Cindy's '99 Ford Ranger XLT is basically a Mazda design. It was assembled by UAW labor at the twin Cities assembly plant, so you tell me. Oh, it's been a darned trouble free grocery hauler, it's 4.0 V-6 averaging 20 mpg of regular.

2001 Imapala LS (currently has 55k miles)
* Transmission left me stranded on my wifes birthday at 24k miles. Transmission replaced.
* Knock in steering column - in shop 3 times for this.
* Exhaust manifold leak - in shop 5 times for this - last time it was in the shop the service manager acknowledged that it had been in several times before and then said that this would be the last time the warranty covers it WTF?) - thinking of seeign attorney about his one.
* Car overheating - In shop 2 times for this problem
* Car all of the sudden died on me while at store (haven't taken to shop - recent)
* Catalytic converter malfunctioned in the middle of Nevada - In shop once for this. (I do give Chevy marks for this service - 3 hrs and we were on our way)
* The steering column knock is coming back. Upon further research I found that this is a common problem with Impala's as well as silverado pickups due to a bad steering knuckle design. There are known incidents of the steering locking up causing and accident. GM fix is to lubricate with heavy duty grease.

1993 Dodge Ram 1500 (SOLD in 1995)
* Ignition would smoke after long drive when removing key. Other than that an excellent truck!

My 1990 Jeep Cherokee (SOLD)
* Transmission fluid pumped into cabin - in shop 3 times they couldn't find the problem. Turns out it was a seal on the speedo cable housing on the transmission end.
* Fuel leak in engine compartment
* In shop for 1 month for engine repair - they were waiting on a part. Can't remember the exact problem.

Mom and Dad's Suburban
* Electrical gremlins
* Transmission knocks and shifts very hard into gear
* Clunking sound from rear of car that no one seems to be able to find/fix.

Mom and Dads Dodge mini-van
* Three transmissions in 120k miles.
* Airbag light will not shut off started at ~30k miles - dealer hasn't a clue
* motor mounts replaced twice (?)

All of MY cars are maintained maticulously. I know it doesn't say much but I have all service records from the dealer from day one - right down to rotating tires every 7500 miles. In my experience the quality isn't there.

But of course, our Porsches are trouble free, dead reliable, without any design flaws...;)

I'd be glad to tell you about the history of my 2001 Audi A6 2.7T, my 1999 BMW 740iL, my 1992 BMW 750iL, my 1995 Mazda Millenia, my parents 2000 Toyota Camry V6 XLE

Do you want details?

E

Maybe I should just tell you about my 1999 GMC Suburban 4x4.

I sold it in 2002 with 127K miles, and everything worked fine, with the exception of one sticking power lock solenoid.

First set of tires at 85K miles
First front brakes at about 87K miles
Alternator failed at 110K miles
U-joint disintegrated at 117K miles

That's it
Original battery
Original rear brakes (still had 15%)
No oil leaks

Dealer changed oil every 5000 miles with Mobil 1
Tires rotated at the same time
Very careful with tire pressure
Never beat it, but I sure did use it like a Sub: towing, 4x4, kids
Almost all highway miles

Never left me stranded, although when the alternator was failing I was able to nurse it directly to the dealership. U-joint gave me plenty of warning.

So do you think my $100K BMW 750 was better, or worse?
How about my parents Camry?

E

Interesting pwd72s:

The Chrysler is American when built in Mexico?

But the Mercedes Benz isn't American when built in Alabama?

In both cases the money flows back to Stuttgart :confused:

E

I would venture to say worse on the BMW - with more technology there's more to break. My boss had a $150k Mercedes that had all sorts of problems. After a year of arbitration Mercedes finally bought it back. He went out and bought a prisu of all things. His boss had an Mercedes ML??? and had transmission problems. He sold it and bought an Infinity. Every manufacturer is going to have their share of problems, it's just chosing the lesser of two evils.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/buyingleasing/best-worst-cars-in-reliability-1005.htm

I think you're confusing me with SoCalSC...But because Porsche is independent, this makes the cars somehow better? Like the Boxter main seal leaks & other problems? Hate to clue you, but today's P-cars are built by robots in a manner very similar to Fords and Chevrolet...The bean counters took over...

When cost is a factor, the product will suffer (as well as the consumer).

Sorry, my brain wasn't operating at Sigma 6. It was SoCal, not pwd72s. Recall me, tell Consumer's Reports not to recommend me :)

My mention of Porsche's independence was not in any way a statement about their quality. Porsche is just about the only brand that isn't owned by another manufacturer from some other country. Everyone else is merged somehow. Porsche is owned by Porsche (although not ALL of them have been from Germany, or Porsche's plants).

My 750 was simply the worst car I have ever owned. I've owned 5 or 6 BMW's (I'll count when it becomes important) and I have finally sworn never to own another. And I'm usually very understanding when complex mechanical things break.

My parents Camry had a bad engine, TWICE because of sludge build up. The first time, Toyota initially refused to warrant the engine because they claimed it was abused. They made my parents produce records of every oil change, which they did. Toyota finally paid for the repair. They had no problems getting the engine paid for the second time. But, darn it, Toyotas are great!

E

Who's does? and don't even ask me about my wife's....

When all else fails, widen the spec limits....

E I've asked it a hundred times before, even in this forum:

Where the shareholder meetings are held.

HGP: Great point!

So the Dodge Ram built in Mexico is German, and the Aston Martin built in England is American, and the Nissan built in Georgia is French.

Glad I got it straight :p

E

Assuming that the global automobile market is at least somewhat efficient, all you need to do is look at the financial health of Toyota compared to Ford and GM.

The market has spoken.

I wouldn't say that the market has spoken.

GM's financial health is all about the UAW. Toyota has learned to just say no.

Toyota is certainly more efficient at lots of things, including manufacturing vehicles here in the U.S.

The U.S auto manufacturers need to restructure. I'm not talking bankruptcy, but a paradigm shift.

If they have the balls to make the change they will succeed in time. They have the know how. They have the quality, IMO.

It will take time to overcome the negative stigma they've earned.

E

But in a way, the market has spoken. The market is saying GM and Ford cannot make meaningful change in the near to mid term. If you feel otherwise, you might be obliged to purchase some of their stock or bonds. It may actually be a great value stock someday.

I don't think it has to do so much with where a car is made as it is the philosophy behind the manufacturing and engineering. My unlce used to work for GM. He said that the difference between GM and Toyota is that GM engineers for the life of initial ownership and Toyota engineers parts for maximum time to failure. GM found that on average their owners kept the car for five years then got another one. So that's their goal - make it last 5 years. This translates into cheap materials by the lowest bidder. Toyota tries to get maximum life out of their cars and parts so standards become more strict. Porsche also has strict standards that's why we can race our cars on the weekends, drive them during the week and still get 100k or more miles out of them. Try that with a Corvette. It all comes down to quality.

Gee I can't understand why people aren't standing in line for this.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1130907756.jpg

If GM made cars people wanted to buy (without having to bribe them 'employee discounts' and such) then the UAW wouldn't factor into the picture at all. The UAW has become the scapegoat because GM management can't seem to find their asses in the dark with two hands, a flash light, and a seven man search party.

On the way to work this AM, I passed two car carriers chock full of Prius'

It's not just GM.

No one wants Mitsubishis either.