I think I found my car...

[BNCR]

I think the Mazda Six chassis comes to the party from Mexico.

[daleb]

Originally Posted by BNCR

I think the Mazda Six chassis comes to the party from Mexico.

Many Japanese and Korean electronics are assembled there, would not be surprised.

[Cygnus]

The accord is nice. I test drove the 4 cyl and v6. The 4 cyl felt so underpowered; thus I got the v6. Supposedly the v6 only has slightly less mpg than 4 cyl due to some variable engine tech. It lowers the HP when at cruise speed. The "ECO" lite turns on when this happens. I can definitely feel it too. It would be nice if I could shut it off sometimes. I also test drove 09 mits eclipse spyder. It was loaded, with premium sound system with a loud subwoofer. With the top down, its definitely a head turner. The engine is pretty loud but its not that fast. I was close to buying it but the sleazy dealer was trying to be slick. Car dealers are the scum of the earth..sheesh. I was also concerned with its reliability, tho it does have a great warranty 10yr/100K miles and other warranties standard.

Originally Posted by junehhan

The new Honda Accord is a great car that was on my list of vehicles to consider. I test drove one and it just didn't seem very exciting. Almost like they are trying to "Camry-fy" the accord at the same time Toyota is trying to "Buick-fy" their cars. However when I test drove the I4 Fusion SE, it was just amazing. It must be one of the slickest shifting automatics i've ever driven.

[junehhan]

Originally Posted by Cygnus

The accord is nice. I test drove the 4 cyl and v6. The 4 cyl felt so underpowered; thus I got the v6. Supposedly the v6 only has slightly less mpg than 4 cyl due to some variable engine tech. It lowers the HP when at cruise speed. The "ECO" lite turns on when this happens. I can definitely feel it too. It would be nice if I could shut it off sometimes. I also test drove 09 mits eclipse spyder. It was loaded, with premium sound system with a loud subwoofer. With the top down, its definitely a head turner. The engine is pretty loud but its not that fast. I was close to buying it but the sleazy dealer was trying to be slick. Car dealers are the scum of the earth..sheesh. I was also concerned with its reliability, tho it does have a great warranty 10yr/100K miles and other warranties standard.

I believe the only model that doesn't disable cylinders when cruising is the V6 Coupe with the manual transmission. I've test driven a Accord I4 EX-L during my search for cars, and I thought it was impressive for a 4 pot motor. It didn't have the grunt the Ford Fusion I4 had off the line, but seemed to have a bit higher top end to it which is pretty much the case for Honda vtec motors anyway.

I have never been a fan of Mitsubishi vehicles. They seem too much like a chick car for my tastes, and they seem to be very outdated when compared to the American and Japanese competition. I think a recent report even showed that Mitsubishi new cars also have some of the highest concentrations of carcinogenic compounds that are typically found in all new cars from the production process(the lovely new car smell).

[Emil]

Originally Posted by daleb

The point is, even if they owned them, Japanese workers were putting them together, and not for free I'm sure....moot point in any case but when I hear all-American I think of Corvettes, Mustangs, Cadillac, etc.

As long as the final check comes over here I'm happy.
Global is the way of life going forward.

[daleb]

Originally Posted by Cygnus

The accord is nice. I test drove the 4 cyl and v6. The 4 cyl felt so underpowered; thus I got the v6. Supposedly the v6 only has slightly less mpg than 4 cyl due to some variable engine tech.

Look at the Toyota RAV4 with the V6. The overall cruising mpg is only off 1mpg vs. the 4 cyl. But acceleration is whole different ball game. (0-60 6.8 sec)

I'm always for more power. But like the eco-boost options Ford has now, it is not always cheap. It time, green engines should get cheaper and become standard across the board.

[Cygnus]

Yeah the honda sales rep said the same thing about the accord's mpg 4 cyl vs v6: 1 mph differential. I thought he was B$ing me to get a sale..I have not had a chance to verify. I wish I could shut it off when I want to drive aggressively tho

BTW the sales reps at honda are pretty good. While they are not perfect, I'd recommend them. One of the manager types seemed a little snobby but overall the experience was positive. I supposed to receive a letter or phone call to rate the sales person.

Originally Posted by daleb

Look at the Toyota RAV4 with the V6. The overall cruising mpg is only off 1mpg vs. the 4 cyl. But acceleration is whole different ball game. (0-60 6.8 sec)

I'm always for more power. But like the eco-boost options Ford has now, it is not always cheap. It time, green engines should get cheaper and become standard across the board.

[Cygnus]

I dunno about that. If the parts, labor, sales, etc come from US but the car from another country..? That is fine in my book. Money turns faster when it is spent on and by the middle class. Recall it is consumer spending that makes 2/3 of GDP. The ultra rich normally takes the $$ and sit on it since there is only so much one can spend. CEO types can also be very tight with disposable income when compared to mid class.

Originally Posted by Emil

As long as the final check comes over here I'm happy.

[daleb]

Originally Posted by Cygnus

Yeah the honda sales rep said the same thing about the accord's mpg 4 cyl vs v6: 1 mph differential. I thought he was B$ing me to get a sale..I have not had a chance to verify. I wish I could shut it off when I want to drive aggressively tho

BTW the sales reps at honda are pretty good. While they are not perfect, I'd recommend them. One of the manager types seemed a little snobby but overall the experience was positive. I supposed to receive a letter or phone call to rate the sales person.

