My Santa Fe was just over $34g's out the door. The comparible Edge was $43g's before tax up here in Canada...

 

Very wise comment, I also have a fully loaded 2011 FX4 with a price tag well into the 50's (Canadian). I would say im a failure for owning 2 brand new vehicles...

 

*Wouldnt*

 

Again, it's the whole psychological thing -- kind of like how for my father's generation, buying a Cadillac or a Licoln was a social statement of sorts that indicated you had "arrived" or were a "success" in life. Only for me with a Hyundai, it will always be perceived in my mind as a sign that your life has gone terribly wrong somewhere along the line.

Not a comment on the car -- just the stigma that brand will always have for many guys within my age group.

 

Thankfully I don't base my level of success in life on what brand of vehicle I own. There are other things way more important to me. What brand and type of vehicle you own is just a preference it doesn't make you who you are; your actions and personality do that.

 

Excuse me? They were a lot more reliable than any of the domestics back then. It was Nissan and Toyota's success here that woke up the Big 3 to start building quality cars.

I bought a brand new Datsun 510 in 1972. Glad I did, the direct domestic competition was the Pinto and Vega - and we all know how good those things were - NOT.

The only problems the Japanese imports from that era had were poor quality steel in the body panels, they were rustbuckets. The domestics were better, but not by all that much.

I also had a 76 Celica that was bulletproof - except for rust. I put 186k on it, gave it to my stepdaughter when she got her license, and she wrecked it twice. It survived the first crash but the second one totaled it.

I think those older Toyotas and Nissans are more reliable than today's new ones.........

 

Amen Brother, while I am all for buying Domestic I cant help but like the imports as well. EVERY 07-08 Ford Edge I have looked at has a rusted/bubbled rear drivers side fender...

 

That's more of what I'm reffering to glc, they rusted and could fall apart in salty areas like where I live. Their fit and finish has come a long way as well

 

I also had a 71 240Z. Put 144k on it, it was so rusty that I was jacking it up (at the designated jack point) to take the snow tires off and the jack went right through the floor. Figured it was done for, got rid of it. Guy bought it for the drivetrain, it was still solid.

Other than the rust, the fit and finish was excellent - a far sight better than domestics from that era.

 

I think that was a malady that affected most cars (both foreign and domestic) from the '70's era. Growing up back in Minnesota, the salt they put on the roads during the winter was merciless when it came to vehicle bodies.

I recall the '73+ GM pick-ups as being the worst for corrosion -- it was not unusual to see the outer bodies of these trucks rusted halfway up to the window line (and I'm not kidding about this!) by the time the trucks were a little over 5 years old.....

 

MT just did a shoot out with compact SUV's. Once again they threw a KIA in place of hyundai and it's not any cheaper "price as tested". Oh yeah, the Escape mopped the floor with them. Would love to see the 2.0 EB tested up next to the new RAV4 and Subaru next year.

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...uv_comparison/

 

Amen