Hey i guess back in the mid 90's i may have been a *****. I had a Nissan zx Turbo, really difficult and expensive back then to find aftermarket parts for foreign cars though. You didn't see a foreign car "hot rodded" back then. It just didn't happen.

 

I agree the 350 rocks. I have had a few American rides. 71 Montecarlo 350 89 silverado 350, 2001 GMC jimmy 4.L3 and 1999 S10 2.2L.

I got the S10 new 0 miles and it made me never want American again so many thing went wrong I got rid of it after 15k miles. The jimmy I got for winters here same story got it used at 40k and at 65k miles it had so many problems just not worth my time. On the flip side my honda hit 260K with nothing more than a radiator and a new clutch and my toyota has nothing new with original clutch at 185K.

Just a bad experience I love the 350 but not a fan of the crappy plastic interiors and interesting construction. But I would still buy GM over ford and dodge.

Trust me I love America my job is to make soldiers lives better I am just not a fan of how we have lost our way in manufacturing. Similarly I will probably never own a harley.

 

Alright, I suppose I'll post here! (Puts up flame shield).

My daily driver is a Celica. However, it is just that, a DD. I originally picked it up a few years back as something on the sporty side (even if it's pretty slow), but economical on fuel (is that blasphemy to even mention here? ), and it's served it's purpose well at that.

However, at heart, I'm really more of a domestic guy, and ultimately, the thought of owning a third gen still remained on my mind. I found a cheap one for sale and decided to buy it as a project car. It's been a longer term project for sure, and had it's PITA moments, but at the same time, it's been a rewarding journey thus far! Plus these cars are just way fun to drive! Plus I've learned many things about cars in the process.

Speaking of rice, it's not just limited to import cars. I've seen a Ford escort station wagon driving around w/no hood on and a fart cannon, and just the other day, I saw a 4 door Cavalier w/the most ridiculous metal wing ever!

For the record, I like all cool, fast cars. But you can't beat the classics!

 

^^ there was a video of a riced out mustang floating around.

and i've actually seen many guys with f-bodies, have a civic or something similar as their daily driver

 

There are a lot of riced out mustangs around here most have V6s also a lot of riced out cobalts and cavs.

 

well I'm no longer a *****. :-( wife made me sell the rx7 and instead I now drive a buick.
not so fun. hoping to talk her into letting me get another rx7 though as I've a hankering for one real bad but with one kid here and one on the way another 2 seater car doesnt' seem like a viable option. if nothing else trying to talk her into a bimmer maybe though. at least I won't be a ***** anymore with one of them right?

 

I own both a third gen and a honda civic, and I love them both. One thing I must say is those damn honda's can somehow easily handle a beating my camaro could never take. Nothing better than being able to slide around a corner with raw power as opposed to a hand brake tho, just sayin =)

 

I went from my Iroc TO a honda.
Got tired of being broke down all the time.

 

.... are you sure you didn't mean you got tired of not being broke down enough?

 

Are you talking mechanical failures or just chasing down bad sensors? Most of the problems with these cars are old fuel injection sensors gone bad. From my experience ,mine has been the most mechanically sound car i have ever owned. Put it this way, I may be getting a turbo Volvo wagon soon,but do i expect it to be more reliable than my thirdgen? Probably not.

 

mechanical or sensor related, a break down is still a breakdown.

 

No, maintenance is maintenance. All fuel injector sensors fail soon or a later after 20 years or so.

 

true most everything over time will fail. quality parts with quality build will last longer though. injector sensors will fail and break just like rods, and cranks and such can break over time as well as the parts get stressed and fatuiged.
so in the end a broken part is still a broken part.

 

Exactly.

 

I'm an ex import guy, up until 6 months ago i owned a daily driven 93 del sol with a turbo built engine pushing 432whp so it wasn't so bad lol but i do enjoy my camaro's torque!

