pturo
New member
Suds, that Nissan Mirano is sexy and efficient!
Time to buy a new car....suggestions??
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Chuck, an Aztek preceded by a Transport. Was there ever a Gremlin in your past LOL
perc-o-prince
Well-known member
An AMC product in my yard???
I don't think so!
-1973 Pinto (families second car that I drove underage when 'rents were out)
-1974 Nova
-1981 Monte Carlo
-1978 Honda 750cc 4 cyl
-2 "disposable" cars that I don't remember the makes of (bought from local garage mechanic for $500 each back in about 1987-90)
-1987 Camaro (150+K miles)
-1995 Trans Sport (150+K miles)
-2004 Aztek (33k and counting)
Actually, Rich picked out the last two. I didn't care too much! Never thought of a minivan and was set on buying a small pickup like an S-10. Rich saw the TS and suggested it. Lots of room and I bought it at the end of the model year with incentives on top of GM employee family pricing!
When it came time, he suggested the Aztek after enduring car shopping w/ me again! He though it looked cool... not like everything else. Found one at the same dealership w/ lots of extras ($1200 wheels, 6-CD changer, steering wheel radio controls, auto headlights, slide out rear platform and more). Again, end of model year! Got the GM pricing again and about $6K in rebates on top. The day I signed, there was an additional $1k rebate that started that day, so I got that too! Didn't really want white again, but, after all, it's just a car!
If I had it to do over, I would probably check out the Montana as there was more room for the aforementioned junk.... goodies... in the TS! But, I'm happy! And, if I had to give up either the steering wheel controls or the auto headlamps, I'd have a tough time choosing!!!!
Oh, yeah, no Gremlin!Could have kept your Pacer company!
Chuck
I don't think so!
-1973 Pinto (families second car that I drove underage when 'rents were out)
-1974 Nova
-1981 Monte Carlo
-1978 Honda 750cc 4 cyl
-2 "disposable" cars that I don't remember the makes of (bought from local garage mechanic for $500 each back in about 1987-90)
-1987 Camaro (150+K miles)
-1995 Trans Sport (150+K miles)
-2004 Aztek (33k and counting)
Actually, Rich picked out the last two. I didn't care too much! Never thought of a minivan and was set on buying a small pickup like an S-10. Rich saw the TS and suggested it. Lots of room and I bought it at the end of the model year with incentives on top of GM employee family pricing!
When it came time, he suggested the Aztek after enduring car shopping w/ me again! He though it looked cool... not like everything else. Found one at the same dealership w/ lots of extras ($1200 wheels, 6-CD changer, steering wheel radio controls, auto headlights, slide out rear platform and more). Again, end of model year! Got the GM pricing again and about $6K in rebates on top. The day I signed, there was an additional $1k rebate that started that day, so I got that too! Didn't really want white again, but, after all, it's just a car!
If I had it to do over, I would probably check out the Montana as there was more room for the aforementioned junk.... goodies... in the TS! But, I'm happy! And, if I had to give up either the steering wheel controls or the auto headlamps, I'd have a tough time choosing!!!!
Oh, yeah, no Gremlin!Could have kept your Pacer company!
Chuck
whirlcool
Well-known member
We own a Mazda Tribute. We've had it for a few years. It's a great car. We feel that we got a LOT for the money. Ours is the ES model, fully loaded. It now has 70K miles on it with no trouble at all. It gives us about 23 miles to the gallon. One of the best things I like about the Tribute is that it has very stable handling characteristics, unlike a lot of SUV's out there. And with 205 horses under the hood, acceleration is quite lively.
For 2008 they gussied up the interior quite a bit and changed the styling a bit. I think it's the best version of the Escape/Mariner/Tribute models. Plus most of them are made in America. For some reason, ours was made in Canada.
For 2008 they gussied up the interior quite a bit and changed the styling a bit. I think it's the best version of the Escape/Mariner/Tribute models. Plus most of them are made in America. For some reason, ours was made in Canada.
I'm not much about cars, but I can say that my Mazda was the best car I've owned, altho that was a 1993 model that may not reflect the current offerings. My 2001 Infiniti is nice, but in the end it hasn't impressed me all that much. Repairs seem high in cost, particularly compared to the Mazda because it had none, LOL. It's unlikely I'd do Infiniti again.
Does Mazda still offer a rotary engine?
Heard those lasted forever with little maintenance and no pistons to pop!
Heard those lasted forever with little maintenance and no pistons to pop!
davy1063
Well-known member
Well, if you want inexpensive and reliable, there is only on
Gotta find yourself one of these, like I did. This is the most reliable, fuel efficient and friendly little car I ever owned. My 2000 Audi A4 1.8T Quattro runs a close second.
