On Sat, 01 Jan 2005 21:55:13 GMT, "Jack Goff" wrote:


"JohnH" wrote in message
.. .
On Fri, 31 Dec 2004 02:09:52 GMT, "Jack Goff" wrote:


"JohnH" wrote in message
.. .
Wife bought me a new, screaming yellow, 5 speed manual, Mustang GT for
Christmas! Well, actually I'll be making the payments, and I picked it
out. But, she said OK, and that's as good as buying it.

Great car, fast, fun, and furious. Can't wait to drive it up to the
boat to go fishing.


Very nice! We've decided to buy a convertible this coming spring, and
the
new '05 Mustang vert is up there on the list of possibilities. It's due
out
in Jan-Feb, and it one of the less expensive we're interested in, but I
think it'll be more fun than most of the others.

Jack


A neighbor has a 2005 V6 with automatic transmission. We went out the
other day in it, and it is a screamer too. That transmission is the
smoothest shifting I've ever experienced.


That's good to hear, but if we end up with a Mustang it'll be a V8 GT. I'd
go for the SVT Cobra, but they reportedly won't be out until '06, and I
haven't heard if they'll be offered in a convertible. We won't be waiting
that long.

The wife is leaning towards a Boxster at the moment. I can deal with
that...at least she doesn't still want a Volvo... yuck.


I had been thinking of the Boxter, but lost all thoughts thereof when
I saw the Mustang. Sitting in it (at 6'3.5") made me a believer. The
Boxter is just too short on room - not leg room (?) but back seat and
trunk room. Can't play Santa to the grandkids with a Boxter.

John H

On the 'PocoLoco' out of Deale, MD,
on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay!

"Divide each difficulty into as many parts as is feasible and necessary to resolve it."
Rene Descartes

Also Sprach Doug Kanter :

He was using the Honda as his last experience with foreign cars in general.

Might as well use a Chrysler as your experience with domestic cars in
general.

Dan


--
I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.

-- Douglas Adams

"JohnH" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 01 Jan 2005 01:27:40 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:


"JohnH" wrote in message
. ..
On Fri, 31 Dec 2004 21:19:10 GMT, "Jack Goff" wrote:


"Marshall Banana" wrote in message
...
Also Sprach JohnH :

Why not? All I've read has been praiseworthy, and I've got to admit
it's a blast to drive. Comfortable too.

Mostly because I've "driven a Ford lately" and can't quite agree that
"Quality is Job 1."

Dan

My last two Fords, a '94 and a '98 Explorer, each gave me less trouble
than
the '89 Honda that preceded them.

We've gotta stop sending the jobs overseas -- I say, "Buy American."

John, you've got to admit that the American manufacturers asked for their
problems back in the 1970s, by selling almost nothing but crap. They're
still paying the price.


Readily admitted. Back then we weren't losing the jobs to outsourcing
that we are now. So many people whine about the outsourcing problems
and jobs lost by the Bush administration, and then they go buy a
Toyota. I can't understand the logic.

How can you not understand? Millions of people got ****ed up the ass by the
American car makers. Those memories don't fade for many, many years. Toyota
offers cars that are damned close to perfect. Unless you require a "niche
car" like the one you bought, why gamble with an American car?

My brother in law used to bitch at me about how I was costing Americans jobs
by buying Japanese. My response was simple: My second Ford was in the shop 5
times in the first year (1975). My boss read me the riot act: Find a way to
get to work, or work somewhere else. In other words, the Ford was about to
cost me MY job. When it finally died, I bought a Toyota. My logic: If
American engineers can't build a car correctly, they deserve to lose their
jobs.

It's an interesting phenomenon in America: Pick 10 products, one of them
being a cars. For each product, ask 10,000 people what should happen to the
manufacturers of those products if they're poorly built for years on end.
For 9 of the products, people will say what they should: The manufacturers
should go out of business. For cars, they'll cut the manufacturers a
ridiculous amount of slack. It's as if cars have some sort of religious
status. I makes no sense at all.

"Marshall Banana" wrote in message
...
Also Sprach Doug Kanter :

He was using the Honda as his last experience with foreign cars in
general.

Might as well use a Chrysler as your experience with domestic cars in
general.

Apples to oranges. Yeah...the Honda isn't made quite as well as a Toyota,
but for the first two years of its life, it's still a better car than any
brand new American thing.

It's moot anyway. Hondas are made here, as are most Toyotas. In accounting
terms, the only difference between a Chevy and a Toyota is that you have to
buy ADRs if you want to own stock in Toyota. Let's take it further: If you
bought nothing but American cars, you probably think you're doing the
country a favor because the profits stay here. Bzzzzzzzzzt! Sorry. Wrong.

"Doug Kanter" wrote:

"Jack Goff" wrote in message

Correct. And also comparing the highly touted Honda quality against the
two
Fords... in my case the Fords win hands-down. Other's experience may
differ. But I'll probably never put another Honda in my driveway. I'll
buy
another Ford.

Borrow a car and drive behind your Ford a year from now. If you don't
notice
anything, stop at a convenience store, buy a bag of ice and pour it down
your pants. Get back in the car and follow your Ford for another 15
minutes.
If you still don't notice anything, go home. You are clinically dead. Have
yourself buried.


Funny... I just had an occasion to do just that. I drove behind my 1998
Ford Explorer, the one that is 7 years old and has 120k miles on it. And I
did notice something... that it looked like most other cars on the road. It
didn't smoke, lurch, track sideways, vibrate, nothing. It didn't
distinguish itself in any way... it went about its job of being a vehicle in
a competent, workman-like manner.

It doesn't leak, rattle, whine... nothing. Original motor, tranny,
everything. The only problem it has is the power antennae quit working
about two months ago. Still looks like new inside and out. Has needed one
brake job, one set of tires, and I replaced the shocks with some higher
performance ones because I wanted them.

So back to you, Kanter... how can you be perfectly lucid in the previous
post, then so off the wall and obtuse in this one? Are you drinking or
smoking late at night? Would you sober up for a moment and explain your
nonsense?

Southern Tier Rivers - Warmer temperatures and rain have cleared out much
of the flow ice from the rivers. If you can get out in a boat, vertical
jigging with a medium sized minnow in the deeper holes should be very
productive for walleye. Casting a jig and minnow from shore should also work
well in the coming days.

"Jack Goff" wrote in message
om...


So back to you, Kanter... how can you be perfectly lucid in the previous
post, then so off the wall and obtuse in this one? Are you drinking or
smoking late at night? Would you sober up for a moment and explain your
nonsense?



If you're open to noticing, you'll find that relatively young Fords,
especially larger ones, smell like 30 year old Toyotas. Not as bad a
Chrysler minivans, though. But, let's drop this subject. Cars are too
closely tied to the ego in this country. You cannot bring actual mechanical
reality into the conversation, like the information I've gotten from a guy
whose job it is to install and program the CNC machining equipment at
several Ford & Chrysler plants.

Water Species Open Season Minimum Length Daily Limit Method All waters
except as listed below Trout Apr 1 - Oct 15 Any size 5- with no more than 2
longer than 12" Lake Ontario and tributaries to first barrier All species

See Great Lakes regulations
Oatka Creek except section below Trout All year Any size 5- with no more
than 2 longer than 12" Oatka Creek from Bowerman Road upstream 1.4 miles to
Union St. and Wheatland Center Rd. upstream 2.5 miles to the mouth of Spring
Creek Trout Apr 1 - Oct 15

Oct 16 - Mar 31 12"


No Kill 2


No Kill --


Artificial lures only Oatka Creek from Union Street upstream 1.7 miles to
Wheatland Center Rd Trout All year No Kill Artificial lures only Spring
Creek Trout Apr 1 - Oct 15

Oct 16 - Mar 31 12"


No Kill 2


No Kill --


Artificial lures only

"Doug Kanter" wrote:

If you're open to noticing, you'll find that relatively young Fords,
especially larger ones, smell like 30 year old Toyotas. Not as bad a
Chrysler minivans, though.

30 year old Toyota's don't smell. They're parked in junkyards, rotting
away. When's the last time you saw a 1975 Toyota on the road? Smell?
Maybe it's your upper lip... hehe

Now my 35 year old Ford smells. 351C 4V, headers, duals, Flowmasters,
posi-trac. It smells like a V8 with no catalytic converters. But you
wouldn't smell it for long... :-)


But, let's drop this subject. Cars are too
closely tied to the ego in this country. You cannot bring actual
mechanical
reality into the conversation, like the information I've gotten from a guy
whose job it is to install and program the CNC machining equipment at
several Ford & Chrysler plants.

Another obtuse post. What's the info? That he install equipment there, and
can only tell you things he's seen at one or two Ford or Chrysler plants?
That he has no info on the scene at Toyota or any other plants? Let me
guess... he is a big Toyota or GM or brand X fan, and only sees what he (and
his ego) wants to see?

Since you have your panties in a wad over Toyota, let's talk about them for
a minute... I've owned one. IMO, they are very reliable, but boring. They
have no style, average handling, decent ergonomics. I'd recommend one to my
mom if she was inclined. But they are mundane, average, boring vehicles
that, on average, last a long time. If you're about to flatline, I guess
you could love one.

"Jack Goff" wrote in message
om...


But, let's drop this subject. Cars are too
closely tied to the ego in this country. You cannot bring actual
mechanical
reality into the conversation, like the information I've gotten from a
guy
whose job it is to install and program the CNC machining equipment at
several Ford & Chrysler plants.

Another obtuse post. What's the info? That he install equipment there,
and
can only tell you things he's seen at one or two Ford or Chrysler plants?
That he has no info on the scene at Toyota or any other plants? Let me
guess... he is a big Toyota or GM or brand X fan, and only sees what he
(and
his ego) wants to see?

6 plants, so far. Where did you get 1 or 2 from?

The purchaser of the CNC equipment can specify, within a certain range, how
tightly they want to limit tolerances. That's a mechanical adjustment. After
engine parts are made, each manufacturer decides what's considered a
rejected part, and what gets used. This is a management decision. The
difference between what Toyota will accept and what Ford, Chrysler and GM
will accept does not fall into the category of "negligible".

If you think this is obtuse, let me know in your next post.