quick poll - american cars

Would you buy a a car from an American car maker right now.

Starting with me - no

Reply to
jimz
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My last American vehicle was a Jeep Comanche. For the first 2 years it was a real nice truck. It seemed it had a self destruct mode when the hobbs meter read exactly 2 years and one second. And it wasn't a quick painless death either. A new piece of the truck would fail on a pretty consistent basis. Over the next year, out of warranty of course, it probably cost me an average of $300 a month in random repairs. Some of the failures I can remember: The rear view mirror just fell off the windshield at a stop light, the gear shift knob broke off in my hand, both window cranks broke. It was a

4 speed and did not have a cable for the clutch. Instead it was a hydraulic unit that would blow seals about every other month. That meant speed shifting while under way and doing powerstarts at red lights. The starter failed, that meant parking on hills so I can do a rolling start. Money was tight then so after a month of parking at the top of a hill it became a difficult habit to shake. One time the carburetor coughed some fire and some rubber ignited, I was in my driveway blowing on the flames to no avail. Luckily there was a Builders Emporium across the street, I sprinted into the store grabbing a fire extinguisher and tossing my wallet at the cashier. Shortly after that the clutch imploded on in itself and after that repair it just didn't seem right. I had to go to a Toyota dealer to pick up a part for my wife's Toyota, and a salesman said "Hey buddy wanna trade that truck in?" I didn't even have to think about it. I've been stuck on Toyota's ever since. My current truck is a '98 Tacoma and at 190,000+ it's just getting broken in. Nope, I won't buy the junk passed off as vehicles that Detroit is responsible for in this lifetime.
Reply to
Bill

I know people who've had nothing but troubles with Toyota's and will never buy another.

I've been driving American cars for thirty years and have had only a couple problems which weren't related to normal wear and tear in all that time. The problems were with electrical harness routing on a 95 Ranger, were fixed under warranty, and they never returned.

I work with a guy who swears Honda's far outlast American cars despite his high mileage vehicles being in the shop every other month for wheel bearings, cv joints, tie rod ends, ball joints, struts, slipping transmissions, leaky seals, etc. Sure doesn't sound like they outlast American cars to me.

Reply to
Black Dragon

The problem with Honda, Toyota, Acura, etc. is that the cylinder head has so little material in it that if you experience even a momentary overheating problem such as would be caused with say a fan switch failure you're looking at a very expensive cylinder head rebuild. Other manufactures have more material in the head and their heads can often handle a brief over heating situation... not so with Honda, Toyota or Acura. This FACT makes automotive repair shops tons of money.

Do Honda, Toyota and Acura have advantages... certainly they do. They have a much better fit and finish and I believe they hold their suppliers to tighter tolerances.

I've had two Honda's. Both had cylinder head problems. I'd never buy another Honda again.

A classic Saab 900 Turbo is a much better designed and engineered car. The classic Saab 900 uses double wishbone for it's front suspension. The only major weakness of the Saab 900 Turbo is a gearbox that can't handle over 300 hp without being babied. The engine can easily be made to output 450 hp. It's a far better car in every possible way compared to a Honda... better ride, better handling, more room, better engine, etc.

Jon Banquer San Diego, CA

Reply to
jon_banquer

Reply to
Cliff

How many times do you see older model ''Detroit Iron'' cars/trucks/vans still rolling around on the highways? Compare that to the foreign name brands vehicles. cuhulin

Reply to
cuhulin

A lot of this has to do with the fact that the foreign marks weren't selling much in the US back then.

It would be a fun comparison, though. Out of all the cars that Datsun sold in 1970, how many are still on the road? Out of all the cars that Ford sold in 1970, how many are still on the road?

In the case of some early model BMWs, there are more on the road today than BMW sold in the US originally, due to people importing them both new and used.

--scott

Reply to
Scott Dorsey

Datsun vehicles, (AKA Nissan) started being sold in America in the

1960s.Toyopet vehicles, (AKA Toyota) started being sold in America in 1957.There are far more old American vehicles manufactured in America still running than foreign name brand vehicles manufactured in foreign countries and also manufactured in America.You just can't beat rugged tough ''Detroit Iron'' vehicles manufactured in Michigan and other places in America.. cuhulin
Reply to
cuhulin

The Datsun I had was one of the dogs! It was one of the worst cars I ever had. I had resolved not to buy a Nissan product, but I have learned that they eventually overcame the problems they had, and I know folks who have had very good luck with newer Nissans. I would now consider a Nissan.

Reply to
Don Stauffer

I bought a '72 Datsun for $50 once, because whatever vinyl insulation they had used caused all of the wiring harnesses to turn into gooey messes after about five years. I had to pull every piece of wire out of that car and replace it, and it was a very fine exercise for a young kid to learn about auto wiring.

--scott

Reply to
Scott Dorsey

Do they still have Bovril over there? How about Ovaltine? Lux? cuhulin

Reply to
cuhulin

Sage advice, that...

Reply to
Larry in AZ

City driving is worse on an engine than out on the highway/out in the country driving.City driving pollutes the oil more often.The oil and oil filter should be changed more often. cuhulin

Reply to
cuhulin

_________________________ It's a Nagra - it's Swiss, quite precise?? I'm with you pal on roller-coasters and watches!

Anywho, in an attempt to expand the depth of this thread, let's throw

Domestic V Foreign:

-looks

-interior

-HANDLING

into the mix here instead of just how long Domestic lasted vs Foreign. Notice the emphasis on handling.

-ChrisCoaster "Who never met a non-looping coaster he didn't like"

Reply to
ChrisCoaster

Other than lubricating, engine oil also cleans and cools the engine.An article I read in an auto magazine many years ago said engine oil actually cools more than water/antifreeze does. cuhulin

Reply to
cuhulin

Ford used to send body stamping dies to Brazil after Ford was through using them.It used to be 1966 and 1967 and whatever Ford cars were being manufactured in Brazil years after the Ford model runs in America.World War Two era Jeeps were being manufactured in France by Hotchkiss on into either the 1960s or 1970s. cuhulin

Reply to
cuhulin

The old style physical needle gauges are the best.Whenever I am driving anywhere, it is an old habit for me to keep a close eye on them. cuhulin

Reply to
cuhulin

Think about the gauges in Aircraft, Ships, Submarines, Industrial equipment.I guess nowadays though, some of those gauges are digital. My 1914 Ford Model T car doesn't have any gauges at all. cuhulin

Reply to
cuhulin

Do you ever tap your finger agains't a gauge to see if it will move? cuhulin

Reply to
cuhulin

Pretty much all the modern aircraft being made today use digital displays, which are called a "glass cockpit" display system. The technology is pretty good, and a lot of development has been put into making computer displays you can read in daylight and dark night.

The thing is, though... even the aircraft with the latest digital technology are still required to have a limited number of old-style instruments, which pilots disparagingly refer to as "steam gauges." If everything goes out you can still fly. Hell, a lot of smaller planes still use magneto spark, so that if the whole electrical system goes out you can still fly.

The Piper Cub has a cork attached to a rod stuck in the gas tank. If you look out the window during level flight and you can see the rod out, you know you have fuel.

Because new airplanes are very expensive and the preventative maintenance is mandated by the FAA, the average age of aircraft flying today is pretty old. There are still plenty of DC-3s from the 1930s in regular service today. A lot of them have been retrofitted with modern glass cockpit instruments, too...

--scott

Reply to
Scott Dorsey

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