Automotive Disappointments

Strizzo wrote:

Klayfish wrote: 2002 Ford T-bird. So much excitment around the return of the T-bird and that maybe it would go back to it's roots. What a crap can it was, and it sold accordingly.

really? from what i heard people thought they would be a limited run and collectors bought them for too much money and got pissed when ford kept making them. now they're just another car. funny thing was they made chevy try to jump on the bandwagon and they built this 'bel-air' concept that was an obvious ripoff of the tbird styling

The initial "hype" did cause them to sell like wild when they were very first introduced. IIRC, the car was actually introduced through the Nieman Marcus catalog. There was a special edition of the car available there long before any Ford dealer had one. They only offered a few hundred of them, and it sold out in hours. But dealer gouging, combined with a crappy product, caused the market to die quickly. The last few years of the run, they were almost giving them away trying to get them off dealer lots.

Zomby woof wrote: 2010 Civic. It's my bosses car, and he gave it to me to do some running around, and errands. I was really looking forward to driving it, and interested to see how much better it was than our 06 Cobalt. It was AWFUL. Painfully slow, numb feeling, and horrible handling. I couldn't wait to get out of it. I was shocked. I'd take the Cobalt in a second over that piece of garbage.

And the 2012's are pretty universally decried as being even worse!!!!!

For the C30 fans, my godson surprised me the last time I saw him when he told me he had a new car. He's in his early 30s and has owned (in quick sucession) a Sunfire(?) his mom bought him, a Honda Element, a Nissan Pathfinder, and I was expecting him to say a new Nissan Titan or Toyota Tacoma...some pick up truck with 4 wheel drive (as he lives in Pa. and "commutes" regular to see his mom in northeastern Pa). Well, he bought a C30 after driving a few other cars which I can't remember at the moment. And he really likes it. All I know is that it's silver, not sure which transmission it has.

BTW, Europe only gets Civic hatchbacks, they pretty much stopped selling the America only coupes 2 generations ago. And thanks to Euro emissions standards, Honda is NOT expected to sell any "Type R" models in the EuroZone...unless they do a BMW and put a turbo or supercharger on a not too high revving engine. There hasn't been a Civic Type R since 2010.

integraguy wrote: BTW, Europe only gets Civic hatchbacks, they pretty much stopped selling the America only coupes 2 generations ago. And thanks to Euro emissions standards, Honda is NOT expected to sell any "Type R" models in the EuroZone...unless they do a BMW and put a turbo or supercharger on a not too high revving engine. There hasn't been a Civic Type R since 2010.

and I thought honda was a green company. Euro emissions are like falling off a log...

Add another dissapointement for the recent t-bird. Not due to the car itself, but the idea that it was a good idea to take a 100k sales car and reduce it to a 30k sales car. odd. And take a car that sold 100k for years on end, for that 30k that reduced to 0 rather quickly....

The US hasn't had a decent 4 seat coupe for a long time. And the T-Bird had shown there was a decent enough market for it.

I've considered replacing my Miata with a T-Bird. Before anyone jumps in anger, 99.9% of my drive is on I94 between Dearborn and Ann Arbor. The only thing that I get to notice the Miata greatness is the top.... Alas, can't get a new one, so I'm kinda stuck. If there were v6's available with a manual, like the LS had, I may have looked for it. Alas, pt2......

jrw1621 wrote: Not getting the Smart Roadster in the US as promised.

I have the hat: I bought it at the Smart dealer in Florence. I thought that car would have been an autox killer.

Okay, so maybe I wasn't paying attention, but what specifically was so bad about the retro t-birds? Other than one remark about the interior, I haven't read anything specific.

Matt B wrote: I was probably the only person who expected it to be halfway decent out-of-the-box, but the EP3 Civic Si (02-05) gave me the biggest feeling of "meh" I've ever encountered from a sporting fwd Honda. After owning Integras and a 93 Si hatch I had high hopes for the return of the hatchback Si with a K-series motor. The nearly-new one I test drove handled like the minivan it resembled. I at least expected some oomph from the new motor family, but nope. My sohc 1.6 in the 93 felt faster. I realize my EG hatch was quite a bit lighter, but even then the character of the motor just didn't seem as willing (or should I say optimistic?). I hear the type-r of this era was actually good, but what we got was so watered down it wasn't good for much besides commuting. Perhaps the usual mods would wake up what is supposed to be a good chassis? Dunno. At least things improved with the coupes and sedan Si's that followed. Things seem to be going downhill again though. BTW - HONDA, BRING BACK THE FRICKIN' HATCHBACK Si!

