Sold the 4Runner for a new toy.

[Bill3508]

After not being real thrilled with the 4Runner for two years and only putting 10,000 miles on it I sold it yesterday. Bought a 2006 GTO. More of what I wanted in reality. My wife is not real happy but she will get over it.

Anyway it was nice being here and the 4 Runner is a nice vehicle, but just make sure you get what you want to begin with.

Only thing I have to sell from it is a let of Lloyd black matts, front, mid and rear cargo. I will post them in the buy/sell forum sometime.

Bill3508

 

[p nut]

Congrats, I guess. Never was a big fan of the new Lumina'....I mean GTO's. Styling wise, anyway. They are pretty fun, though. Gobs of power. Stay safe. Get a Valentine1, if you already haven't done so. You will need it. :bigok:

BTW, resale on that thing is going to suck. Domestic resale trends + V8 + future gas prices = nose dive into the red.

 

[Bill3508]

Resale won't be too bad. Limited run cars, great engine, clan type wanting. Same as the Impala SS 94-96. Should hold a decent value. What surprised me is how low the 4Runner values are right now. They are extremely cheap right now on the used and new market.

As far as the Valentine 1, I don't plan on speeding much, just starting out quick. Did the speeding thing many years ago so now its just about knowing its there when you need it.

Bill3508

 

[p nut]

Resale won't be too bad. Limited run cars, great engine, clan type wanting. Same as the Impala SS 94-96. Should hold a decent value. What surprised me is how low the 4Runner values are right now. They are extremely cheap right now on the used and new market.

I think it's SUV's/trucks in general. Gas hike scare has everyone scampering for Civics and such. Demand definitely isn't there, esp. if you're not in the snowy states.

 

[00void]

Congrats, I guess. Never was a big fan of the new Lumina'....I mean GTO's.

Lumina?

the looks are mild... kind of a sleeper if you ask me. my neighbor has one in red. nice car with tons of power. congrats!

 

[greyghost4x4]

Congrats on the new purchase, my friend has a GTO and loves it.

Evan

 

[p nut]

Lumina?

the looks are mild... kind of a sleeper if you ask me. my neighbor has one in red. nice car with tons of power. congrats!

I know they don't resemble each other TOO much, but I guess I was referring to the "plainness" of both models. Actually, the new Lumina SS looks more aggressive.

 

[RonMAIDEN]

I wouldn't say this car was a Limited run on purpose as it was discontinued due to poor sales and they are all over the net so it's a buyers market for a GTO right now and with those prices and the big engine it's appears the fun factor will be high for the price.

 

[00void]

I know they don't resemble each other TOO much, but I guess I was referring to the "plainness" of both models. Actually, the new Lumina SS looks more aggressive.

gotcha... i was gonna say that it was based off a Holden, haha.

i like the fact that it's 'plain'.

btw... photos with a % mark in the url won't display unless you import the pic in Photobucket, etc.

 

[Even Steven]

I wouldn't say this car was a Limited run on purpose as it was discontinued due to poor sales and they are all over the net so it's a buyers market for a GTO right now

Exactly. Pontiac just can't sell many of them. For some reason, the Mustang is still kicking ass and selling like crazy. The GTO has a great powertrain (almost Corvette!) but I think it is the styling that kills it. It certainly doesn't look anything like the older GTO.

 

[Bill3508]

I wouldn't say this car was a Limited run on purpose as it was discontinued due to poor sales and they are all over the net so it's a buyers market for a GTO right now and with those prices and the big engine it's appears the fun factor will be high for the price.

Its always a limited run with these type cars. They don't actually say "limited run series" but given the engine and the type of buyer for this car, the manufacturer knows buyers will be limited, and that sales will drop over time.

Bill3508

 

[Bill3508]

Exactly. Pontiac just can't sell many of them. For some reason, the Mustang is still kicking ass and selling like crazy. The GTO has a great powertrain (almost Corvette!) but I think it is the styling that kills it. It certainly doesn't look anything like the older GTO.

I don't have a problem with the mustangs, but I won't buy one. I won't support a company that tricks their customers with bogus horsepower numbers.

I actually like the mustang styling and they are everywhere, almost like Accords nowadays. Plus they sell like crazy because there is nothing else out there in an affordable American muscle car. Chevrolet handed Ford the entire muscle car market with the ending of the Camaro.

Bill3508

 

[Even Steven]

I don't have a problem with the mustangs, but I won't buy one. I won't support a company that tricks their customers with bogus horsepower numbers.

I actually like the mustang styling and they are everywhere, almost like Accords nowadays. Plus they sell like crazy because there is nothing else out there in an affordable American muscle car. Chevrolet handed Ford the entire muscle car market with the ending of the Camaro.

Bill3508

Hmmmm.... I remember the big HP fiasco with the 99 Cobras, but Ford made good on that issue and offered to bring every one of the cars up to the advertised HP rating. Since then, I don't believe they've had any HP rating issues, have they?

BTW, the Camaro is supposed to make a come back really soon. Have you seen the new one? It looks really good. But the Mustang was killing the Camaro in sales for a long time before they stopped making the Camaro. I think it has more to do with styling than anything else, because the Camaro had the edge in HP and acceleration for quite a few years, but still could not outsell the Mustang.

 

[Thai]

I won't support a company that tricks their customers with bogus horsepower numbers.

Well, Toyota fudging off-road stats for 4runner is almost the equivalent for a SUV.

 

[Bill3508]

Hmmmm.... I remember the big HP fiasco with the 99 Cobras, but Ford made good on that issue and offered to bring every one of the cars up to the advertised HP rating. Since then, I don't believe they've had any HP rating issues, have they?