Gotta find yourself one of these, like I did. This is the most reliable, fuel efficient and friendly little car I ever owned. My 2000 Audi A4 1.8T Quattro runs a close second.
davy1063
Well-known member
Interior shot...
Mazda is the only company ever to make the rotary engine work successfully on a long-term basis. Seals have always been an issue with rotaries, and that's what usually wears out first. Overheating can kill them too. Rotaries are conceptually very interesting because they are small, light, and very smooth. Unfortunately, they also tend to have poor fuel consumption which is why Mazda has pretty much relegated them to the RX-8. Rotaries have long, thin combustion chambers which have lots of surface area compared to a conventional piston engine, and this design results in greater heat loss from the combustion process and the correspondingly poor economy.
I think a rotary RX-5 Miata would be ever so cool, but I'm sure Mazda will never make one.
I think a rotary RX-5 Miata would be ever so cool, but I'm sure Mazda will never make one.
nurdlinger
Well-known member
Interior shot...
Wow the memories come flooding back. It's hard to believe that such a plain design was so successful. Or that you could ever feel safe again riding along with your face that close to the front window.
Wow the memories come flooding back. It's hard to believe that such a plain design was so successful. Or that you could ever feel safe again riding along with your face that close to the front window.
Volkswagen is going to release a new 4 wheel drive, smaller than the Touareg, the Tiguan. I don't know if and when it's going to appear on the market in the USA. I sure think it's a goodlooking car.
Tiguan . . .
It would be nice if VW would put the TDI diesel engine in the Tiguan, but they've pretty much lost interest in diesels. Supposedly the TDI will be back in a few models in '08, but I'll believe it when I see it. They also need to fix the reliability issues with turbos and timing belts - it's not much good building a fine diesel that will last nearly forever if it gets killed by turbo or timing belt failure. With those issues solved a TDI Tiguan might be capable of decent mileage and good reliability.
It would be nice if VW would put the TDI diesel engine in the Tiguan, but they've pretty much lost interest in diesels. Supposedly the TDI will be back in a few models in '08, but I'll believe it when I see it. They also need to fix the reliability issues with turbos and timing belts - it's not much good building a fine diesel that will last nearly forever if it gets killed by turbo or timing belt failure. With those issues solved a TDI Tiguan might be capable of decent mileage and good reliability.
TDI VW
We have a 2006 TDI Jetta that we absolutely love. We got it about 1 month ago (used with 47,000 miles on it) and it gets 48MPG. My husband loves it since he drives approx 70 miles to work and another 70 home again until we get to move.
Very nice on the inside too, leather heated seats, XM radio, etc. I like it but have only driven it once!
We have a 2006 TDI Jetta that we absolutely love. We got it about 1 month ago (used with 47,000 miles on it) and it gets 48MPG. My husband loves it since he drives approx 70 miles to work and another 70 home again until we get to move.
Very nice on the inside too, leather heated seats, XM radio, etc. I like it but have only driven it once!
In Europe the Tiguan is available with a 1.4 TSI engine (petrol) and a 2.0 TDI one.
Sikiguya - I think the '06s were the last TDIs to be sold in the US, but they weren't available in all states. The last new TDIs sold here in CA were the '03 models. My '02 Golf has seen 48 mpg on the highway, and usually gets 35 or so in town depending on the season (better in winter due to less a/c useage). I think I got 40 on my last highway trip, but that included going through Santa Barbara on Sunday afternoon which means sitting on the freeway for over an hour in first gear due to traffic.
You should check out tdiclub.com. This is a tremedous resource and can save you vast amounts of money. Be careful with the '06 to use only the proper oil, as that engine (the PD or Pump Jet) is particular about the oil and it isn't always easy to get here in the US. Some dealers will pour just about anything in. I believe the correct VW standard is 505.1.
You should check out tdiclub.com. This is a tremedous resource and can save you vast amounts of money. Be careful with the '06 to use only the proper oil, as that engine (the PD or Pump Jet) is particular about the oil and it isn't always easy to get here in the US. Some dealers will pour just about anything in. I believe the correct VW standard is 505.1.
Thanks!
Thanks for the great info. I will pass it along to my husband. He said that he joined the TDI group but hasn't gotten around to looking around too much there. He does have an oil change on Monday at the dealership so I hope all will go well.
Thanks for the great info. I will pass it along to my husband. He said that he joined the TDI group but hasn't gotten around to looking around too much there. He does have an oil change on Monday at the dealership so I hope all will go well.
PD Oil
Using the wrong oil won't cause the engine to quit, but it can greatly increase wear on the camshaft where it actuates the fuel injectors. It's an unusual arrangement pretty much unique to certain 2004-2006 VW diesels. Using the wrong oil can also invalidate your warranty, not something you want to happen on a VW.
