I am seething with anger at Honda...

[genius149]

Just got to vent this and here seems the best place...

I am a long time detractor of Japanese cars. I feel they are contrived, ugly and redue the car to the level of a commodity.

Most of my vitriol used to be directed at Toyota for dumbing down the car, but I have recently redirected it at Honda. Initially for their diesel engine ad, but most recently I saw a magazine ad for the FR-V.

It highlights innovations in lighting beginning with the candle, through the storm lantern, torch and desk lamp, ultimating the the FR-V with it's headlamps that turn with the steering.

Can you see where I'm going with this?

The Japanese never innovate, just plagiarise. I hate the FR-V even more for it's "innovative" 6 seater arrangement. They seem to have conveniently forgotten FIATs Multipla - both versions.

Sorry to unload at so early a time, but just don't get me started on the new Civic...

Antony

Shame on you Antony You conveniently forget the previous (french) apple of your eye, the Activa was a blatant plagiarism of the superbly engineered Toyota Soarer Active UZZ32 which also had the benefit of 4ws, tv, electric everything (including the steering!), ultrasonic 'shaky' mirrors, and something the Citroen lacked - bullet-proof reliability. It also had something that is best described as a fart purifier
You can't say that citroen thought of it first because the Soarer Active was produced from approx May 91 to May 95. The Activa (hmmm wonder where that name came from??) was produced from about '95 to 2000 - probably after some french fella went on a tour of Toyota's factory and decided "hey how can i make that, but less reliable, and less economical despite only using half the size and half the cylinders?".

Your just jealous 'cos my Lexus is just as comfy.

We buy french cars because they are cheap, comfy and the cheapness makes up for the hours spent waiting for recovery vehicle to turn up.

We buy Jap cars because they are ultra-reliable and if you get the best (like mine ), they are simply that.

[James.UK]

Ello Kowalski..

My bro bought the Rover 600 auto 1994 (603?) with the 2.2 honda engine and g/box, 150k ish and he loves it..

The interior is super, two tone leather and wooden bits on the dash and doors, all in lovely condition, it really is rather posh.. The outside is darkish blue, the interior trim being light and dark tan ish colour.. That too came from eBay for the princely sum of £495 last summer..

If I could find a tidy diesel auto Rover 600 series (with a/con and leather, for Jean) I would swop my Accord for it in two secs!! But the only Diesel Rovers around seem to be the Rover 75, and they are, as yet, far too expensive..

It's my hope-intention to end up with my ZX, and a similar sized car to the Accord, but diesel auto instead of petrol auto.. It may take me some time though coz I have already been looking for quite some time!! lol..

Ellow again Mike.. Dohh I missed the "Andy" bit! I will try to wake up before going online in future.. heh heh.. I love my ZX for parking, countyr lanes, and for Mways.. It's a brill car all round really, just need more space now and then, mainly for going on hol, and taking friends on long runs, hence the bigger Accord.. As stated, if the Accord was diesel, life would be perfik!
.

[Kowalski]

If I could find a tidy diesel auto Rover 600 series (with a/con and leather, for Jean) I would swop my Accord for it in two secs!! But the only Diesel Rovers around seem to be the Rover 75, and they are, as yet, far too expensive..

I looked at quite a few Rover 600s with that diesel engine, they all had one thing in common which was a spot of rust on the rear wing, where the bumper meets the wheelarch. Didn't see an diesel automatic at all...

It seems that some companies still make cars that rust, despite the otherwise poor reputation of the Citroens and Peugeots they don't rust.

[James.UK]

Kowalski wrote..

>>>they all had one thing in common which was a spot of rust on the rear wing, where the bumper meets the wheelarch.<<<

The Honda accord has the same problem.. Its caused by the fact that in order to strengthen the edge of the panels where they meet, they formed a 90 degree return 3/8 of an inch wide along the bottom edge of it, so the road muck sits on the ledge thus formed and allows rust to set in! The problem ledge exists by all 4 wheel arches and on both sides of each arch!!..

