raced a mustang in my Q today!

[Jesda]

Its the ugliest heap on earth, with crappy build quality. But no doubt, its fast and its a bargain, and fairly easy to service.

[Cold_Zero]

You do have to hand it to Dodge, they are shaking things up. Hopefully the rest of the car makers will take notice.

[elwesso]

I agree with that.... And the chrysler corporation in general.....

MB gets worse and chrysler gets better, it all evens out!!!!

[ScottJackson]

They better build a 300C with a twin turbo Viper V10... and keep it halfway affordable. You may say I'm a dreamer, and maybe the only one that's dreaming of a car like that. I'm scoping a Datsun 280Z at the moment... planning on getting aftermarket front and rear bumpers/air dam, drop in Ford 460 with GM 4L60 auto trans, paint it ferrari silver, put Ferrari emblems on it and redo the interior, and see how many suckers think it's a ferrari. I think this dream is far more likely than the TT V10 300C. Wow, this post was really on subject.

[Altiman94]

U cant say its bad build quality without atleast driving one. Ive seen many q's with their leather about ready to fall out the window. I love the seats in those things, they hold you like there is no tomorrow. I would say its a true race inspired car. Im tired of ppl hating on its. Its a wolf in sheeps clothing.

[Altiman94]

how is it bad built quality if its fast and handles good?

[Jesda]

Yeah, but most Qs have 120k-450k on the odometer and look nearly new after 10-15 years. Chrysler lowballs for parts suppliers, and thats what hurts them. Theyre manufacturing processes are otherwise highly regarded.

The SRT-4 lives up to the muscle car philosophy. Take a cheap everyday car, give it insane power [without an insane price], and call it good.

-Jesda

[1qckser]

I must say, I have ridden in the SRT-4 and gotto admit that the fun factor is waaaay up high in that thing, the car pulls hard as hell from a higway roll, once again I am a car guy and appreciate things for what they are worth, if he wants a NEON nothing wrong with that, hell I want a EVO8 and right now they are having all kinds of trans problems, leaky headgaskets and a few other lil issues, but boy oh boy do they haul a$%, RYAN have you driven an STI yet? I think you will really like it, here is a freinds shop who specializes in the wrexes. The yellow one is a stock block 2.0 that ran 12.20 @ 111 @ Lebenon Valley New York, this is where I dynoed the Q last winter, the Silver Supra belongs to AL, its puts out a lil over 800 hps.http://www.xxtuning.com/store/index.php

[1992Q45A]

Only a reggie wrx unfortunately.

I can only imagine what the STI is like

It's nice were getting back to turbo performance that was last seen in the middle 90s

I don't know how you could possibly bash on the Neon. 20-25k won't get you much now adays. It's nice you can finally get some good boosted power for cheap. The neon is perfect at what it tries to do. Kudos to dodge

[1992Q45A]

Jesda,

What about the new legacy? It has the turbo engine (detuned sti, basically) Easily boostable.. Nice subtle lines, and a nice interior

[Altiman94]

Jesda, I dont see where you are coming from here. A car with 120-190k+ miles being in good condition has little to do with the build quality of the car itself. It has mostly to do with how good the owner(s) have taken care of the car. How many srt-4's out there have 140k on them already anyhow?

[Altiman94]

also, your 90-93 Q has major major major ( cant even say major enough times) chain guide problems. Wouldnt that qualify as poor build quality? I don tmean to bash the Q or you in any way, but what you said makes no sense at all and is completely untrue.

[elwesso]

Alty think about the chain guides this way.....

Regardless of if they were made of out plastic, They still usually last for well over 100k... Also, many manufacturers use timing belts (which I am totally against, will never own a belt driven cam), and say for instance 2 full timing belt jobs on a Lexus LS400 equal one of the guide jobs, but you only have to do it once... Over the course of 250k, even with bad guides its STILL cheaper...

I dont think its as bad as you think, as we've seen MANY owners go a long time without replacing the guides, and while they were on borrowed time, the majority can go a long time...

then again if you own a 94 its no issue...

[1992Q45A]

The guides were built with the japanese car buying public in mind. That is cars are only driven for a short time, then traded in/sold. Same thing happens with tons of japanes products, even computers.

It was an oversight for the american market for sure. However I doubt if the dodge interior will hold up as well, or the paint, or anything for that matter

[sijoko]

I had a 90 Q45 before my 94 Q45.

The first thing that I noticed when I drove the 94 was that it was not as fast as my old 90 Q45.

So I set about to rectify that.

Now, I prefer the 94 Q45.

The 94 is held back by the higher 1st and 2nd gears. Once, you mod the 94 Q with the earlier trans. and 4.08 gears, you will not suffer many losses on the road.