BTW, the Camaro is supposed to make a come back really soon. Have you seen the new one? It looks really good. But the Mustang was killing the Camaro in sales for a long time before they stopped making the Camaro. I think it has more to do with styling than anything else, because the Camaro had the edge in HP and acceleration for quite a few years, but still could not outsell the Mustang.

I agree with the styling issues. While the Camaro did not outsell the Mustangs during that time, they were the other portion of the American muscle car market. When it ended it gave the whole share to Ford. I think it was a bad decision to totally abandon a whole part of the market to your competitor. I like the new Camaro and may consider it a couple years after it comes out. For now though, the GTO without the initial depreciation of a new car will do just fine.

Bill3508

 

[Jeff Kleb]

The late-model GTO had great potential, spoke softly & carried a big stick - and still had that awesome "sleeper" appearance. Fortunately, it did not carry on with that 'boy racer' look of the Grand Am and Grand Prix. Unfortunately, it was too much of a niche car and was almost doomed to fail. Right now, it is a buyer's market for them......but nobody knows what type of price one might bring as a 'collector car' sometime in the future.

Pontiac is coming out with a new, rear-drive car that is available with a very strong V8. For a four-door, it looks great and may lure some of the folks who might have been thinking about a GTO. They're calling this new car the G8, even though the base engine happens to be a V6.


Regarding the horsepower issue, I have a 2008 Mustang GT with the 4.6L SOHC V8 engine. It is "rated" at 300 ponies and 320 lb/ft of torque; and certainly feels much faster than the '88, '93 and '95 models (all 5.0L cars) that I have previously driven. The '88 and '93 had 225 hp - if memory serves me correctly - and the '95 was rated at 215 for some reason, even though it was just as fast as the two older cars.

Ford has slowly improved the 4.6L block since it was first used in the 1996 Mustang GT. The '96 to '98 cars were rated at 215 hp, upgraded to 260 in '99 or '00 and then bumped to 300 with the newest generation of the Mustang GT that came out for 2005. (I know that the Cobra models came forth with the DOHC version that was good for a lot more power, but I am speaking of the "base" GT here.)

Improved zero to sixty figures would coincide with the (claimed) added power - but may also owe something to traction control {which is now standard on the GT} and better tire technology. I suspect that the new GT is good for 300 hp, but that is probably under ideal condtions with spark timing set far ahead, the optional "shorter" axle ratio; and running on premium gasoline.
:awais:

Chevy ditched the Camaro/Firebird line because they perceived a need to build more trucks and SUVs, or at least that is what the car magazines said. GM did the same thing when they canceled the Chevy Caprice and switched their Arlington, TX plant over to truck assembly. (Police officers everywhere wept in silence over that one!)
:bash:

The Mustang often came up short in performance tests against the F-Bodies (Camaro, Firebird), but still outsold them by a landslide. I suspect it was quality issues more than anything else, as well as insurance premiums. Keeping a Mustang held together for 100k was not a big deal, but Camaros seemed to develop a lot of squeaks, rattles and leaks after just a few years. By the time GM rectified much of the problems and worked out the bugs, they ceased production altogether. (Can you say "Fiero" anyone?) The 2002 Camaro was a wonderful car - particularly the SS model. Undoubtedly, those will be collector's items in the future.

Chevy is re-starting the Camaro line for 2009, and the concept car photos I have seen in car magazines definitely bear a strong likeness to the 1969 model. Put a decent V8 in it, GM, and you will sell all of them you can build!

Chrysler is putting out a brand-new Dodge Challenger, which is supposed to be on sale by summer. As with the Camaro, the concept photos are excellent and remind me of the 1970 Challenger. Ironically, the new one will also have a "Hemi" under the hood - conservatively rated at 425 hp.

I love my Mustang, but love the idea that all of the "Big Three" have not abandoned the muscle car/pony car market. Competition will only help to keep Ford 'on their toes' and they're going to work harder if they are not the only game in town! Ford should not be the only company to succeed with the "retro" theme, ya know.
:biggrin2:

 

[Even Steven]

Unfortunately, I think tough economic times and high gas prices will definitely have a negative impact on the new muscle cars. Sure, the Mustang is a proven success with its excellent retro styling, but at the same time, I think this is bad timing for Dodge and Chevy to introduce their new musclecars.

If gas prices dropped to the levels that were were used to 4 or 5 years ago, I'm sure there would be many more people in line to get themselves a new V8-powered muscle car, but it sure seems like the majority of people are headed towards fuel efficiency these days.

I love muscle cars and SUVs as much as the next guy (I've had several V8 Mustangs and a few different SUVs), but even I can see why most people will look for efficiency in the future.

 

[Jeff Kleb]

Unfortunately, I think tough economic times and high gas prices will definitely have a negative impact on the new muscle cars. Sure, the Mustang is a proven success with its excellent retro styling, but at the same time, I think this is bad timing for Dodge and Chevy to introduce their new musclecars.

If gas prices dropped to the levels that were were used to 4 or 5 years ago, I'm sure there would be many more people in line to get themselves a new V8-powered muscle car, but it sure seems like the majority of people are headed towards fuel efficiency these days.

I love muscle cars and SUVs as much as the next guy (I've had several V8 Mustangs and a few different SUVs), but even I can see why most people will look for efficiency in the future.

Maybe so; you might be right. I have a Mustang GT, but it is not my daily driver. My 2002 Nissan Sentra fills that position, as it is "paid off" and gets much better gas mileage.

Besides, my GT is leased.....so I have to keep it under 15,000 miles per year.



P.S. I heard on the news today that gasoline will probably hit $4 a gallon by Memorial Day - just as "peak" travel season kicks in and we're using reformulated/oxygenated 'Summer Blend' fuels.
:bash: