Originally Posted By bobbelee9 My son was home for Christmas week, so there were 3 Jeeps in our driveway. My dhs '96 Cherokee, son's '04 Laredo and my '05 Liberty. I'm expecting mine to last me the rest of my driving life, husband will certainly get another Jeep, son too, but when he was home, he was showing us what he'd like on line. I can't remember the name, but I think it was English built. Looked kinda Rollsish. Even out of his price range, but he likes to look.
Originally Posted By fkurucz <<I would not likely buy a Honda, the only model that is near the size of my Skoda Superb is a $110,000 car.>> They have a few models that large or bigger in the US for less tha 39K.
Originally Posted By fkurucz After curiousity got the best of me I compared the UK and US Accords. They are different cars. The US version is slightly bigger.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***Really, I thought Apple were supposed to be very long lasting products?*** Not in my experience. Myself and two friends all had powerbooks that caved in near the monitor in almost the exact same place. When we complained individually, we were turned away..when we showed up with all three machines, they caved and admitted it was their problem and repaired the three for free ($900 per computer problem). I had an iMac completely die on me at less than two years old. I was a chump on that one, hadn't bothered with the extended warranty because I figured it would be fine, not being a portable and all. And another friend had an iPod mini the face of which shattered in the cold (I helped HER get her money back on that one, it took an hour of arguing and consulting with management at the Apple store, they insisted she must have dropped it).
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo It is interesting to see how much products and service varies in different markets.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 <///This is why BMW (and) Mercedes, are still desired./// No. BMW and MB are built very poorly; all well known German cars constantly need mechanical attention--- including Porshe, Audi and Volks. BMW and MB remain desirable due to body styling, 'fit and finish', performance/drivability as well as what the economist calls the 'Veblen' effect. < having had 3 BMW's ( 3 series ) over the last 10 years - and Zero maintenance issues I'd have to disagree. Also BMWhas FREE maintenance & service for the first 4 years - 50K miles- if they were poorly built as you say, they'd be brokelike our companies. BMW 3 series has beenaconsumer reports best buy for over 20 years running my friend
Originally Posted By Mr X ***It is interesting to see how much products and service varies in different markets.*** Service certainly does. While Japan offers very high level customer care, that doesn't extend to giving money back without a fight. They'd much rather bow politely and apologize profusely, and they're always rather shocked when more than that is demanded.
Originally Posted By barboy ///having had 3 BMW's ( 3 series ) over the last 10 years/// And I have had 3 MB's fresh off the dealer grill since '02 and all 3 are built like crap compared to Japanese cars like Toyota, Honda and the Korean Hundai. Here's one for you to ponder: 2 days after I drove this last one home(the '08 550 CLK Convertible) I had to call the dealer to send for a tow truck to come take it off my driveway......the thing didn't even have plates yet and had issues with the automatic shifting mechanism; I couldn't get it into reverse or any position for that matter. I purchased a SL sporty type car back in '04 and it was an electronic disaster while I owned it. And check this out..... I was driving it home, had the top down and motorists were honking to congratulate me(so I thought anyway) on my $115K purchase. When I got home I noticed the driver's side door weather stripping must have been dragging all the way from the dealership. A brand new car doing that??? My little SLK 230 fell apart early on.....headlamps out, stereo out, emissions warning light issues 3 times. ///Also BMW has FREE maintenance & service for the first 4 years - 50K miles-/// So if reliabilty was your biggest reason for BMW then why didn't you go with Hundai for 10 years/100k miles and it is 1/3 or 1/4 the price....generally speaking????? It's OK, you can say it..... because Hundai doesn't drive nor look that great compared to a $100K German mobile, right? The point I'm making is that you, Spirit and dave can claim that 'reliability' as the reason why people ****primarily**** buy BMW and MB but we all know the real reasons people want those Hitler cars here in the USA: performance styling/looks fit and finish status/Veblen effect Furthermore I'd bet that safety claims motivate prospective BMW and MB buyers even more than 'reliability' concerns.
Originally Posted By barboy Sorry, I overlooked that you specifically had the 3 series..... so I should have asked why not go with Hyundai which is **1/2 or 1/3** the price and has offered buyers 100,000 mile warranty/10 years for several years now?
Originally Posted By Bob Paris "TDL was the most visited theme park in the world at least one year if not more...I believe their attendance record was 18 million patrons." They only lost that record because of the opening of TDS. After that, attendance was split. However, the OLC projected AND GOT their hypothetical figure of 25m and now look to exceed even THAT. If you build QUALITY they WILL come.
Originally Posted By Bob Paris "I think that WDW is unique in the Disney pricing sphere in that it has by far the fewest number of people buying a single-day ticket. I just don't think they expect very many people to buy one" Indeed. Who the hell buys one day tickets?!? I was there for 24 days and an AP was the ONLY sensible option. Anything else was ripping myself off!!!!
Originally Posted By vbdad55 <Sorry, I overlooked that you specifically had the 3 series..... so I should have asked why not go with Hyundai which is **1/2 or 1/3** the price and has offered buyers 100,000 mile warranty/10 years for several years now? < because I do like quality with my car yes-- but reliability / resale value are major components to anything I buy. That is why I buy 3 series Bimmers.... btw- Hitler cars ? really ? Why make that statement ? this isn't world events
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Well Hitler did like his Mercs and BWMs. That said VBDAD is right. Hyundai is ok, but does not handle as well, and the interior does not feel as good on long journeys. Also the depreciation on a new Hyundai is huge. The german cars not so much. Also hit a Hyundai and they just crumple as a write off, not the Germans. I did seriously consider a Hyundai last time, but it did not stack up to the VW group at all.
Originally Posted By barboy ///btw- Hitler cars ? really ? Why make that statement ? this isn't world events/// Does this mean that I can't refer to IBM products as 'Hitler devices' or 'Hitler tech' as well??? How about Mitsubishi as 'war criminal machines' ???
Originally Posted By vbdad55 IBM - Hitler connection ? Okay, after 32 years there and never hearing that one - enlighten me. Was Von Braun an IBM founder ? Did Hitler like punch cards ? What ?
Originally Posted By vbdad55 <Also hit a Hyundai and they just crumple as a write off, not the Germans. < completely different steel quality used - as well as sub assembly...of course maybe safety is not a reason to buy BWM either -
Originally Posted By barboy ///IBM - Hitler connection?/// You do know that the the 1930's and WW2 Germans ---Nationalist-Socialist party faithfuls/Natzi officials kept records, lots of records and stats. about death camps, right?...... IBM was instrumental. Can you say 'hollerith tabulators' Heck, how do you think that those cattle car trains full of humans operated so efficiently/timely sending Jewish and others to a certain death in Poland?
Originally Posted By barboy The Hollerith punch card technology willfully supplied by IBM enabled Natzis to readily classify Jews based on ancesty, organize their stolen jewelry and holdings, camp 'selections'(those picked for extermination based on physical attributes/status like health, energy, age) as well as keep stats on death counts by the millions and methods employed be it by gas, rope, gunshot, guillitine(usually reserved for civilian/political dissidents), starvation or disease. Thanks IBM, well done!
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< Did Hitler like punch cards ? What ? >>> As others have pointed out, you're not too far off. So, vbdad55, that part of history is not part of the corporate training curriculum these days? <<< ///btw- Hitler cars ? really ? Why make that statement ? this isn't world events/// >>> Hitler also invented the design of the modern controlled-access freeway, but we don't call it the Hitler Interstate Freeway System. Are we to shun the use of freeways today just because Hitler invented them? It makes just about as much sense as labeling a BMW or MB as a "Hitler car" in an attempt to disparage them.