You husband should first check the owners manual for the correct VW specification and then ask the dealership what oil they're using and make sure it says on the bottle that it meets the spec. One big problem that the TDIs have is dealers sold so few that many are pretty ignorant of how to correctly service them. When I bought my car lots of dealers had no TDIs at all because they just didn't care to order them, and others only had a couple.
Using the wrong oil won't cause the engine to quit, but it can greatly increase wear on the camshaft where it actuates the fuel injectors. It's an unusual arrangement pretty much unique to certain 2004-2006 VW diesels. Using the wrong oil can also invalidate your warranty, not something you want to happen on a VW.
You husband should first check the owners manual for the correct VW specification and then ask the dealership what oil they're using and make sure it says on the bottle that it meets the spec. One big problem that the TDIs have is dealers sold so few that many are pretty ignorant of how to correctly service them. When I bought my car lots of dealers had no TDIs at all because they just didn't care to order them, and others only had a couple.
As I understand it, the Tiguan will be offered in the US, first with the gas engine, and the diesel will follow later.
I'm wondering just what oil VW insists upon for its TDI motors. Coincidentally, I've switched all my gas motors (except for the yard machines) over to 15w40 Delo 400 diesel oil. It's a high quality oil, compatible with gas motors, with higher amounts of detergent that seems to do wonders for older motors that might have some sludge build-up. Even my motorcycle runs just fine on Delo 400 (except it's been parked for over a year now). The diesel motor oil is more expensive than regular gas motor oil, but about 1/3 the price of synthetic oil.
I'm wondering just what oil VW insists upon for its TDI motors. Coincidentally, I've switched all my gas motors (except for the yard machines) over to 15w40 Delo 400 diesel oil. It's a high quality oil, compatible with gas motors, with higher amounts of detergent that seems to do wonders for older motors that might have some sludge build-up. Even my motorcycle runs just fine on Delo 400 (except it's been parked for over a year now). The diesel motor oil is more expensive than regular gas motor oil, but about 1/3 the price of synthetic oil.
TDI oil requirements vary according to what kind of fuel injection system is used, although all of it must be high-grade synthetic. The older cars with rotary pumps are the least critical. I use Mobil Delvac-1 (5w40) in mine. It's Mobil's best diesel oil, and costs me a little over $100 for a four gallon box. With a 10,000 mile change interval that isn't too bad. People who analyze their used oils have found that Delvac-1 is often good for significantly more than 10,000 miles in a TDI, but I do mainly urban driving so I stick with VW's recommendation there.
The PD engines are pickier because in place of the rotary pump they have unit injectors for each cylinder. Each injector has both a pump and nozzle, and is located below the camshaft. A special lobe on the cam actuates the pump. The loading on that cam lobe is evidently much greater than for a valve, hence the special oil requirements. There have been some instances of cam and lifter damage in PD cars run on poor quality oils. Castrol and Elf both make products which are certified to meet the VW 505.1 or better spec (they're up to 507.1 now I think), but in the US Castrol sells theirs mainly to VW dealers, and Elf is hard to find outside of mail order. VW is now abandoning the PD technology and going with common rail injection systems, which should be easier on oil than the PDs but they aren't reducing the standards. Other complexities are the variable service intervals on some newer cars, where the car's computer calculates when an oil change is required, and the search for better mileage. This has resulted in the newer oils being lighter, like 0w30. These oils should work just fine in my engine too, but I can get the Delvac-1 from a local oil distributor and it has been proven for years in all kinds of rotary-pump engines.
The main differences between diesel and gas-engine oils is that the diesel oils hold soot in suspension better, because diesels make more soot, but they may not deal with acids as well since gas engines make more acidic by-products which wash down the cylinder walls and into the oil.
The PD engines are pickier because in place of the rotary pump they have unit injectors for each cylinder. Each injector has both a pump and nozzle, and is located below the camshaft. A special lobe on the cam actuates the pump. The loading on that cam lobe is evidently much greater than for a valve, hence the special oil requirements. There have been some instances of cam and lifter damage in PD cars run on poor quality oils. Castrol and Elf both make products which are certified to meet the VW 505.1 or better spec (they're up to 507.1 now I think), but in the US Castrol sells theirs mainly to VW dealers, and Elf is hard to find outside of mail order. VW is now abandoning the PD technology and going with common rail injection systems, which should be easier on oil than the PDs but they aren't reducing the standards. Other complexities are the variable service intervals on some newer cars, where the car's computer calculates when an oil change is required, and the search for better mileage. This has resulted in the newer oils being lighter, like 0w30. These oils should work just fine in my engine too, but I can get the Delvac-1 from a local oil distributor and it has been proven for years in all kinds of rotary-pump engines.
The main differences between diesel and gas-engine oils is that the diesel oils hold soot in suspension better, because diesels make more soot, but they may not deal with acids as well since gas engines make more acidic by-products which wash down the cylinder walls and into the oil.
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