I cured mine by cleaning it (from the inside) with a wire brush, and then blending the ledge out with a thick layer of black shultz rubber stuff. so its now more like a 45 degree angle and no loger easy for any dirt or salt to sit on....

Its a longish job, but once the wheels are off its not hard to do.. a cordless drill with a circular wire brush in it made the job a lot easier..

Yep. yep. finding a tidy diesel automatic for under £3000 (my budget limit) is not easy!! loads of people carriers have them but they are far too big for my needs, and dozens of various 4x4s that again, are far to big for me! .. the only cars I have seen so far are a few very very high mileage VW passats, Rover 75s, and a few tatty over-priced old BMWs and Mercs, ..
.

[Kowalski]

They do Xantias with diesel engines and automatic gearboxes....

[James.UK]

Heh. heh.. Kawolski wrote....

>>>They do Xantias with diesel engines and automatic gearboxes....<<<

I notice you were kind enough not to recomend one though.. But theres no way I want a Xantia, diesel or otherwise.. 8) Toooo complex for me to repair-work on and I consider them to be unreliable in general..

I was considering the 1994 BMW diesel auto 141K miles on eBay for sale @ £2.595, dunno quite why but that BMW looks very sort of cheap and old fashioned inside? Either way, on consideration I think my Accord is the better car of the two really, so I will continue my search...
.

[genius149]

You could always get the accord converted to LPG. If you're doing the mileage then it's well worth it. My GS costs me about 8.5p per mile in fuel at the moment. I could probably add a penny or two for the Tesco 99 that I put in it every few months or so.

[James.UK]

genius149 wrote..

>>>You could always get the accord converted to LPG. If you're doing the mileage then it's well worth it.<<<

Hmm but by the time they have fitted all the bits into it, my ZX would probably have more room in it than the Accord..

It's the extra space that I need, for three peeps, a dog, and all the luggage.. Leather is brill if you have a dog, just open the door and give the car a blast out with an airline, dog hair vanishes! Trying to get dog hairs out of the velour seats in my ZX is a real pain, so that's a no go area for the bowwow..
.

[macaroni]

You could always get the accord converted to LPG. If you're doing the mileage then it's well worth it. My GS costs me about 8.5p per mile in fuel at the moment. I could probably add a penny or two for the Tesco 99 that I put in it every few months or so.

Neil,
please don't refer to your nasty Lexus as a GS on these forums. It can get quite confusing!

[AX_Man]

genius149 wrote..

>>>You could always get the accord converted to LPG. If you're doing the mileage then it's well worth it.<<<

Hmm but by the time they have fitted all the bits into it, my ZX would probably have more room in it than the Accord..

It's the extra space that I need, for three peeps, a dog, and all the luggage.. Leather is brill if you have a dog, just open the door and give the car a blast out with an airline, dog hair vanishes! Trying to get dog hairs out of the velour seats in my ZX is a real pain, so that's a no go area for the bowwow..
.

I got a PetTube for my dog. The dog and his dirt stays in that:
http://www.roofbox.co.uk/dog-bag/ptintro.html

[James.UK]

Hi Ax man.. that looks a good idea! thanks, I'm rather busy at the moment trying to sort out the insurance company regarding my ZX.. jeeezzz what a palaver.. Still.. will get it sorted eventually..

Thanks for the info i will look into it. You happy with yours? any problems?

Thanks again.. James..
.

