Drew Dowdell

There was a kid back in highschool who had a white Firebird V6 as far as I could tell, unmodified... don't remember the year, but it was a second to last gen. He used to brag about the wheelies he'd do...... I would mock him by telling him my FWD Toronado had a V8 and could totally do higher wheelies than his Firebird. His argument against it was always "no way an Oldsmobile is gonna do better wheelies than a Firebird"..... never argued against the concept of a FWD car doing wheelies though.... He was a thinker....

Had One, Never Did Again

it's no Aztec, but doesn't light my fire. If I'm going to go for a plebian italian automaker of questionable reliability, I'll pick Alfa Romeo.

Other than the Tata... it was the only "new" car that qualified. Delorean, Tucker, Porsche..... I'm thinking probably not.

Tata Nano

Smart FourTwo

no V8s

Rotary?

I honestly have no idea what your car tastes are...... I'm just bored and guessing.

smaRt - gtR

RL - Type R?

and the same low hanging, pot hole attracting, exhaust pipe on every Camry from 1991 forward.

updated

so wait... do American's work too hard or are they all about fast and cheap? and the Japanese won the TV war not because of superior product but because of dumping of cheap sets on our market..... remember, Americans are all about fast and cheap.

I don't know the exact color names, but it's a light yellow and black.

I'm not saying that BMWs aren't really good. Read and consider my whole post. Yes there are things BMW does better than anyone else. However, there are other areas where BMW is eclipsed by it's competitors. Note the dash layout that hasn't really changed all that much since about 1995. There is more to a car than the engine, steering, and brakes.

*right-click* *save image*

Self-fulfilling prophecy much? When all the comparisons go like "Can these other brands meet or beat the standards we think BMW has set?" then the comparison is not a Car1 v. Car2 v. Car3 v. Car4. The comparison becomes "How much like Car1 are Car2, Car3, and Car4?" All the brands are trying to be anointed King by the press. BMW is not a best seller because it's the "best" car. It's a best seller because people have been told it's the best car by the press for the past 20 years. The CTS, 3-series, 5-series, TL, IS, A4, C-Class, G35 all perform close enough that most of the differences come down to things only noticed on the track. The real differences are things like interior design and quality, fuel efficiency, room and utility, and over all fit and finish. The 3-Series may have the smoothest engine, but the interior is majorly outclassed by the CTS and A4. It's out done in terms of comfort by the TL and IS. The CTS, G35, and A4 all pull corners with Gs that meet or exceed the 3-series. The CTS is also one of the safest of the bunch. I'd also pick the CTS <from my own experience> and TL over the BMW in terms of reliability. Suzy McMansion wants a BMW because her husband read the latest BMWTrend and because it will annoy Tammy Trailerpark at work. So... No, it isn't clear that BMW is the ultimate driving machine..... however it's the ultimate PR machine.

Define "good". I wouldn't touch an out of warranty BMW with a 109 foot pole. I've been driving my BF's '04 Honda CRV around for a few days as the Cadillac isn't really appropriate to be hauling construction materials in. Apparently the check engine light has been on for weeks, it hasn't had an oil change, and he thought the air filter was for the climate control system <1/2 point for effort>. It still runs fairly smooth given all of that. I've been knocking out the little problems on the thing here and there. <Who puts the oil filter on the back wall of the engine!?! I mean really?>. It's held up fairly well considering the neglect it's had over it's life. However..... the doors feel light and tinny. I definately don't feel as safe as when I'm in the CTS or even Dominic's Alero. The rear gate closes like reg's "screen door on a southern tin shack" reference. The seats can best be described as "groomed mouse fur". The under seat storage bin fell out and I can't get it to sit quite right in the track. While the Honda might start every time regardless of how long it's been since an oil change, I really don't perceive it to be any better than an Equinox. In fact, the 'Nox feels more substantial just when slamming the door. We test drove an Astra 3-door over the weekend. It feels wwaaaayy higher quality than the CRV. He loved it and is seriously considering it.... but we need to wait to see what is happening with Germany. Maybe his Astra will say "Opel" on it instead of "Saturn". :AH-HA_wink: Back on point.... the age of the platform doesn't really matter much as long as the platform can be refined and kept up to date. Prior to the current generation of Camry, the Camry was on the same platform for nearly 15 years. Sure they updated it along the way and called it a new platform... but it really was the same thing. The only difference between the W-body and the Camry platforms over time was that the W-body was always just called W-body... the Camry platform got a new name when it was revised.

It's probably restorable. The engine runs from what I understand. What the picture doesn't show is the missing brake system and the fact that he's already raided the front ball joints which are a one year only part. The interior is a mess and there are windows broken. Here is an older camera phone pic of the running one.

Because GME the Verruca Salt of the automotive world..... and yes I know he's lurking.

Hey, whenever I post something, no one replies... and then someone else posts the same article 4 hours later and you all go into that topic!