I have to let my beloved F150 go...
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From: Framingham, MA
Well I must say that I am impressed by the response to my posting. Honestly I agree with most of what has been said. I am a girlie man I guess for buying a Honda (I know), but obviously part of me wants a car too! I have a wide respect for the entire automotive industry whether it is a car or truck, foreign or domestic. There are pros and cons to all!
I test drove many cars before making my decision and I have to say that all the hype about the Honda Civic proves very true when you drive this car. So much car for so little money and less trips (hopefully none) to the dealership for repairs. I am tired of taking the F150 in for constant repairs (ie: tranny clunks, steering wheel vibrations, egr valve rattles, broken seat and tracks again, seats staining easily, etc.) In my opinion American cars are much higher quality than they use to be, but the foreign competition just seems to be that much better. Don't get me wrong I am not expecting perfection with the Honda, but am very confident in Honda engineering.
Ford is in my blood and it is all I have ever owned (Mustang, Sable, F150). Trust me my next vehicle will be a Ford without any question! I just need a few things to change. I need either better efficiency out of the American trucks or the gas prices to drop. But I don't really care right now because I will be getting 30 city 40 highway with thing!
Oh and by the way, the dealer gave me only $2000 below what I paid for the truck and gave me the car for $100 over invoice. Sounds to good to be true, right? I am one serious deal hunter with a couple tricks up my sleeve and to be honest I couldn't believe how good of a deal that was myself! Oh well, anyway, I will be back to Ford someday though, but in the mean time I will be ricin around town!
I test drove many cars before making my decision and I have to say that all the hype about the Honda Civic proves very true when you drive this car. So much car for so little money and less trips (hopefully none) to the dealership for repairs. I am tired of taking the F150 in for constant repairs (ie: tranny clunks, steering wheel vibrations, egr valve rattles, broken seat and tracks again, seats staining easily, etc.) In my opinion American cars are much higher quality than they use to be, but the foreign competition just seems to be that much better. Don't get me wrong I am not expecting perfection with the Honda, but am very confident in Honda engineering.
Ford is in my blood and it is all I have ever owned (Mustang, Sable, F150). Trust me my next vehicle will be a Ford without any question! I just need a few things to change. I need either better efficiency out of the American trucks or the gas prices to drop. But I don't really care right now because I will be getting 30 city 40 highway with thing!
Oh and by the way, the dealer gave me only $2000 below what I paid for the truck and gave me the car for $100 over invoice. Sounds to good to be true, right? I am one serious deal hunter with a couple tricks up my sleeve and to be honest I couldn't believe how good of a deal that was myself! Oh well, anyway, I will be back to Ford someday though, but in the mean time I will be ricin around town!
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From: Cali baby!
Originally Posted by SnowmaNick
I had a Civic for 1.5 years as a dd. I still had my truck and thank God I did, my freaking Honda went through 2 tranny's, 1 motor replacement and 4 cv's. Now, Honda normally makes a good product, I happened to get a lemon. Why, because no one company is infallible. For some reason people do think poorly of American made cars versus Asian. 20 years ago that was based on something, now it's a bias based on people not liking to be told to open their eyes to something they have written off. The quality is there in American cars, as is performance and comfort. So take YOUR bias and Holier Than Thou BS and go stick it up your Honda's tailpipe!
Edit to add: Also, the reason I razed the guy earlier is that even if gas prices went to $4.00 a gallon and assuming he took a hit around $6k (pretty easy to imagine), using 1 tank of gas a week on a 14 gallon tank it takes nearly 2 years to just erase the LOSS that he took. He said he did this for the gas prices not that he didn't like his F150. He called it his "beloved" for crying out loud. Sometimes people look short term, feel they are saving something and jump without looking at all the facets. I deal with this everyday for work. I believe others have pointed this out in this thread as well. It is "The more you spend the more you save" mindset.
