest in safety and technology. Such cars inspire a passion and excitement. I'm also anxiously awaiting the arrival of the new Camaro and Challenger. A touch of excitement and sportiness is much needed in an era when all cars (foreign and domestic) are as boring as stale bread. In addition, the advances in technology make the newer high-performance models as fuel efficient as economy cars from a few years ago.
24th Nov 2006, 22:55
I know this is apples and oranges, but it seems like we've already been comparing Apples with Oranges, comparing Full-size trucks with mid-size trucks. It isn't really a news flash to me that a mid-size truck is smaller than a full size. ha ha. Anyways.
I just bought a Tacoma, so I can't comment on wear and tear, as it's the first I've owned.
The reason I went with the Toyota over an American truck is my experience with Jeep, which was my last vehicle. I had nothing, but problems with that thing. The brakes literally fell off on the front driver side after about 20,000 miles. The exhaust manifold cracked just over 50,000. Various seals leaked, bearings had to be replaced. It seemed like for the last year I had to take the thing in and get $1000.00 plus worth of work on it every time I got the oil changed.
I had to argue with the dealer to get this work done under the warranty. One dealer told me some work wasn't covered under the warranty, and I had to call Daimler Chrysler to get them to verify it. He ended up keeping the Jeep for almost 2 weeks working on it (this was to fix the cracked manifold). I only had 60,000 miles on it. A couple of weeks ago it started making a strange knocking sound when I was backing up. I don't know what that was, 'because by then I was just tired of it, so I got rid of it and bought the Toyota.
Everyone I know who owns a Toyota truck says nothing, but good things about them, and I bought the thing on reputation. It's very comfortable, the cab seems roomy to me (compared to my Wrangler, ha ha). Of course it's smaller than my Dad's F150, but duh, that's because it's not a full size. Not everyone WANTS a full size. I live in the city and don't like driving a huge, wide, full size truck downtown. You can't park it anywhere, and I don't own an 8000.lbs boat that I need to pull.
I guess I'll drive it for a few years, and then I'll let you guys know.
25th Nov 2006, 13:28
We are comparing apples to oranges because of the slam to the Silverado in this review, which was obviously written by a Toyota employee.
26th Nov 2006, 12:20
Yeah, there really are some awesome small and mid-size SUV's out there, and some are pretty fast even with a standard engine. When we got ready to trade our Explorer (we've owned 2 Explorers) we test drove a lot of mid-size SUV's. both foreign and domestic. When we drove the base GMC Envoy with the standard in-line 6, we were hooked!! It is so much faster than the V-8 Explorer that there is no comparison. The Trailblazer SS, of course, is light years ahead of it, but for a base SUV the Envoy is awesome. It is faster than my V-6 truck and rides like a dream. I still prefer a real SUV (truck based, rear drive) to a crossover model, and in real SUV's the Trailblazer and Envoy are the best.
27th Nov 2006, 22:07
I just sold my 2000 F250 crew superduty truck and it was a good truck.
Besides the v10 engine and it was a gas eater it did not need any major repairs.Now I can't make up my mind if I should stay with a domestic or jump on the Toyota wagon. We are looking at a Toyota Tacoma 4 door.
I get mixed reviews on all makes so I am really confused. Can't really compare my old Ford to a Toyota. Two completely different trucks. On top of all this each dealership says theirs are the best. What does one do??
28th Nov 2006, 08:17
Well, I'm guessing if you had a V10 F250, you probably need something at least slightly heavy duty. Therefore I think one of the new '07 Silverado's, an F150, Dodge Ram or Nissan Titan would be good to put on your list.
28th Nov 2006, 12:40
To 21:47; my current vehicle is my eighth one. My point about the '69 Chevelle is that in it's day, it was a high quality, excellent vehicle that made good use of the current technology. Today's GM's certainly do not make good use of current technology, such as Toyota does. Today's GM's are not high quality, reliable vehicles that are reflective of TODAY'S current technology. GM has been slipping ever since then. It's a matter of build quality, and of their vehicles being state of the art. Toyota, Honda, possibly even Hyundai, are progressive, state of the art auto makers. GM is trailing behind, just happy to churn out as much crap as they can in order to try and keep their heads above water. It's not working.
22nd Nov 2006, 21:47
Comment 19:10 says "We're not talking about 1969 Chevelles here" and that "They (I assume he means GM) ONCE made good cars." My first new car was a '70 Chevelle SS. I can assure you today's GM cars are so far ahead of the 60's and 70's cars (and trucks) that there is no comparison. Talk of American cars going "downhill" since those days shows an incredible lack of knowledge and experience with automobiles. Every year all auto makers are improving EVERYTHING about their products. The cars of the 60's and 70's are stone age compared to a new '07 ANYTHING. I doubt that the commenter in comment 19:10 had even been BORN in 1969, let alone ever owned a '69 Chevelle. Judging from many of the comments I strongly suspect he is quite young and probably has never owned anything other than his current vehicle. It's normal to be proud of your first car or truck, but to make blanket condemnations of others who drive something else, and to make silly and unfounded statements, only serves to make the point for the far more experienced and better informed American car owners. I let a friend of mine read these comments and his immediate reaction was "If that's how Toyota owners think, I'm buying a FORD!!"