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Excerpts From TACH New Car Chat Room- My Boxter is smelly, and other great reading!

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camden@64.105.137.46 on Mon 2002-04-22 21:42:11 EDT BOXSTER OWNERS--I have a '99 Boxster with severe quality problems. Electrical system fails regularly, oil leaks often, AC defect created water leakage so now the car smells of mildew. Anyone else confronting similar problems?

Konrad Weltmeister@80.129.183.207 on Thu 2002-04-11 04:10:24 EDT Mercedes1015: I guess your name must be Audi1015 from now on?! Nice car. Do you have it with stick shift or multitronic? quattro or front-wheel-drive? I have heard that the A6 is not powerful enough for most of the Americans. I was driving an A6 2.8 (193 hp) stick shift front-wheel-drive once and that thing was fast as hell (~250 kph on the display). But with quattro and automatic it will definately slow down.

mercedes1015@24.186.39.118 on Wed 2002-04-10 18:45:25 EDT just got a audi a6 3.0 .... what do you think of the car?

CarMan@24.101.208.114 on Tue 2002-04-09 22:24:36 EDT anonymous, don't even have to have a headache. This is an easy one. Of course the Mazda Protege! It beats the Sunfire in everything. The Sunfire engine sucks! hahaha

anonymous@64.228.209.52 on Sun 2002-04-07 19:27:23 EDT does anyone have any info on the sunfire slx coupe 2002 or 2001. I am trying to narrow the field to this model or the 2002 mazda protege. I need help!

anonymous@24.71.223.141 on Sun 2002-04-07 00:10:48 EST what do you think of the m5 from bmw?

CarMan@24.101.208.114 on Sat 2002-04-06 17:07:06 EST See a good example is when Acura brought out the 3.2TL sedan and the 3.2TL TypeS. It was in the same boat as the G35 now and they just didn't have enough cars to sell. Its value and also the recognized "Honda reliability" factor makes a lot of people feel it would not be justifiable to spend a few thousand dollars more for a BMW. The G35 is a lot more performance and less money than the 3.2TL so it will be interesting.

CarMan@24.101.208.114 on Sat 2002-04-06 17:01:53 EST Konrad, roominess is very important for North Americans. But nevertheless, the G35 is a four door sedan and there is a coupé coming out soon which will have even more horsepower. So in terms of acceleration, engine refinement, and reliability, the G35 will have no problem competing with the Bavarians. Like I said, the VQ-series engine has been selected as the World' Best V6 for seven consecutive years, more than any engine. In terms of price, the Infiniti is priced about $5,000US less than its competitors, so no worries there. As far as handling goes, it is hard to say because BMW is not famous for pulling high Gs but for having very good cornering/comfort balance. The G35 has the same suspension design as the Skyline GT-R (which is the ultimate Japanese sports car, only sold in Japan) and has a 54-46 weight balance (versus 46-54 for a Porsche) so everything looks good on paper. On the other hand, when you talk about prestige of the brand, engine sound, and the overall handling dynamics, all are very subjective. The Infiniti, however, does not offer AWD like the Audi or the BMW. I would say if they take away the brand, the Infiniti has a much much higher value than any German cars in the segment. It will be interesting to see. My ex-boss is actually considering buying one and has invited me to go test drive the G35 with him. Time will tell.

Konrad Weltmeister@217.81.78.131 on Fri 2002-04-05 03:04:49 EST CarMan, is it a sedan or coupé? Do you think it can compete against the Bavarians or not? Roominess is no issue for a BMW or Audi driver.

CarMan@24.101.208.114 on Fri 2002-04-05 01:00:23 EST Tre, I would never consider buying an American car. This is because I put quality and reliability on top of my list and American products just can't match the Japanese nor Europeans. But let' just keep my comments on the Chrysler 300M, Ford Crown Victoria and Chevrolet Caprice Classic. The Chrysler here is certainly the technology of the bunch with overhead cam and multi-valve technology. It won many accolades when it came out because despite its size, it has power and handle quite well. It looks very distinctive also. But again, it' a Chrysler product which constantly ranks below average in many automotive quality studies. In fact, the Ford Crown Victoria is the most reliable of the bunch and the police in North America has been using it for a long time. It is the traditional big American sedan with lots of room and loads of torque from its V8 and a floaty ride. Both the Carpice and Crown Victoria have been used by police and taxi fleets. The Caprice, however, has been discontinued due to lack of sales. If I am going to have to pick one out of these three, I will pick the Chrysler 300M because I will never let anyone see me owning a Crown Victoria or a Caprice. I might as well go drive a boat! Konrad, the G35 is a 260hp VQ35-powered car. It shares its platform with the Nissan Skyline GT-R supercar. It is a rear wheel drive model trying to compete with the 3-series competitions but it is the roomiest of the bunch and out-powering all of its competition.

buster1@205.200.254.182 on Thu 2002-04-04 14:23:19 EST Does anyone own a olds Alero.I want opinions about a new one.Thx.

