[cash68]

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Originally Posted by MaZa /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thats a known design flaw and easily fixed/prevented. Hell, even just disabling the EGR, which I talked about, reduces the chance bla bla bla bla bla

Dude. They aren't reliable. They have expensive parts. It's fine with me if you accept that, but to say they "are reliable" and then mention that a piece of the engine can break off and get sucked into the combustion chamber to cause thousands of dollars is just stupid. They are NOT reliable cars. All of my friends who have 3 series or 5 series have htem in the shop constantly. Are they nice cars? Kind of. They're nicely put together, and they drive well, but they are NOT RELIABLE. Just admit it. Don't say it's reliable and then mention MAJOR engineering/design flaws.

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Of course, Toyota and some other japanese ones have much better overall reliability, but then again they are quite soulless...

You know.... that comment pisses me off. I mean, sure, Honda and Toyota make some boring cars. They really do, but so does BMW, Mercedes, and Audi. Just because something is maintenance intensive, has expensive parts, and breaks down a lot, does not mean it has soul. The crappiest car I own, a 1989 Honda Accord 5spd, has a ton of character and soul. It has a weber carb upgrade, nuespeed springs, KYB GR2 struts, and that's basically it, but it is a blast to drive around town. Honda, unlike BMW, embraced double wishbone suspension for a while, which makes cars of this era extremely rewarding to drive tight environments with lots of curves. The engine sounds great, the weber's second barrel opening up giving the car a sound similar to an old MG or Austin Healy.

 

[SinnerG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cash68 /img/forum/go_quote.gif As for rear fogs, they aren't allowed here, so it's rare to see them.

I think the probelm is that they don't know they're on. In all the other cars I've been in, when the fogs are on there is usually some other indicator on the dashboard showing that they're burning out their filaments. Having never been more than a passenger in a BMW I would not know if they have such indicators, but it must be sad for a marque to get through several generations of vehicle with the same "issue" all the time.

 

[Al4x]

my current car is the first cr ive had where ive hads front fogs, but ive nearly always had rears, 2 different dash lights for front and rear on mine

 

[MaZa]

Quote:

Dude. They aren't reliable. They have expensive parts. It's fine with me if you accept that, but to say they "are reliable" and then mention that a piece of the engine can break off and get sucked into the combustion chamber to cause thousands of dollars is just stupid. They are NOT reliable cars. All of my friends who have 3 series or 5 series have htem in the shop constantly. Are they nice cars? Kind of. They're nicely put together, and they drive well, but they are NOT RELIABLE. Just admit it. Don't say it's reliable and then mention MAJOR engineering/design flaws.

Why so hostile? Relax a bit. Only automatic transmission ones has it. Dont claim that toyotas and nissans never had whoopsies like that, all manufacturers have them from time to time. Its ridiculously easily fixed too at home with screw drivers and pliers, thats why I mentioned it and why im trying to explain it, so why all the negative attidute? Of course, car should be reliable from stock and such a small mod should be unnecessary, but I PERSONALLY dont see car modding a problem, as I like to mess around with them anyway. Still, dont tell me japanese never had any whoopsies in their design. *cough* Nissan launch control...

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You know.... that comment pisses me off. I mean, sure, Honda and Toyota make some boring cars. They really do, but so does BMW, Mercedes, and Audi. Just because something is maintenance intensive, has expensive parts, and breaks down a lot, does not mean it has soul. The crappiest car I own, a 1989 Honda Accord 5spd, has a ton of character and soul. It has a weber carb upgrade, nuespeed springs, KYB GR2 struts, and that's basically it, but it is a blast to drive around town. Honda, unlike BMW, embraced double wishbone suspension for a while, which makes cars of this era extremely rewarding to drive tight environments with lots of curves. The engine sounds great, the weber's second barrel opening up giving the car a sound similar to an old MG or Austin Healy.

They feel soulless to me as I just dont like japanese cars, they just dont have the feel for me. German built cars simply have something "germanish" in their build and driving that lures me. When you drive in Mercedes you know you sit in Mercedes. Though I dont know about new Mercs, perhaps they are different nowadays but I loved old Mercedes to death.

