bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

Seems every other car is german in western europe. Good enough is good enough.

chromedome

That's not a trunk hinge, that's an aircraft component I associate German cars with cutting edge tech whereas Japanese manufacturers are more conservative, erring on the side of reliability. Few Japanese cars have that door closing "thunk" that most German cars have. Even my ES doors make a tinny sound when the doors closed, although it's seriously quiet inside.

JDR76

My sister's '94 Honda Accord had those hinges. I was always very impressed with them.

5gears-IS

iTrader: (5)

Germans...

Hey look, I have dual hinges but I am at the shop all of the time for electric gremlins and stuff going bad with the engine.....

LexBob2

We have two German brands in our garage right now. I don't know about things like "the myth of German engineering", but both are nice vehicles and no regrets about buying either one.

Reliable? Both are fairly new but so far so good zero issues with either one. I don't keep cars much beyond the factory warranty period (our Lexus' included) so I won't be able to test the long term reliability of either one.

The trunk hinges are nice though. lol

Sulu

I was just about to add that some Hondas had those articulated trunk hinges, but you beat me to it.

But while switching from the gooseneck trunklid hinges to the fancy (and expensive) articulated ones saved your stuff from getting crushed, they had their drawbacks also.

The articulated hinges reduce the width of the trunk opening because they need a wider ledge (where the trunk weatherstripping attaches) to rest on.

They may reduce the height of the trunk also because that ledge likely had to be lower and thicker (stronger) to allow for storage of the hinge when the trunklid is closed.

My 5Gen Toyota Camry had boxed-in gooseneck hinges -- the trunk trim boxed around the hinges to keep them from crushing whatever was underneath it.

But cost-cutting has deprived us (at least on Toyota and Lexus models) of the boxed-in gooseneck hinge, and no automaker I know of (correct me if I am wrong) uses the articulated hinge anymore (except on hardtop convertibles).

viperdoc

That article was interesting for me, as I have been very displeased with the driveability of my RX F sport and am considering a jump to a German brand. It would be my first German car. I have owned all Japanese brands in the past- Honda, infiniti, Acura... I would say that the reliability issue kept me from going the German route, as well as the increased cost of maintenance and repairs. But truthfully, I generally don't keep cars outside their warranty periods. I kept my first Honda civic for 8 years, though.

I am looking into the Porsche Cayenne (base or diesel), Audi Q5 and BMW X3 or X5. Haven't driven the Audi or BMW yet, but even the base model Porsche is hands down a nicer car compared to the Lexus when it comes to build quality and driveability. I realize that a similarly equipped new Porsche Cayenne is $15-20K more than the Lexus, but there are some issues I have with my Lexus that make me really despise the car.

A recent quote by the head of Toyota basically was that he is more concerned about aesthetics than performance, and thinks that aesthetics are how you get customers. I think this speaks volumes. Yes, Lexus has the new RC-F and new GS-F, but these "performance" cars get beaten in virtually every head to head comparison to their German counterparts.

On a side note, compared to our 2014 Acura MDX, my 2013 F sport has nicer interior materials, and the cabin is quieter. But when it comes to driving dynamics, throttle responsiveness, and transmission design, the Acura has it beat by a large margin.

chikoo

eh? My 2003 Mazda6 had articulated hinges, and I could get all those things, including a boxed trampoline into it, which would not fit into my friends Camry or Accord.




The new Mazda6 has the gooseneck and it is for the worse. See for yourself.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

Ok, enough on trunk hinges?

I8ABMR

LOL Im with you

A more reliable car is a better built car. Its funny because the Lexus guys never talk about reliability. Its a given. The guys who drive German cars always want to tell someone about that bimmer that never screwed them or a Benz that went a long time with no issues...........Its because its rare. Thats why they talk about it. lol Its like us talking about a lemon. Thats the rare shooting star, not the reliable one.

I guess the German cars are less well rounded. Great cars to drive but not neccesarily great cars to own if headache free motoring is what you seek ( not really sure how it wouldnt be priority , but then again Range Rover , Fiat, and Chrysler keep cranking out and selling problem vehicles)

mmarshall

An open-and-shut case.

With the (possible) exception of the new Jeep Grand Cherokee (and it excels in a number of other areas), you can pretty much scratch Chrysler off that unreliability list. Marchionne promised better Chrysler products.....and he is (mostly) delivering on his word.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

All the time, really?

I wouldn't be surprised if the great majority of german cars bought (or leased) aren't kept beyond 4 years so maintenance isn't that big a deal. Yes of course we've all heard the german car horror stories though with ones not old.

I just think the bad reputation is vastly overblown on CL.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

My relatives are in the uk. One has about 5 yr old c class wagon bought used. It's been perfectly reliable. Another just had a 3 yr lease on a z4, no issues, trading in on another. My friend there buys one used 5 series after another. No problems.

While not german vehicles, 2 relatives have range rovers, one's 8 yrs old, had a bad hose recently but otherwise awesome, and the other one is very old and purchased about a year ago... No problems.

Other relatives there all seem to have small fords and love them.

RNM GS3

I think you need to go on some BMW forums - plenty of ppl have E46s, E39s, E9x with well over 100k miles that the daily drive, mod etc. My current 5series has had ZERO issues.
Lexus is more reliable overall but BMW is not Fiat or Ferrari as you make it sound.

Toys4RJill

I agree I don't know why anyone wants the hinges with struts. The struts wear down over time while the new set up don't. I still don't see how struts make a car over engineered.