Ugh. I have a deep-rooted hatred for that car.

1988RedT2 wrote: Okay, so maybe I wasn't paying attention, but what specifically was so bad about the retro t-birds? Other than one remark about the interior, I haven't read anything specific.

From what I recall of driving one, that chassis sucked without a roof or proper reinforcement. The 3.9L was pretty lame too.

I wouldn't say i'm "disappointed" with my Miata, but it's certainly not all i was believing it would be after all the glowing reviews and rabid following the car has.

I think i expected more out of a car that was 4x the price of my previous most expensive car. I didn't expect something ran like E36 M3 (still does.), and felt THIS floppy. (Yes, i know it's a convertible, but it's an MSM, it's supposed to be the stiffest)

Oh, and i hate hate HATE the transmission. It needs to DIAF.

I was also disappointed with the stock MSMs i've test driven. Mazda done messed that up pretty badly.

Okay, so maybe I wasn't paying attention, but what specifically was so bad about the retro t-birds? Other than one remark about the interior, I haven't read anything specific.

It shared chassis and some engine with the jaguar s-type and lincoln ls. The worst things i have heard about them is a lot of electrical problems that are difficult/expensive to keep up with... and the fact that it was overpriced.

If i could snag one for very cheap i probably would.. and let my fiancee drive it. We both like the styling and she doesnt care about interiors as much as i do.

ReverendDexter wrote: Genesis Coupe.

THIS, at least for the 2.0T. The Genesis Coupe felt sightly underpowered, and the handling didn't wow me enough to compensate. What's worse is the wonky-ass throttle calibration Hyundai used. The powerband is narrow, and once you are out of it, the engine feels flat as it goes up the rev counter. The 2013 Genny Coupe 2.0T got a horsepower bump to 271hp, so I'm willing to give it another chance

Matt B wrote: I was probably the only person who expected it to be halfway decent out-of-the-box, but the EP3 Civic Si (02-05) gave me the biggest feeling of "meh" I've ever encountered from a sporting fwd Honda. After owning Integras and a 93 Si hatch I had high hopes for the return of the hatchback Si with a K-series motor. The nearly-new one I test drove handled like the minivan it resembled. I at least expected some oomph from the new motor family, but nope. My sohc 1.6 in the 93 felt faster. I realize my EG hatch was quite a bit lighter, but even then the character of the motor just didn't seem as willing (or should I say optimistic?). I hear the type-r of this era was actually good, but what we got was so watered down it wasn't good for much besides commuting. Perhaps the usual mods would wake up what is supposed to be a good chassis? Dunno. At least things improved with the coupes and sedan Si's that followed. Things seem to be going downhill again though. BTW - HONDA, BRING BACK THE FRICKIN' HATCHBACK Si!

It's a nice handling car that honda crippled with a very poor spring/shock combo, and weak rear sway bar; the HFP suspension kit was the way to go.

With those mods & some front camber bolts it'll give a mazda 3 or focus svt a good run for it's money; although it was rather overpriced for the power or lack thereof: http://www.roadandtrack.com/tests/comparison/high-desert-showdown/page_3_-_high_desert_showdown-3a_honda_hfp_civic_si_page_3

Of the cars I've owned, hands down the Audi. Driving it was no fun, it broke all the time, and simply cost too much for what you got. My worst car purchase ever. I've had other cars that were just as unreliable, but at least they made up for it by being fun to drive.

Of cars I've raced, the SRT4 was the worst. I hated that car. I know hate is a strong word, but I found nothing redeaming about it, nothing at all. Sorry to all the SRT4 fans, not trying to flame on it. The Neon ACR I raced several years earlier was better, but it was like a grippy toaster. It was quick for what it was, but was no fun at all getting there.

While not quite the same, the first Viper I drove disappointed me. I was expecting this raw, explosive car, but instead if was pretty composed and a decent driver. A lot more Corvette than Cobra. The more you drive it though, the more you appreciate what a nice car it really is. It's a lot more developed than it lets on.

The only other car that I can think of that really disappointed me was the Del Sol. My girlfriend at the time went out and bought one, and I was expecting it to be somewhat like a CRX. Instead, it was numb and beyond boring. It's like Honda designed out the fun on purpose. It's dressed for the party but hangs out grandma's sewing club instead.

