laivindil

Last year Consumer Reports tested the Asian and Domestic full size pickups and they found

the best tow vehicle is the Nitan Titan pickup truck and Nissan Armada SUV and the Infiniti QX56 SUV.  CR found the Titan pickup 5.6 liter V8 can still accelerate 0 - 60 MPH in 17 seconds while towing a 5000 lb trailer !!  Toyota is expected to come out with a V8 that matches the size and output of the Titan's V8 in 2006.

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Really? I read a review a while back (edmunds I believe, maybe motortrend) that tested a Chevy, Dodge, Ford and Toyota 1/2 ton trucks. The reviewer said that the Tacoma was "questionable" under load and the build quality wasn't all that great compared to the Ford and Chevy. This was before the Titan came on the scene.

If you could hook me up with some reading material that'd be great. I'm a noob looking to be educated B)

once you drive a lexus, you will not be happy with a Ford product.

Mom has a '99 RX300 and I drive a '96 Explorer. Except for the engine problem it's having now I prefer the Ford. Better turning radius, tows more, better off-road capabilities, I can beat it up a little and not have to worry, cargo space is better (considering the RX is only slightly smaller and has half the space that's kind of sad), and my new Kenwood deck can read MP3's and WMAs (the RX only reads audio CDs).

There are exceptions.

But then again I'm 19, into mountain biking, fly fishing, mountain climbing, hiking and light off-roading (mostly to get to spots I can do the above) and I tow a boat. So take my opinion in context; a lexus isn't for me right now but they are cool, well-thought out and well-constructed cars.

That being said the interiours on the TCs I've seen look better, but the quality of my mom's RX interiour is quite good. Take a look at the competetive comparison on the Lexus website. Put both the LS and TC up there and you'll see the Lexus has more luxery and common sense features like full sized spare, bluetooth, etc for roughly the same price. Plus the Lincoln screams "I'm rich and arrogant" while the Lexus line shouts "I might be well-off but I spend my money intelligently".

My $.02.

I've been talking with a friend who's blatently pro-domestic SUV/Trucks. His main argument is that domestics have stronger engines and better trannys (Chevy mostly) that make them better for towing compared to the Asian competetors which he thinks have ok or underpowered engines and undersized transmissions (such as Nissan pathfinders and xterras and Toyota 4runners)

I was wondering how the GX compares mechanically with SUVs like the Trailblazer and/or Tahoe when it comes to strong drivetrains and powerplants in relation to towing, off-road and cargo hauling.

Does it have a "weaker" drivetrain and an engine unsuited for towing?

Feel free to give as much detail as possible. I'm a noob when it comes to car mechanicals so learning it wouldn't be a bad thing. Thanks in advance.

I just did this on my mom's RX300. We use a cleaner called "Simple Green" instead of a knife. Worked better and we didn't have to worry about nicking the seatbelt.

Well the whole rollover thing is not what most people think it is. The truck is actually not prone to rollovers as long as its fitted with appropriate tires.

When he says its one of the safest vehicles a teenager can drive he means "We haven't paid a lot of claims for dead teenagers in Explorers" probably because not a lot of teenagers drive them.

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Yeah, my parents were smart. One of the first things they did was chuck the firestones that came with the car and slap on some goodyears.

That's easy to believe. Drive through any high school parking lot and it's Toyota 4Runners and Honda Civics (most with 1000watt subs that annoy everyone but the driver). Good thing too, my car would win if some nutbag decides to hit me. In some cases I'd just roll right over those lowered Civics like a speed bump ;) ;) ;) jk of course

I've got one for you all:

Mom's RX300 ('99) goes to AC when she hits "auto". Even if the cabin is cold it will stay on AC throughout the drive. Is it really blowing AC air? or is it just saying that? Does it need to be fixed?

On the plus side, the RX is a very safe car, meaning that if you're involved in a serious accident, the likelihood of personal injuries being serious are lower than in most other cars.  That should help with the rates.  We're in our 40's, but have a couple of recent minor accidents on our records, yet our rates went DOWN when we replaced our '96 minivan with our '04 RX330.

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I'm 18 and am primary driver of a '96 Explorer. My parents (who are gracious enough to pay my insurance) say that my truck is one of th safest cars a teenager can drive according to their agent. Which is odd since the '96 is right in the middle of the years that Explorers were slammed with recalls and rollovers. Funny how insurance companies are like that...

With the transmissions you have to look at the # of complaints vs the number of RX300s on the road. Lexus has sold about 100,000 RX's every year since it came out in 99 (well 98 really but it came out as a 99) how many people complain about transmission problems on this board? 10? probably not even that many. Thats hardly statistically significant.

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Agreed. I personally drive a '96 Explorer and there have been WAY more mechanical and other issues with that car then probably any Lexus and mine hasn't had any major problems at all (regular maintenance and goodyear tires ;) ). My mom has a '99 RX300 and loves it to death. We shopped around for a while to find the right one and haven't had a single problem with it since we got it. CPO is probably the way to go; I'd trust a Lexus mechanic before a private seller or non-CPO dealership. Have a 3rd party you trust take a look at the car (for us it was the goodyear service station in town - we have a longstanding relationship with them) and have the CPO seller take a final look if you feel so inclined. If you can get some kind of limited warrenty it might or might not be worth it.

My mom's RX300 is the same way. I drive a '96 Explorer and the belts are nice and snug when I drive it, it's a comforting feeling. Is the lightening of the tension a gradual thing or is it sudden? Should I be careful and watch to see if it gets worse on my mom's Lex?

But an X-box can be fitted with a hard drive and have all the games you own preloaded right into the xbox so you never have to walk around with the disks in the car , then use it as a dvd player for movies liek mine does

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A hard drive is standard equipment on an XBOX. Since the XBOX design is old tech now the hdds are relativly small compared to what you see in even laptops now. You can put a larger drive in there along with other mod options and probably acomplish what SK is talking about.