Called the ugliest car of all time by Time magazine, but I think it looks cool. And is the perfect size. All the driving reviews for it that I've read are terrific.
Rowdies at Dawn
-
I made the mistake of renting a place smack dab in the one section of
Prague frequented by 20something beer-chugging loudmouth apes. These two
clips were t...
57 minutes ago
8 comments:
Dude. It's a Pontiac. Please. Get a Honda or Toyota. You'll appreciate the reliability, and so will your wallet.
Our family has gotten Pontiacs for years, and they're very reliable. Consumer Reports backs that up. And Azteks had very high quality ratings when they were being produced.
My next car, I can only hope has been as reliable as this 9-year old Pontiac I'm currently driving (that I've driven into the ground, but have had zero problems with except for surface stuff).
If you consider the litany of ailments you listed in your previous post "surface stuff," then so be it.
I had a friend who drove a Pontiac Grand Am. Once that thing died and he picked up a Civic, he never looked back.
There's a reason American auto companies are on their last leg - their products are cheap.
For much of the 1980s and early 1990s, I would agree with you. But that's not true anymore. Actually, if you read the ratings magazines, while there are differences in models and such, the difference between American and foreign isn't so much quality anymore but cost. American cars cost more. And they have also been slow to adjust (all those SUVs they produced in the late 1990s were too big, and they were too slow to realize it).
And, yes, I'd say mirrors and cigarette lighter malfunctions are surface stuff. The airbags were my fault - I hit a curb. Not getting the power steering checked out was my fault; it would have been a $20 fix to fix that pump. So, yeah, it's been nothing but surface stuff. The engine is great.
I'd say get a decent used car - that brings a lot more options at a given price range.
I can understand your American loyalty, but I really wonder which is more "American" - a Ford built in Mexico or a Honda built in Tennessee. Plus so much of cars are made by subcontractors (radios, airbags, wiring harnesses...) and those are almost always cheapest bidder and usually that means off-shore.
Working for a big corporation with international divisions, I just don't think companies have nationalities anymore.
FWIW, I have a SCION XB - lots of room, good gas mileage, very cheap to buy.
I think you're right, A BCPSS Parent. All my cousins were part of the auto industry and they all lost their jobs. This time, I'm opening up myself to buying other auto company's models this year. But I still take it personally when someone criticizes all American cars, especially ones I've had very good experiences with.
The Aztek would be my #1 option right now... the perfect size. As it is, I might go with a CRV or a RAV-4. So pricy, though... Still mulling it over. Definitely going used, as I always will
I think Honda and Toyota are over-priced, especially in the models you picked. Look at the Kia Rondo - that's DH's car. Plenty big, more of a big-ish station wagon than an SUV (which is a plus to me). Kind of new, so you won't get a very old used one, but the new price is 33% - 50% less than the RAV-4 & CRV.
Post a Comment