I take cars like I take audio, purely subjectively. I sure as hell know that in car technology combined with reliability Japanese are lightyears ahead Germans, not to talk about Americans. (which, gotta mention, I love even more than german cars. perhaps now you see where I am coming from?)

 

[SinnerG]

Has anyone had the urge to replace the headlamp bulbs with strobe lights... that way, it'd feel like you're the only one moving.

<--- credit: Steven Wright.

 

[MaZa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SinnerG /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm a Mercedes "fan". Oh wait... I'm old-ish. Is running foglamps in rainy or clear weather also illegal over there? It's supposed to be illegal here in anything but foggy weather as they are blinding. *snip*

Though not all Merc fans are old, I'm young and love mercs. Though I sort of inherited it from my old dad...

Yes, its illegal other than in bad weather where visibility is bad. However, foglights should not be blinding. If they are blinding then they are aligned wrong, too up. They should light up brightly only a short distance, so you would see the road in bad weather.

 

[cash68]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaZa /img/forum/go_quote.gif Why so hostile? Relax a bit. Only automatic transmission ones has it. Dont claim that toyotas and nissans never had whoopsies like that, all manufacturers have them from time to time. Its ridiculously easily fixed too at home with screw drivers and pliers, thats why I mentioned it and why im trying to explain it, so why all the negative attidute? Of course, car should be reliable from stock and such a small mod should be unnecessary, but I PERSONALLY dont see car modding a problem, as I like to mess around with them anyway.

Because you've basically insulted my intelligence (Hey this car is unreliable even though in stock form the engine grenades itself), and you've insulted all the cars I own.

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They feel soulless to me as I just dont like japanese cars, they just dont have the feel for me. German built cars simply have something "germanish" in their build and driving that lures me. When you drive in Mercedes you know you sit in Mercedes. Though I dont know about new Mercs, perhaps they are different nowadays but I loved old Mercedes to death.

I have a prescription for your problem.

Step 1: Read my article on the prelude I purchased 1.5 years ago, here:

Car Lust: 1988-1991 Honda Prelude 4WS

Step 2: Go test drive a 3rd generation prelude. Even a ratty one. Don't bring cash, just go test drive it. If you can find an Si with 4ws, even better. But I dare you, I double dare you, to drive this car around a bit, and call it soulless. My guess is you will sing a different tune.

 

[Al4x]

preferably pointing towards the bank so you can see the edge of the road!

yeah the mercs i see around are driven by older drivers, i dont like the cheaper model mercs
german cas lack the styling flare i like in cars, each to thier own tho

 

[SinnerG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaZa /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes, its illegal other than in bad weather where visibility is bad. However, foglights should not be blinding. If they are blinding then they are aligned wrong, too up. They should light up brightly only a short distance, so you would see the road in bad weather.

The problem happens in a bumper-to-bumper traffic situation. This is when it is a major problem. From a distance away they are kind of fine, but sitting right up behind someone with the lamps on is just problematic.

And, yeah, my dad was also a Mercedes fan, as well as Audi. It's where I picked up my love for old-skool Audis, VWs and Mercs.

Sad to say I was responsible for selling off our 1979 single-owner-since-new Merc 300D about a year ago. Which reminds me... that person buyer still hasn't finished paying me!

 

[MaZa]

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Because you've basically insulted my intelligence (Hey this car is unreliable even though in stock form the engine grenades itself), and you've insulted all the cars I own.

Then that has been completely unintentional, and I apologize. Though I never said anything bad about YOUR cars?

Still, dont say that japanese never had whoopsies in their designs. Like I mentioned above (edited post), Nissans launch control sounds rather costly feature when used bit too much.

Though I still feel wierd that you have seen so many BMWs fail. I've had 3 now, all without major problems. Two of them old E34 BMW 520i and E32 730i (lovely car, just too little low-end torque for car that size), and now BMW 530d as own, and many years experience with my sisters one, all served faultlessly. (besides old age and stuff it caused with my first bmws).

