siegen

I didn't know it was a mid-engined car.... Oh wait, that's the back end?? What are they doing putting head lights on the back too?

Lol, I'd take the Honda just because it wasn't a... gasp, VW Not to mention the $4,000 you save.

Wow, they sure put a bad face on the Yaris. They might as well come right out and say "buy a Fit instead". I'm surprised at how un-feature full the base model Yaris is. No antilock brakes, power windows, locks and mirrors, cruise control, a tachometer, or side curtain airbags. From Edmund's performance times, it makes the Yaris look like a slug. The Fit does both the 1/4 and 0-60 over a second faster, although they're comparing a 5sp manual to a 4sp Auto. I'll bet the 5sp auto Fit still has a good margin on the Yaris though.

Because people need cars like those. People don't need cars like the Corvette, GTO, or Mustang, or any of those luxury cars you mentioned.

Deep down, you know you want a Fit You can't resist!

What makes you think this car won't be able to handle what any ordinary Escort or Civic already has for the last several decades? This car isn't some milk carton, it weighs in above 2400 lbs (2551 for the 5sp Auto Sport model). It's not going to fly away in the wind or break a control arm the first pot hole it goes over. So a car has to have a lot of horsepower to be a regular use car? Is it possible that this car can accelerate adequately as is? Did you know a peak HP number doesn't tell everything about a car? They did.

I posted this in another thread. Ridgeline sales since it came out: Mar 05 ......... 3875 (first month) Apr 05 .......... 3365 May 05 ......... 3297 Jun 05 .......... 3585 Jul 05 ........... 3911 Aug 05 .......... 4308 Sep 05 .......... 3313 Oct 05 ........... 4974 Nov 05 .......... 5243 Dec 05 .......... 6589 (MT ToTY announced dec 20) Jan 06 ........... 3814 Feb 06 ........... 4485 Mar 06 ........... 5344 Seems pretty good to me. The Ridgeline beat its sales expectations of 50,000 units by 759 in the first 12 months. The sales forcast was announced back in January 2005, so I think they hit it right on. The various awards it won will most likely help it in its next 12 months, but saying that it's finally selling just now because of those awards isn't entirely accurate.

Easier to read image from Honda: March Sales: February Sales: The RL jumped back up after its horrible month in February. It's still a little down compared to last year though. The Ridgeline is still selling very well, doesn't that just make everyone excited? Oh wait, those are all employee leases, right? :AH-HA_wink:

R&T timed the Si at 15.1 and the SS at 14.8 for the 1/4. Not that noticable really, considering that margin could be made up or lost by the driver. The Cobalt SS is an easier car to drive fast, but not necessarily faster.

What does that have to do with anything? They're talking about how well the Ridgeline can tow and guessing as to what it can tow and if the tow rating includes passengers, luggage, etc (none of them even own one). Am I missing something?

Who did all those performance tests? I don't think any of those cars will be cross shopped with each other either, very different prices and segments. No Accord and Accord hybrid?

The first problem I have with that site is that it is mostly hearsay from the dealers or owners. I'm not saying any of it is false, but generally when someone has a bad experience with a product, they will exagerate to make it sound worse (specially when they're trying to get the attention of an agency to get compensation).

But Edmunds already agreed to repaint every parking spot in the world a few inches smaller if everybody buys a Fit.

C&D only observed 20 mpg in the Cobalt SS. You want good mileage, go get your damned Yaris you've been talking about so much :P Exactly, and considering that 23mpg overall mileage included a large percentage of performance runs (when compared to regular driving), it is very good. The 26mpg is probably more realistic for a driver who isn't going to be racing to get to every destination.

Oh come on, 9.3 second 0-60! That's freakin quick. And you can fit surf boards in there or a mountain bike! You can't do that in a Cobalt, score one for the Fit! Just think, you can park 3 in the same amount of space as two regular sized SUV's would take up. Maybe even 4 if you put one in sideways!

Damn that sucks. I wonder if that happens in any other vehicles or if it's just Honda's light truck platform.

Wannabe lambo look? Is that really what they were shooting for when they designed it?

Maybe the Camry doesn't have as inefficient of a drivetrain as the Prius, or at least it isn't overstated. M/T must have some patient drivers to get those kind of numbers, usually they have lead feet and don't even break into the 30's 34.5 hwy and 25 city makes about 30mpg combined (29.75) for the Accord, and the Camry is at about 35 combined, which is very good for both cars.

If the Camry hybrid is marked up a few grand at the dealer, I don't see too much of an advantage over the Accord hybrid. Assuming a 15% real world drop in mileage on the new Accord hybrid, it will see about 25.5 mpg combined. Looking over at www.fueleconomy.gov, 14 owners reported an average of 28.5 combined for the 2005 model (which the only difference is about 80 lbs lighter). Based off Petra's calculations, the Camry will see about 30 mpg combined, based on a 25% drop. So you can either get a 187hp 4cyl hybrid with 30mpg, or a 253hp v6 hybrid with 26-28mpg. Hmmm

Not that I'm arguing what you're saying, but can you show proof? Most of the time I argue for Honda, because everybody argues against it. I don't like any Toyota's and would never own one, yet I also have argued for Toyota on different occassions, when I feel people are being blind and bashing just because.

Not every macpherson strut suspension is the same. The basic design is, but the parts that go into it (you know, the springs and shocks, or "struts" as they're referred to in macpherson suspension), the different angles, and the various other components that effect the suspension (tie rods, control arms, etc) effect how the car handles and drives. I don't know, but maybe the Cavalier & Escort did a lame job with the suspension? I haven't driven a new Civic with Macpherson strut, but I will tell you, when the RSX (4th gen Integra) went to Macpherson strut from double wishbone, it upset a lot of people and was brought up in just about every review of the car. Even the latest Type R doesn't handle quite as good as the 95-2000 (or 97-2001) Type R's with double wishbone. Cab forward may not be the coolest thing (I like long hoods like the s2000 just as much as anybody), but if a more compact engine can be used and the hood area shrunk, it leaves the possibility for a lot more room in the cabin. This is a Civic after all.

If any company won car and truck of the year awards, don't you think they would take advantage of it and advertise, maybe gloat, a bit? Regardless of whether advertising influence or money had anything to do with Honda winning the awards (can you prove anything?) in the first place. Honda's advertising campaigns are still nothing compared to GM or Toyota's. The Ridgeline exceeded its first 12 month 50,000 sales expectations (by a few hundred vehicles). For a 'niche' vehicle, or a SUT, or a 'stupid wannabe-truck' as some of you like to call it , that is pretty good, yes?

2007 Camry Accord will have the crown back next year! arr!