Edit to add: Also, the reason I razed the guy earlier is that even if gas prices went to $4.00 a gallon and assuming he took a hit around $6k (pretty easy to imagine), using 1 tank of gas a week on a 14 gallon tank it takes nearly 2 years to just erase the LOSS that he took. He said he did this for the gas prices not that he didn't like his F150. He called it his "beloved" for crying out loud. Sometimes people look short term, feel they are saving something and jump without looking at all the facets. I deal with this everyday for work. I believe others have pointed this out in this thread as well. It is "The more you spend the more you save" mindset.
And I'm sorry but NickySP while I'll agree with you the mustang pretty much flopped in the mid 70's you saying that it took them 20+ years to come out with a good Mustang that being this new body style you obviously have no idea what the hell your talking about. I think you'd be very hard pressed to find too many people to agree with you that the 5.0L Fox bodied Mustangs were a flop. How many magazines and aftermarket suppliers are devoted specifically to the 5.0L fox bodies..... countless. Even the the SN95 body styles while lacking in a few departments was hardly a flop. Uhhhhh just take a drive around town and count how many you see. Ford has been making the Mustang now for almost 45 years. Basically what your saying is that half the time they've put out a "flop" product. And FYI the Blackwood was a specialty product and was not anywhere near the same production number status to be categorized with the likes of normal production vehicles. Come on now.
Last edited by roushlimited; May 25, 2006 at 03:40 PM.
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From: Ky/Va Mountains
Originally Posted by baja150
... and at the moment for 2006, Lincoln has the highest quality rating over ALL vehicle lines in the world.
* Does not include vehicles built by hand - non assembly line.
* Does not include vehicles built by hand - non assembly line.
Good luck with your honda, I am sure it will be a great little car.
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From: North West
Nah...I'll keep the truck. Always need it for something, even though I have a trailer as well. Having said that though, I'll have to admit that I will jump in the car for quick trips. Even though I'd prefer to use the truck, gas did/does have an impact.
Seems pretty good that you got that much of a trade in. $2,000 below what you paid, hmm, pretty good.
Jon
Seems pretty good that you got that much of a trade in. $2,000 below what you paid, hmm, pretty good.
Jon
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From: Puyallup, WA
Yeah..i'm thinking about it too (trade out of this truck into ......new Corvette) My boss told me I cant have two but I can trade...so I'm thinking about it. Only problem is I've spent too $$$ into this rig to dump it. ....thinking continues
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From: Cali
Sorry to see you go bro...
I have both...Civic and my pimp *** 150. I dont really need a truck...the car is too small...both are just here to drive.
Ill always need a truck for just about everything and Ill always need my car to make me feel like my truck is new all the time. Drive the car when Im sick of the truck (which is never) and drive my truck when Im sick of a car (pretty frequent)...
Pointless...yes, but the main thing...Im keeping my truck at even 5.00 a gallon. I feel you on gas though...that will put a hole in your pocket. Its going from affording gas and eating Filet Mignon every night to...Top Ramen noodles just to afford to get from Point A to B. LOL.
I have both...Civic and my pimp *** 150. I dont really need a truck...the car is too small...both are just here to drive.
Ill always need a truck for just about everything and Ill always need my car to make me feel like my truck is new all the time. Drive the car when Im sick of the truck (which is never) and drive my truck when Im sick of a car (pretty frequent)...
Pointless...yes, but the main thing...Im keeping my truck at even 5.00 a gallon. I feel you on gas though...that will put a hole in your pocket. Its going from affording gas and eating Filet Mignon every night to...Top Ramen noodles just to afford to get from Point A to B. LOL.
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From: cleveland ohio
Trust me, Honda's aren't like they say they are. Most of my Friends drives those go cart things they call a Honda, and talk about rattles to hell! I thought my Mountaineer had rattles, those damn Civics rattle like no tomorrow!
