Wow... is that Toyota's worst move or what?

 

the Trooper was a good reliable vehicle that CR destroyed, Isuzu sued them and they settled cause it was proved that in order to make the vehicle flip you had to practically pull a U-turn and yank the e-brake

the trooper along with all the other true isuzus where excellent vehicles, nothing but oil changes and the only reason they every broke down was clutch or dead battery

 

No they were authentic TRD Japan parts that were made exclusively in Japan. Sad.

 

worst rebadging has to be GM and now Ford, GM has this thing that they think every division needs the same vehicle, the trailblazer and countless other models, I've read in many car mags that GM is spreading themselves to thin, my father tells me stories of when GMs divisions each had their own cars

and now Ford is doing it, Mercury is becoming all rebadged cars with slight face lifts

I don't get it does it really help sales to have almost identical cars being sold under different names

 

Close but not quite a whole cigar. CR does not pick and choose how they do their rollover tests. They apply the same standards equally to all SUV's regardless of size or weight. These tests are designed to simulate what would happen with a tall SUV if you had to swerve suddenly at high speeds to avoid an animal, child, another vehicle, etc...... They did not cook this test up just for the Trooper.
Several other SUV's besides the 1995 Trooper / SLX have flunked their rollover tests for the same reasons....the 2001 Mitsubishi Montero, the Ford Bronco (don't remember which years), the Jeep Wrangler CJ-5, and of course, the infamous (and dangerous) 1988 Suzuki Samurai.


The Trooper was reliable but the Rodeo generally was not. And, since we are on the subject of rebadges, the Rodeo's rebadged twin, the Honda Passport, also suffered from poor reliability....the only Honda-nameplate vehicle to do so. The Axiom never sold in numbers high enough to have a concrete reliability record....your guess is as good as mine on that one.

 

Isuzu sued CR and they settled out of court and CR printed a follow up in their magazine saying they made a mistake, it was even on the evening news with an interview from the driver who flipped it up on 2 wheels

 

OK...I won't pursue the issue. I don't remember the follow-up, but you may be correct........I'm not infallible. I'll go back and dig up the case and look at it closely....but CR has never lost a case in court that I know of.

 

even worse is the acura owners that turn their emblems upside down

 

I haven't been able to figure this out myself. Is it supposed to look like an "H"?

 

I saw a Honda Acura Integra a couple years ago.. Rather than replace the Acura badges completely, they just slapped a couple Honda badges on WITH the Acura badges

 

My nomination would have to be that low end Jaguar x-type???... forget it's name.... looks like a ford contours (sp) or taurus of that same year.

another one was the GEO that was a Rebadged Corolla.

 

Actually, the Geo Prizm made a lot of sense. It offered the Corolla's quality and refinement not only at a lower sticker price, but Chevy/Geo dealers were willing to bargain; Toyota dealers weren't.

 

LOL yea this one is hard to forget.

As for the aftermarket, Bomex, an aftermarket aero company, even makes a full body kit for the Toyota Cavalier. I think Toyota had something to do with pushing the aftermarket into making parts for this car in Japan so it would sell better.

Either way, a complete bastardization. Chevy sold the Corolla here, and Toyota sold the Cavalier over there. Guess who got the stinky end of that stick. Chevy's average reliability went up (no brainer) and Toyota got the shaft trying to sell the J-bodies.

As for the Trooper/SLX debate: My buddy who's in his 30's now has always driven SUV's because he tows his boat. He's had (in order) an '89 Nissan pickup (work truck), '90 Trooper (the boxy one -- like a big xB), a Rodeo, a '95 Trooper (Nicest truck he ever had) and then a Ford Explorer. I'd say the guy knows how to handle his trucks.

He rolled the '95 Trooper and during a manuever that was hardly evasive. He just got the 2 right wheels on the shoulder at moderate speed and that was it. The danger is there. I think CR got it right the first time and was pressured into retracting their statement.

After the accident he was desperate for a car and jumped on the Explorers they were giving away at the time due to the Firestone fiasco. He admits that was the poorest decision of his life and the absolute worst machine he's ever owned. The breakages are endless. He still drives that punishment today.

 

How about this one- The Toyota Aristo V300 = Lexus GS300 (sans turbo)?

 

Yeah...Flipside also did a post on the Japanese "TRD" parts for the Toyota Cavalier, a well as the Bomex parts

I tend to agree with you on the Trooper question. CR is a reputable organization that does not do fly-by-night tests. I hope your brother was not hurt in that rollover. SUV rollovers can be deadly...especially if you are not belted in properly. Several years ago, one of my closest friends lost the guy who was best man at his wedding when he rolled an Aztek, unbelted....and went right out the open driver's window. The ugly POS came down on top on him and killed him....the first documented fatality in the nation, I believe, involving an Aztek.