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Yeah, like my 1985 VW GTI. I drove it for 8 years and 130K+ miles and got 40mpg when I sold it. Sold it to a friend who drove it for 2 more years and put about 40K more on it. But that was then. My cousin, who worked at Ford tried to give me a hard time about it since it was foreign - but shut up when I told him it was built in Pennsivainia and the 95 Escort GT was built in Mexico.

I still like the VWs, but I am an old family man now and a Honda is probably the route I'd go for a new car.

My cars past and present..
1993 Nissan Quest - Made by Ford in the US
1995 Honda Civic - Made in US by Honda
1993 Dodge Dakota - US
1986 American Motors Corp. Eagle - Canada
1985 VW GTI - US
1977 Triump Spitfire - UK
1967 Ford Mustang - Do I have to say it?

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The newer Renault Laguna got the best rating of it's class in the Euro NCAP crash test... that's a pretty good thing

I have a feeling the more popular Renaults in Europe aren't that common in the US, do you even have the Renault Scenic over there? it's a pretty popular car...

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Well that makes it a safe car, but I would like to know about it's reliability.

leon.. your opinions

My sister owns a Renault Mégane, actually, and she was thinking about buying a Scénic. I don't know about reliability yet (her car has only 5,000 kms. in it), but at least the service stops cost 10 times less what Audi services cost. No. It's not a typo. My Audi's service schedule calls for $400 USD services, the Mégane service log costs $40 per stop.

I definitely think Audi / VW has some serious issues.

Audio&Me, I tend to modify just about everything that I buy. It seems to be a chronic problem of mine.

One of the reasons I picked up the Cobra was for the potential. Superchargers are easy, but they are lossy compression I love turbocharging, but it is a lot of work to sort out the injection. unless there is not a kit available. We shall see. First thing is to replace the godawful drivers seat and relocate the pedals. Why the hell Ford thought it necessary to preclude heel-toe downshifting in a car that can turn like this is beyond me. Exhaust system will be next. Stock system is too loud all of the time. SVT catalog has the system from the Cobra-R, which should be quieter at low to mid power. It can howl all it wants at full throttle.

Other mods depend on whether I keep the RX-7. It has been my go-fast toy, and makes the Cobra feel like a truck. Unfortunately it is fragile and high strung, so it is not a good commuter vehicle. I spun it on a freeway onramp the other day (driver error). Kind of a wake up call.


Later

I like superchargers better (constant flow of extra power). =P Turbos are great for small engines though as they can rev much higher. I hate noisy exhaust systems, I don't see why people find it cool to blast people with loud muddy resonance (ewww! but I guess being an audiophile has something to do with it, lol)
2½" is music to my ears. Dual with H-pipe, even better! Nice n' mellow =)

I find that all stock Mustang brakes are crummy, do the Cobras come better equipped?

Lol, I spun last winter in the Dakota (720º clockwise) while going onto the freeway (uphill right turn ramp) as I was not in AWD inorder to save gas. I think I might have caught an ice patch at the wrong angle and perhaps accelerating a bit fast. RWD in icy conditions is scary, but this instance had nothing to do with rear end kick, lol. But whoa what a rush, I felt the trucks momentum going onto the freeway, but the front wheels turning the opposite way, so I actually induced the spin to prevent a flip over or a long slide into traffic coming from behind... Luckily, I was only going 35mph and kept the back wheels moving to regain traction.

Audio Redneck - '67 stang? Nice! What motor you got in it? Is it stock or modified?
I wan't a '65 convertible with a big block(427).

How can you go past a 2000 ITR

*druels*

The new R is soooooo ugly
not as ugly as the new rex though

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Sorry Me but I don't have it anymore. It was a stock original I6 coupe with an automatic (one of 2000 made that year). I was the second owner and it had 57k on it when I got it and 64k when I sold it to a guy who was going to turn it back into a museum peice. I would have kept it but I was just out of High School and heading into college. '67 was and still is my favorite year, being slightly bigger/wider than the earlier models and still having the original look.

aaahh. Memories.......

Audio&Me, turbos are even better with big engines! The only thing better than cubes is cubes under boost!. Check out this link for turbo vs mechanical blower discussion. Also check out Bill's (finally) completed ride. Poor guy has been working on that car for 4 years, but the result is astonishing. Pictures don't do the installation justice!

http://www.hotrod.com/editorial/arti...=text&id=42798

Oh yes, the Cobra has large Brembo discs all around, actuated by a hydra-boost brake system. Calipers are probably stock GT parts with upgraded pads. It pulls down pretty good from, uh, we will say >100mph when the radar detector goes off. The antilock system is too hyperactive for my taste. I am guessing that the aftermarket has a solution for that too.

Ford made anything less than V8 motors back then? I had no idea. Turbos have lag, I like the effect of slamming the gas being similar to downshifting on a supercharged car. Turbos don't give you nearly as much torque as superchargers do do they?

'67 is sweet, but I want the very first model and want that 427 big block from '67 with a massive carbeurator.

Bill does not have turbo lag or torque problems. His problem is throttle tip in at the moment. If he doesn't soft pedal it just right the back tires rip loose instantly in most gears. I am not feeling too sorry for him. He is having a blast with that thing.

He did a good job getting the turbos matched properly to the engine. I don't know if he has had it on the dyno yet, but we will get a good calculation of peak HP at the track next month. He is bound to get excited and crank up the boost. Of course we will be encouraging this behavior!

Lol, I have the light clutch/soft pedal problem too on the pretty much stock Dakota (3.9L V6 magnum, 175HP, but I am sure the previous owner did something to it, cause it doesn't run like some underpowered truck, rather feels like 225HP and this thing is heavy!) Maybe a different thermostat could boost the performance a little bit too??? I think the stock one's in there.

BUT, I never had the back tires spin out if I hit the gas too hard while still releasing the clutch BEFORE when I was running Goodyear Wrangler RT/S (R235 75R15 15x9s) tires. Since I have little to no money, and I forgot to rotate the tires last summer, I am running on four new Wild Country APT 235 tires. These suck! Lol. They're ok in AWD though.

I'm reluctant about turbos, but that's great that he's got a beastly domestic with some fancy high tech stuff pumping more rumble through it. =)

I've had nothing but Fords for the last 30 years. Put 200K miles on them and trade them in. Big V8's, big transmisions and big rear drives. Crown Vic still gets over 25mpg on the road and about 20 in town. set the cruise on 85mph and ride all day. Not a Cobra, but very nice. Blows away most rice burners without working up a sweat.

Company car is a Y2K Durango. 5.2L (318), 3.53 gear, 16.5mph in town, 15.5 on the road.Yeah it's backwards.

Now if I can get all the idiots in their little foriegn junks, BMW, Merc, Honda, Audi, Toyota, etc. to quit making me prove they can't run with me on the highway, my life will be much easier. I generally put about 1200 miles a week on it with 600 to 700 lbs of equipment, and still blow most of them away at highway speeds.

They just don't want to believe that something "American" can outrun them so easily. Oh well, someday maybe they'll learn. Made in America = Best.

gaineso - ROFL, amen! I love Dodge too! I only like Ford Mustangs, not their other cars or their trucks.