Quote:

I have a prescription for your problem. Step 1: Read my article on the prelude I purchased 1.5 years ago, here: Car Lust: 1988-1991 Honda Prelude 4WS Step 2: Go test drive a 3rd generation prelude. Even a ratty one. Don't bring cash, just go test drive it. If you can find an Si with 4ws, even better. But I dare you, I double dare you, to drive this car around a bit, and call it soulless. My guess is you will sing a different tune.

I promise I'll keep that car in my mind.

Though I also double dare you to find chip-tuned E39 530d. Perhaps you will see why I say its just a bloody good daily driver.

*edit* That definetly seems like a fine car. I do have my concerns about 4WS... Didnt they drop the whole technology after that model?

 

[cash68]

Nope, they switched to a problem ridden electronic/hydraulic setup. The mechanical system used in the 3rd gen prelude lasts the life of the car without much of anything.

And I'm not saying that BMWs drive poorly... they do drive nicely! But after knowing so many people who've owned them, and how much they pay to constantly fix them, I can't justify it. If I had a bajillion dollars, yeah, I'd get a BMW, this one:

 

[fureshi]

i've had pretty good experience with BMWs in the past with a 330i, 335 and an M3. they were all reliable with only small niggles here and there but nothing that kept me from driving them. it's about the same as my experience with hondas and toyotas.

japanese cars also have a lot of emotion. everytime i drive my '97 type-r, i feel like a racer. that car is just so much fun to drive. it's fairly light (and can be made even lighter by sacrificing some creature comforts) so that i can toss it around and has enough power to make me respect its speed. my E46 M3 has less emotion than that car but it's still a great drivers car. it's just more of a GT imo as it's quite heavy and slightly less fun to drive.

my point is that both the japanese and german car companies make some great cars.

 

[DNA Doc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cash68 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I would say however, the most people here in the states are just blithering idiots, driving in the passing lane, wondering why people are tailgating them, flashing their lights. People just REFUSE to stay to the right here, why, I have no idea.

This annoys the hell out of me. I don't know why people do it either. It's a simple thing, really:

If you're not traveling faster than the vehicles in the lane to your right, move right. Repeat as necessary.

So many driving issues would be solved if people would just do this.

 

[cash68]

I think we should be allowed to ram them off the road.

 

[kg21]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cash68 /img/forum/go_quote.gif ... You know.... that comment pisses me off. I mean, sure, Honda and Toyota make some boring cars. They really do, but so does BMW, Mercedes, and Audi. Just because something is maintenance intensive, has expensive parts, and breaks down a lot, does not mean it has soul. The crappiest car I own, a 1989 Honda Accord 5spd, has a ton of character and soul. It has a weber carb upgrade, nuespeed springs, KYB GR2 struts, and that's basically it, but it is a blast to drive around town. Honda, unlike BMW, embraced double wishbone suspension for a while, which makes cars of this era extremely rewarding to drive tight environments with lots of curves. The engine sounds great, the weber's second barrel opening up giving the car a sound similar to an old MG or Austin Healy.

If you think about it, toyota currently only makes one car that is not a boring appliance(the Lexus ISF) and same with Honda(the S2000 which is one my favorite cars ever) and it hasn't been confirmed they are making another s2000 yet. Most cars are created that way, including a lot of european cars too just different variations of getting from point A to B. Character and soul are different, like your accord has a ton of character to you because you've owned it and been through a lot with it but soul is not something that can be added later on with mods. I love my wrx and it has a lot of character but I wouldn't say it has "soul." Cars with soul is defined by italian cars, they are made to be special.

For example: The E92 M3 is awesome but even that has become purely about engineering, whereas the E30 M3 had more soul. On the other hand, I don't like Alfa romeo but out of non exotic sports cars they probably have the most soul. Of course italian cars fall apart so there is a trade off and cars can be special without soul (Sti, Evo, Skyline, etc.), for Japanese cars I would say complex performance engineering is what gives them their character.

Oh and P.S. it seems that you really like Honda but don't bring up suspension if you want to argue against bmw, they are probably the best out of all the major manufacturers. Porsche Lotus and Ferrari may be better but they don't exactly mass produce. Double wishbone suspension on mainstream cars was impressive but put it on a civic/accord and it's still a civic/accord, plus honda got rid of it because it cost too much.