I'm just curious, does anyone on this site appreciate or drive import cars. And don't get me wrong, I love American iron, but it seems like there is a lot of negative sentiment about foreign cars on this site, and was just curious if there are any other import car people here.

I drive a European made Ford (Merkur)... does that count? http://discussanything.com/Ubb/smile.gif

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Artist formerly known as Reindeer



[This message has been edited by Turbostang (edited 08-18-2001).]

Ive owned plenty. They are ok, there just not in the best intrest of my country. They are easy to beat in a race usually too http://discussanything.com/Ubb/wink.gif

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Winner of the "peoples Choice award" for supreme advocate for the people!

I'm not "always right", it just seems that way

Spelling is for kids! I think you got the point!

Nothing against an import (I like a lot of European imports) but most of the japanese ones don't really touch me in any way...

Both of my sisters have civics. And I always maintain, not a great car, but for what it is supposed to accomplish (cheap and incredible economy) it gets 4 stars.

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Manu Narayan

Umm... I drive one (99 civic si). But I'm working on finding a 5.0 mustang so I might be a little biased http://discussanything.com/Ubb/smile.gif

My uncle just bought a 94 civic EX 4 door with only 60K on it. He wanted a 4 cyl car with really good gas milege so he could drive around the country to see his kids in a time of rising gas prices. To his amazement, he is only getting about 25 MPG on the highway and its really sluggish! Thats sucks! My big Tausus has a v6 and nuts and get 28 MPG. My big Aerostar XLT Edie Baur with a 4.0 v6 and 373 gears can tow 5200 pounds with 7 passengers and get 22 MPG!!! Whats up with that? Yeah it has an auto but so do my cars and there much bigger and more compfortable too. Even my van is much quicker than the Civic BTW. One last point. The resale value on that Honda is very high. That means he spent about as much on his honda Civic economy car as I did on both my nicer fully optioned American cars. Not such a great value in used foriegn cars if you ask me.

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Winner of the "peoples Choice award" for supreme advocate for the people!

I'm not "always right", it just seems that way

Spelling is for kids! I think you got the point!

Ok, ok, good point about the high resale value, it's true, but it's just about priorities, what's more important. And yeah, the fuel economy thing is weird, I've heard of that happening to a couple of other civics. But then again, 95% of the time, it will get awesome mileage. My brother went cross country in his 98 civic EX and got up to 48 mpg on the open road. And yes, Japanese cars are slower than American cars almost all of the time, and I'd much rather be in a Cobra than a civic running like 80 psi and a 300 shot NOS. Having said that, there are some import cars out there that can smoke a lot, not all, but a lot of American cars. For example, the Toyota Supra turbo. Someone I know invested less than 3,500 bucks into the engine of a 23,000 used car and is making dyno proven over 480 at the wheel. Might be expensive for a used car, but those are numbers that are kind of hard to laugh at, but I'm sure you will find a way anyhow.

only foriegn car i'd drive is an old 240Z. fine lines, inline six, got to love it.

as for the rest, i'd take any big block mopar over any porsche or ferrari.

i don't consider a merkur a import either... lol

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"I find your lack of faith disturbing..."

oops

[This message has been edited by Fordman50 (edited 08-20-2001).]

Originally posted by red84pony:
only foriegn car i'd drive is an old 240Z. fine lines, inline six, got to love it.

as for the rest, i'd take any big block mopar over any porsche or ferrari.

i don't consider a merkur a import either... lol




Great choices! My dad had a 240 when I wat a kid. It was fast!

Yeah, Ide like a max wedge or hemi to go too. That and a 69 Ram Air 400 F-bird

BTW my dad is nuts about the Merkur too. I know where a clean one is with a lot of mile is for $300

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Winner of the "peoples Choice award" for supreme advocate for the people!

I'm not "always right", it just seems that way

Spelling is for kids! I think you got the point!

imports eh? hm....

Come to think of it, everything besides Spyker, Donkervoort and DAF I think, is import to me http://discussanything.com/Ubb/frown.gif

So yes i do. I guess http://discussanything.com/Ubb/wink.gif

Hmm...

Yoru ucnles civic has SOMETHING wrong with it.

My sisters both have civics...a 93 and a 95. They both get normally 25-30 with a mix, and pure highway they get about 35.

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Manu Narayan

Originally posted by Fordman50:
That and a 69 Ram Air 400 F-bird


i just saw a white r/a 400 bird at the local pontiac dealer while getting some a/c parts.... super sweet car!!!

i am dying for a big block 69 charger... just haven't found "the one" yet.