 

no lie have 2007 camry and tacoma2008 when it comes to power it has to have a bowtie onit

 

In 2000 I bought an 87 Starion. PO had it since '89, and it was his first car, and the only car he ever owned until I bought it from him. Drove it hard on several trips from IL to MT in the three years I owned it, it never gave me any trouble, handled great, and with it's near 20 gallon fuel tank was a great road car too. I owned an 87 Honda VFR 700 for 19 years..it was stolen, but I still have the title. I have owned two LU5 third gens, and one L69 IROC, all of them had LS Conteur seats, damn I was lucky...Today I own an 06 Harley, and am trying to purchase an original owner 82 Z28. I miss my third Gens...all of you that have one are fortunate.

 

I just picked up an '98 Civic DX hatch 1.6 litre with a 5 speed for a winter beater. Great condition. Topped out at 180K miles but fitted with a whole heaping of new parts and the engine purrs like new.

I swear this thing gets 40+ mpg EASY and is a whole lot of fun zipping around town. So far so good.

But it's not rice (modded) to any degree. SUPER great on gas and just a great little grocery getter!

 

Those D series motor are some good motors. Honestly honda makes some realiable f'in engines. I drove an Accord last year with the F22B1. I ran the engine on 2 quarts of oil the year I had it. I bought if off my friend for 200 bucks. He bought it and it sat for a year lol. I just put 200 bucks worth of brakes and a alternator and she was good to go.

 

I had a ek with a b16a2 swaped in it... All black, slammed, mugen lip kit... To me it was special even though u could smell gasoline through the A/C vents... I miss that car...

There is a little ***** in all of us...

 

never owned a rice burner or anything even out of the gm family, unless you'd count my old 97 grand am (built in Canada)

 

Wow scrapped all the fords lol

 

Just picked up an '04 Accord from my sister. Wouldnt call it ***** since its all stock and never will sound like one.

 

This is my fleet. one is rice. A 1995 Miata. love it though very fun car.

 

i traded my 99 rice civic for my 91 vert

that

for

that

 

My first car was an 85 Celica 5 speed. LOVED it. Last year for RWD. Wasn't rice, just an import. Its kinda funny to see members on here call other cars rice but their cars are just as bad, but they do it to an American car, so its "ok" (no one in particular, just making a generalization based on all the hacking up i see on here). Let the import owners destroy their imports, lets keep the domestics runnin strong!

 

nope never. 81 malibu, 84 firebird, 93 grand marquis, 90 dodge van, 88 iroc, 94 z28, 94 bronco, 79 bronco, 94 k1500, 91 RS.

not only would i not buy import, but anything without a v8 makes me cringe.

 

Yeah, had a 1991 MR2 as a kid and built several ricers including supercharged civics and Mitsubishi eclipse turbo cars. Also had the T/A, camaro, vette, etc. Then went to Z06, 2 different lambos and also some different bikes. Just recently wanted another 3rd gen GTA so I bought one and enjoying it just as much as all the other cars I have owned.

 

I used to be a r i c e r with a 4G63 Mitsubishi turbo 4-pot powered pair of inline skates. Each foot had 4 MT slicks in a row, so it hooked really good. Pulled 1.2 second 60' times if I could keep my balance. I eventually got sick of them being more for track use, and swapped on a 3.2 litre S54 inline 6 out of a BMW M3. They don't make peak torque until almost 5,000 revs, so there isn't much of a problem with traction, really good swap for the street.

Then I moved on to bigger and better things. Specifically my left wheel drive, Pagani Zonda 7.3 litre powered Chevy Cavalier. Basically it's all wheel drive, but with two open diffs, so really it's left wheel drive. And the engine is mounted in the backseat for better weight distribution.

Eventually kept on moving up in life. First came the Saleen S7 twin turbo, then the SSC Ultimate Aero twin turbo, Ferrari F430, Lamborghini Reventon, McLaren F1, Bugatti Veyron Super Sport. But in the end I sold everything, gave the money away, and bought myself another pair of nice simple rollerblades.

But seriously, can I see these supposed Lamborghinis?

