siegen

It looks like it did. At the end of the article it notes the 4 million that were recalled March 2004. Apparently they missed some vehicles in the last recall (only a million or so, heh), hopefully this will be the last time we hear of this. So far I haven't had any problems with the tail gate on my 04 Sierra, and it has held many heavy loads, including large marine gas and diesel engines on pallets -it would suck to have one of those come down on me

I don't think anybody's arguing against that. Not exactly. These are not your normal bare bones, only bought it cause I can afford it, b-segment cars of the past. Surely the Fit will be a lot of first new car purchases, and a lot of low-income families will buy it, but it is not like a Geo Metro or Hyundai Accent (you know, the cars nobody wants but they get good mileage and are cheap?). Since when did b-segment cars come with side curtain airbags, ABS, electric brake distribution, theft immobilizer, steering wheel mounted cruise controls and paddle shifters, 5sp auto's, a/c with filtration, 160w or 200w sound system standard with speed sensitive volume, power everything you would find in a normal compact car (door locks, windows w/ auto-down, mirrors, etc), and seating for 5? And it is not a bad looking car.

Both the Yaris and Aveo make very similar numbers (if you want to nit-pic, the Fit has the most HP out of both of them), except the Yaris and Aveo only have 4sp Auto's (not sure about the new Aveo), while the Fit has a 5sp Auto. It ain't no race car

Sounds like a good package. I'm just waiting for the big Fit vs. Yaris comparo's that every mag is bound to do the second both vehicles become available. Well, maybe I'm not waiting for it, but it'll be interesting to see how this updated Fit does against a brand new Yaris.

mmm, now that's beautiful =) Not really stock like those Firebirds, but still very nice, and the right color!

The whole point of Toyota and Honda (and Nissan I suppose) bringing these cars here and pricing them around $13-14k, was to show that a cheap, efficient car could also have a nice interior, good build quality, and plenty of features (including power windows and a/c). I believe they have both stressed that these cars are not bare bones like a Hyundai Accent, Geo Metro, etc, hense the higher starting price (European/Asian Fits start about $3k less, and are more bare bones). They're trying to dispell the thinking that only people who can't afford a better car would buy these. Now you will probably find people who have the money to afford a Civic/Corolla or Accord/Camry, but stick with a Fit/Yaris because it suits their needs better, they like the way it looks better, or what not.

It is a good thing, but I'm just saying, rarer cars are generally more exciting. Doing an autotrader search for all 1993-2002 trans ams and firebirds (worldwide) turned up 3362 matches, where-as a worldwide search for all 1993-1998 supras only turned up 141. I do find Supra's more exciting, since I rarely see them on the road, and they almost look exotic. Of course that doesn't mean you need to find them more exciting, they are still just a Toyota (with misaligned body panels and everything). I wouldn't want one, although at one point in my life I did consider both vehicles (firebird and supra). No, hense the reason we're talking about firebirds and supras

You guys resent the fact that a lot of import owners associate those cars with white trash in the same way a lot of GM owners associate Civic's and the like with "rice". I personally don't associate those firebirds with white trash, but I still think they're pretty hideous, at least the pictures posted above. The newest Camaro's are nice looking (with the new style headlights) IMO. As much as I find Toyota the most boring manufacturer, their Supra was a very nice car, definately not boring. The Trans Am's are a dime a dozen.

God that interior is horribly bland and ugly. The sedan version is a little better, but not much. I certainly hope those are pictures of base models and the higher end ones are better looking. Toyota isn't necessarily stupid for doing it this way though, as Ted said, it will make the cars cheaper to produce, as only one center console needs to be made for both RHD and LHD models. Yaris Sedan: Fit Sport:

Thanks for the sales pitch, lol AWD is great for stability, but when it comes to long straights and high speed, it really takes its toll in terms of drivetrain loss. Put a skilled enough driver behind the wheel, and stability won't be a problem they can't handle, otherwise the Corvette wouldn't have been able to get its very quick 7:43 time.

The Evo isn't going to beat the Corvette around every track, just as the Corvette isn't going to beat the Evo around every track. Nurburgring definately favors a large displacement car like the Corvette rather than a small displacement 4wd car like the Evo, aside from the fact that the new Z06 was designed on that very track. Yes, it's magic.

