Why do American cars and trucks suck so bad? (1 Viewer)

[DaveF]

If health-care costs were really the problem, "American" cars would cost more than the "imports", resulting in a loss of sales and profit. But it's not the case, as the home-grown cars still cost less than the foreign made and yet people like me are willing to pay the premium to get a reliable Honda.

 

[Jason GT]

Interesting thread.

Regarding reliability and such, IMO it's not a matter of country of origin or place of manufacture. As is often noted, many "Japanese" vehicles are assembled in North America. The differences in quality are more likely due to management styles and attitudes.

I say this with a little bit of insight with a Japanese auto parts manufacturer.

 

[andrew markworthy]

Provided you aren't fussy about leg room. At 6ft 9" I suppose I am being picky, but there isn't a single BMW I can fit into. Given that it isn't a particular problem with Mercs or VWs, I can't see why BMWs can't design for taller people.

From a European perspective, American cars are generally not particularly highly regarded. They are often seen as gas guzzling, cumbersome, incapable of driving in anything but a straight line on a perfectly level road. And your sports cars are seen as all torque - bear in mind that they are up against the Italian greats, Porsche and Morgan. However, reliability isn't seen as a particular issue. I suppose that given the plethora of French and Italian cars, we're probably a bit more tolerant. Having said that, reliability issues on French and Italian cars have got better of late.

 

[Joseph Bolus]

Well, I own a reliable American car: The Ford Explorer.

Unfortunately, it's probably the only American car built right now that boasts a satisfaction rating that approaches your typical Honda and/or Nissan vehicle.

And the really sad thing is that the current out-of-control gas prices will probably kill it in the marketplace.

My family has tried, over the course of the past 15 years or so, to "buy American" cars. We found the Ford vehicles built between 1990-1995 to be the best built for durability of all the domestic models. After '95, though, only the Ford trucks and SUV's seem to hold up on a long term basis. Every Taurus and Windstar that we purchased since '95 has just fallen apart over the first 50,000 miles. Our Explorers' on the other hand (and there are currently three being driven in the family) each have between 60,000 - 80,000 miles on them. Nothing but routine maintenance has ever been performed on any of them and they all seem as good as new. One of the Explorers' is a '99, one is a 2000, and the other is a 2001. We love these cars due to their comfort, cargo space, and care-free durability. But, due to the current state of gas prices, our next cars will probably be Honda's and/or Nissan's. (Although we *may* take a look at that Ford Escape Hybrid ...)

 

[Jeff D Han]

Interesting thread. I have a 1998 Dodge Stratus. I bought
it new. I now have 141,000 miles on it without any serious
problems or maintenance bills. I did buy an extended
warranty (7 years, 100,000 miles bumper to bumper), and
once I bought gas that had sludge mixed in that screwed
up the level sensor in the gas tank, and it was covered
under the warranty. I have been happy with the car and
the service that I have received from Dodge, and I would
buy another Stratus in a second.

 

[RobertR]

The other day I went to a mechanic to check out a used car, and he said that you can expect to get 250,000 miles out of the good Japanese brands. He did not say that about domestic brands. It isn't where they're built, its how they're built, and the management ability and philosophy involved. The big three spent years getting fat and lazy, and it's biting them in the ass.

 

[Kevin Alexander]

The next Stratus you buy will suredly have you cursing Dodge to hell.

 

[Kevin Alexander]

Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if you see some of the big 3 in bankruptcy, consumed by a foreign competitor, or out of business within the next 25 years.

 

[Arthur S]

Kevin

You happened to pick a particularly unreliable model.

From Consumer Report 2005 Auto Issue (April), on how automakers fared in terms of reliability based on the number of problems with their 2004 model year cars from 810,000 surveys returned.

Daimler/Chrysler
"This automaker's overall reliability has beeen close to the overall industry average, albeit with some highs and lows. The PT Cruiser continued to shine as Chrysler's most reliable vehicle, with only 8 problems per 100. The four-wheel-drive Dodge Ram pickup was a close second with 9 . But the four-wheel-drive Dodge Dakota had 33 problems per 100 vehicles."

As a reference, the most problem free vehicle had 2 problems per 100 vehicles.

The question for you is:

Why don't you get rid of the Dakota and put the motorcycle on the back burner before the Dakota costs you a couple thousand more?

 

[RobertR]

This is one area where Consumer Reports is extremely valuable. Any one person can give you anecdotal evidence about a car (such as getting a bad Honda or a good Dodge), but when you get many thousands of surveys, you get a more accurate picture of what to expect.

