There's a beer riding on this

[pgackerman]

New Fiero video.  This time vs an '01 Prelude.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07AGHIFFEvc

The stakes are high.  Talk up the Fiero so I can win a beer.


BTW, I do not sound like a Muppet.

[GTRS Fiero]

Well, the lines on the Fiero are very nice.  The proportions are great, and really highlight the Fiero's strengths.  The Fiero has aged very well.  Although the '80's were notorious for poor body panel alignment, your Fiero's panels line up well.  Your Fiero's sunroof sits flush.  As you stated, the body panels are plastic, so don't rust.  The windows look awesome, as do the tail lights.  The Fiero's tire gaps look good.  The Fiero is way easier to work on than any Honda.  Whether it's changing body panels, doing an engine swap, or anything you can dream of.

The Prelude goes faster, because it has VTECH stickers!  The lights look ugly, and so does that dippy thing on top of the rear window.  The tire gaps look very odd.  The Prelude has a very bulbous nose.  Try taking the body panels off the Prelude and going for a drive.

[pgackerman]

Put your comments on YouTube.

[GTRS Fiero]

Ok.  I think I was still first.

[pgackerman]

Yes, yes you were.  Good job.

[GTRS Fiero]

Well, I really didn't want to be negative, since he seemed so fair, so I tried to leave out my comments on the Prelude.  I will never forget my experience with Honda, though.  My sister got an Acura.about a week ago, and Honda obviously hasn't fixed their issues.

I did not want to clutter those comments, but you might show him the thread on my Fiero.  No, not a perfect car.  To some extent, I was comparing your Fiero to my Fiero, and had a tease for you at the end.

Due to my ongoing argument with Google, I don't often post on YouTube.

[GTRS Fiero]

It seems that most of the Honda people posting there have no knowledge of Fieros.  Furthermore, they seem to have no substantive reason for liking a Honda, other than that it is a Honda.

Back when I used to review cars, we went through each car thoroughly.  Honda never disputed the issues we found, but figured people would buy the cars, anyway.

When I owned Hondas, the issues were irrefutable, but if I mentioned a faulty throttle cable, for example, they would delete my post.  If I mentioned the leaky door seals, they would make the excuse that it was a Honda, and belittle me.  No, I don't like water leaking into the car on me.  If I mentioned the poor ignition design, they would kick me off the forum.  The unending problems and design flaws never got fixed.  The people were jerks, and refused to acknowledge reality.  Eventually, I got it.  Honda makes junk, Honda people don't care, and Honda fans will be jerks to anyone who asks a question that even remotely suggests Hondas are less than perfect.  I almost died when a Honda bike failed me on a jump.  The swing arm broke.  The backlash on this was so severe that I changed bike manufacturers.  Honda did not care.  They just keep churning out junk.  So yes, the fact that Honda's failures almost cost me my life left a bad taste in my mouth.

[Raydar]

I've generally had fairly good luck with Hondas, other than the electronic "nanny-ware", and their wonky infotainment systems.
I could go on a rant about the Odyssey's timing belt, but the one that broke was an aftermarket replacement, so there's no telling where it came from. (It came out in pieces, so I couldn't find a brand name on it.) Other than the complaint about it being an "interference" design, in the first place (a slightly larger valve relief in the piston would have completely eliminated the problem) I found it to be relatively trouble free.

The electronics? A friend had a new Accord. The collision avoidance system was, in short, a pain in the ass. If you were going around a sweeping curve, and a car was approaching from the other direction, in the opposing lane, the system would occasionally "detect" an impeding collision, and slam on the brakes. Repeated visits to the dealer came back "No Trouble Found - It's supposed to work that way."
Tammy's newest Odyssey seemed to have those tendencies, too. We just turned it off. (I don't like "driving assistance", anyway. I've been driving for decades, and have generally done okay.)
Other than that, the infotainment system seems to have a mind of its own. She said that every time she drives it, it does something different. First, her iPhone stopped connecting through Bluetooth - it had to be plugged in. Then that quit working. Then it started again, but wouldn't detect her iPod. When she plugged her iPod into the Aux jack, it killed the USB connection to the phone. And on and on...
To be fair, it does need a software download. We were mailed instructions on how to do that, but I haven't done it yet. (But hell... it worked fine for two years, without the upgrade, so why now?)

