I still want a Honda Element for a daily.
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I still want a Honda Element for a daily.
A friend of mine has a black one (we call it Darth Vader's Postal Jeep) ... he loves it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Irving
I still think its ugly, but in that "so ugly its cool" way.
Won't make you any less of a man in my book stu. [Tooth]
Granted, its far from being 'all American' but my pos was assembled @ the Warren plant...not in Mexico. Nice try though.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ridge
Quote:
Originally Posted by Graves
mine never saw 20, 18-19 is real world all day long running empty, i used it for my business and have records. and yes 11 mpg pulling 15K pounds back from Moab last time we went. 28 ft 5ver with the built cherokee running flat behind her. she is not stock though.
have also pulled the 35 ft fver and boat with the same mileage.
My 2007 Toyota Tacoma 6-speed V6 gets about 17-20 MPG, and I gave up on figuring out better gas mileage. My 1999 Tacoma got 27-34 MPG, but it was a 2WD 4-cylinder 5-speed. I like upgrades.
If anyone wants a 2000 Honda Civic, let me know. :-D
Interesting posts... It is annoying when toyota guys think their taco will cure cancer as somebody put. Not to mention, my "not piece of shit" chevy silverado was built in america.. I bought it used, and made sure that was the case. Oh and it will go twice as many places as any taco.. That I know..
Have a buddy with a chipped ford diesel quad cab long bed in the mid twenties per gallon.
My dads ford doesn't quite get that but it's not chipped either. He gets high teens, low twenties.
Both those trucks were built in america too.. My truck has 130k on it, my dads has like 170k on it... I could go on....
Really though, I dont mind imports, I like the big three being made to compete in the market place..it's just the high and mighty attitude.. And it's not like the op was trying to "buy american" when he got his taco... In fact he put in bold that he was not trying to buy american.. So maybe he should get rid of the toyota cause it's "more american" then chevy and ford?
How do you square "Buy American" with capitalism? My understanding of capitalism, and the simplistic modeling it uses to try and determine human behavior, says that the correct response is to buy the best vehicle at the lowest price. You're here to optimize from your perspective.
Buying American when you believe it isn't the best value proposition means you are helping companies you think aren't as good based solely on the location of their corporate headquarters. Sounds like welfare to me.
H.
That doesn't sound life you are responding to me?Quote:
Originally Posted by Hoosier
I even mentioned making "american" companies compete... It's a good thing. It's capitalism . Just like I said...
Wisdom right there.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hoosier
Not responding to anyone in particular, just the general "Buy American" slogan an social meme.Quote:
Originally Posted by Chad4000
H.
You can't.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hoosier
Trade protectionism is Crony Capitalism.
Crony Capitalism is Fascism without the snappy uniforms, military parades and death camps.
Also, if you're politically conservative you are acting AGAINST the interests of capitalism, the constitution and conservatism in general when you buy an American car made by UAW workers.
The UAW is simply a fundraising organ for the DNC.
If you wish to ascribe some sort of patriotic label to your purchases, buying a Toyota made by free workers in a free state is more American than supporting a bunch of communist union thugs in Fascist Detroit.
I've always bought Honda and Toyota because in the class of vehicle I was looking for, they worked the best. I want an Element too.
The union bit I get... In agreement on that. But unions were another good idea that got perverted by power..
Anyway, the quality thing I dont... The big three have good cars these days... Just saying let them compete
I see better steel on Big 3 vehicles then I ever do on japanese companies. I see equal quality on american as well. Lots of dirty secrets the media wont talk about when it comes to toyota, honda, nissan, etc. Toyota, and their v6 engine in camrys and avalons, sludging up due to a poor pcv design, and large numbers of engine failures at low miles. Frames breaking on toyota trucks from mild rust. Hondas blowing out seals and losing oil. Toyotas and rampant headgasket failures. The import shops stay busy fixing a long list of common engine problems that somehow, the customers accept. If it was an american car, they would scream bloody murder. Another thing about consumer habits I see, import owners follow scheduled maint. more closely then american brand owners. Youll see japanese brand owners come in wanting their brake fluid flushed, ask about doing a timing belt, etc, but rarely ever on american brand owners. They drive them till the wheels fall off. That makes a difference on how people percieve a brand. Expectations that exceed the design.
It's funny how the original poster requested information about upgrades for his vehicle, and now we have a conversation about manufacturing/company origins and politics. I wonder if every topic goes so astray here.
Wouldnt say its too offtopic, he left the door open with a rant about american vehicles.
I've had an Element since 2003 and I've had so much maintenance done to it. It had to have at least 6 or 7 oil changes. Oh, and new tires. That's it.
And considering I've grown up near Chrysler/Dodge and Chevy plants, and have had many relatives and friends I used to party with working at all the plants... I will never own one since I know how they're put together.
Might find it ironic, but the same thing goes on at all plants. Must not have many miles on that Element yet? Just remember, living in the mile high state, you fall closer to severe maint, not normal. High altitude, steep hills in town, hot and cold weather, and traffic arent the norm according to Honda.
Ya, pretty much. Everyone just looks for the chance to turn each thread into something else.Quote:
Originally Posted by mts7
Seeing as how you're just a newbie who's only been here for two days I guess I should cut you some slack, but if you expect any thread here to stay "on topic" you're in the wrong place [ROFL1]Quote:
Originally Posted by mts7
ADD got nothing on this bunch.
So in conclusion, here's a bunny with a pancake on its head.
