ford-boy

Ok. Lets see. Car and Driver long term test- In a nutshell eight (8) trips to the dealer for UNSCHEDULED repairs to : sunroof (twice), side view mirrors, head rest, power outlets, power window. In addition, 3 or 4 recalls were taken care of as well!!!! Shifting problem, acuralink reprogramming, etc. Stick with your Fords.

You are not mistaken. They spent $1.68 for "the sticky silver stuff" and duct taped the sunroof shut. According to the article, that was at 3456 miles. It wasn't fixed until 5222 miles.

I saw a long term road test of the RL in the April CAR and DRIBBLE rag-azine. The just under $50,000 RL's first trip back to the dealer was to fix a stuck sunroof in the open position. While at the deqaler to install new motor for sunroof, 2 recall services were taken care of. 600 miles later, it was back to the dealer to fix the right front window and side view mirror as BOTH stopped working. Two thousand miles later the sunroof came down with the same disease. 5000 miles later, back to the dealer to fix BOTH side view mirrors AND BOTH power outlets. Then at 33,000 miles, the left rear headrest wouldn't stay up, (maybe viagra?) and the power outlets had the same disease AGAIN! While at the dealer for these items, the dealer took care of THREE recalls reprogramming Onstar, AcuraLink and and the transmission for an upshift problem. In 40,000 miles the car went to the dealer for 5 scheduled services and EIGHT unscheduled repairs. Undaunted by all this, Car and Dribble says, " Still, all these visits didn't reduce the RL's popularity around the office." Out of SEVEN drivers that lived with the car, only one found it bothersome enough to write, "We ran out of room in the service section of the logbook. " Having read posts on this forum for a while now, I KNOW what you all are thinking. If it was a Ford........... It just boggles the mind. In the same issue, Tony Swan CRUSHES the Zephyr with scathing critisism. Apparently, the Zeph didn't suffer any electrical or mechanical problems. Hey! Maybe thats why he didn't like it, ya think??

The five Hundred rec'd FIVE star rating in ALL impact tests from NHTSA WITHOUT side curtains. That is front for both driver and passenger, then rear side impact for BOTH front and rear . The Camry was rated five star in frontal for both driver and passenger, 4 star in side impact for front seat and 3 star in rear side impact.

I wonder if the continued manipulation of the exchange rate contributes to the bonuses?

Just a hypothetical: What would happen if a Canadian bought a Honda with NO warrantee (it was cheaper in Canada) and drove to the US. During the same week the car was in US, Honda issued a TSB (AKA RECALL ) for a safety related item. The car suffered a problem with the TSB-Recall item and was towed to the dealer. Does Honda fix it free or do they pass? If its a safety related item, are they obligated to make good no matter what country its in? If they call it a TSB, (as opposed to a recall), does that change the legal landscape for Honda? And I'm still not sure why a cheaper in Canada car would NOT come with a warrantee. Was the car purchased new, used or was it off lease or a demonstrator?

We ALL know, some of us from first hand experience, that the media is a living. breathing monster that has the power to phrase things in a way that serves its own bias and agenda and political leanings. Years ago, when a form of public entitlment was considered for changes that would ease the budget deficit, one side of the political isle cried "CUTS. CUTS!! They want to cut your entitlment. Your 75 year old mother can no longer live on her own!! You will have to take her in" The other side of the isle said, "We are slowing down the rate of your INCREASE. You will not be getting CUTS to your current entitlment. This is NOT a cutting of your current monthly income!!" To further cloud the issue, the media do not provide hard numbers and clarification. I am a math teacher and thrive on HARD numbers. Let me know EXACTLY what the numbers are and I can then make up my own mind. I'm STILL confused about the HONDA. Recall--TSB---what yiou call it can lead one to TWO seperate conclusions like the CUTS-SLOWING scenario above. First, is the trans from the Canadian car the same one as used in US? The NHTSA , I guess, has domain only over the vehicles destined for the US. So can they legally tell Honda to recall the Canadian transmission. I guess not. But, Honda DID make it and if they dont fix it, it would appear to be a DOUBLE standard. It would appear to be UNFAIR to warrant the transmission in the US but NOT warrant it in Canada. Perhaps thats why the media jumped on it. They LOVE that stuff.

Just my two cents but I see a difference between a transmission that wears out and doesn't work anymore and a transmission that locks up while cruising at 70 mph due to a failed part. I would say the former is a non-safety related issue while the latter is a BIG safety issue.

Unions--My opinion. Overall, unions are an absolutely GOOD thing. And like most things, there are some negatives. But I think, history has overwhelming shown that power in the hands of the few will do whats good for themselves. We as citizens of the United States, are already BORN into a union. Our founding fathers have given us a balnced union in our political process by which we can express dissatiifaction at the ballot box. I have been a public school teacher for 25 years in New York State. We have a strong union here that guarantees fairness for anything from salary to working conditions to arbtrary dismissal. Years ago, before unions existed, a teacher could be fired at any time and for any bizzare reason. If a school board or Principal did not the agree or like the history teachers history lesson, the teacher could be dismissed. Now we have text books that have generally accepted versions of the PAST." This is not always the case in other countries. To this day, I believe the OFFICIAL Japanese history text has devoted only 2 sentences to the bombing of Pearl Harbor and they STILL have not apoligized to the Chinese for war atrocities. Detroits unions have been maligned for years and now even more so. Everyone in the US has the right to earn enough money to buy a house, pay their bills and live a well fed life. After reading about Toyotas workplace here for the first time, it seems like it is not much different than working at Wal-Mart What I'd like to know is, What IS the salary schedule of a Toyota worker compared to a Ford worker. In fact go right on down the line. Medical benefits, eye care , dental, pension, etc. My teacher salary schedule is a public document for anyone to see. Every teacher is rewarded for each additional year of experience, evryone gets personal and sick day benefits, we attend workshops regularly and are given FAIR and BALNCED observations yearly. salary schedule negotiations are just that, Negotiations. It is not dictated by a one powerful side. By ALL indicators, we are working more and earning less. Other countries have raised their standard of living to all time new highs. Its about time we put a STOP to our blind devotion to unmanaged FREE TRADE.

I voted for Bush twice, but now I think he's an idiot. How could you be insensitive to all of the inequaties that face Detroit? Jeez. At least stop the exchange rate farce. This issue may change my vote from republican to democrat next election.

I agree with some here who posted that Car & Driver as well as Motor Trend have lost all credibility by gushing over the Ridgeline. If I remember correctly, didn't both of them give "Car of the Year" status to the Chev VEGA with its silicone impregnated aluminum block?? and wasn't GM forced to extend the warranty to 75,000 miles because of ENORMOUS cylinder block problems? Its easy to bestow awards on something you don't actually have to buy. Let the shlump that works for a living spend HIS money.

Could somebody tell me how come I don't see articles about the Prius problems and how some people that bought Prius's say their faith in Toyota has been shaken and they will never buy Toyota again? On NHTSA's web site, there are 218 complaints about the Prius's penchant for stalling just for the 2004 model year.