[GTRS Fiero]

The electronic nannies are rather scary.  I can't say that honda sticks out to me, in that regard.

I will say that I have never had a timing chain/belt fail on a domestic car.  About the time you did the belt on the Odyssey, a bunch of other people were reporting the same issue.  I also had Hondas with timing belt failures.  None of those engines made it to 50K miles.

Another issue is the design.  Hondas are clearly for miniature people.  I need another 3 inches of leg room.  The B-pillar also needs to be moved back, along with the armrest.

Growing up, we had a pastor that was a Honda fanatic.  He went through a bunch of Hondas.  Come Sunday, he would break down about 10 minutes from his house, or about an hour from the church.  I'd drive down and tow his Civic to the church, then tow his Civic to a shop.  The shop would "fix" the Civic, and it would break down again.  Over and over.  After a few months, the pastor would trade in for a new Honda, and it would break down.  Engine troubles, overheating, transmission failure, broken axles, electronics, whatever.  I must admit, after months of this, I was less than gentle with the towing.  If the car self-destructed while being towed, oh, well.  Honda had the pastor as a satisfied return customer.

Once, I suggested leaving his Honda, and we could send a tow truck for it.  The pastor was afraid his Honda would be stolen.  I just looked at him, and started to leave.  We left the Honda, and I drove him home, sans Honda.  The next week, I just drove by his Honda, picked him up, then drove the pastor back to the church.  He did not say a word as we drove by the broken-down Honda on the way to church.  On the way back, as we got close, I slowed, and asked if we should just put it out of its misery.  He finally realized that I meant push the Honda off the side of the road, and let it fall into the gorge.  He was horrified, for whatever reason.  The Honda was a few months old, at that point.  He called during the week, saying he had a new car.  A few weeks went by, and his new Honda was getting him to church...until it broke down.  Honda found a flaw in the engine design, and the block had cracked at a manufacturing defect.  In a few years, he went through 9 Hondas.  He wasn't alone.  They were always disposable cars.

I could list numerous other failures, but I'm more picky that most people.  Wiring harnesses, headlights, suspension, door hinge mounts, whatever.  Flawed design.  Junk.

[Raydar]

All I can say, is that, in nearly 280,000 miles, and two Odysseys, all that has gone wrong is what I posted above. (BTW... Tam deleted all her Bluetooth connections and then set them up again. All is good, now.)

Back before COVID hit, if I could have bought a Civic SI hatchback (SI is only available in coupe or sedan), there is the largest possibility that I would have.
But that's all a moot point, now. I have ~1.5 years until retirement, and I'm told there is the largest probability that I'll get to do it all from the house. Works for me.   

[GTRS Fiero]

I usually put about 300K miles on my vehicles.  My Avalanche had 330K.  The 3.8 Impala had 333K.  The Tahoe has 281K.  Had my wife not changed jobs (works from home, now), it would have had over 300K and bern sold, but it gets about 20 miles/week, now.  The Ranger had 291K, but I was offered $3,500 for it, so off it went.  The 3500HD was at 267K, but I was looking for something else.  The '77 Dodge had more than 700K miles.  I did wreck a '97 Tahoe.  Maybe 200K miles on it.  The 1995 Blazer was sold at 297K miles.  The 1997 Blazer at 310K miles.  The 2000 Bravada was stolen at well over 200K miles.  The '85 Camaro was stolen at 187K miles, but we recovered it, and my kid brother drove it for another 230K miles, totalling 417K miles.

I think it was a '73 Satellite was stolen about 200K miles.

Yes, there were issues.  The AC went out on the '77 Dodge, then the rear seal on the transmission, and yes, the timing chain was loose.  It was a custom 440V8.  It outran everything while I was in high school, but my dad's van with a hot-rodded 318 outran me.  The '95 Blazer had a weird electrical issue I could never find.  The retractors on the rear seat belts on our current Tahoe are shot.  The ABS module on the '97 Blazer failed.  The Bravada was AWD, and something in the transmission was starting to go.  Bad design.  The rubber hoses on the Satellite were starting to rot away.

There were other vehicles, but you get the idea.  I have owned Saturns, Fords, Mazdas, Nissans, Toyotas, Hondas, and other vehicles.