Built like a Mercedes (?)

No, and I don't read page 1, then page 1-2, then page 1-3, 1-4, etc. When reading down through a thread, it's helpful to ignore all the crap that I've already read...

Reply to
Tom Lawrence
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No, but they also have far better records of reliability in the states.

Reply to
Max Dodge

Perhaps you think that is a real pounding, but reality tells me that use in the States can be very harsh to a car that isn't designed here in the States. Like it or not, each region has its own design characteristics. Stuff designed outside the states tends to be less than up to the task here in the States. I hate to say it, but americans in general tend to be heavier than other humans. Thus cars take more abuse. Part of that is because we drive longer distances, as we don't have the rail system, nor the same lifestyle as Europe or the middle east. Another factor in those distances is the fact that we don't have restrictive borders as frequently as other regions do, thus we drive farther more frequently. Add to this that our fuel has traditionally been cheaper, and you have yet another reason we drive a lot. I have yet to see a pick up truck from Japan deal with the loads we dump on our pickups. This decade may see that opinion change in the half ton market.

Reply to
Max Dodge

That's because you imbeciles fail to remove the irrelevant text. So what happens you have a bunch of morons adding a few lines to the top of a preceding long article.

Reply to
223rem

Because you've never had to read through a complex thread, and most of your posts are of the 'me too' kind?

Reply to
223rem

Certainly not China or India. Try again.

Graham

Reply to
Pooh Bear

Hah ! You beat me to it !

The US military can't even cope with Iraq.

Graham

Reply to
Pooh Bear

You sem to have a strange view of things.

Thatcher did her bit to destroy British Industry but UK unemployment is by no means among the highest in Europe.

Graham

Reply to
Pooh Bear

Sensible trimming fixes that ( as per my post ).

Graham

Reply to
Pooh Bear

That's why you delete stuff you're not directly responding to, just like I did.

Reply to
Arif Khokar

Maybe moving the mouse is too tricky for these guys ?

Graham

Reply to
Pooh Bear

LOL.

Like it or not, each region has its own design

Yeah right! I weigh 300lbs and have never had a problem. I have never even heard of problems with cars due to weight of cargo although I do know of one Ford Mondeo that has settled on its springs a bit after 200,000 miles. A new set of springs would see it back as new.

Part of that is because we drive longer distances,

So you are saying now that it is easier on the car in the States. Certainly long distances are infinitely easier than the narrow twisty lanes we have in Europe although our freeways generally have average speeds of 80mph or so.

Another factor in those distances is the fact that

Still easier on a car. In Africa half the distances would be on unmetalled roads and similarly in India and Pakistan. Have you watched the news and seen what driving conditions are like there?

Add to this that our fuel has

I fail to see how driving a lot is relevant except that you do fewer cold starts per mile. 200,000 miles is the same distance wherever you are.

I have yet to see a pick up truck from Japan deal with the

Half ton eh? I don't think there are many pick-ups sold in Europe with a payload of less than a ton but there you go. Most of your pick-ups seem to carry not a lot more than fishing tackle.

Huw

Reply to
Huw

Yep... and of course, everyone does that, right? :)

Reply to
Tom Lawrence

Complete bullshit. As far as Ford and GM go, they did dig their own hole by stuffing their heads as far up their collective asses as they possibly could while Toyota and Honda were building fuel efficient vehicles at a loss to get good at it but Americans love to drive and if they were forced to buy GM and Ford, they would.

More showing of your lack of intelligence I see. There is a big difference free trade and fair trade and there is no way to compete fairly with countries that pay their workers next to nothing and have no concerns for environmental impacts or the safety of those workers. The only thing that works here are tarrifs and trade restrictions.

I guess that the European industry isn't so perfect after all.

Complete horseshit. In order to be competative you need to be on at least somewhat equal footing and that is simply not the case. Now if you are saying that if America went full protectionist that it would cause a global resession you are probably right but all that indicates is that the rest of the "global" economy is really not much more than a bunch of leaches draining the lifes blood out of this country. Quite sad really that we are too damn stupid and greedy to correct it.

Sure there is. MS does it all of the time and we still have the power to do it. The only thing that is stopping is is our GREED which sadly, will reduce us to a second world country with nothing but a few very rich and the rest of us quite poor within the next 10 or so years.

And if Santa Clause were real then their would be millions of happy children throughout the world and both have the same base in reality. The only way this will ever happen is through trade restrictions to force them to buy our products or make it profitable to build some of them here.

What we need and what we will get in the current situation are two very different things.

I agree but the rich don't really care as they will still be rich and possibly increase their wealth from it and the rest seem to be either too stupid or ignorant to do anything about it.

-- If at first you don't succeed, you're not cut out for skydiving

Reply to
TBone

It's not the *countries* that pay those workers it's the factories that employ them. Often owned by American companies. Americans love low labour costs for cheap imports but only when it doesn't threaten their own jobs.

Graham

Reply to
Pooh Bear

No, America needs to rein in it's trade freedoms. It's become too lax in allowing other countries to bring their stuff to America while putting rediculous tariffs on American imported goods.

Why is it "inevitable"? Global recession? It's time for America to quit supporting dictatorships and communistic governments that milk the life out of their peoples while packing the pockets of the elite few. Cut them loose and let them flounder without American monies.

Budd

Reply to
Budd Cochran

AGREED!!!

It is embarassing to see our people in New Orleans still not getting the help they need, while this country send billions of dollars around the world to aid other countries. That includes that sand pit as well.

Roy

Reply to
Roy

Oh. and the European countries are immune to this, LOL!

Reply to
TBone

Tell the truth, Roy, you've become a slave to a cushy lifestyle.

Me, I never had one, so the Medicare I'm on now is as good as it gets.

Ya want me to try a cut? BTDT, friend.

And lived quite well, just didn't have a new car, boat, house, huge college funds for my kids, vacations in the Bahamas, scraped up every penny for every bill of rediculous proportions caused by the overpaid union employees, but I'm still making it. The kids were always well dressed, we always had a roof over our heads, the food on the table was alwatys wholesome, if not fancy and we slept without worring about someone wanting to steal what we have.

And we were happy to be alive.

Ask yourself what you could really do without, if you had to.

Budd

Reply to
Budd Cochran

Go to your bookshelf and open up any book. Is it written from top to bottom or bottom to top?

Now take down another book - same thing?

Take down a few more - My God, are they ALL like that?

Reply to
Scott en Aztlán

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