Honda's are only good to go from point A to point B, theres nothing exciting about them, very Boring cars
Honda's are only good to go from point A to point B, theres nothing exciting about them, very Boring cars
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From: Pittsburgh
Still driving my 11 year old, 160K Accord, built in the US by American workers who fed their American families. Come to think of it those workers bought Asian made TV's, DVD players, computers, coffee makers, etc so maybe it was a bad idea. To me American companies build far superior trucks, but the "foreign" makers build a much better car. To each his own, everyone has different tastes/opinions. F150BOSTON, sorry to see the truck go but ya gotta do what you gotta do.
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From: Florida
I could never go for those little ricers myself, but If you dont need a truck then you did the right thing.
But if I myself had to trade in my truck for one of those hood ornaments, It would be a very sad day for me.
BTW, my wifes 04 v6 mustang has never had a problem, along with my truck.
To each his own. Drive what you enjoy since you are the one paying for it, I always say.
But if I myself had to trade in my truck for one of those hood ornaments, It would be a very sad day for me.
BTW, my wifes 04 v6 mustang has never had a problem, along with my truck.
To each his own. Drive what you enjoy since you are the one paying for it, I always say.
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Originally Posted by 04NickySP2
Your bias blinds you so much you don't see anything you don't want to. I'm sure you buy many things designed and built overseas. If your company would focus on building a quality vehicle then things would change. Do you think Honda somehow put this guy under a spell and told him to buy their cars. Hell no they sold him on a proven quality product.
Honda builds quality and Ford builds well it's not quality nor performance. The design of most newer (within 10 years) Honda/Toyota vehicles for sale in the US are designed and engineered here in the US. Sure profits are shared with other countries but they have earned their execellent reputation based on products.
Name as many Honda's that where introduced in the last 30 years that was a bigtime flop. None they all sell. In the DFW area you will be hard pressed to find a dealer that will haggle much price due to demand.
Now name all of the Ford flops in the past 30 years. The Mustang has flopped several times (not currently ... finally been waiting 20+ years). The Blackwood pickup was a complete flop just like the current Lincoln truck. The Focus was a huge flop and still is a car that doesn't get much attention. Hell why should it with all of the recalls for the first few years of production (serious/life threating problems). The Probe was a complete utter failure and its wonderful sales speak for itself. The redesinged Thunderbird was a flop that lasted only a few years. I'm bored of going over all of the failures ...
And to dispell your thoughs of why would I buy a Ford truck over the Ridgeline. Well the answer is simple. I needed a V8 to tow 6000 lbs on the weekends. The Honda dealer hooked up my trailer and I felt like the load was too much for the V6 to handle on a regular duty. The ride quality was better on the Ridgeline along with fit and finish.
Honda builds quality and Ford builds well it's not quality nor performance. The design of most newer (within 10 years) Honda/Toyota vehicles for sale in the US are designed and engineered here in the US. Sure profits are shared with other countries but they have earned their execellent reputation based on products.
Name as many Honda's that where introduced in the last 30 years that was a bigtime flop. None they all sell. In the DFW area you will be hard pressed to find a dealer that will haggle much price due to demand.
Now name all of the Ford flops in the past 30 years. The Mustang has flopped several times (not currently ... finally been waiting 20+ years). The Blackwood pickup was a complete flop just like the current Lincoln truck. The Focus was a huge flop and still is a car that doesn't get much attention. Hell why should it with all of the recalls for the first few years of production (serious/life threating problems). The Probe was a complete utter failure and its wonderful sales speak for itself. The redesinged Thunderbird was a flop that lasted only a few years. I'm bored of going over all of the failures ...
And to dispell your thoughs of why would I buy a Ford truck over the Ridgeline. Well the answer is simple. I needed a V8 to tow 6000 lbs on the weekends. The Honda dealer hooked up my trailer and I felt like the load was too much for the V6 to handle on a regular duty. The ride quality was better on the Ridgeline along with fit and finish.