Konrad Weltmeister@80.129.176.174 on Tue 2002-04-02 10:58:42 EST Tre: Difficult question, how should I know? That car was built when I was 13. But that much I know: Since the facelift of the Audi 100 in 1986 and the new Audi 80 in the same year, Audis quality increased remarkably. My parents had a 89 Audi 80, which was sold in 97 after 200,000 km without any problems. The A3 they have since then has got problems with the A/C (sometimes loses water). But I guess every Audi, BMW, Mercedes and VW of these days gives you the impression of being a real rock-solid car, when you only have the chance to drive it for a short time. That does not mean that they are cheap from the inside (which you cannot see), but I know that the V8 was not such a reliable car as for example a Mercedes 400 SE of 1989. Nevertheless a friends father owned two new V8s (at first a 3.6 stick shift and afterwards a 4.2 automatic) and changed them for a new A8 2.8, then a A8 3.7 and now a A8 3.3 TDI. Before this Audi series he drove a BMW 735i, a Mercedes 500 SE and (to check out Audi) an Audi 100 2.3 E quattro. This guy was totally convinced by the four whell drive.

Tre@62.198.101.83 on Tue 2002-04-02 05:51:40 EST Hi Konrad. I did not know it was a secret where I was from. He he. Now that I have you here I might as well ask you a question too. A while back (january this year) I had the chance to drive a 1989 Audi V8 and was stunned by the quality and ride of such an old car. It had 160000 km on the clock. My question is: Are these old Audi´ of such good quality or was this just one in a hundred?

Konrad Weltmeister@80.129.180.121 on Tue 2002-04-02 03:08:42 EST Tre: Finally I know where you are from. CarMan: The Mini is selling quite allright over here. They offer it with two 1.6 engines with 90 and 115 hp. Now they launch it Kompressor charged with 163 hp. But to reach higher sales figures they have to offer it with a 1.4 75 hp or something like that. Is the G35 the mid row or the small Infinity? The small somehow resembles our Nissan Primera, which is not as equipped as the Infinity. The mid size is our Nissan Maxima. Here are some pictures: button button

Tre@62.198.101.83 on Mon 2002-04-01 03:47:05 EST CarMan, what do you think of cars like the Ford Crown Victoria or the Chevrolet Caprice Classic?

anonymous@65.95.90.74 on Fri 2002-03-29 17:15:37 EST I just ordered a 2003 Toyota Corolla Sport. What do u think of that car. How was the test drives. Should I get a extended warranty or rust proofing

Tre@62.198.101.83 on Fri 2002-03-29 16:00:46 EST CarMan, I am planning to move to the U. for a couple of years, and in that process I want to buy a used american style car. How do you rate the Chrysler 300 M? I kind of like that car. I sat in one at a carshow i Copenhagen last week. Big, spacious and soft. (Felt in a way like my old Citroen CX) What are your thoughts?

CarMan@24.101.208.114 on Fri 2002-03-29 14:20:12 EST Konrad, how is the Mini selling there? Do you have the Infiniti G35 over there?

CarMan@24.101.208.114 on Sun 2002-03-24 18:14:23 EST gate, there are more wagons appearing on the market now adays. Mazda does in fact offer a very popular 2.0L 130hp Protege 5 wagon. Toyota also has a new wagon based on the Corolla platform - the Matrix. It offers a 1.8L VVT-i 130 hp FWD or 127 hp 4WD version or a 1.8L Celica derived VVTL-i 180 hp FWD version available with a 6-speed manual transmission.

big j@64.230.172.56 on Sun 2002-03-24 12:17:14 EST does anyone know y changer system on chrysler labaron not working

gate@206.170.4.158 on Sat 2002-03-23 11:45:00 EST Konrad Thanks for your information about the vw 1.9 turbo, the jetta wagon is hard to come by over here but i have found a dealer that just got one in, isthere any other wagon you know something about in the same price range? about $ 21000 ? how about the mazda???