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kx...tg0no1_400.jpg
That's not necessarily true....I've seen plenty of firearm related threads stay on topic, especially about AR's. Oh, wait.....Quote:
Originally Posted by Zundfolge
If you honestly think that Honda and Toyota have "secret" problems, then I honestly believe that you heard about it on a Ford or Chevy site.
Nothing secret about it, they are well known in the auto repair industry. We look for them whenver a vehicle comes in!Quote:
Originally Posted by Irving
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news0...ettlement.html
The toyota sludge problem
http://www.odysseytransmission.com/
The infamous honda transmission failure problem
And the toyota cheap metal frame:
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/07/t...s-to-15-years/
Then there are the injector issues on the Honda 3.5L v6 seen in Hondas and Saturn Vues that cause running issues, the porous casting on honda V6's that leak oil right thru the engien block, etc. Talk to an import specialist/repair facility, and they can confirm all of this. I'm not bashing these makes, simply showing they have their own problems. People ask what is the best car to buy, and I have to ask them, what problems can you live with easiest? I can name a problem with about every make out there, and usually something major as well. There is no perfect car, with no problems, as long as engineers dont have to keep a car very long themselves, or have to fix them!
It doesn't go on at the other plants, at least nearly as much as the heavy union plants. The condition these guys would go into work... well, fell into illegal most of the time, not just a fireable offense.Quote:
Originally Posted by streetglideok
And the Element has done great considering how it's made the trip from the east coast, and all over out here. It's a bit under normal mileage, but it's been well taken care of. I did forget to say that it did get a new battery about 4-5 years ago also.
I've also owned a Tacoma, a Ridgeline, a TSX, and an Integra, and combined they've had non-routine maintenance of: adjusting a sunroof. Compare that to the Olds, Cadillac, Mustang, Jeep, Chevy 1500, Chevy Blazer, and other "American cars" that had major maintenance issues about every year. The Blazer was the worst, I had to bang on the dash to get the gauges to work ("Do you know how fast you were going" "Sorry officer, I truly have no friggin' idea") and the entire electrical system shut off while my wife was driving in a busy intersection in the middle of the night. It might be anecdotal data in my case, but it will take a lot for me to go back.
I've been on forums where mods close threads if they go off-topic. I've been on forums that have several different topics in one thread. I am now much more aware of which of the two this one is, and that's not a problem. I still think it's weird, though, to stray away from the topic so much.
Shouldn't you have started a new, dedicated thread for this then?[Muaha]Quote:
Originally Posted by mts7
I kid. Welcome to our rambling forum.
The threads in the General Discussion forum are much less formal and organized than the other more specific and technical forums. The GD threads are more like a bunch of guys sitting around, drinking beer and chewing the fat.Quote:
Originally Posted by mts7
This forum is home to about everyone in the country who forgot to take their Adult ADD meds[LOL]
Back to the original question. The one thing that did improve mileage for me in a truck was switching to synthetics for both the engine/diffs and transfer case. My old Dakota that I bought new went from 19 to 21 when I did this in 93.
Anything you can do to get the brick out of the air will help as well. I have thought about switching mine to synthetics for the transfer case and diffs.
I drive an import as well. Built in Mexico and sold in Canada. Then imported to the US a couple of years later. I get 18 in town and 20 driving 60mph with a light load in the bed (1000lbs) I get 14-15 pulling the brick that is our 7000lb camper. 98 Dodge 12V/5 speed with 3.54 gears. [Coffee] I have heard some of the early (98-01) 24V ones can get 23-24 but never seen it first hand.
And if I drive at 65-70 the mileage go's in the flusher. I also have a little taller tire making the effective ratio closer to 3.35-3.40. Got to keep it under 2000rpm. ;)
I guess we could become like Barfcom and just lock everything and ban anyone that disagrees with us but where would we be then?Quote:
Originally Posted by mts7
We always seem to get back to the topic at hand sooner or later. :) Besides the NO crapping at ALL in the WTS/WTB threads we have No Nudity, No Cop Bashing and No overthrow the Govt threads.
Locking of threads and banning are kind of a last resort even if we do not care for ya. The inmates do a pretty good job around here. [Beer]They ran out and forgot to call the doc before Friday. ;)Quote:
This forum is home to about everyone in the country who forgot to take their Adult ADD meds[LOL]
[ROFL1]Quote:
Originally Posted by Zundfolge
Quote:
Originally Posted by jerrymrc
+1 the cummins reaches max torque at about 1600 RPM, anything over that you are just adding fuel to a fire that is already lit. RPMs are not your friend when it comes to a real diesel engine.
the torque curve on my 05 hits max at 1600 and does not drop off at all until 3200. it cruses with a load at 70 mph just under 2000 rpm. this seems to be its sweet spot for MPG. and quite honestly with my 35 footer and either the boat or trail rig behind it the 70 MPH is plenty fast.
OP: Did you consider chipping the computer? Often these kits come with a small display that lets you select from performance/mileage settings, and display additional system information.
I mentioned it in an earlier post
H.
Add a camper shell to decrease drag, it may help a slight bit, and keep your gear dry, and in a lockable area..
Dudes it'a a TOYOTA, this topic has gone on for 8 pages, time for a new truck Geesh.
Switch to synthetic diff fluid?
Convert to manual hubs?
Add the extra weight to the equation and you're back to square 1...possibly -1.Quote:
Originally Posted by ANADRILL
Oh we're sorry man, you must have us mistaken with those who actually have somewhere to be. [Tooth]Quote:
Originally Posted by Mtn.man
If you change your page view settings in the user cp you'll only see two pages...