You are talking to a Honda-addict. We have 70K on an '03 CRV. I spend $12 on oil/filter changes when bringing it in with my own oil and filter. And they still check all the safety stuff and wash the car.
This car is spoiling me, even if it is a little boring to drive. There is something to say about long term reliability and a dealer not trying to sell you more stuff you don't need.

Only 'major' work was having the coolant, trans. oil, and brake fluid flushed. I think together they totaled about $250 over the last 6 years. Tires will be next.

We are thinking of upgrading in the next year or two, but my wife uses it for her work car and town shopping. I think it will just stay with us. She does not want to park a brand new car at work and get it dinged in the parking lot.

(But we've made 3 and 4 hours trips to LA or San Fran when my G35 coupe is just too small to carry luggage or more people.)

At some point we will get something bigger, and more comfortable for long trips.

[djl4]

Mazda 6 is a nice car.
My friend bought one a few years back but crashed it.
I would personally go for a Honda/Toyota for their reliability. That's just my opinion.

[Emil]

Originally Posted by djl4

Mazda 6 is a nice car.
My friend bought one a few years back but crashed it.
I would personally go for a Honda/Toyota for their reliability. That's just my opinion.

Or a Fusion which has better reliability .

[Cygnus]

Originally Posted by daleb

There is something to say about long term reliability and a dealer not trying to sell you more stuff you don't need.

Funny that you mention this. The sales rep told me how reliable the car was, not needing the 10 year/100K protection of other cars, the quality paint job, etc. So after I agreed to buy the car, I was introduced to some other sales guy. The typical slick haired, fast talking car sales guy, trying to get me to buy an extended warranties, additional sealant wax, etc. I was thinking he is completely contradicting what the other sales guy was saying, almost dissing the car. I sarcastically told him "Don't you guys have enough of my money??" I told the first salesmen what happened and he shook his head and grinned, knowing the guy was trying to hustle me. I will be sure to mention this when/if I receive the survey...

BTW the car comes with the premium stereo that includes free month trial of XM. I have been listening to XM quite a bit and like it..but its not worth $10 per month. One of the guys at the dealers mentioned that if I know someone who has XM and use their code, it would cost me $10 per year. Is that true? Thats a great deal. I think my cuz has it but feels kind of awkward asking for the code...

[daleb]

Originally Posted by Cygnus

Funny that you mention this. The sales rep told me how reliable the car was, not needing the 10 year/100K protection of other cars, the quality paint job, etc. So after I agreed to buy the car, I was introduced to some other sales guy. The typical slick haired, fast talking car sales guy, trying to get me to buy an extended warranties, additional sealant wax, etc. I was thinking he is completely contradicting what the other sales guy was saying, almost dissing the car. I sarcastically told him "Don't you guys have enough of my money??" I told the first salesmen what happened and he shook his head and grinned, knowing the guy was trying to hustle me. I will be sure to mention this when/if I receive the survey...

BTW the car comes with the premium stereo that includes free month trial of XM. I have been listening to XM quite a bit and like it..but its not worth $10 per month. One of the guys at the dealers mentioned that if I know someone who has XM and use their code, it would cost me $10 per year. Is that true? Thats a great deal. I think my cuz has it but feels kind of awkward asking for the code...

I only have it in my Infiniti and added the XM tuner myself, which included 6 months of XM free. This was all aftermarket in my case.
I am surprised they only give one free month now on a new car. Times are tough I guess, although 10 a month is not bad if you like it.

If you are using someone else's code then why does it cost anything?
Sounds fishy to me...you have to register each tuner when you subscribe. I would tip-toe around that one until you have more info. I don't see why someone else would be paying every month, and let you off only paying 10 bucks once a year.

[unotis]

Originally Posted by Emil

Fusions have been out a for a few years I think.

Hey, the Honda is a fine car.
I hope you have good luck with it since it's reliability is slightly less than that of the Fusion according to CR’s Annual Car Reliability Survey.

Nicely put, and taken without any prior knowledge it would be really an important indicator of quality control.

But, unfortunately when it comes to reliability rating surveys from owners of different brands of cars there is different levels of what they think is great or even acceptable.

Ford or any domestic owners have for years put up with poor quality and dependability from their models, now they have improved considerably and they owners are overjoyed (naturally).

Honda owners have experienced and bragged about their cars incredible quality, dependability and long life for years and years.

So they always expect perfection as the standard they've come to expect and if there is any problem, even very minor, they will lower their numbers on the survey from a perfect 10 to maybe a 9 or even an 8 (depending on the problem).

Many domestic owners have a much lower expectation (from experience) and if the car is good with even small problems to that seems such a huge change they see it feel like it the very best and they fill the survey out to reflect their feelings.

Now I know the Ford Fusion is a very good well designed car and is dependable, but I doubt it is any better then a Honda in quality and dependability.

It is close enough that most people would be very pleased with it as their vehicle of choice.

[Emil]

Originally Posted by unotis

Now I know the Ford Fusion is a very good well designed car and is dependable, but I doubt it is any better then a Honda in quality and dependability.

I believe the latest models are more dependable and of higher quality.