A Sad Day Indeed...

[HummerGirl]

possum, steve..

NO I AM KIDDING!!!!

Actually we have so many armadillos here it's ridiculous. They get in the pine straw around the house (landscaping beds) looking for grub worms. And then they dig in the grass with their noses and ruin my lawn. I work hard to keep it looking really nice and I even irrigate out of the river to get the best water for it, then those critters go and ruin everything.

But I'll never give out my soap recipes, well except to the FDA...if asked.

~amy
HummerGirl's Home Page

[SJ]

cognitive:

Volvo is owned by Ford, thus I would not cross Volvo off my list of possible vehicles to own. Basically, I refuse to buy and support the proliferation of Japanese nameplates. That being said, I give Volvo a fair shake, so that you know where I'm coming from.

Here is my first-hand experience with Volvo:

I had a Volvo C70 for a commuter car. Excellent interior and finish quality. Safety standards are industry-leading and 2nd to no other manufacturer (including Mercedes). The Volvo was in the shop 12 times in the course of 3 months for glitches dealing with engine management. I still hold a thick file of service records. Further, whenever temperatures rose above 90 degrees here in CA, the car would surge or hesitate during acceleration.

You might argue that I simply had a lemon or bad luck, but my experience with Volvo and their entire approach to the incessant problems, left much to be desired.

My experience with GM: GMC, Hummer, and Chevrolet has been excellent. My local dealer goes out of its way to get any possible issues resolved.

As for the off-road aspect - I can only assume you're trying to get a rise out of us? The Volvo is no where near the capability of the H2. It is like comparing Wladimir Klitschko to a Featherweight. The featherweight simply won't hang where the paved road ends; perhaps for a little while, but the eventual KO will come.

I enjoy these comparisons, so please don't take the previous as a personal attack - just good banter! [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[TonkaH2]

You go away for a couple of days, and it starts to get all R-rated. Steve-o, you're the man. . . [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

I would like one feature from some of the luxo-station wagons they call SUV's these days: the ability to lower the truck at speed on the road. If I could flip a switch and lower the vehicle a couple of inches on the highway, I'd be able to add a couple more inches of lift for offroading.

BTW, I know that it doesn't matter what awards it wins, and most magazines 'of the year' awards are bought and paid for by advertising, but I thought surely 4-Wheeler would have a hard-core test? There's now WAY you can convince me the LX470 outperforms the H2 in the rough. And how much does it cost?

It's called VALUE, BAY-BAY!

[img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif[/img]

-Jack
Yellow H2 adv. on order
"I think I can make it. D'OH!"
www.sunspotnatural.com

[cognitive]

SJ, re-read my posts on this thread.

[TJ]

Unfortunately, our experience with GM, Hummer and our dealer has not been quite so positive.

We have had our H2 for approximately 3-1/2 months, three trips into the service department for the equivalent of one entire month of that time, and now trying to get it scheduled to go back in for a fourth time. Contact with GM/Hummer about our problems has been less than satisfactory and now it seems that our dealership's service manager does not even want to call us back. But, to be fair, I'm sure that they're getting pretty tired of having our H2 sitting around their shop so much. I really do love the H2 and think it's an awesome vehicle...but I'm not so sure that I love the one that we have all that much and, so far, I have not been very impressed with GM and Hummer's "customer assistance"

[MAC]

I don't buy Japanese vehicle for personal reasons, but I certainly don't feel as strongly as our friend SJ. I have been driving a Lexus SC400 these few days, in-laws left it here while they are in Bali for vacation, impressive machine. One thing about these Japanese vehicles is they are reliable, and basically trouble-free, which is more important than everything else. The Landcruiser or whatever the Lexus one is called is big and I read that is quite capable, and Toyotas are often seen used as Technicals in those 4th rated war-torned countires, they gotta to be tough to be used in battles with no service stations within 500 miles. The lines between brand ownerships are so blurred, German and Japanese vehicles are made by Americans, Japanese, German, English or Swede made vehciles are made by American owners. Who gets the profit is hard to say. I have WWII POW friends who absolutely hate the Japanese, but they watch TV and DVD made in Japan, use computers with Japanese parts. I visit Japan often, they just absolutely love Americans and everything about America, to a much lesser degree but same in Germany. It is impossible for me to hate them when they love us so much.
Some people complaint that Japanese don't buy Americans cars, I know many of them love (or crazy about) American cars, but the problem is simply they drive on the wrong side of the road, and we almost never and still do not make right hand drive cars, except a few token models.

