Consumer Reports: Saturn

In article .com>,
wrote:


> The automatics in my 2006 and 2001 Odyssey are/were very good, knock on
> wood...

I've noticed a whirring noise in 5th on my dad's. It's been getting
louder. And an odd whirr that shifts with transmission shifting while
parked. I suspect it's something starting to get some real play to it.
This at 60,000 miles.

Look, for a modern car driven mostly on the highway, I consider 125,000
miles without issue on an automatic to be the bare minimum. This isn't
1960 anymore. Last 2 GMs with automatics we've had both passed that
number with quite a bit to spare, and the last one was the dreaded
THM125C - it was only starting to act bad around 200,000 miles.

Oh yes - don't change the clutch clearances on the 3rd gear clutch on a
recent Honda slushbox. Shop manual says you gotta replace the whole
freaking PCM if you do...


> Yeah, I didn't have major powertrain issues, either. Other than the
> alternator and a wheel bearing, my first SL2 was very reasonable,
> especially considering it was a first year model of a brand new
> vehicle.

I find my SC2 eats radiators like candy. Other than that, no biggie.
Oh yeah, had to do a failing PS pump seal at 190k. Big $5 and a
borrowed tool from autozone.

wrote:

> This new effort by informedforlife.org is certainly a step in the right
> direction, even if it isn't perfect. The IIHS is getting lots of media
> attention today with it's brand new top safety picks, while this
> unknown website will probably never get a fraction of that publicity.
> It seems word of mouth and link exchanges will have to do until the
> media takes notice. It's too bad, because using just the IIHS
> selections doesn't include the NHTSA crash tests, rollover ratings,
> stability control or vehicle weight, all of which are important factors
> to an overall safety evaluation as well.

For crash tests, the IIHS frontal offset test is a better test than the
NHTSA frontal impact test, so no loss there.

Interesting to see that the new Civic is the only small car that is top
rated in all categories by IIHS. Also interesting that the Jetta is now
considered a mid-size, along with the Passat.

So there is now ONE small car on the market that is top-rated for
safety, gets at least 40 MPG, and, if history is any indication, will be
very reliable. Guess Honda won't be doing much discounting on the Civic
anymore.

SMS wrote:

> For crash tests, the IIHS frontal offset test is a better test than the
> NHTSA frontal impact test, so no loss there.

Unless, of course, you are in a full frontal impact, which is about as
common or more (depending on the study) than a frontal offset crash.
In such a crash, the potential loss would be to someone who unwisely
overlooked the complementary NHTSA ratings. According to the IIHS:

"Full-width and offset tests complement each other. Crashing the full
width of a vehicle into a rigid barrier maximizes energy absorption so
that the integrity of the occupant compartment, or safety cage, can be
maintained well in all but very high-speed crashes. Full-width
rigid-barrier tests produce high occupant compartment decelerations, so
they're especially demanding of restraint systems. In offset tests,
only one side of a vehicle's front end, not the full width, hits the
barrier so that a smaller area of the structure must manage the crash
energy. This means the front end on the struck side crushes more than
in a full-width test, and intrusion into the occupant compartment is
more likely. The bottom line is that full-width tests are especially
demanding of restraints but less demanding of structure, while the
reverse is true in offsets. "

Fortunately, most vehicles do pretty well in both the IIHS and NHTSA
frontal crash tests these days. It's about time for both of them to
increase the speed of their testing to differentiate vehicles a little
more.

> Interesting to see that the new Civic is the only small car that is top
> rated in all categories by IIHS. Also interesting that the Jetta is now
> considered a mid-size, along with the Passat.
>
> So there is now ONE small car on the market that is top-rated for
> safety, gets at least 40 MPG, and, if history is any indication, will be
> very reliable. Guess Honda won't be doing much discounting on the Civic
> anymore.

I'm surprised stability control wasn't at least an option on the new
Civic. I suppose they are saving it for a mid-cycle introduction.
Assuming good NHTSA crash test results, the Civic appears to the best
choice in class for safety, though the Corolla is also worth
consideration.

Caviller
www.car-safety.org

Well, back in the day CR highly recommended the 1976 Dodge Aspen. My Father
bought one on their report. The rest is history. For those too young to know
what an Aspen is, do a google and you will find that it was the biggest pile
of crappo built on four wheels.

Also, later they said that the mid 1980s Impala/Caprice was a great
"handling car whereas the BMW 320i had tricky hanling. They should stick to
toasters."fish" > wrote in message
news:XTfif.2134$tg3.142@trnddc02...
> None of the Saturn cars for the 2006 New Car Preview edition of Consumer
> Reports have been recommended.
>
> Saturn: A different kind of company.
>
> --
> ______________
> =====fish=====
>
>