-sijoko

[Altiman94]

well, Id still say the neon is not of any worse build quality than most cars on the road. Its fast, and it's pretty good looking as well. Perhaps you are right on the chain guides, but everyone around here acts like they are a ticking time bomb.

[pito11213]

Yeah the 94 is definately pretty. Yeah the 90 is definately fast.

Not corvette fast but then again I can have 4 passengers enjoy my speed and comfort

[pito11213]

well, Id still say the neon is not of any worse build quality than most cars on the road. Its fast, and it's pretty good looking as well. Perhaps you are right on the chain guides, but everyone around here acts like they are a ticking time bomb.

NO WAY!!!!

Wait until owners of the neon start hearing the squeaks when they hit a bump. How about the plastic squeakes. How about when they try to use the center armrest and hear the dreaded squeak. My Q is 14 years old and I still dont hear squeaks. All I hear is the motor subtle growl.

[maxnix]

well, Id still say the neon is not of any worse build quality than most cars on the road.

Oh really? How many five year old Neons are on the road? They are tin cans.

The early G50 chain guide issue is a design flaw, not a quality control issue. Many cars have had them, the latest being Jaguar.

[Altiman94]

this is not any neon, its almost a totally diferent car. You guys just have ur heads up ur butt and only like ur q's. Im an appreciator of all guys that are fast. I don't care if its import/domestic or otherwise. If it's fast it deserves some props. The srt4 definitely is a fast car.

[pito11213]

Alti Do you think your the only guy to drive a neon or something.

I owned a 1998 neon r/t with 10,000 miles on it.

Just because it is a highline neon doesn't make it a non-dodge.

The price is kept low but going sub-par on other materials.

No one is debating whether the car is fast or not, we are saying that you cannot expect a car for that price range with all the goodies without some sort of negatives.

I liked my r/t except for the retart who said"we should put power windows in the front and roll ups in the back"

My neon was fast but I remeber my friends 92Q pulling away from me with me redlining and double clutching all the way to no avail.

[ScottJackson]

What is "double clutching"? And, what good does it do, if any? Just curious...

[VimyJ]

Chrysler before Iacocca (sp?) was known for robust engineering. After the near bankruptcy, the K Car came out. Everything was cheapened. If the accountants could save a nickel, they would. Take the cup that holds the bump stops of my wife's Concorde. They just aren't deep enough so the rubber squishes out and over the sides rendering the suspension into crap after 25k miles. But they managed to save $.50 on each one.

I look at her 96 Concord and my J and marvel at how much quality there is in Nissan engineering compared to the bare bones "just enough to get it done" work in the Chrysler.

It could be an age thing but after you see a few winters, you see things in a different light. A Neon built to last a few years is a waste of time and resources. This is why Toyota is the most successful car company in the world nowadays. Every one of their cars will easily last 10-15 years will minimal care. But, as I said, this is probably an age related point of view. I only buy quality now.

[VimyJ]

What is "double clutching"? And, what good does it do, if any? Just curious...

When you're down shifting, you step on the gas between gear selections to match the engine speed to the next gear so that when you engage the clutch (if you're really good you don't even need the clutch) there is no drag and you're seemlessly in the right gear to apply power after braking.

Edit: When you're braking you work both the brake and the gas with your right foot for the ultimate "double clutch " goosing the gas with the outside of your foot to raise the rpm.

[maxnix]

VimyJ is correct, except the clutch is let out while the gear selector is in the neutral gate and the engine is then revved to the matching increased rpm it will be at when engaging the lower gear. This spins the synchronizers to a matched speed before they are engaged after depressing the clutch again and engaging the lower gear with the selector and releasing the clutch.

Very necessary when there are no synchronizers, but will reduce wear when there are. A demonstration of the art of driving lost with automatic transmissions and modern synchronizers in all gears.

It's a good technique for shifting into reverse, as many older gearbox designs didn't have snychronizers for reverse.

[pito11213]

Both gentle man are right about the double clutching. It gives you perfect shifting so that you dont drop rpm's when shifting which gives you better pull.

Be warned do it wrong to many times and you may find yourself coasting to the sidelines. It is really helpful in braking also on corners so that when you are coming out of the apex of the turn you are coming with more speed than the guy next to you who either has an auto or didnt shift right.

Plus if you have an exhaust on your car it sounds cool.

[1992Q45A]

Same principle as heel toe downshifting. Critical in road racing.

[psychic_mechanic]

NO WAY!!!!

Wait until owners of the neon start hearing the squeaks when they hit a bump. How about the plastic squeakes. How about when they try to use the center armrest and hear the dreaded squeak. My Q is 14 years old and I still dont hear squeaks. All I hear is the motor subtle growl.

You should drive a Sunfire/Cavalier, after 2-3 years you wish you were deaf. One of my friends has one she is still paying on and it sounds like it is falling apart.