Well I never said that Ford equaled Honda or Toyota in quality. I will admit that generally speaking Honda and especially Toyota surpass Ford and all true American auto manufacturers. My point was that, and I guess it's just my opinion, but sometimes WE as AMERICANS have to give back to our country. I don't necessarily mean the government per se, because we all know that we give them enough when they tax the hell out of us. I mean we have to give back and support our fellow Americans. There are over 300,000 direct hire and agency/contract employees working for Ford in the state of Michigan alone and that number doesn't include the employees that work for supplier companies that rely on Ford. General Motors numbers are even higher. Did you know that there are only roughly 90,000 AMERICAN CITIZENS working for Toyota, Honda, and Nissan combined in the entire United States!!! Do the math!!! Who's providing jobs? Hopefully many people agree with me. I always have and will buy true American vehicles and as far as I'm concerned that means Ford, GM, and yes Chrysler. The bottom line is that when you buy your Honda, Toyota, etc., you're taking jobs from Americans, weakening our economy and therefor our country, and in turn strengthening a foreign country. You can complain that the USA is screwed up and George Bush is an idiot etc. etc. etc., but the fact remains that this is still the best country in the world to live in and if you don't want to support it by buying it's products when you have the choce then get out and go live in Japan where the Honda's belong.
On a positive not for Ford: Ford's quality for the first quarter of 2006 increased 11%, the most of the big 3, to meet Toyota's industry leading quality rating for 2005. The problem is that Toyota's quality also increased 11% for the first quarter of 2006, but it does show that we're on the right track.
And I would like to know where the Honda and Toyota R&D centers are in the USA? I don't beleive they exist.
As far as "flops" go... first of all, the Mustang was not one of them. Also, it's not necessarily fair to say that Ford has had more "flops" than Honda. The only damn cars that Honda makes are the Accord, Civic, and now the Ridgeline... oh wait... how could I forget about the Element and Pilot? Those babys are just flying off the dealership lots. And back to what you call "flops" from Ford; the Blackwood and the Thunderbird were not flops because they were not well liked; they were both just priced too high.
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From: Allentown, PA
Sorry to hear of you loss...
I went back and forth over the past 2 years with 5 different cars/trucks and suv's trying to find something that fit me best.
Went from a GMC Sierra 4x4, to a Ford Escape, to a Mazda 6, to an older Mazda B4000, and finally threw in the towel and got this F-150. Everyting I would buy a car or SUV for better gas mileage, I would bitch and complain that it sucked and i wanted my truck back.
America is full of desires. I desire a truck, its that easy. And I will do what ever it takes to keep it that way. I dont risk my life by being in the Military to be a slave to gas companies....
I went back and forth over the past 2 years with 5 different cars/trucks and suv's trying to find something that fit me best.
Went from a GMC Sierra 4x4, to a Ford Escape, to a Mazda 6, to an older Mazda B4000, and finally threw in the towel and got this F-150. Everyting I would buy a car or SUV for better gas mileage, I would bitch and complain that it sucked and i wanted my truck back.
America is full of desires. I desire a truck, its that easy. And I will do what ever it takes to keep it that way. I dont risk my life by being in the Military to be a slave to gas companies....
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From: Pittsburgh
Originally Posted by baja150
And I would like to know where the Honda and Toyota R&D centers are in the USA? I don't beleive they exist.
Although the TL name has been used for Acura's near-luxury sedan since the 1996 model year, only the name remains the same for 1999. The second Acura designed, engineered, and built in the U.S
If I remember correctly, the first totally designed and egnineered Honda in the US was the Acura CL in 97. Not sure about Toyota and others.
Not trying to add fuel to the fire, just passing the info along. Deep down I really hope Ford and GM can get back to dominating the market. The number of workers employed is a good point. One thing I hope they start doing like the foreign companies is find things that work and stick to them. For example, I think the quality in some of the foreign cars can be attributed to the fact they get a good working chassis and just throw new outer skins on them. Imagine if the Taurus used a reliable chassis for ten years and just changed the styling. How much $ would they have saved in R&D, training, retooling, etc. I think the japs figured this out and it equals more reliabilty and less maufacturing cost which in turn equals higher profits. Just an opinion.