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Doesn't it piss you off that you have tweak all this crap on a brand new car?
Not at all. I understand why the EGR is there, and the CCV. It's all emissions mumbo jumbo. Plus, I bought used. Paid $19k for one with 9600 miles on it. I simply don't buy new cars. I find 'em a year or two old so I can afford to fix the things I don't like.
I'm a big motorcycle junkie, and the very first thing I do with a new bike is start fixing the things I don't like about it. New seat, new suspension, upgraded brake pads, better tires, new exhaust system, remove the stupid CCV hose that blow oily sludge into the intake, remap the fuel injection, etc.
I've found that vehicles are designed not to be the best they can be, but to strike a balance of economy, performance, price point, and meet the EPA's requirements. It would be nice if a manufacturer would put all premium, top shelf parts on their cars and tune them to run optimally, but then the cars would be double the price and wouldn't meet emissions. They wouldn't sell many.
If Toyota made a diesel, it would still have an EGR, it would also have a particulate filter, it would have a CCV dumping gunk into the intake, and some of them would have issues.
The only thing that I can say to put this in perspective is what I see with my motorcycle riding friends. Some of them have exotic European bikes they love in spite of the fact that they require constant costly maintenance, and are expensive to buy. They are finicky, and you have to stand on one foot while holding your nose right to get them to run right...but they love them. Then there are the guys who buy the generic Hondakawayammasuzki product for half the price which performs as well or better and they love them.
Me? Give me character, a little fussiness, and the ability to fix what I want fixed, and I'm a happy guy.
Oldnavy took the right way out. If you've got the cash, then just buy the vehicle you REALLY want and be done with it. But, I don't have the cash. I have a limited budget, and I wanted a diesel that could pull my trailer. The CRD was the cheapest thing I found that met my needs. Even a TDI wouldn't have towed my trailer.