[bklynh2srock]

MAC, on the right-hand drive thing, I think as of a few years ago at least, Japan had such rigid trade barriers against foreign-made products that it's almost impossible for US auto makers to get a foot in the door. Things may have changed since, but at least that was the case a few years ago.

And the Germans, well, the contact I've had with them has not been not positive towards Americans (we know a lot of German citizens). My impression has been that they love the jeans and stuff, but not us. How could Schroeder pick up so many votes after he said what he did?

[Steve R]

[quote]Originally posted by TonkaH2:
If I could flip a switch and lower the vehicle a couple of inches on the highway, I'd be able to add a couple more inches of lift for offroading.

That's a killer idea. I remember hearing of some hybrids that look like sports cars but are jacked a bit off the ground. I'd like to see a vehicle with 2 suspensions on it...one that is basically for typical use, and the second just raises everything well off the ground. The gang-bangers have them...so it can be done.

The guy I spoke to who works on design and innovation for the H2 told me there was some amazing mind-blowing things coming down-the-line...we can only hope. And before anyone asks me...the answer is "NO"...he couldn't talk about it with me.

[bklynh2srock]

That wouldn't stop me (and hasn't) from buying Japanese or German though.

BTW, delete that second "not" in the first sentence of the second paragraph of my prior post.

[MAC]

I always thought Fair Trade would be great. If you charged 150% import duty on American cars(which Japan DID for decades), we will charge you 150% import duty on your cars. So simple, why don't they do it? I bet all of them will change the import duty on American cars instantly. I think the rate is still 50%? not sure.

The news in the paper or larger geopoloitical matters is often not the same as the people one meet on the streets or in their homes. Individuals are generally super nice, as a group with crazy leaders that's a different story. There were a couple times I was confronted by angry Germans and Brits; once an older German had too much to drink and started going after me about how the American bombed them and his family, blah blah blah. Well, you know why we bombed you? you were lucky we didn't drop the big one on you, you deserved it. It was below zero and raining, they were walking me back to my hotel, I wasn't in the mood to be nice or to go into WW2 history with him, he was retiring that week anyway. I did not compromise, it was black and white, good and evil to me. Other than that, everyone has been nice and pro-American, we rebuilt them, all of them. I will be back in Frankfurt for a week in January 03, and Tokyo in April.

[Dan]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by TonkaH2:

I would like one feature from some of the luxo-station wagons they call SUV's these days: the ability to lower the truck at speed on the road. If I could flip a switch and lower the vehicle a couple of inches on the highway, I'd be able to add a couple more inches of lift for offroading.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

How about that "Bagged H2" thread that went by about a month ago. I think that'll do what you're looking for [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]

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SUT on order - 18 months to go!
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[m998]

OK, I’ll admit it!!!
I purchased an Acura MDX, the 2001 North American Truck of the year, it also won Motor Trend’s Sport/Utility of the Year, MotorWeek’s Driver's Choice Award: Best Family Sport-Utility Vehicle and a couple of other really meaningful awards. I go it for my wife. We actually bought the 2002, improved version, and she loved it …… until ….. you guessed it, that big ol bully moved in and started hogging all the space in our driveway!
One of the reasons we got that big ol bully was to go out with our friends where our “Truck of the Year” couldn’t go! Now she (the wife and probably the MDX) wants to go everywhere in the big ol bully.
Oh yea, a friend of mine had one of the first Volvo SUVs, I looked, felt and smelled it, and YEP, it is a “Truck of the Year”.

[HeeHaw]

Although most of my cars are Chev and Ford, I would buy the S500 MB if I wanted (by the way, REALLY nice car). I don't lean towards all American or all Foreign when it comes to vehicles, I think they all probably have their place and some of the Foreign models are quite nice, fast, duable and may be superior in some respects.

BUT when my beloved HUMMER loses to a VOLVO, 4 Runner or any other inferior SUV wanta-be, then that line is the sand has been crossed.

THEM THAR FIGHT'N WORDS!

HeeeeeeeeeeeeeHawwwwwwwwwwwww [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]