Originally Posted by Duc_Z09 (Post 3516507)

This is true. However I get annoyed when people apply the standards of yesteryear to the products that are actually being offered today. I've also worked on enough Corollas and whatnot to know that something can be well engineered and still be cheap junk.

Originally Posted by Desert Rat (Post 3516191)

My brother has one of the original 2008 SRT8 challengers with a very low production number (#340 something out of 6400). It's the 425hp 6.1 with an auto, and it has just 5k miles on it. He's been mothballing it for a few years now.

I got a chance to drive it the other day and the first thing I did is got in it and did a standing run to 100mph. The car felt great. It handles well, and it's really comfortable, but honestly, I wasn't impressed with the get up and go. Those extra few hundred pounds over my Z34 give it a fairly close power to weight ratio to my car. I suspect in a flat line drag race the Challenger would edge the Z, but not by a helluva lot. Running through the gears and keeping those shift points around 6k or so with the manual gets the Z moving just about as fast.

I will say the Challenger is a more comfortable car for sure, but while it handles quite well, it's a boat by comparison.

Anyways, it was a non technical seat of the pants impression. His Challenger is in Montana; my Z is in Arizona so we couldn't go head to head, but it was fun getting to flog on another performance icon.

Obviously the newer SRT8s with the 485 HP scat pack are a different ballgame, and the Hellcat is in another league all together. I got a ride recently in the Hellcat too, since a friend of mine bought one. That is one scary fast car! Pretty hard to wipe the smile off your face riding around in one of those.

Originally Posted by ChopsZ (Post 3516493)

Considering all of the crap ALL of the American companies made from the mid 70's on up to about the early 2000's. Crap materials, crap reliability, crap designs. It was horrible for a good 40 years for American vehicles. Hence why more than half of them went out of business over the years.

Japanese and European manufacturers have had fuel injection, disc brakes and independent suspension for the past 30+ years. And then variable valve timing all the way back in 1980, thanks to Alfa Romeo, then Honda with their VTEC in 1989.

The Japanese and European manufacturers were always the leaders in automotive technology (among many other areas as well). Granted, American engineering and quality has finally come a long way, but only in the last 10 years or so, and especially in the last 4 to 5 years.

Originally Posted by sunkist350z (Post 3516535)

Hence, General Motors bankruptcy 2008 nuff said. Would never buy a GM car even a vette.

Originally Posted by cv129 (Post 3516554)

Nissan was practically bankrupt in 99 then Renault swooped in to save it.

Originally Posted by cv129 (Post 3516554)

Nissan was practically bankrupt in 99 then Renault swooped in to save it.

Originally Posted by sunkist350z (Post 3516564)

Practically aka "all most" does not count, full retard does.

Originally Posted by ChopsZ (Post 3516529)

I honestly can't remember the last time I saw an '87 Chevette or Escort.

Originally Posted by ChopsZ (Post 3516425)

It is.

Japanese engineering vs American engineering... Japanese every time.

Originally Posted by Chuck33079 (Post 3516760)

Not every time. I'd rather have a Ford or Chevy than a Mitsubishi. I'd rather have the clap than a Chrysler, though.