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> For well over a decade, I've noticed that the locks of GM
> and Ford cars bind up a lot sooner than those of Japanese cars,
> and they also wear out the keys faster.
Never noticed that. The only lock I've ever been forced to replace from wear was on a japanese car. The other was broken by a thief trying to steal a GM car.
Now in the winter, the ford latches of the 1970s and earlier would tend to freeze up if neglected lube wise. On the other side, these latches have had good collision performance in my experience. So just making sure they are greased before winter sets in is no big trade off.