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

[Kevin Alexander]

Thanks for that explanation David!! For those of you who brag about that rare GM/Ford/Chrysler vehicle that has run problem free now for over 100,000 miles, buyer's remorse, 5 years of misery, and second guessing was literally one color choice away. Be glad you got the silver Taurus instead of the blue one.

 

[John Spencer]

I have a 1995 Mazda 626 with 250,000 miles, and it's had little to no shop time. I've kept up with the monthly routine maintenance such as oil changes. And I had a tuneup done when it was at 125,000 miles. Last month I had to replace the water pump. That was the first time the car has been into a repair shop besides 2 car wrecks.
A funny story with the car: In 2000, I was waiting to turn left on a street with no turn lane. The new Impala behind me slowed down as it approached, but the Dodge Ram behind it did not. The Ram hit the Impala going around 45, and shot the Impala into the back of my car. The force snapped my head so badly that I almost passed out. I looked back to see the front of the Impala accordioned and the left headlight pointing straight up. I pulled my car off the road and ran around to the back to survey the damage. My bumper cover was ruined. That's it. I still wanted to play it safe so I took it to a shop (on the Ram-owner's dime). The antenna motor had been knocked offline, and the realigned my tires and gave me a new set. That was it.
When the body finally falls apart on this car, I'll be looking at either an Infiniti, Mazda, or Lexus.

 

[Garrett Lundy]

Nice bike, you'll want some pipes (Vance&Hines Cruzers), saddlebags, and a new seat (Mustang or Corbin) and she'll be all set for some cross-country cruisin'!

 

[Jeff_CusBlues]

Somebody asked if these were the only inspections required for the BMW 740 iL. The answer it is a big NO. Oil changes and other general maintenance were required every 3 or 6 thousand miles. I'm not knocking the car. It was wonderful. Just costly to maintain.

 

[Kevin Alexander]

Well, I ended up getting a new Suzuki Boulevard C-50. So far so good.

 

[MarkHastings]

A friend once told me an awesome quote about BMW's. He said: "People never have to decide if they want a BMW. Most BMW owners WANT to be driving BMW's."

After going through 5 American cars, my BMW is the best thing I've ever owned. Yes, the maintenance is rough, but that's the price you have to pay for the car. I tell everyone it's worth every penny I paid (even more).

 

[Jeff_CusBlues]

They are very nice cars. I was just giving my experience withing the context of this thread which seems to be that Amercan cars break down a lot and need costly repairs.

 

[Kevin Alexander]

Sorry to revive this thread, but did anyone notice that now Mitsubishi has a V8 powered pickup truck? The Japanese automakers really seem to be going for the jugular w/ the US automakers. I think we are seeing the beginning of the end of the US automakers. The truck market was the last stronghold for the Big 3, but sadly, I see them being overtaken completely in the next 5-7 years.

 

[Arthur S]

The performance and reliability of the Asian trucks are what will propel them to the top, just as the performance and reliability of the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry have propelled them to the top.

The Toyota Tundra gets 3 full red circles from CR and is available with a V-8. The Ford F-150 gets a full black circle for reliability. You can expect high marks for the Honda Ridgeline as well.

The Capitalist system is supposed to be based on competition. Well, here is the system working exactly the way it is supposed to work.

I see nothing sad about this at all. Meanwhile, you prefer to spend your money on a motorcycle rather than put that money into a reliable truck, after all the trouble you have had with your Dodge, which has now turned out to be unreliable.

Let's see your priorities: motorcycle that you don't need, vs. reliable truck that you need every day for work.

Your money, your choice. Maybe it is time to get out from behind the 8 ball.

But take heart. With the employee pricing, Ford sold more F-150s than ever during that period. God only knows what is going to happen to Ford, Chevy, and Chrysler sales now that employee pricing is over. Even with employee pricing GM lost $1.6 billion dollars in the 3rd quarter of this year.