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"I find your lack of faith disturbing..."

just another note onto this thread, why do so many people VEHEMENTLY hate import cars? My friends car got F-ed up, for what appears to be no other reason then it was an Accord that was dropped with rims and a windshield sticker. And from what I heard, it was parked in a lot right next to a (hate to say it on this site) Mustang that a bunch of teenagers exited. Sigh. Why is there so much stupidity at other's expense? I could understand if they stole it, but just to key it and kick off the mirrors?

My 1990 Nissan 240SX was a damn fine car if you could get past the staggering lack of power. Excellent handling, steering, & braking. Exceptional build quality & overall reliability. Parts prices were horrendous. I sold it with ~140k on the clock when I found out what it was going to cost to replace the fuel injectors & a power window motor.

My problem with Japanese cars these days is the styling. I haven;t seen a truly beautiful car come out of Japan since honda introduced the NSX. Everything those guys make today is either ridiculously dull & conservative, or hideously ugly. That and they still haven't figured out that Americans like RWD and torque.

As for European cars, I've no experience with them except for my sister's new Beetle. I considered it the ugliest car in existence, back when she got it anyway (this was in the pre-Asstek days). I didn't even think the Japanese could produce anything uglier, until I saw the new Nissan Z that they're coming out with.

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Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces.
Malachi 2:3

Originally posted by IDigFatChicks:
just another note onto this thread, why do so many people VEHEMENTLY hate import cars? My friends car got F-ed up, for what appears to be no other reason then it was an Accord that was dropped with rims and a windshield sticker. And from what I heard, it was parked in a lot right next to a (hate to say it on this site) Mustang that a bunch of teenagers exited. Sigh. Why is there so much stupidity at other's expense? I could understand if they stole it, but just to key it and kick off the mirrors?

being an american muscle enthusiasts, I can honestly say that there is no reason for that.. if you think your car is faster than someone else's then take it to the track.. enough said, leave the childish / cowardly acts of car keying (etc.) out of it..

I know it makes you bad, but if makes you feel better, the local honda boys got a hold of my mustang one day.. but I refuse to hurt the car over a stupid owner..

Dude, Mike, I had no idea it was you! That sucks about your friends car bro...

I mean, I love trash talking the import guys, and some of them are just FUGLY, but the fact is there are some kits of stangs that are fugly too.

That said...there are some japanese ports that can smoke some american muscle...and the supra is a SWEET car. A trubo anything will give some stangs a run for their money.

I think the BIG problem a lot of racing enthusists have, is the fact that a lot of import drivers don't do any speed mods, just visual. I think a lot of it is ugly, but to each their own.

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Manu Narayan

yes to each their own.. and truthfully I have seen some tasteful civics that weren't fugly that I wouldn't mind having.. they were fast, but they paid a pretty penny to get them that way..

I have also seen stangs that make me want to puke.. it's embarrassing

We had a guy at our StangNet meet, he brought a civic si, turbo...

It was NICE and fast...the is a car I could get into.

Though, i'd rather have a blown GT anyday :P

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Manu Narayan

well there are some nice import cars.. but knowing me, I would want the best, get about half way can't afford it, and be slow and a typical ricer, that talks alot of smack..

kinda like what happened when I bought my mustang http://discussanything.com/Ubb/smile.gif

Oh, as an import enthusiast, I hate the fools who are "All flash, no mash." And yes, just to educate those who believe otherwise, there are a lot of us out there. I know there's hatred on both sides of the issue, but sometimes its just so, as someone put it, childish. I'm currently getting a B16A (honda) motor built up, which'll be 170 hp, and looking for a civic hatch to drop it into. Do the math, 170 hp propelling 2200 lbs with full interior (which I don't plan on keeping) for a total cost of hopefully less than $4,000. Not bad, eh? And if I'm ever so disposed, turbo kits that can up that number to 250 hp are easily had second hand for under $600.

4000? that's it? pretty cheap.. a rebuilt motor tranny that's a whatever number that was, isn't that much.. no wonder there a bunch of ricers around here.. I could do a head intake and cam swap for like 2500 and have 300 at the wheels, but you can always go further with a v8

I bet you could one heck of a sleeper doing that to a honda hatch.. what do you expect to be running?

