It came at the prime of Honda’s dominance. The Accord was the best -selling car in America. The Prelude, Civic and Integra? All market leaders par excellence. Del Sol’s and Vigors? Well, nothing’s quite perfect in the eyes of the marketplace. But the last of the Legends was pretty close for that time.
You wanted a highway cruiser? It competed with the best of Detroit’s V8’s and offered better fuel economy as well. Comfort? Nice thick leather seats that were built to satisfy posteriors aplenty. To be frank I’m trying to figure out if there was anything bad about this vehicle circa 1994.
If I remember correctly the Legends were quite pricey. It was about $55,000 in today’s dollars new. About the same as an E-Class in this day and age. But a used one with 169,000 miles as of yesterday afternoon at a Carmax sale? It was only $1515 ($1400 plus $115 auction fee).
If you’re like no other person in the world, you’ve probably been anxiously awaiting the debut of a next-generation Pathfinder styling study. Fear not: it’s here. Maybe.
After performing a thorough performance audit, Denver, Colorado’s city auditor is no longer convinced of the value of red light cameras and speed cameras. The Denver Police Department (DPD) deputized the Dallas-based firm Affiliated Computer Services (ACS, a division of Xerox) to issue red light tickets at four intersections and speeding tickets throughout the city with five roaming vans. The program has little more to show for itself than a profitable bottom line.
“Unfortunately, DPD has not demonstrated that the photo radar program has a positive impact on public safety,” City Auditor Dennis J. Gallagher wrote. “Because these programs were sold as public safety enhancements but are widely viewed as a cash grab, it undermines public trust to maintain photo enforcement programs that are profitable but whose safety impact has not been conclusively shown. If this situation persists, then the photo enforcement programs should be shut down.” (Read More…)
By the time this Junkyard Find ’78 Corolla was built, the Corolla was an institution in North America (at least in the western parts of the country). Not so with this ’73, built when Toyota was still a slightly oddball import marque and the fuel-economy penalty for a Valiant or Nova didn’t mean much to small-car buyers (this all changed because of certain events in October ’73). (Read More…)
Over the last couple of weeks, we have stopped in Canada, Romania, South Africa and Zimbabwe. And I will continue to surprise you because this week our stopover is New Caledonia. Now before the geeks among you raise their voice, I know, I know, technically this is not a country but a French Territory (and I would know, as I am French oui oui).
If you are not into paradisiac islands with white sand beaches currently in the middle of Northern Hemisphere summer, I don’t believe you but hey that’s still ok because I have prepared 159 additional countries for you to visit in my blog, so don’t be shy and click away!
Now this French Territory located East of Australia is actually 12,000 miles away from Metropolitan France, and therefore its car market behaves very differently from France.
So differently that a landmark event happened there last month…
After delegations of Pangda and Youngman had travelled to Trollhättan to inspect the factory, one returning Chinese traveler mentioned to a contact of mine that the factory is great, but it’s in the wrong place. In Sweden, workers would earn way too much and go home early, contrary to the Chinese worker, who would have a much higher work ethic for less money, the traveler opined. If all goes well (for the Chinese,) the Trollhättan factory will come to China. Usually well informed Sveriges Radio reports that Youngman is interested in buying the Saab assets in a bankruptcy sale.
Updated with Victor Muller’s press conference. (Read More…)
With Saab’s death dragging on month after month, fans of Sweden’s plucky little auto industry haven’t had much to celebrate recently. Volvo launched the most powerful car in its history, the 325-horspower Volvo S60 T6 R-Design, and hardly anyone bothered to notice. When one of the buff books got around to testing the compact all-wheel-drive […]
My ’99 Accord 5speed with 200k on the clock needs a new gas tank. The fuel pump is inside the gas tank. Should I get a new fuel pump with that gas tank? Changing the tank will cost about $600; including a fuel pump will add $300. I’m planning to keep this car another year and a half to two years, at which point it will have about 230k. (Read More…)
The Chinese stock market is way down. Real estate speculation had reached its zenith a while ago, and prices are on a downward trajectory. So are prices of luxury cars. Now is the time to get great deals on a BMW, or a “Benz,” as they call a Mercedes in China. Dealers are killing each other with discounts to move the high-end metal. Says China Daily:(Read More…)
Well, better late than never. I did get my Saturn running again. Due to weather, parts delays and misdiagnosis I spent a lot more time and money than I planned or had to, but she does seem to be in good shape now. Although the timing chain was still in place and looked OK, I replaced it. I actually did the whole timing set replacement, which includes chain, crank sprocket, two cam sprockets, fixed guide, top guide, adjustable guide and chain tensioner.
Today, Toyota started Chinese production of its third gen Prius hybrid. The car is being assembled at Toyota’s joint venture plant with FAW in frigid Changchun in China’s northern Jilin Province. Sales of the vehicle will begin in early 2012. (Read More…)
Sweden’s Aftonbladet reports that Victor Muller filed for bankruptcy of Saab this morning at the court in Vänersborg.
Dagens Industri writes that with Saab having declared bankruptcy itself, the matter will be resolved quickly. A bankruptcy order is expected during the day. (Read More…)
The Index of Effluency, LeMons racing’s top prize, gets handed to the team that accomplishes a lap total far beyond what any sane person would have imagined possible for such a terrible, terrible car. Sometimes that means getting 10th overall in a Toyota Tercel EZ, and other times it means taking 36th out of 57 entries in a 1977 Ford Mustang II. Macaroni Racing, in their Cologne V6-powered “big Pinto,” managed the latter achievement at the Heaps In The Heart of Texas 24 Hours of LeMons today. (Read More…)
By the time 
The Index of Effluency, LeMons racing’s top prize, gets handed to the team that accomplishes a lap total far beyond what any sane person would have imagined possible for such a terrible, terrible car. Sometimes that means getting 
This year, the Hong Norrth Mazda MX-3 
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