TheMattMan

Strike 1,2, and 3 with the Tundra. Tacoma problems. Does Toyota even know how to bulid trucks? Of course not.

Honda Civics are generally respected as reliable transportation, and aren't supposed to be prone to things like, say, wheels falling off. But that's the reason Honda is recalling more than 182,000 of them made in 2006-2007. Honda says the trouble comes from a leaky O-ring in the wheel speed sensor. Water could damage the wheel bearing, which could result in one of the four wheels falling off, "possibly resulting in a crash." Ya think? Owners of the affected Civics can expect a note in the mail from Honda, offering to fix the problem and replace any damaged parts. You can read the full recall notice from NHTSA.gov after the jump. Thanks for the tip, Herb! [source: The Detroit News]NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number : 07V399000 Mfr's Report Date : AUG 30, 2007 Component: WHEELS Potential Number Of Units Affected : 182756 Summary: ON CERTAIN VEHICLES, THE WHEEL SPEED SENSOR HOUSING USES AN O-RING SEAL TO PREVENT LEAKAGE TO OR FROM THE WHEEL BEARING. IF ASSEMBLED IMPROPERLY, THE O-RING MAY NOT SEAL PROPERLY ALLOWING WATER TO ENTER THE WHEEL BEARING AND EVENTUALLY CAUSE DAMAGE TO THE BEARING, ESPECIALLY IN AREAS WHERE USE OF ROAD SALT IS PREVALENT. IF THE DRIVER CONTINUES TO DRIVE WITH THIS CONDITION IT IS POSSIBLE FOR THE WHEEL BEARING TO BECOME LOOSE, WHICH COULD CAUSE THE BEARING TO FAIL. Consequence: THIS COULD CAUSE A WHEEL TO FALL OFF OF THE VEHICLE, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A CRASH. Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE REAR ABS SENSORS AND WHEEL BEARINGS FOR DAMAGED PARTS AND REPLACE THEM FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON OR ABOUT SEPTEMBER 17, 2007. OWNERS MAY CONTACT HONDA AT 1-800-999-1009. http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/14/wheels-...d-honda-civics/

Frankfurt's IAA is just days away, and as the eventual deadline approaches, more and more info on new models are being leaked despite the best attempts of automakers to prevent it. This time 'round it's the new Mazda6, a mid-sized sedan set to go head-to-head with the new Honda Accord and Toyota Camry, among others. Let us be the first to say that compared to its aforementioned rivals, the new Mazda6 is miles ahead of the competition in terms of style and would even give some of the premium makes a run for their money. Some of the new features we can expect for the car include luxury items such as xenon headlights, LED detailing, heated seats and an engine starter button. If Mazda can maintain a similar price tag as the current model, the new 6 will turn out to be a sure-fire winner in the hotly contested mid-sized sedan market. The specifications are for European models, but the only major addition for U.S.-spec cars will be the option of a 3.5L V6 in addition to the base four-cylinder. The only official details we have so far is that the new car will weigh less than the outgoing model and will use less fuel and emit fewer CO2 emissions to boot. We'll bring you all the official details of the new Mazda6 when arrive in Frankfurt next week. http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2008-mazda6-2/ http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/06/2008-mazda6-breaks-early/

Consumer Reports responds to pickup comparo controversy Earlier this week we told you about a pickup truck comparison in the most recent issue of Consumer Reports that seemed a bit fishy. The comparison pitted the new 2007 Toyota Tundra against the 2007 Chevy Silverado, Ford F-150 and Dodge Ram. It was clearly a fight between the Tundra and Silverado from the get-go, since both were the only two completely new trucks in the test. The Tundra, however, seemed to have an advantage in that it was ordered up with the larger of its two engines, the 5.7L V8 producing 381 hp. The Silverado, while available with a more evenly matched 6.0L Vortec MAX V8, was ordered with a less powerful 5.3L V8 producing 315 hp. Not only that, but the Tundra benefited from a 4.30 rear axle ratio that provides better towing and acceleration than the 3.73 ratio in the Silverado, which sacrifices those qualities for better fuel economy. The Silverado, however, could've been ordered with a more comparable 4.10 rear axle ratio at no extra charge. Well, the gentlefolks at CR recently posted an answer to everyone's questions about this particular half-ton pickup comparo on their blog, which you should go read by clicking here before going on. They explain that choosing equipment for vehicles involved in a comparison is a tricky thing that involves balancing the objective of several goals. "In general, we want to test a representative vehicle that is comparable to other vehicles in the test group (and previously tested peer vehicles). We also typically test the version--powertrain and trim level--that most regular consumers will buy. " Read on after the jump to hear our take on CR's explanation. At face value, it seemed to us that the cards were stacked in the Tundra's favor. It appears to us that CR failed in terms of acquiring vehicles that were comparable to each other. We recognize the difficulty that's presented with the new Tundra, since Toyota offers significantly fewer configurations than do Chevy, Ford and Dodge. Nevertheless, there are other configurations of the Silverado that would have better matched the Tundra and likely led to the Silverado scoring higher. We admit, the Silverado may not have won the comparo even if it had been configured to better match the Tundra, as Toyota's powertrain is particularly strong and fuel efficient. In the end, however, we believe the consumer would've been better served by reading about an evenly-matched contest. On CR's second point, that it typically tests versions of vehicles that most regular consumers will buy, we concede that is a good strategy if the plan is to offer a review that will benefit the largest number of consumers. That's fine if a single vehicle is reviewed, but totally inappropriate for a comparison test. As a consumer, why would I want to read a comparison test of trucks that aren't similar? It would like reading about the Honda Civic versus the Saturn Aura. Comparison tests, at least to us, are not about comparing what people buy, they're about advising what people should buy based on an equal comparison. CR also gave the Tundra a predicted reliability rating of Very Good based on the reliability of past Tundras and Toyotas in general. The Silverado was labeled as too new to predict its reliability. In our eyes, the Tundra should have also been labeled as too new to predict its reliability, considering it is an all-new model built at an all-new assembly plant in San Antonio, TX. Mechanically speaking, the Tundra of today is completely different than the previous Tundra on which CR's reliability scores were based. The Tundra has also suffered 20 cases of reported camshaft failures in models equipped with the same 5.7L engine CR tested. We still have a lot of respect for the hardworking people at Consumer Reports and value their opinion, but in the case of this half-ton pickup comparo, we believe its value is limited. http://www.autoblog.com/2007/08/10/consume...versy/#comments Once again proving CR is a worthy magazine for your dog to take a sh*t on.