 

[LewB]

We lose money on each piece, but we make it up in volume
Hey, Wall street seemed to love the idea of UAW medical coverage give-backs. What's wrong with this picture ?

 

[Adam Bluhm]

On the 'American car sucking' note, my '97 Taurus is over 71k miles and plugging along strong. I bought it in '01 with 28k miles.

The one problem I do have is brakes. I had new rotors and pads put on it. 1,500-2000 miles later they were shimmying very hard when I applied brakes going down hill (when they warmed up slightly). The local garage shaved them and told me, "The rotors must have heated up at one point because they were warped."

Well, I'm not a hard braker. I'm very smooth to accellerate and smooth to brake. I don't ride the brake either.

1500 miles later, the shimmy was back when braking. The garage then told me that my rotors were worn down pretty bad and they had to change pads and rotors.

1500 miles later...




I'm hoping to buy a Honda Fit next year.

 

[Prentice Cotham]

I think the Mitsu is a Dodge Dakota underneath the skin with a better interior.

 

[MarkHastings]

For years, Dodge has used Mits. engines. My old Dodge Avenger (1996) had a Mits. engine. My dads old Ford (I forgot the model) also had a Mits. engine (the exact same as my Dodge).

 

[Jimi C]

"You can expect high marks for the Honda Ridgeline as well."

That truck has already been considered a failure by everyone including Honda. Its not even a real truck. A unibody "pick-up"?

http://www.freep.com/money/autorevie...e_20050714.htm

 

[Kevin Alexander]

If this is true, it won't be long before even their (Mits) quality begins to eclipse the Dodge Dakota.

 

[Shane Martin]

Truck buyers are much different especially large truck buyers where Nissan is TRYING to get a foot in the door. The Titan is a nice truck I admit. The Toyota OTOH doesn't feel like a truck and fails in several areas that truck buyers in my state(oklahoma which has a ton of farms etc) favor. Ford and Chevy have a long long long background in making trucks and also have a very strong buyer return rate so much so that I don't expect Nissan to really make much of a dent in F150 or Chevy truck purchases or Dodge for that matter.

Yes they more reliable on the whole but truck buyers who need that size of truck are not often looking at relability as one of the big things. My poor experience with my Chevy full size truck is very uncomman I am told. I didn't fit well in the truck either. It was just too big and too impractical.

Also I would mention that typical large truck buyers are more "patriotic" towards buying from GM and Ford rather than Nissan and Toyota even though iirc Nissan and Fords are about as American as they come. There is a stigma about buying foreign amongst these types of folks.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Shane Martin]

To add to this: the Ridgeline is not so hot looking IMHO and alot of people really HATE the looks of it even though it is a nice truck and will likely be extremely reliable. Sales reflect this.

It also hurt that Nissan and Toyota had brand new medium sized trucks released this year too. The Taco is very successful and Nissan makes an excellent Frontier.

 

[Ray Chuang]

Adam Bluhm, you wrote:



I'm really interested in getting the Honda Fit myself. The problem with my current Honda Civic HX CVT coupé is that while I do appreciate the 33-37 mpg fuel efficiency, the car only has two doors, which makes it inconvenient to carry more than one passenger besides me around. Besides, I've heard MANY good things about the Fit, so I've started to inquire with a local Honda dealer about pricing, when to put down a deposit, etc.

 

[Todd Hochard]

Considering the way most of surburban America uses their "trucks," this is utterly a non-issue.

It's a bit goofy-looking, probably the ill-advised coercion of some American based marketing/focus group that convinced Honda to get into the pickup business at all. I'd prefer them to to stick to their core- clean, efficient, well-built CARS.

Todd

 

[Prentice Cotham]

I am opting for the Frontier or the Titan. I don't like the Taco's plastic bed. There have been too many problems with that and the truck is a bit underpowered compared to the Frontier. I think Nissan is the way to go in trucks right now.