 

[Ray Chuang]

Jason GT, you wrote:





And you wonder why Toyota managed to build a better car for older American buyers with the current Toyota Avalon than what Buick has done.

 

[Jeff_CusBlues]

I owned a 1996 BMW 740iL. Well, actually, I inherited it when my father passed away. Functionally, it was unequaled. I have never had a car ride as smooth and quiet as that vehicle. It was huge and luxurious too. A very nice road piece. I always joked that a family of four could live comfortably in that vehicle. However, it was a very expensive car to maintain. It had inspections that were required at, I think, 25,0000 and 50,000 miles (I may be wrong on those mileages). Actually, these "inspections" were routine maintenance items. These inspections cost about $1,000. WTF??!!! I sold the car soon after that. It looked nice in my driveway, always drew stares and comments, and made me feel like a king behind the wheel, but I just couldn't stand paying that much for routine maintenance. The car also had other problems and repair bills for BMWs are huge. If you want to look and feel like a CEO on the road, buy a BMW 740, but affording that car also means paying a lot for maintenance.

 

[andrew markworthy]

This is pretty standard on European cars. Bear in mind that a high proportion of those miles in Europe will have been spent in relatively congested traffic so over on this side of the herring pond it's not unreasonable.

 

[DaveF]

Uhm... I think you missed your own previous comments. This already happened when Daimler bought Chrysler, leaving a big three of two. Or is Chrysler not one of the "Big 3"?

Of course, reliability concerns are not unique to American cars. I understand that European cars have long been regarded as mediocre. Audi / Volkswaken had some significant problems the past few years. But they seem to make up for it with otherwise very appealing features and good driving feel.

 

[Garrett Lundy]

Good 'ol American companies.

My brother just bought a new 2006 Harley-Davidson Night-Rod (like the V-Rod but with a blacked-out engine). The 'rod' series were supposed to usher in a new era of European performance and Japanese reliability.

The first 2 days went smooth, with my brother and his friend putting 428 miles on it.

Day three it was dead. battery refused to hold a charge, and the bike wouldn't run off the alternator. After it was towed to the dealer they said the entire electrical system was shot and would cost about $4000 to replace if it wasn't covered under warranty.

3 Days!

 

[Andrew Pezzo]

I am 5'4" so I dont think leg room is an issue.

 

[Kwang Suh]

It's good process, good engineering, and good product specifications.

Good car manufacturers have all three. Bad ones have none.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Either Click or Clack once mentioned that he had owned at least one car from each of the "big 3": Renault, Citroen, and Peugeot..... :p)

 

[Brandon_T]

My wifes Olds Aurora...piece of crap, my Audi A4, smaller yes, but at 75k miles, no problems, runs like a gem, is all wheel drive and its something I know I can count on it for another 150k no prob. My Audi is a great car, I used to have a BMW 325 that was a bit more fun to drive, but was way more expensive to maintain. The Audi is less to maintain than my wifes Aurora. It gets my vote.

 

[Scott Strang]

I really don't know how it would've been possible to reach any other conclusion. Chrysler has always made sub-standard products when it came quality and reliability. My family had several Chrystler products over the year and out of 5 only one was any good; a 1986 Charger. Despite it's crudeness it was very reliable. I got it new, put 130k on it and never had a single problem.

Then we come to GM which have been far better than I ever expected. My wife has had 3 Grand Am's(1993 4 banger, 1997 GT v6 and currently 1999 SE with v6) and they've been really good cars. Anything that ever broke on them was while under warrantly (< 36k miles). No rattles, no ripper fabrics, fading paint..
I had a 1993 GMC Sonoma (bought new, 2.8 l anemic v6, etc) and I put 140k on it with zero trouble. Even the a/c was still working.
I later bought new a 1999 GMC sonoma extended cab with 4 banger and while it's been okay reliablity wise there have been several "little" nitpick items that have sufficiently pissed me off to never want another GMC. Seat back release levers broke off on both passenger and drive sides. The grill on the top of grill for defrost output has cracked and broken (I kept it treated with armor all), there's a water leak that started about 10k outside of warranty and now the most infuriating thing of all; the heat shield on the catalytic converter has become loose and now rattles like crazy making my truck sound like a reammed out piece of shit. What then hell is up with this? I've never seen this happen to any other vehicle I've owned. The fuel pump inside the fuel tank makes a constant groaning sound yet seems to be okay. Overall I've wanted so bad to spray the interior of the truck with gasoline and set it on fire.

For this reason I don't think I'll be buying another GM product even though I prefer their trucks (looks, design, etc) to all others.

Next time maybe I'll try Ford or maybe an import like Toyota or Nissan.