Lexus cars are regarded as some of the safest on the road, however a new lawsuit against the company could tarnish this reputation. A class action brought about by a Florida law firm alleges that the Lexus ES350 is fitted with a faulty front passenger airbag sensor that could prevent the airbag from triggering in the event of a collision. The suit goes on to explain that the defective vehicles are fitted with a weight sensor that gauges the weight of the person in the front passenger seat, but that these sensors have been found to be faulty. One representative claims that he tested multiple ES350 vehicles and found them to be defective, as did other customers from across the country. Worse, it claims Toyota was warned about these issues and failed to correct them. The owners want Toyota to recall and repurchase all ES350s, refunds for those that leased the cars, each car to be refitted with a working airbag system, and compensation for any loss of value and costs owners incurred during this process. We'll be watching this one closely. [source: Business Wire via The Truth About Cars] http://www.autoblog.com/2007/08/02/lexus-f...rbags/#comments

Thanks for the info, it's very appreciated. Her parents were happy with her decision to get a GM car since that's basically what they and her 2 older brothers have owned for the past 25 years.......... a Sierra, a HD Silverado and a Surburban, and before that 2 Camaros, 2 Cavaliers, a Firebird, an Astro, a 64 Chevelle and are currently restoring a 56 Chevy 2 door. So there's a lot of GM blood in the family (except for a late 60's Yellow VW bug her dad and a friend restored about 2-3 years ago). The 2.4 she's looking towards since it fits more in her budget since she doesn't want to pay more then $20,000 at the most (including tax, title, etc.), so that would axe the sunroof and any V6 engine. Fuel economy seems to be good as well as the other features that are standard. It would be maybe a month or two till she would go in to get a G6, so when she gets it I'll have to update.

Hello. My girlfriend is looking to replace her '99 Cavalier within the next month or two. At first she was thinking of getting a Cobalt, but within the last few days she has shifted over to the G6 (a little of the reasoning being the G6 comes with a dark green exterior color since she likes British Racing Green), but so far she's looking into getting a 4 cyl. sedan (which with all the options and so prices out near $19,000). From fellow G6 owners in here, I'm wondering if you have had any problems/complaints about it, as well as the positives of the G6. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks.

An even better breakdown................. June 2004 vehicle total: 380,267 June 2005 Vehicle total: 558,092 (Fire sale - Employee Pricing) June 2006 vehicle total: 413,473 http://media.gm.com/servlet/GatewayServlet...in=6&docid=5608 - Link to June '04 sales. http://media.gm.com/servlet/GatewayServlet...=74&docid=27076 - Link to June '06 sales. Yearly sales (Total GM Sales): June 2004 - 2,295,621 (incentives averaged $4,312 per vehicle) http://www.edmunds.com/help/about/press/102483/article.html - Link to June '04 #. June 2006 - 2,066,957 (incentives average $3,122 per vehicle) http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060703/20060703005077.html?.v=1 - Link to June '06 #.

To be honest, I wouldn't know the exact # of cars that are at this show.... obviously this year was less because of the rain. I think if not for the rain, there would have been at least 75-150 more cars there (maybe even more) filling up the ground. Last year when I went to the all Ford show there, the entire ground was filled up (mostly because it was a hot sunny day). When I was there Saturday, there weren't any C1 Vettes, very few Cadillacs, very few Buicks, and few of a certain model (like early 70's Impalas).

That's all.

And to cap it off, a Z06 Corvette. While I was taking pics, there was a Q&A going on in the white building where the car was sitting next to..... once again all alone.

63 Stingray (which to my surprise was sitting all alone)

Some Vettes and a Laguna.

Corvettes.

El Camino