Buyer's Remorse :(

...and because BMW, VW, Mercedes, and Audi don't make a truck for the states. if they did, it would be a turbo diesel.

 

Even if they did, i think i have lost all faith in all of those companies. oh well... guess i'm stuck with my Tacoma

 

I was reading consumer reports over the weekend and they had a spread on new cars and trucks. For 2008 the Honda Accord is getting a complete overhaul. With that overhaul is going to be a diesel Accord by the 2010 model year. That should put a dent in the family sedan market.

 

Yep, the Accord 2.2L i-CTDi should be out by the end of next year (2008) in all 50 states. It has been in Europe since 2003.

Nissan is going to be releasing a Titan diesel and Altima Diesel by 2010.

Chevy/GMC/Hummer/etc. will be releasing a small block V8 diesel by 2010.

BMW even plans on having US diesels by the end of 2010.

VW and Audi will be releasing cars and SUVs with TDI-CR engines by the end of 2009. VW already has the V-10 TDI Touareg, and the Jetta's and Golf's that stopped production in 2006.

Mercedes has a multiple turbo diesel vehicle.


Wake up Toyota! Did you buy Isuzu stock just to sit on it! Give me a D4D Tacoma!!!

 

I agree, Toyota needs to get off their ass and give us a diesel option or their gonna lose the edge on the diesel market

 

.... That's exactly how I feel about my Tacoma. With my GTI, I worry about every pothole and piece of debris on the freeway. Not so with the truck

 

I concur that German products are, or at least were superior quality products and I dont have anything against the Germans. I love German women just like I love all good looking women and beavers. I love the Autobahn amongst many other things.

My hatred is towards the idiots who sell BMW/Mini's in Canada. I hate their attitude and some of the tactics they adopted when they first introduced the Mini which I do not wish to discuss in this forum unless the September TW prize is for a Steak Dinner.

 

staying off topic... it is hard to believe this much time has gone by and diesels still have not hit the U.S. car and small truck market. When I was stationed in Germany not too long ago a HUGE portion of vehicles on the road were diesels. they were mainly small cars, station wagons, and vans. Funny how bmw owners and dealers act like such snot here in America, but, really they are like chevrolets over there. dime a dozen shop queens.

 

You should check out what Chevy sells overseas. I was in Chile about 6 years ago and they had these little Chevy El Camino things. They were like Chevy Sprints but a little longer and had a pickup bed. They were 1.6L diesels. Imagine the fuel ecomomy of that little car.

 

You can thank BIG OIL Company lobbyists for that.

Thank You. Exactly why I wont be caught dead in one of those things.

 

Speaking of the autobahn, dating myself, as I traveled the autobahn in disguise as a soldier, in southern Bavaria. The autobahn was unlimited speedwise, in the late 60's, however, when coming to an on/off ramp, correct speed had to be observed as it was checked at all opportunities, by the police.

The autobahn was of course , built by you know who, for his tanks and therefore had a very deep base foundation and 7" of hot top/pavement and therefore was always in very good shape allowing for the unlimited speeds. Nothing like the US, where lowest price is the best. Can you imagine hitting a 3' pothole at 155mph? D'oh !
Being near Stuttgart in southern Bavaria, you would often see tipo's(prototypes) zooming around the autobahn with no license plate, many of these were single seaters or race proportions.

A bit off the subject perhaps but just some insight into a time passed.

Jeff
06, V6, SR5, 6spd

 

Jeff, you made me do some imagining which is not always a good idea.

A vehicle travelling at 155MPH is moving at 227 feet per second or 22.7 feet per 1/10 of a second.

Therefore, a vehicle being thrust forward at 227 feet per second will not even feel a pot hole that is 3ft by 3ft by 3ft due to the laws of gravity which act as follows;

"An object falling freely increases in speed 22 miles per hour or 32 feet per second for each second of descent".

Thus, my modified Subaru WRX travelling at 155PMH is essentially travelling at 7 times the speed of gravity attained in its first second of descent. Gravity in this case would take effect if the car was suspended on the pot hole for a period of one second for the sake of this experiment. However, this car is moving at 227 feet per second or 7times faster than gravity in its initial second therefore will clear the void without any problem. In other words, the car clears the void in a fraction over 1/100th of a second. Your rims will be as good as they were.

I'm just a gynecologist playing with a calculator. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

sounds like gibberish to me....

 

Well let us know when you test that theory haha.

 

Hmm, think of what hitting a pot hole near that size at that speed would do to a wheel rim and tire.
Just sort of reinforcing the German engineering idea's I guess, I watched a video where the German car company called Ruf, he is a Porche tuner and has some very fast cars some of which hit 200mph, this done by their test driver, who tests each car, so equiped, to make sure it passes the test before delivery to the owner.
Each run was accompanied by a guest with video camera.
He mentioned one of the reasons they can drive that fast, because the roads are always in very good condition and built solid as a rock.
One other good example of German engineering is the McLaren/Mercedes Formula one team. With a operating budget of 240million per year, these wizards make engines that with stand 19,000 rpms and are 2.4litres and about 800hp. They use compressed air to operate the valves to achieve the high rpms. F1 cars are very very fast and can go to 0-100 and back to zero in just under 10sec's.
Top speed, depending on the different tracks, can be a high as 210mph. Of course its not only the Germans who make these, as do the English, French and Italians.
So Themaster I guess I am just tossing random thoughts out there, seeing where they fall.
Double Hmmmmm, a 155mph Subie, triple turbo? Mobil One racing oil? Or maybe the Subie has a Porche flat six engine? LOL
You can tell where my brain is today, really off in space.
Jeff
06,V6, 6spd, 4x4, SR5

 

I would if I had my WRX. The Taco chokes at 180 KMPH. I need to take it to 248 KMPH to prove my theory. Jeff's imagination almost gave me a brain tumor.

 

I feel your pain. My previous every day car was a 90 Miata. It was not only fun, it was the most reliable car I ever owned. I hope my Tacoma is as trouble free. It took me a while to get used to a different style of driving (about a week). But I bought a truck because a truck meets my needs now. It doesn't sound like a truck meets yours. I love driving my Tacoma, just like I loved driving the Miata, but in a very different way. If you're not happy with a truck, take the beating, sell it, and get something you really want. Life is too short.

 

I'm gonna have to back up the master on this one. The fastest i ever got the beamer was 120mph on a little side road next to the interstate. we actually called it the autobahn because it never had a speed limit posted. Alot of times porsce and corvette dealers would take people on this road for test drives. anyway, i had drivin on it many times but one night decided to break my previous record of 115mph. It had been a while since i tried, probably about 4 or 5 months and it was nearing the end of winter. apparently due to the lack of upkeep on the road and the bad weather, a farily large pothole had opened u near the end of the road. I'd say it was about 2 inches deep and about 1ft in diameter. I didnt notice the pothole until my headlights hit it and i was going about 115mph. my heart sank into my shoes. i didnt dare swerve (i would have ended up wrapped around a tree) and it was too late to brake. so i just squinted my eyes and ran over it.... i never felt it. Granted 2 inches is a far cry from 3 feet but still, i thought i would at least feel it, and at those speeds lose it but i never even felt it. The suspension didnt have time to drop down enough to catch the lip of the other side of the hole. Themaster, i think you are dead right on this one.... although i would never take the time to do the math, i did hit a pothole at about a buck fifteen and it seems to confirm your math.

 

You are my Myth Buster. Not to worry about the math since I spent a lot of time working out the details and possible laws/formulas to come up with a theoretical explanation and your input is the icing on the cake. Eat Steak

 

Get a motorcycle.

Problem solved.

(thats what I did anyway lol)