Originally Posted by StealthZ

now you're comparing the bodies of porsche and honda. ill tell you why this lip isnt painted...cause its the new jdm fashion. disagree with me and youre just a fanboy. its supposed to look like cf and its the new "in" thing. luckily for me in 10 years from now all the hondas will have just rusted to ***** (like all those heaps do, sure the motor lasts a while, too bad the quarter panels last a year) and become one with the earth and all that will be left of them us youtube movies.

Originally Posted by rabbitman

He's got a point there. See, we like people like StealthZ, he stirs up, and gets the site moving. Everyone loves to hate people who have their own opinions, and that's the way it's always going to be. Civics are getting played out, but the problem is, they're cheap, easy to make quick, and all over the place. The Cavalier, and other domestics are still, in my opinion anyway, from driving several and making an opinion based on actually testing the cars, are years behind anything the import manufacturers make, for build quality, and are just all round better vehicles. Perfect example, my 2003 Alitma, and my girlfriends 2005 Impala. The Impala's not a bad car, hasn't given her too much trouble, but it's got a 3.4L V6, making only 5 hp, and 12 foot pounds more than my 2.5l 4 cyl. And that 5 hp, and 12 foot pounds, gets eaten by the auto tranny. Imports are just better in general, and until Ford, and Chevy start bringing over some of the cosworth, and opel models, that's the way it's going to be.

Originally Posted by Mean98Neon

Opels are already here.. opel Vectra - Saturn Aura.. and more are on the way the Saturn Astra aka Opel Astra will be here in Sept.... I know these arent High performance cars.. but they are Opels.

Originally Posted by Tomek6

Thats because any place outside the GTA is full of ppl who won't even go into an import dealer. And the only diesel they'll buy has to be a V8 with over 6 litres. Thats why some cars don't get imported. It's not worth it because maybe SOME ppl will buy them but not many. The tests and modifications they have to go through to make them legal here is not worth the few sales they'll get. Plus diesels are more expensive than the same car with a gas engine and everyone still thinks they stink and make noise and are slow.

Originally Posted by rabbitman

Yeah, and the Caddilac Catera, and now CTS is also an Opel, however, they came with some serious electrical issues. My main point with that post, is Cosworth. Ford some some reason won't import the engines, and drivetrains that are available over there. The XR4Ti was the last cosworth to come here, and those things are still stupid fast. Cosworth has a turbo diesel, that's giving VW a run for the money, but Ford won't throw it in a Focus over here. How stupid is that?

Originally Posted by rabbitman

Unless it says TDI on the back. VW has that market cornered over here, and it's going to stay that way. The TDI, and the turbo diesel before it, have a rep over here, and sure the MK2's were noisy, and smelly, but the turbo made them driveable.
The North American consumer, for the most part is ignorant, and aren't willing to change. Until that happens, well, it's only going to be VW's TDI, and Honda, and Toyota Hybrids. Ford has a few now, but, lets see if the domestic lovers will buy into them.

Originally Posted by Nord

We've got a BMW 330xd (diesel) in the family. 231hp / 500 NM
It's fast I tell ya!. It drinks alot less than the regular 330 and diesel is cheaper to fill. Atleast in Europe. You guys have so cheap gas it's unbelievable. And with the particle filter as all new diesels have over here it does'nt put out as much pollution as a regular engine. And the new automatic gearboxes (DSG,SMG) from Audi, VW and BMW actually drinks less than their manual and they are faster from all speeds.

Diesels have a Very big part of the market in Europe, allmost every Taxi runs a diesel. The noise they make when standing still sure sounds like a tractor but as soon as you put the foot on the pedal it sounds almost as a regular engine.

Originally Posted by Tomek6

I wasn't saying diesels are bad. I drive a diesel to work. Top gear put up the BMW 5 series diesel against the 5 series gas powered car in a drag race and there was no difference. The diesel was just as fast. Look even Audi is killing everything in Le Mans with a diesel race car. I don't know if this goes for all of europe or just the UK but diesel drivers get some sort of tax discount too. Maybe if the canadian gov. did things like that to encourage ppl to buy them there would be a better market for them here.

Originally Posted by rabbitman

No one said diesels are bad, it was just stated that the older diesels were slow, loud, smoky, etc, and being a VW freak, I'm aware that the old NA VW diesels were terrible. All 3 all rolled into one. The Toureg V10 TDI would have been a huge addition the the North American market, and in my opinion would have sold VERY well. But, what do I know, I'm just a consumer, who likes cars that work.