Mike:
re: "......any vehicle....given proper preventative maintenance will last a long time".
well, I agree they all should, most do, some don't. I'm sure I maintain my cars better than most. My '85 Mustang was purchased new and I kept it until '92 ..... 86,000 miles. I MAINTAINED it, including replacing items like brake pads before they were entirely spent....it never sufferred a single breakdown or unexpected repair. On the other hand, my '93 Jeep product just couldn't be kept together.....it, too, was fanatic maintained and was never off a paved highway.....but it couldn' go a month without a major repair......items like wheel bearings, water pumps, radiators etc., etc. were replaced 2 or 3 times.....during the last 2 years I had it, repairs (not maintenance) averaged about $400 a month.
But CR is primarily talking about initial build qualty and early owner satisfaction. As said, my recent Ford products have had zero defects. Years ago I bought GM....back in the day when you expected to take a new car back with some initial problems. A couple Oldsmobiles were nice cars, with some minor anoyances. Then I ordered the '79 Camaro. It came with half the air conditioning system missing (the dealer didn't notice)......the choke mechanism missing (they compensated by setting the idle at 30 mph)......the door handles, door upholstery, sun visors, and armrests were different on one side than the other, as were the front fenders (one was from a Z28, the other wasn't)....the radio was there, but no speakers or antenna......and you could slide your entire hand in the gap between the front fender and drivers door. Oh....and the stud that held the air cleaner on was so long it punched a hole thru the hood.....the dealer replaced the hood, then slammed it shut and punched a hole thru the new one too because they didn't change the stud !!!!!! Will I never own another GM car based on that single experience
- DAMN RIGHT I WON'T !!!!! And based on the CR report, GM's quality is still much, much worse than others.
hehehe......and I'd like to see you get 200,000 miles out of an British or Italian car......ooppps, they don't make any British cars any more, do they !!!!!!
JC
ps: the Camaro was built at the Norwood, Ohio plant which was closed some years later.....and the newspapers were full of heartbreaking stories about all the unionistas who had worked their hearts out building quality cars for the General....yeah......and they're probably still drawing checks.
pps: best car I ever had? A '56 Packard.....not trouble free - but it was so glorious, who cared?.