Talk about a senseless commercial. I wonder how they got the smoke shaped like a panther?
So most people got stuck with the 4 cylinder?Anyway I was comparing chainsaws(Sthil 290 vs Sthil 310)about the same size and weight but the 310 costs considerbly more,Why?Thats one reason I stopped buying Sthil products,the same thing goes for a 305 vs 350 SBC,please dont tell Me it costs a lot more to produce a 350 vs 305.Anyrate it seems like Ford is a bit more honest in their engine pricing,it doesnt cost but $495 more to get the 2.7 Ecoboost over the standard 3.5.
Duping has turned Me away from many products and I dont appreciate it.I cant pay 8K just to get an engine upgrade( plus SA commercials turn Me against some products too,{really}
and lots of storage space unclaimed.
My house garage closely resembles the game of Tetris or one of those slide puzzles with one square piece missing…
Mine’s like a Rubik’s Cube, except that the colors on the blocks seem to keep changing.
Yeah, I really wanted to stay with a six cylinder engine when I traded for a new car last year but simply couldn’t justify the extra $6k - $10k it would have cost depending on make/model/trim, so I compromised and settled for a four cylinder.
Problem is, six cylinders are not available on lower trim levels. So to get a six cylinder requires buying an upper trim level with all sorts of additional expensive options. Many buyers would be delighted to have a higher performance engine in an otherwise simpler vehicle.
That’s BS marketing, in my opinion
In years past, you could get a V6 Camry with the DX trim. Now you have to buy an LE or better to get the V6
The LE is actually now the base trim. No more CE. The LE does have bluetooth and rearview camera. All good stuff, but if someone wanted to save some $$ and buy something more basic, it would not be possible.
In years past, you could get a V6 Camry with the DX trim. Now you have to buy an LE or better to get the V6
The trim level crap is annoying.
When I bought my 1990 Pathfinder in order to get factory installed intermittent wipers I had to buy an automatic. Luckily Nissan had a kit I could buy for $59 to add intermittent wipers.
My current Highlander - I own the LE (base model) but with the V6 and AWD. The towing package only comes with the xle model at an additional cost of $6,000. There are other features with the XLE, but I really didn’t need or want them. My base Highlander comes with more features then my 1998 LE Pathfinder. So before I bought the Highlander I researched what the towing package consisted (tranny cooler, oil cooler and higher output alternator). I installed everything except the higher output alternator because I didn’t need it for what I tow.
One of the reasons I liked Acura is that there are very few option decisions to make except for interior and exterior color, and whether you want navigation or not. Now you also need to decide if you want AWD but all of the options are essentially included except for winter floor mats. Back in the old days you had a list of 30 options you had to list and pay for. (Not that you don’t pay for them but its a lot easier)
One of the reasons I liked Acura is that there are very few option decisions to make except for interior and exterior color, and whether you want navigation or not.
That is the same thing with my wife’s Lexus. Very few choices.
Back in the old days you had a list of 30 options you had to list and pay for. (Not that you don't pay for them but its a lot easier)
I guess that’s what manufacturer you bought from. Back then I owned a lot of GM vehicles. Everything was an option.My 85 GMC pickup - I bought the high-end trim level…but then had to add as options (rear jump seats, reclining seats, carpeting in the rear, rear bumper, radio…and the list goes on). It was the Japanese that introduced the vehicle packaging that we all know today. It’s actually cheaper to build 400 vehicles with common options then to build 400 vehicles with all different options.
Yeah, but somehow they don’t pass the savings on to you.
A few observations . . .
I have a 2005 Camry LE V6
Here are a few things it has as standard equipment, that the 2005 Camry LE 4-banger does not have . . . at least not as standard equipment
factory alloy rims
disc brakes all around
power driver’s seat
A great many options are engineered into cars and building a car without them requires additional engineering. That is the opposite of what would be expected. Some GM vehicles are sold without AC and to make that possible a dummy idler pulley is mounted in place of the compressor and all the wiring necessary to operate the AC system are built into the harnesses but taped off when unused. And I recall that Jeep Cherokees had a dummy transfer case on 2 wheel drive models.
@db4690; My 2005 I4 LE has rear drum brakes, hub caps, no side airbag but the driver seat is power. I bought it because I needed a car fast, it was a used CPO and that day they knocked $3K off the price. I was coming from stripped down cars, so this one had too many power options for me already. We actually don’t like the power seat because wife is 5’2" and I am 6’, so it takes a while to adjust the seat if we are switching cars. It is only now that I would have wanted the car to have side airbags, mostly because my teen is also driving.
