Tuesday, October 27, 2009

rec.autos.makers.honda - 5 new messages in 3 topics - digest

rec.autos.makers.honda
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.autos.makers.honda?hl=en

rec.autos.makers.honda@googlegroups.com

Today's topics:

* Rear wiper on a sedan? - 3 messages, 3 authors
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.autos.makers.honda/t/9e2b3a12633daa69?hl=en
* Comment on new Toyota Highlander (was: Results of Weekend Shopping for a New
Car For My Mother) - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.autos.makers.honda/t/eda82e5d618189c0?hl=en
* so long honda - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.autos.makers.honda/t/e5afab9a3ea7ba51?hl=en

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TOPIC: Rear wiper on a sedan?
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.autos.makers.honda/t/9e2b3a12633daa69?hl=en
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== 1 of 3 ==
Date: Sun, Oct 25 2009 6:54 pm
From: Dillon Pyron


Thus spake News <News@Groups.Name> :

>Brian Smith wrote:
>> Stewart wrote:
>>>
>>> Might as well do away with it.
>>
>> In the past I have taken the inside mirror out of the vehicle. Now I
>> use it to mount the E-Pass on it and because it has a thermometer in it.
>
>
>Ideal location for a 'Wink' or panoramic mirror.

Man, those take some getting used to. Had one in the BMW I kind of
raced a couple of years back (thanks to some rule changes, "kind of"
is the operative phrase). It took me several hours of intense driving
to get past the sectional point of view they offer.
--

- dillon I am not invalid

"Always shoot first. At the very least you'll
distract the guy enough to make the second one count"
-- Lazurus Long


== 2 of 3 ==
Date: Mon, Oct 26 2009 3:07 am
From: Brian Smith


Stewart wrote:
>
> I meant the window.

Tinting it dark enough that one can't see in or out of it is the same
as removing the useless piece of glass.


== 3 of 3 ==
Date: Mon, Oct 26 2009 3:56 am
From: News


Brian Smith wrote:
> Stewart wrote:
>>
>> I meant the window.
>
> Tinting it dark enough that one can't see in or out of it is the
> same as removing the useless piece of glass.


Not using it (as you claim) is rendering it useless.

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TOPIC: Comment on new Toyota Highlander (was: Results of Weekend Shopping for
a New Car For My Mother)
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.autos.makers.honda/t/eda82e5d618189c0?hl=en
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== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Mon, Oct 26 2009 5:49 am
From: "C. E. White"


I actually drove the new Highlander this past weekend and I thought I
pass along my impressions:

The good:

- 4 cylinder engine has decent power and it moves the car just fine -
not much different than the V6 Freestyle it replaced, but ....(see
below)
- Transmission seemed flawless
- Great seats, better than the Freestyle
- Controls much better than the RAV4's my Sisters own. I think Toyota
should fire the guys that did the RAV4 and let the Highlander guys
redo them. I do wonder about the Japanese obsession with HUGE control
knobs,. Does anyone need a 2.5" diameter knob to tune the radio? It is
like something from a WWII Shot Wave Radio (ditto forf the other
knobs). (see below)
- Third seat is very easy to raise lower, much better than the
Freestyles...but (see below). It worked like the third row seat in my
2003 Expedition (but easier to reach, but not split)
- Smooth ride but .... (see below)
- Interior is ver spacious
- For only a couple of thousand more than a similar RAV4, you get a
much better vehicle - I wonder how many RAV4 buyer ough to look at the
Highlander
- I was really happy with how much car my Mother got for the money

The bad:

- The 4 cylinder engine is very noisy - much louder than the V6 in the
Freestyle. The engine noise is very noticeable, especially since the
vehicle is otherwise very quiet. It is not too bad at a highway
cruise, but very noticeable when accelerating.
- While the ride is very smooth, the car is awfully "floaty." Reminds
me of some of the old Chryler stuff or the Grand Marquis my Mother
used to own. This won't be a problem for my Mother but I'd like
soemthing a little tighter. Manybe the suspension fior ther "Sport
Model" would suit me better.
- Although the controls are better than the RAV4's, they could use
some improvement. The knobs and buttons for the radio and HVAC are all
big and shiny and not particularly well laid out. The industrial
designers need to tone this down, Form should follow function. The
controls should not look like some bizarre modern art sculpture. This
is something the Japanese designers are addicted to and it is starting
to influence American designers. The controls in my current (2009)
F150 are showing this influence. They are easily the worst I've ever
had in a US designed vehcile (but still not as bad as the RAV4s my
sisters own). The F150 has two many big knobs arranged in some sort of
pattern that is not really related to the function. They are arranged
to look cool. And this cool looking arangement is just silly. There
are decades of study available on how to do controls and the Toyota
designers have tried to ignore all of them (Honda is just as bad, and
apparently Ford is copy catting the bad ideas becasue they think it is
what sells).
- Although the third row seat is much easier to deploy than the seat
in the Freestyle my Mother used to own, this ease comes at a price.
The Freestyle seat was a complicated arrangement that folded into a
well at the rear of the car and it had no significant effect on the
cargo load height. When the Freestyle seat was raised, there was a
huge well at the rear of the car that my Mother found perfect for
groceries. There is no well behind the Highlander's third row seat. It
folds on itself (thinner cushions than the Freestyle) and the rear
cargo floor is higher than it could have been with the Freestyle type
seat. It is a trade off. Given the choice, I'd go with the Highlander
stlye seat, but I think my Mother wishes it was more like the one in
the Freestyle (which she could not deploy herself...I always had to do
it for her). I think the Highlander third seat is potentially more
useful, but I doubt it will see much use. Still it is very easy to
raise and lower. It would have been nice if it was split so you could
raise half at a time, but this is only a minor (very minor) complaint.

Ed


==============================================================================
TOPIC: so long honda
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.autos.makers.honda/t/e5afab9a3ea7ba51?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Mon, Oct 26 2009 8:41 am
From: "Iowna Uass"

"Grumpy AuContraire" <GrumpyOne@GrumpyvilleNOT.com> wrote in message
news:Oo6dnRAYldoYmX_XnZ2dnUVZ_s1i4p2d@giganews.com...
> Tegger wrote:
>> GravityPhysics@webtv.net (tj Frazir) wrote in news:29161-4AE096FA-1040
>> @storefull-3113.bay.webtv.net:
>>
>>> Whale.Steam.Engine.3.jpg
>>> Address:http://jeffrelf.f-m.fm/Whale.Steam.Engine.3.jpg Changed:4:44 PM
>>> on Wednesday, October 14, 2009
>>>
>>> honda cant compete with 10 % the fuel 13 times the tourk.
>>>
>>
>>
>> Maybe not, but Honda's engines are made of metal and actually function.
>> The picture you provided is of a crude felt-tip-pen drawing on paper. Big
>> whoop.
>>
>>
>
>
>
> Whatsa "tourk?"
>
> JT
>
> (Who has done some traveling but never heard of that blend)
>

I had one the other weekend.
Pretty tasty with gravy and cranberry sauce.


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