That's the problem, not many sleeper hatches out there, most of them are flashers. I know a crew up in San Francisco, they're the ones building the engine for me right now, and they're hardcore. Stock rims, stock muffler, no stickers, no funky lights, and running 13.3 quarters. Not blazing, but it'll smoke a stock pony car, I'm pretty sure. =)But honestly, 1/4 times don't mean that much to me. All my racing will most likely be done with curves added. Autocross, baby. And yeah, I'm not dumb. Displacement is king. If you want to hit anything higher than 300 without fearing a piston popping through your hood, you gotta be over 4.0, and that's the lacking in import cars.

What most neglect to see is that ,most Hondas,and Toyotas, are made right here in the US.

A large majority of what we consider to be "Domestic" car/trucks are built in Mexico or Canada.

One of my neighbors drives a Toyota Tacoma that was built here in the US, While my other neighbor drives a new SuperDuty F-250 that was built in Mexico.

:rolleyes: Go figure:confused:

The japanese companies only do it to avoid import tarrifs and the US companies build cars in mexico because its cheaper labor. They fail to realize that cheap labor=bad quality.

Wow, back from the DEAD
Originally posted by 302Riz
The japanese companies only do it to avoid import tarrifs and the US companies build cars in mexico because its cheaper labor. They fail to realize that cheap labor=bad quality.
Yes indeed.
Denny it is not so much who dun built it anymore, it's who designed it pretty much and in most instances it is said companies country's design.

this is an oldy... :p

Two year old thread, man! LET IT DIE! :lol:

Hahaha. I came back and checked this, and I was like, "I never wrote this thread!"

And then I read through it, and went "ohh, I DID write this thread, like, many moons ago"

But the point is still valid, and the motor I had built for me got sold cuz I was taking too long, boo-hoo. Plenty more where it came from though.

Can't ever go wrong with a supra or my favorite the Nissan Skyline

You really cant beat an import for reliability, or resale value.

I love my mustang, but when it came down to an everyday car, a honda was just what the doctor ordered, awesome gas mileage, nice to drive, reliable, etc.

http://www.ragtop-racing.com/Pics/accord/TypeR/133-3379_IMG.jpg


:D


All cars have their good/bad qualities, regardless of brand:o

how bout this one?

can you guess what it originally was?

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yes of course, what else could it be:

That is just plain hideous.

A good percentage of imports are partially designed in America. Nissan, esp.

I don't like Japanese cars. But I do like German cars.* I used to have a Volkswagen, now I drive an old (but still in good condition) Mercedes 300D. I like it. I've never had an American car...not that I don't want one, I've just never had one yet.


edit-

*and a few other European cars. :)

Dear god. Someone actually thought that was a good idea... and followed through on it.

holy crap... that crx makes me ill :not:

Yeah, its pretty raunchy. But please, please do not judge us by our worst example.

And even when I see cars that ugly, hell, maybe its cuz I'm a nice guy, but I give them points for creativity, yeah?

That CRX is chopped...

Mercedes headlights, BMW grille, Supra tail lights and a god awful looking Honda hood ornament.

Originally posted by 302Riz
That CRX is chopped...

Mercedes headlights, BMW grille, Supra tail lights and a god awful looking Honda hood ornament.
and the TC hood scoops:(

what gets me is that there's a hood scoop on the sunroof :P

i knew you guys would like it! :)

Originally posted by tam
i knew you guys would like it! :)

You just posted that to keep everyone busy, and since the focus has been changed, this will keep them from getting on me for being a ricer:D

Originally posted by ragtopjr
You just posted that to keep everyone busy, and since the focus has been changed, this will keep them from getting on me for being a ricer:D

ricer! :P

:p

how bout this one, it must be really fast, judging by the wing:

i really like import cars but with cool mods but what i don t like is that everyone who puts a wing or exhuast system on there car just to be cool. I like the cars that takes time and thought to put together and has cool style and also the ones who put mods on the car because the serve a reason

Originally posted by tam
how bout this one, it must be really fast, judging by the wing:

Yea well with all that power going to the rear wheels, it needs tons of downforce for traction! :D

Originally posted by jello
i really like import cars but with cool mods but what i don t like is that everyone who puts a wing or exhuast system on there car just to be cool. I like the cars that takes time and thought to put together and has cool style and also the ones who put mods on the car because the serve a reason

THANK YOU!

This is what I've been saying all along.

I've seen stock 4 bangers FWD imports run 14s no problem... so you got to give them respect.. I mean a GT mustang isn't that much faster..

oh my god, did i just say that?

What stock FWD imports run 14's?

I need to know. If I smoke the tires off the line, I'll be in trouble...