Matt B wrote: BTW - HONDA, BRING BACK THE FRICKIN' HATCHBACK Si!

and cut it's weight by ~ 1000#

Regarding the original post: RX8. I actually liked almost everything about it except: The ridonkulous wheelbase, and the ultra-E36 M3ty mpg. With Mazda raving about rotary improvements I was expecting gas mileage that was almost-acceptable.

Agreed on the T-Bird and the Genesis, although I haven't driven a Genesis. T-Bird I have no need to.

Ion Redline. Was supposed to be an SRT4 competitor with a great powerplant. It is a great powerplant (but not quite enough), in an oversized, way too long, crappy suspensioned, center-instrument cluster having econobox with "agressive" styling.

Matt B wrote: BTW - HONDA, BRING BACK THE DOUBLE WISHBONES!

Fixed.

Honda vehicles. After all the breathless oozing about how incredibly wonderful they are... My 78 Accord decomposed completely at 60K. 03 Acura TL type S had millions of $ of preventative maintenance but still ate transmissions for breakfast. 04 Pilot had (of course) transmissions and also ate batteries for lunch. BTW the oil pressure light comes on when the battery is low again. DOH! Motor mounts. Held alignments like a drunken contortionist. And of course ate its front tires at the same rate. Much dislike and financial pain... Having said that, my Honda lawnmower is absolutely the most wonderful thing ever made.

ProDarwin wrote:

Matt B wrote: BTW - HONDA, BRING BACK THE DOUBLE WISHBONES!

Fixed.

I could get behind that fix as well.

There's been a lot of Honda bashing as of late, and I can't say I agree with it all. That said, my Honda-loving wife (I created a monster) frequently accuses me of "cheating on Honda" with my MR2 and any other tarted-up marque I crane my neck for. I just tell her that if Honda was the same manufacturer I married so many years ago I wouldn't have to cheat on her to get what I need.

Speaking of (kinda OT), I'm getting worked up over the 86/BRZ because it's basically what I've always wanted: a rwd Integra (minus the dubble-bones, but we can't have everything, right?).

I don't get worked up about any car that hasn't been in this world for at least 10 years, because I can't afford them otherwise. The one exception being the CTS-V Wagon. I would sell my soul six times over for one of those.

Someone mentioned a Gallardo...I have to imagine every supercar can be underwhelming. Totally incredible for the first two hours, and then incredibly painful to live with, especially when you remember there's $2011 cars somewhere in Florida that can outrun your $500K car in a straight line

Almost forgot the agony of the Jettas. So much to love and sooo much to hate.

Vigo wrote:

Okay, so maybe I wasn't paying attention, but what specifically was so bad about the retro t-birds? Other than one remark about the interior, I haven't read anything specific.

It shared chassis and some engine with the jaguar s-type and lincoln ls. The worst things i have heard about them is a lot of electrical problems that are difficult/expensive to keep up with... and the fact that it was overpriced. If i could snag one for very cheap i probably would.. and let my fiancee drive it. We both like the styling and she doesnt care about interiors as much as i do.

Same here. I'd kind of like to have one with a hard top.

Pretty much everything VW disappointed me. I've recounted the tale of my '83 GTi before, won't bore you with it again. That was the beginning and I was foolish enough to think it was a combination of it being a US built car and how I wailed on it; when I landed a VW service manager job I discovered quickly what crap they build.

Next was Mercedes. For that kind of money I expect some solidity under the leather and stuff, instead it's about as abysmal as VW's stuff. Check into the late V6 cam chain idler failures sometime. And no there's not a recall.

The average Japanese car bores me to tears so I guess that could be considered disappointment as well. But they make up for boredom by being (in the vast majority of cases) as reliable as an anvil. The numbness and general lack of edginess combined with reliability are what the vast majority of the motoring sheeple are looking for, so I'd say they have hit their mark pretty well dead center.

The CRZ.

Hybrid, solid rear axle, macphersons.

The first gen CRX is just as fast and gets better gas mileage, and that's just sad.

Almost everything GM/Ford/Chrysler.

GM can make monster HP but they stick it in a POS chassis, including Corvettes.

Ford can't make any power, but they make nearly magical workable chassis's. CIP, 96-04 Mustang GT's.

Chrysler, well, it's Chrysler.....

Ranger50 wrote: Almost everything GM/Ford/Chrysler. GM can make monster HP but they stick it in a POS chassis, including Corvettes. Ford can't make any power, but they make nearly magical workable chassis's. CIP, 96-04 Mustang GT's. Chrysler, well, it's Chrysler.....

You actually like the SN95 chassis? It can be make into an astonishing car, but as Ford built it, I think it kind of sucks horribly.