 

Always been a chevy guy, only rice i own are bikes, <3 Kawasaki

 

I had the extreme displeasure of owning an 89 240sx coupe that i paid $600 for. It had a dual cam 4 banger and coilovers. no fart can or wing. It was the worst car i ever owned. it was ALWAYS broken. I lost a roll race to an 80's prelude and put the car up for sale that day. sold it for 2 grand ( I'm not sure how) and bought my '84 Z28. That was one of the happiest days of my life. I'll never own another 240sx again.

 

Closes I've ever had to a rice car was a free 92 Dodge Shadow with a 4 cly of some kind and a 5 speed, didn't really care what the car had as ling as it ran. Sounding kinda like a ***** cause of the holes in the exhaust, lol. Drove that free car for a year till it need mire work than we wanted to put into it. Then it made its last trip to the scrapper and we got $300 for it

 

i had a 96 mits eclipse with a 2.0 turbo with a 5 spd i loved the sound of the boost spooling up and when ya shift that whistling sound but nothing compares to the sound of pure muscle one day i'll have both of both worlds and build me a turbo trans am besides rwd is so much funner :-)

 

1994 Nissan Skyline GTS-t, modified, I had it up to 285kmh/177mph, only sold it for a house deposit.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=MdtZfqZ8R5E


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=XHm90ewAeEM

 

My daily driver is a 99 Civic Si, has aftermarket shifter ****, springs, struts, and muffler. Gets 30-40 mpg and corners as good as anything I have owned, it is also fun to wind it up to 8000 rpm once in a while.

 

I think all of the manufacturers have good models and bad models. In 2001 I got a 98' honda accord with 85k miles on its 3.0L V-6. We bought it from a family friend who had it serviced exclusively by the dealership. By 100k miles it had developed 11 problems. Sold that pos, worst car I ever owned. Even the mileage wasnt any good! 18/21mpg.

Problems on the honda:
1. Transmission was about to die, car could not shift properly. Common problem for honda to mate an auto behind v-6's.
2. Engine no start condition. Looking back, it was likely an intermittently failing relay.
3. Side door trim flew off one day while driving down the road. Car was forever nosiy after that from wind.
4. Headlight went out.
5. Brake pad broke in HALF and fell off the car. Needed new rotors thanks to that. The remaining half of the pad had over 50% life left.
6. Rear window defogger went out.
7. Keyless entry transmitter stopped working, not a battery.
8. Check engine light dash bulb burned out.
9. Shifter handle broke off, always had to have a pen in the car to shift out of park after that.
10. Radio deck buttons stopped working.
11. Alignment was eating tires up every 8k miles. Honda does not manufacture adjustable camber on select models, this was one of them. Thats fine for a brand new car, but with time, pot holes happen, curb checks happen, springs sag, etc. Engineering a car without an adjustable camber is not smart engineering.

After owning that car, I never looked back at Honda. I wanted to stab the consumer report magazine that said it was all that. Unfortunatly it was only after that bad experience that I counted all the Honda adds in consumer reports and suddenly realized who was funding that magazine.

My dad thinks Jap crap is the bomb, and so he has bought a corola S and a Toyota Tundra. The tundra was the only vehicle he ever owned that I had to repair for him while still under warranty, and he gets new trucks every 5ish years That says something. At 50k miles he traded it in, dissapointed in Toyota's service, or lack thereof. His corola S is currently not driveable because it needs a new transmission. But it lasted 145k miles so thats certaintly better than that pos honda.

Because of these experiences and the fact that my 1992 S-10 has been a daily driver for 4 years and has not made us miss or even be late to work once in that time, despite being 20 years old, it will be a cold day in hell before a Honda or Toyota sits in my driveway again. Something else worth noting, the factory ac in that truck worked 17 years before it needed a recharge. Been 3 years and still holding freeon. One of the best *knock on wood* vehicles I have ever owned. I hate to say it, but it's allready more reliable than my 40k mile firebird. Thus why I say, I think they all have good and bad models. Personaly I think the 3rd gen is not one of GM's more reliable products. But I still like em.