Originally posted by mike75
Can't ever go wrong with a supra or my favorite the Nissan Skyline

:nice: I love my supra! I love imports cars, I have never had any problems with the ones I have owned.

Originally posted by PFDarkside
What stock FWD imports run 14's?

I need to know. If I smoke the tires off the line, I'll be in trouble...
srt4(i know i know not an import :P), The NON AWD eclipse turbos, Sab 9-3, Mini Cooper S
are the only ones I can think of off the top of my head and I'm not even sure of the drivelines of half of them.

Integra Type-R. 210 hp in the Japanese version, 200 hp in the USDM version. I've heard of the US version doing 14.6, so there.

I'd like to see the numbers on the new RSX Type-R which is, of course, not available in the States.

stock (or pretty damn close) FWD cars i have seen run 14s..

1993-1995 Honda Prelude Vtec
1994+ Acura Integra GSR (usually obd1) and Type R
Friend of mine has a bone stock RSX-S that ran 15.08 his first run

Usually it takes a very skilled driver, sticky tires, and a prayer from God, but there faster then i thought they would be

Whoa, kinda surprised by the 15 laid down by the Type-S. I've driven a couple of them, and they felt a little slow. But then again, all new cars feel slow to me. Too much sound insulation and road comfort.

And Wedgy, what happened? You've confirmed yourself as a firm friend of the import driver! Yay, I've converted one of you guys at least! My years of work here have not gone in vain.

the real story?

well after pouring litterally thousands of dollars into my mustang, it is still not what i want it to be.. granted, with a little more money and help, it could be a very fast competitor.. it just seems like everytime I do something to it, something else breaks, while my honda accord keeps running with 270k+ miles on it..

so instead of finally finishing my mustang, I decided to just casually drive it.. and since i will be moving away to college next summer, and not taking the mustang with me.. it was time to look into upgrading my accord.. well i am about half way to where i want to be and hoping within the next 3 months to have something nicer.. and i don't want another mustang, b/c i have already done that, and god knows i can't fix everything else that breaks.. haha..

anyways, after being shafted day in and day out at work (a FORD dealership) i started hanging out with a local car club, and found that these ricers have nicer interiors and aren't that after all..

who would of thought huh?

Werd... the confessions of an import-convert.

It was touching. I'm glad you've seen the brighter light at the end of the domestic/import debate. My work here, is done.

That's funny about the part breakage issues...my car is steadily getting faster, and knock on wood, seldom has parts issues. I want low 11's last year and drove the car everywhere. I just finished the new motor, but without the F.A.S.T. system on it I can't tune the fuel injection on it yet. I have driven it on the street and made a few soft passes naturally aspirated. With 10.5:1 air fuel (pig rich) and only pulling it to 5700rpm it made 440hp....expecting 500 once I lean it out and turn it 6500. After we finish tuning the motor, then I have the fogger and plate to tune. All told, I am aiming for 900hp and still drive the car to the track. Even at full weight and driven to the track on drag radials, we figure it to be a 9.50-9.80 car....just about right to run with the faster cars in the group I hang out with. Still mostly stock suspended, stock axles and rear, AOD transmission.

AOD referring to automatic overdrive? Just curious.

And yeah, I know a lot of people with Stangs that have lasted a long time, don't know too many with extensive mods. But I've heard a lot of horror stories, too.

And in all honesty, I really do think imports in general have a much longer shelf life. True, you can't really get into the 9's on an import and keep it anywhere near street legal except for cars like the Supra and such. But hey, not everyone needs to get into the 9's to feel fast, ya know?

Yeah, I kept the AOD so I could drive it on the street more. I have been experimenting with these transmissions for a couple of years now, and don't know how much more power I can put through it. It lasted really well with the old combo (580hp), but the new engine/nitrous combination will be much more violent.

a car is only going to be as good as the person taking care of it.. i will admit.. but with the aode in the stang about to go, the cost of replacing it (i would get a tremec if i did) would be very costly.. not that i am a converted import fan.. i still love a healthy sound of a 5.0 with some flowmasters.. i am just thinking outside the box..

what would i buy if i had to get another car.. fox body? been there done that.. 94-95.. would be my car of choice, but seeing i already have one, seems pointless.. 96-98 GTs? aren't they the slowest late model.. i would get a 96+ cobra, or a 99+ GT but neither on my price range.. and i would still have the same interior i have lived with for 5 years..

so i am not a ricer.. my dream car is NOT a supra, skyline, or even a civic type R..

and my dad was running 11s on his stock c4 and axels till last year..