What's with you and corvette's? At $70k they arn't exactly cheap (the high end model), and there are plenty of cars that cost less and will beat it around a track. One of them I can think of is the Evo MR, and it's more practical too, although if you buy that you're getting a Mitsubishi, and chances are it'll fall apart after the victory lap. too much boost!! lol Honda will most likely not name a front engined GT type car an NSX. They haven't said the car they are planning with a v10 will replace the NSX, only that they are building one. Hey at least they don't spell "even" with a 'j' at the end Keep laughing. Lexus, Acura, and Infiniti will all have $100k+ cars before long (Acura has already had a car equivalent to $100k+ in USD, the NSX Type R).

Bingo. Same with the V10-super luxo car Honda is developing. Unlike what all the magazines like to report, it is not an NSX replacement (and will more than likely not share the name), but a FR layout V10 car like an Aston Marton (or possibly AWD). It only makes sense that both Toyota and Honda are doing this at roughly the same time. I'll bet both companies will come out with a Supra/NSX that are more bare-boned racing cars (although not really bare bones) like a Corvette sometime in the near future as well. Despite Honda offing the NSX, I doubt it will be gone for long. With Honda having a full factory sponsored F1 team again for 2006, they are obviously putting a lot of time and energy (and money) into racing and racing-inspired road cars.

Agreed, they look hideous. The models with the grille are a little more classier looking, but still nothing I would want to look at.

Well that was a biased reviewer with his mind already made up if I ever heard one. I really like the car, but I don't know if I'd own one. It would be hard for me to go back to a Civic, when I could get an 05-06 RSX Type S which looks much better, and only lacks an LSD in comparison.

It looks like a collage of various other cars. The front isn't particularly good to look at, but they got the overall shape of the car right (which isn't hard considering there's a hundred other expensive sports coupes to copy from). It looks like the next 350z/g coupe (skyline) rather than a GT-R.

That bright green painted car was a Mitsubishi (if you are referring to the F&F). I think Hollywood spotlight on highly modified cars has been pretty well spread between a lot of brands, not just Honda. And just because a Honda Civic or Acura Integra/RSX is "riced" out in some movie, doesn't mean an adult with kids isn't going to consider a Civic Sedan, Accord, TSX, or TL for their family, anymore than a Camry or Impala. Agreeably some adults might not purchase a Civic due the reputation it might have as a "ricer" car, I think there's another market of adults (with or without kids) that will purchase a car due to that image just as much (think Civic Si and not the "riced" out Civics of the past Hollywood films). Also, the thing is they probably aren't going to be purchasing the coupe trim anyway if they have kids. So you're counting on the reliability of Japanese brands (Toyota and Honda in particular) to drop considerably while the reliability of domestic brands will increase considerably? You're right, time will tell, but I wouldn't hold my breathe.

I think using humiliation in the first paragraph is definately uncalled for. Edit: Here's Yahoo's article on the results, shorter and to the point. I'm surprised MSNBC let this get through. There'll probably be a lot flak taken on Mr. Jones behalf.

Care to explain? My last Civic was definately overpriced, the dealer wanted $7,000 for a Black '93 EX Coupe with 147k miles on it (this was about 4 years ago). I got them down to 5k out the door. It seemed a little high and I could understand how people would think that it's overrated, but that car didn't give me a single problem during the year (and 9k miles) I drove it. Great fuel economy, quick (5sp), and nice looking. I romped on it quite a bit as well. After owning one, I can definately say they aren't over-rated, although I haven't driven a new one (or a 7th gen for that matter, the 2001-2005 model). Compared to my Regal and Escort, both of lower miles, the Civic was hands down a better car, in every possible way (unless you like bench seats).

I think the Ford had the best overall demolition, it got completely crushed, not just smacked around. The others should have been a Chevy Cavalier and a Dodge Neon, naturally I see those riced out more often now than Civics (or maybe the Civics are so common they blend in )

Thanks for clearing that up. They are smart indeed, and obviously took the right gamble when purchasing the expensive equipment (although expensive equipment is never really a gamble when you have such a strong foothold in the market). I'll bet Toyota will be the first to have completely automated manufacturing plants, heehee. Either that, or Honda will find a way to put Asimo to work :AH-HA_wink:

I would be interested in finding out exactly what these engineers did to cut the cost of the engines in half. More parts made in China? I'll bet there's a lot more rough edges, it'll be interesting to see if any of these show up in the long term.

Not this guy again. Why don't you try to contribute to something, rather than just make smartass comments? Btw, love the sig.

I was being serious. I have heard of the GM Toyota partnership, and didn't know if maybe the Toyota engine had the heart of a common GM 350 V8.

5.7L engine? Did Toyota develope their own or is this a GM variant?