 

Yea all cars have their issues and there are some lemons out there. My S10 was so bad the dealer bought it back under the lemon law after the second trans went in 15k miles. They also replaced most of the plastic interior that cracked.

So lets see in 15k miles my s10 got

2 new trans
1 new clutch
1 new PS pump
a new dash
a new radio
a new key cylinder (stopped needing a key)
new passenger mirror because the mirror fell out on the highway
1 new front spring because it cracked.

I loved when GM told me they would replace the air pump on my jimmy for free but if I wanted to "upgrade" to a intake hose that does not take in water during rain I needed to pay for it.

I really hate made in china assembled in mexico

In general I think Jap cars last longer because they are made in america with jap parts vs made in mexico with china parts.

I love my thirdgen but the interior plastic is the cheapest plastic china can offer and you can tell GM really cheaped out on the drive train. Never the less it is a fun car that I enjoy but I don't know if I would take it on a trip over 100 miles without AAA and a fire extinguisher.

 

The 93+ s-10 are among gm's worst vehicles, and shame on them for designing them. It sounds like yours was competing for a record heh. You see more Gen 1's on the roads than gen 2's, and thats saying something. I have had the best luck with buying early-mid 90's gm vehicles that are still mostly branded with made in america parts. As an example my third gen is loaded with parts that are branded with made in america. One of the parts that doesnt work properly(my fuel gauge) is made in japan though :O. But I have had wonderful luck with those pre-deconstruction of Americas industry era cars. Back to the topic, I forgot to mention that when that awful accord was running(seriosly that starter relay was leaving me stranded over 15% of the time, which is a lot), I took it to the track and it managed a 15.7et in the 1/4, I didn't expect that, but was plesantly suprised. Other than that, no, I did not race it. I just take every car I own to the track. *shrugs* But thats about as close to a ***** as I ever got. Now with the economy as bad as it is, I don't care what kind of car the other guy has. I see something with a wing and a muffler and I just think to myself "right on, he's keeping the dream of street racing alive". Here in spring I have found mayube 5 races in 4 years. Most people are too busy texting to even try to race in their sports cars.

 

I have a 96 s10, 185k and no problems, engine was rebuilt around 155k due to headgasket failure, ive heard of a few others having similar head gasket issues, thats the only major problem I could point out

 

Thats good news. I personaly have never owned one but have heard many stories. I actually was going to buy one because I realy like how they look but all the horror stories discouraged me.

 

I guess you can add me to the list of current ricers....Although mine has a DOHC V8 engine with 32 valves and fairly quick in stock form for what it is. Runs 9.60s in the 1/8 at 74 mph despite weighing in over 5,000 lbs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-vgl5UaCFY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFcZTMjUt1Q

My Titan is practically stock with a magnaflow muffler and an AirAid 4" CAI. The Ford was also stock. The Red Ram had a mild cam, long tube headers, and catless dual exhaust.

It is pretty funny when my Titan and the Tundra are assembled in the USA using mostly parts built and assembled in the USA.

 

I finally did it. Decided to get a new car last year. I still drive my 86 IROC some. I'm working on a 74 Camaro LT a little at a time now (Bumble Bee clone when I get done with it is the plan) and sooner or later I hope to have my 81 Z28 back on the road.

However, the car I drive the most these days is a 2011 Genesis Coupe in Interlagos Yellow with the 3.8 Track options. 306 hp, 275 lb/ft of torque, 6 speed manual transmssion, runs, stops and corners as well as I need it to. I'm getting 22 to 23 mpg running around town. Great for trips, too (comfortable seats, good radio, etc.

I won't get rid of my Camaros and when I retire they'll get driven more as they'll be used for short trips to WalMart, the car parts place, etc.

Looked at the new Camaro (whoever said it looks like a 69 must have been drinking) but these days Chevrolet just nickle and dimes you to death on the price of options compared to the Coupe. Also, the warranty on the Hyundai was unbeatable. I got an extended (10 years, 100,000 miles bumper to bumper, not just the power train) for an additional $1200.

