Mechanical Dependability

Let me tell you something you may not know , you take a ride in a Camry with

80000 miles on it and it probablly will ride almost as good as it did when it was new . Domestic makes , when they get miles on them just don't ride nearly as well . -Dana

"Dana"

So do the majority of the German owners, it seems

I find it strange that you would make that comparison. I see a lot of old German sedans at old car shows, that I visit throughout the country, but hardly ever see a old Japanese sedan. ;)

mike hunt

Why do you say that? My 1986 Sable at 135,000 miles with the original shock rode just fine. My 14 year old F150, 100,000 miles is till on the original suspension components, and rides as good as when it was new - and it has seen a lot more stressful service than your Camry. My Mother has owned a couple of Grand Marquis and they never had any ride problems, even when well past 8 years old with more than 80,000 miles.

When did you last buy a new American car?

Ed

Why would you see an old japanese car? The German cars were made to be expensive and stylish, the Japanese cheap and dependable.

It's not that they don't exist, just that they were never stylish to begin with.

Do you see alot of Ford Fairmonts and Ford Escorts? How about Chevy Chevettes?

Huh? Not quite.

Smaller sample sizes have more inherent variability.

Larger sample sizes to have "more defects" in an absolute sense. But as a % of the # sold, a larger sample size wouldn't cause more defects.

Apparently you do not frequent old cars shows, there are lots of basic vehicles like those you reference, from model 'Ts' on up to cars for the eighties. I have a '71 Pinto I take to shows. There are Falcon, Corvair and Valiant car clubs all over the US. You don't see Toyopet, Tercel or even Camry clubs, however. I see cars from GB, France. Even Italian car at shows which are not the poster cars for dependability. I suspect, from what I have seen in my years in the business, is that the limited availability and cost of parts as the reason Japanese cars are more likely to disappear over time, plus the average Toyota buyer is not considered a car guy who would keep and old car. Toyota buyers are more like appliance buyers, who use their appliances till they die and then junk them. You hear from Toyota buyer like that in this NG all the time

mike hunt

My father had a 65 Ford Falcon. Nice looking body but the engine ate valves.