My 2014.5 Camry is the LE trim. Only reason I bumped up from the bottom LS trim was to get the power seat which is more comfortable for me than the manual non-adjustable seat.
It also happened to come bundled with audio controls on the steering wheel. I wouldn’t have paid extra just for that. I had had similar controls in the Impala predecessor by chance. In the Camry it is easier to adjust volume with the dash volume dial. But because the radio lacks buttons or dials due to touchscreen controls I rely on the steering wheel by feel buttons to change stations witbout looking and hassling with the touchscreen.
I have decided the back up camera is nice although I do not trust to rely only on it. But other than the back up view I would gladly dispense with the touch screen and revert to simpler knobs and buttons that can be operated by touch. In fact, I would willingly lose the back up camera if it meant getting back non touchscreen for anything else.
Back in the good old days, everything was an option. If you didn’t like the factory or dealer prices for the radio or heater, you could buy aftermarket at Sears, Montgomery Ward, Western Auto, Firestone, etc. My 1947 Pontiac didn’t have turning signals, so I bought a kit from Montgomery Ward and installed them. My fsther-in-law bought a 1941_Chevrolet when he returned from service. It didn’t have a radio, so he bought an aftermarket radio at Western Auto. He pulled the radio out when he traded the car and it is now in my garage. If anybody wants a free AM radio for a 1941-48 Chevy, it’s yours. Also, a colleague dropped off an original equipment AM radio when he junked his 1951 Studebaker Champion back in the 1960s. It is also free for the asking. Back in the days, the only difference between the lower trimline and the upper trimline of the Ford and Chevrolet was a strip of chrome on the door and right hand sunvisor on the higher trim line. The lower trim line cost a little less and a right hand sun visor that was available aftermarket made a nice birthday or Christmas present for the wife, particularly in a package with a clip-on makeup mirror.
That reminded me. I think we had a car with just the driver’s sun visor. Can’t remember though what it was. Might have been the 60 Falcon or 60 something Stude lark. I think we’ve come a long way. I remember when back-up lights were an option and you only got them on the Fairlane 500 model in 57.
I guess making the V6 available only in the upper trim lines of the Camry is nothing new. When Chevrolet brought out the PowerGlide automatic transmission in 1950, it was only available in the upper DeLuxe trimline and was not available in the Standard trimline. In 1953, the “210” and Bel Air trim lines offered the PowerGlide and the PowerGlide equipped cars had the revamped engine with full pressure lubrication. On the lowest trim line, the “150” series, an automatic transmission with the updated engine was not available. This changed in 1954 when the “150” became available with the automatic transmission. My guess is that taxicab operators were beginning to use automatic transmissions and cabs were almost always the lowest trimline. Chevrolet, in,1955, offered all engine and transmission combinations across the board. Police fleets used the lowest trim lines, but the V8 was needed to catch the bad guys.
They don’t put 6 speed manuals in cars for top speed purposes. Nor for around town or for having fun in the twisties. The sixth gear is for running on the interstate at 70-75 at under 2000 rpm and quietly and serenely sipping the fuel.'
If someone was to lazy to shift gears to avoid lugging the engine why would they buy a manual?
It sounds to me like you have an automatic and are trying to justify your choice. You don’t have to, it is a choice 90 % of people make. Also automatics are adding the number of gears as well.
Magazine road testers when driving the 9 speed Jeep Grand Cherokee were unable to detect any conditions under which the car would use 9th gear.
My 4 cylinder Camry with a six speed automatic runs down the road at about 1900 rpm at 75 mph. At 5000 rpm that would be 197 mph. My car would never be in 6th with my foot down on the gas, but I like the 35 mpg at 75, the quietness and low engine wear 6th gear provides.
No, not justifying my choice. Nothing to justify. Merely joining the conversation with a personal observation.
I happen to prefer the greater low end torque and rapid acceleration of a bigger engine. But I also happen to prefer money in the bank to live on even more. So given a balanced choice between wants, needs and preferences and that the 4cylinders are quite adequate, I opted for the 4banger with a mild regret for giving up easy on demand faster acceleration when merging on the highway, passing, and occasional desire to be a lead foot. 