I bought my wife a new Ford Fusion 2 years ago for two reasons. First was my old F150 4WD had just over 250,000 miles on it with no major issues and my newer Chevy 4WD (2005) has had rear end oil leak issues, brake issues, radio/CD player died, AC occasionally won't run but 15 minutes later it will work fine, occasional check engine lights for the fuel vapor capture system that go away the next time you start it up, etc., etc. And reason #2 was Ford didn't take the Obama bail out money. Got the Fusion and saw it was made in Mexico? An "American" car made in Mexico?? Anyway, the wife love's her Fusion and I love my Coupe and I own all the Chevys now that I'll ever own.

 

Sorry if you want a car actually made in America you gotta get a Honda, Toyota or a corvette.

 

Had a '72 RX2 with a 12A and a 51MM Weber... dropped to the stops. Raced ITC with it. FUN little car. Think 280 HP Yugo, LOL.

 

first car was an 89 Mazda b2200 1.9l with a camper shell
next was a 89 christler new yorker next was a 94 saturn sl 2 4dr 1.9l sohc 5 speed with a suspension upgrade and cut a hole in the hood for a ram air box setup never dynoed but pretty shure it would of made about 110-120hp ish with the custom grind cams (lol) after that was a 96 ford escort 1.9l with the same ram air setup was a dd for a long time till i wanted to pull the e brake and slide it at about 75mph in the rain then came my first love my 1994 pontiac grand prx gt 3.4l dohc 250ish hp with a cold air/ram intake through the louvers on the hood i smoked so many of my friends with this land yacht and even my camaro was smoked by it for about 3 months. and finally i purchased a 1989 camaro rs 305 tbi midnight blue with sliver flake t top and over the course of about a year i replaced the tbi heds with milled and slightly ported tpi heads 1.6-1 roller rockers and a healthy little cam i fabbed a 454 throttle body setup and custom chip 700r4 out of a corvette with a shift kit and a 1500 stall 4th gen ss rear dont know the gears but it was posi and a quaint little 50 shot to top it all off made me about 295 hp 365 tq off nitrous and a quick 325hp 387 tq on the juice high 13s off the spray and low 13s on it until i put it into the median last year (rip my last love) i will probably be buying another 1 this year but ill probably drop in a bit of suspension this time no more squishy corners so no real r****s i guess

 

Oh Boy, well ready for hate. Just puchased a 2011 corolla. 1.8 liter 26/36. I know you guys talk about your coke bottles but this thing is faster then a stock third. Also 0-60 as fast as my LS1. I have a spot out on the road, floor it and go. Between the 3 most I could get on the two thirds was 55 once, mostly 50mph. With the LS1 61, always. With this 63. Now top speed all day the Ls1. And proably the third if it didnt rattle apart. No i am not a kid who will put stickers all over, tape a wing on and wear my hat backwards, just facts.

 

Im gonna call BS on this one considering the toyota has 132 hp and 128 ft/lbs of torque and is only available with that engine and weighs 2723 lbs so unless you're LS1 is only putting down 200hp I can't see this even being possible.

 

not gonna lie ive been every thing......im still a honda/ford guy as much as you guys might not like it


i had a 93 civic coupe JDM B16A type R cams,high comp pistons,skunk 2 intake,OBX header
5 speed B16 trans with LSD,mugen short shifter,Zoom Stage 3 clutch

Tokico blues with skunk 2 springs and OBX lower control arms Rota Jspl rims

the car was extremely simple i didnt consider it rice at all





this is at Honda Day at Englishtown raceway park

annndd....where they filmed clerks

heres my 82GT mustang (the beater)

 

And my baby my old 1980 Notchback...origonaly a 4 cyl 4 speed car converted to a 5.0/5 speed it ran 12.7 on the 1/4

 

Mm Pistol Grip. Literally the only shifter-handle I will ever use. I bought one (same as above) after trying it out on my buddies 89GT 5.0 (He had the all black version). It was for my Z31. Let me say, my gears hated me after this upgrade, yes, this was an upgrade to me. I was slamming gears like I was a professional gearbox destroyer. One day, my IROC will see the same care.