Chicago Auto Show

I'm tired of hearing these exaggerated mileage claims. I have NEVER, in my life, no matter how ell I maintained a vehicle, no matter how new it was even came REMOTELY close to the claimed mileage figure.

1. Lucky Bast...
2. Thanks for the run-down. I guess I should have gone to the Boston show, Eh?

Thanks for the detailed post.

What this all goes to show is that Japan is as out of touch with what American males want as Detroit is.... Give us a midsize pickup with a

Had you gone 15-20 years ago, you might have run into me handing out bags!

My pleasure (really!)

It is not maintenance that determines your mileage. It is payload, driving conditions, and most importantly, driving technique. I have driven over 100 different Toyotas and I always get at or better than the EPA mileage figures. I believe there are others in this group who routinely get equal to or better than EPA figures in Toyotas.

Good report.

Have you ever stopped to think that you're too dull-witted to use a calculator?

I forgot to mention that I was very impressed that Lincoln Mercury had a sign language interpreter signing while the male model gave his pitch. It is the first and only time I have seen this and thought that it was very considerate.

thanks!

THAT qualification would make me a LIEbrawl, a DEMONrat or both.

If DEMONrats used calculators they just might understand that one does NOT cure poverty by throwing money at it.

Most informative Ray thanks...

You, Middle-aged Asian-American Guy, were once a "Booth Babe"?!? Who'da thunk it?... Must have /really/ good legs... That's a picture that'll be seared on my retinas... ;-P

(I could take this a LOT further, but I'll be nice and stop here. Not that you have to explain the maniacal laughter coming from your office or anything - they already know...) ;-)

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You're welcome

Sorry, but that's not it - because the old pushrod models were fuel drinkers. Like it or not, OHC is here to stay until they come up with something better.

We want a truck that gets up and moves LIKE it has a big engine when we see a vehicle approaching on a potential collision course and need to do the "Boot Scootin' Boogie" and be somewhere else, NOW. You can do this with proper design and/or forced induction.

If I call up the engine room to order up Flank Speed and get an answering machine - "Your call is important to us, please hold..."

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My experience with CAFE figures generally, and I buy a lot of vehicles, is that one will get 2 to 4 MPG better than the highway figure when driving exclusively on the highway and 3 to 4 MPG fewer than the city mileage when diving exclusively in the city ;)

mike hunt

LOL! Besides the models and dealership salespersons, Toyota has at least one Toyota employee at the show to make sure the salespersons are doing their job, answer questions that the salespersons do not know the answer to, and to take care of any problems with the displays. You do get to meet all sorts of people and handle some unusual situations. I've had to separate salesmen who were arguing over who was going to work with a very pretty young lady, pull mangled tapes out of VCRs, and politely tell a guy who claimed that he tore his snakeskin cowboy boots on the corner of one of the displays that he should have obeyed the signs that said "keep off displays." When the show is over, getting the cars out of there is a challenge because the gas tanks have usually been drained by order of the fire department and customers pull pieces out of the engine compartment and dash that are needed to start engines.

The San Francisco auto show is held around Thanksgiving, and when I was first hired, I got Thanksgiving day for the first two years because I was low man on the totem pole and didn't have any family in the S.F. Bay area. I'd moved up enough on the totem pole that I didn't have to work the shows during my last few years. The Boston regional office covered the Boston, MA and Providence RI shows. The nice part about working the shows is preferred parking, the bad part is that you are so busy that you generally do not get to see any displays but your own.

Mike,

How do you like the Zephyr compared to the LS?