4x4 Photos

Jeff396 · Nov 6, 2001

Sorry, maybe Neil said his truck was like a Tacoma and not a Tundra which would make it a V6 or straight 4. Can't remember where the original thread was. CRS syndrome at 40!!!!

Jeff

Jeff396 · Nov 6, 2001

I also remember that Toyota offered a diesel in their corolla for a short period of time. For some reason we on this side of the pond tend to shy away from diesels. Of course memories of that GM diesel where all they did was plug a gas engine to make it may still hang in the air. If I remember right it's life expectancy was about 20K miles. And don't even get me started on the 8-6-4 experiment from Cadillac!!!

Jeff

TerryinMD · Nov 6, 2001

Take ya one better.

My brother had a '81 Regal Diesel which was very good to him. So, he thought he'd buy a Caddy Diesel - got him a Coupe de Ville, 2dr. Well, he drove down to our neck of the woods from Pittsburgh and I took him down to the C&O Canal to show him what it was about. To get down to the canal, we have a hill that is pretty close to a 30% grade. No foolin. Short, but a killer. After our little walk up and down the canal, we had to drive back to the house. The stupid Caddy couldn't make it up the hill from the parking area. Just sat in the middle of the road on the middle of the hill blowing black smoke. I couldn't stop laughing. Got one of those "looks"!! /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif Well, we had to back down the hill a get a good running start. We made it, but under protest from that Caddy. Needless to say, bro' never brought that Caddy back down for a visit. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Terry

Bird · Nov 6, 2001

I certainly wouldn't deny the fact that GM erred with that 5.7L diesel, but I also can't help but wonder whether a lot of the problem was that the owners simply did not properly maintain them (which you might also blame GM for since they may not have adequately described proper maintenance for a diesel in the manuals). My brother had a Cadillac with the diesel and had no complaints, my brother-in-law ran an Olds diesel, and his only complaint was the low trade-in they offered him when it had way over 100k miles on it. An awful lot of people ran the same oil in those cars that they had been using in their gasoline engines with no thought given to using an oil rated for diesels. And yes, I know it was also not a good design.

TerryinMD · Nov 6, 2001

Bird,

You are probably right about the maintenance issue. The average Joe wasn't ready for the maintenance required for a diesel.

The only complaints my bro had were changing the oil and filters, batteries, and the biggest was the starter. Other than that he was very happy with it.

Trade in. Yuck!! His Diesel Regal was in near showroom condition. It was a beauty, Black with a red interior. Good fuel economy, etc. He parked in front of his house for the evening and a guy sideswiped the car with a pickup. Totaled it! Just an unfortunate accident, the pickup driver felt really bad. Anywho, bro' turned it into the insurance company. They looked it up in the books. Since it was in good shape, it was worth $5k +. Oh, what.... you say it's a diesel. Sorry, $2800!! Boy, was bro' peaved. Took it to the state for arbititration and was told. Sorry, too bad. That's the blue book value. Can't help you. Damn shame. But, what can you do.

Terry

njrqs · Nov 6, 2001

Gee you guys have BIG trucks !!

We have the Suburban here which I think must be a Chev. It is big nut no-one buys them. Our fuel here is around 90c/litre which would be about $2/gallon - Is that dear ??

My Hilux is a 4 cyl 2.8 Litre diesel. Diesels are very popular here due to the price of fuel and their reliability.

Their maintenance is less than a petrol as their are no tune-ups etc. just do oil & filter every 5000km. They are expensive to rebuild as I know $6000 Aus !!

The hilux here only comes with a 4cyl diesel or 4 cyl petrol.

We used to have a 4-Runner which the Japs call a Surf. They have a V6. The engines vary wildly from country to country. I am pretty sure it is a Tacoma. Does it look familiar??

Cheers

Neil from OZ.

cowboydoc · Nov 6, 2001

Yea I agree with you Neil. You other guys that mentioned the higher maintenance with a diesel what are you talking about? I hear that all the time but don't get it. There is actually less maintenance with a diesel than with a gasoline engine.

Bird · Nov 6, 2001

Neil, the Chevrolet/GMC Suburban is also known and advertised as "The National Car of Texas"./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif They're everywhere around here. One of my brothers drives a '99 model, but at $34,000 to buy one and 15mpg, a little rich for my blood.

Edited by Bird on 11/06/01 04:22 PM (server time).

Jeff396 · Nov 6, 2001

I'll agree with that. Still, I do cringe when buying the necessary 3 1/2 gallons of oil and the $10.00 oil filter. I think I had it done once at a quickie lube and the grand total was around $50.00!!! I do know I'm making out like a bandit with the gas mileage and it will more than make up for it in the long run though. Oh, and the your truck does look like a Tacoma to me. They really need to market it over here, it would do well I'm sure!

Jeff

Edited by Jeff396 on 11/06/01 04:29 PM (server time).

njrqs · Nov 6, 2001

How much is fuel (gas ?) over there. I know it will vary, as it does here from region to region but I hear it is "cheap as chips"

Now there's another Aussie saying for you !!

Cheers

Neil from OZ.