[deian]

talking about japanise cars... didn't citroen have a wankel rotary engine before Mazda did (i believe the germans invented it!).... anyway... i've never had a japanise car, i may well do one day, ok they seem boring (nissan primera), but they run like a swiss watch (nissan primera), and they do sports cars really well, take the hugely popular subaru impreza, mitsubishi evo's, honda nsx, toyota supra, mazda mx3, nissan skyline, mazda rx7 (which i may well get one day).

the japs are good where others have given up, they are an advanced country, well ahead of many other 1st world countries, most electronic stuff are developed there too, so hats off to the japs...

but do their cars have the appeal and soul of a citroen? or the bruteness of a bmw, the charm of an aston martin, or the elegance of a rolls royce... no!

each country make good cars in a certain way to appeal to a particular audience, or personality of their country.

i like citroen (a nice cx or xm would do), bmw (a 325iX, or an e34 M5), dodge (70's charger), and i'd probably like a nissan skyline (r34), or a totoya supra, or a honda nsx, or a mazda rx-7('89 turbo 2) in my collection, oh and did i mention a aston martin vantage v8.

[uhn113x]

talking about japanise cars... didn't citroen have a wankel rotary engine before Mazda did (i believe the germans invented it!)....

This one: http://www.citroen.mb.ca/citroenet/pass ... otor1.html
They did, hence the name - Felix Wankel. Then they "Japanised" it.
There are a few GS Birotors still extant.

the japs are good where others have given up, they are an advanced country, well ahead of many other 1st world countries, most electronic stuff are developed there too, so hats off to the japs...

LSI electronics in cars = built in obsolescence. : The Germans did a lot of it as well - Bosch? At least the D-Jet electronics in my DS has no ICs in it.
We used to be a contender in electronics until the market was, and still is, flooded with cheap Japanese consumer electronics.

but do their cars have the appeal and soul of a citroen? or the bruteness of a bmw, the charm of an aston martin, or the elegance of a rolls royce... no!

Nope.

i like citroen (a nice cx or xm would do), bmw (a 325iX, or an e34 M5), dodge (70's charger), and i'd probably like a nissan skyline (r34), or a totoya supra, or a honda nsx, or a mazda rx-7('89 turbo 2) in my collection, oh and did i mention a aston martin vantage v8.

You'd need a big garage for that lot!

[genius149]

i like citroen (a nice cx or xm would do), bmw (a 325iX, or an e34 M5), dodge (70's charger), and i'd probably like a nissan skyline (r34), or a totoya supra, or a honda nsx, or a mazda rx-7('89 turbo 2) in my collection, oh and did i mention a aston martin vantage v8.

I would have a Toyota Soarer (UZZ32 Active if possible) or a Toyota Aristo - basically the Lexus GS300 but with twin turbos

[macaroni]

Shame on you Antony You conveniently forget the previous (french) apple of your eye, the Activa was a blatant plagiarism of the superbly engineered Toyota Soarer Active UZZ32 which also had the benefit of 4ws, tv, electric everything (including the steering!), ultrasonic 'shaky' mirrors, and something the Citroen lacked - bullet-proof reliability. It also had something that is best described as a fart purifier
You can't say that citroen thought of it first because the Soarer Active was produced from approx May 91 to May 95. The Activa (hmmm wonder where that name came from??) was produced from about '95 to 2000 - probably after some french fella went on a tour of Toyota's factory and decided "hey how can i make that, but less reliable, and less economical despite only using half the size and half the cylinders?".

Your just jealous 'cos my Lexus is just as comfy.

We buy french cars because they are cheap, comfy and the cheapness makes up for the hours spent waiting for recovery vehicle to turn up.

We buy Jap cars because they are ultra-reliable and if you get the best (like mine ), they are simply that.[/quote]


Neil, have you gone insane? Citroen, and I'm sure I've pointed this out before, patented active ride in the 60s, on a DS!!

Don't ever try and insinuate Citroen robbed active ride ideas off Toyota, please.
Jealous of a Lexus? Yeah right. Comfort is way down on my list of desirable attributes.
I buy my French cars, because they are all fun to drive, some are different, have heritage and are usefully innovative. Things that Japanese manufacturers can only dream of.

Fart purifier? I just open my window. Clever eh?