Why I spurn American Cars

My Firebird has gotten 34 mpg on the highway.
Only gets 13.23 at the dragstrip tho... (that's time, not MPG...

Ray

 

Hats off to you again my friend - that VX SS would SLAY basically anything.




Nick.

 

Do people find the following features as annoying as I do?

Two of my workmates have Impalas - neither of which have overly excessive
road noise. And my Fiero was quiet - but for the wonderful yet whispering
sound of the 3800 behind you.

My Mitsubishi Sigma GSR wasn't quiet at all, the Corolla has LOADS of
roadnoise, the Ford Laser has strange clunks all over the place... typical
of a Japanese car from what I've noticed.

And the Ford Fairmont had the character Falcon squeak in the front right, as
well as other rattles and niggles. Australian quality engineering here.
Holden Commodore is squeak free from my experience in the models I've
driven.

Bumps making an American car noisy? Stop talking out your arse.

The Sigma lacked any formal instrumentation that would give away anything of
its intended nature - same controls as the standard sedan, and all in stupid
locations like the stereo being directly in front of the shifter. Mirage was
so sparse it wasn't funny. Corolla has a semirespectable layout but it too
suffers from the stereo being in a stupid place. Laser is just a nightmare.

Fairmont like most Holden Commodores I've driven had things in a generally
neat location but it was ugly as all hell inside.

The Fiero interior I liked. Besides being a horrid shade of tan, it was
nice. Instruments looked like they should be in an indy car and seats were
awesome. Mmmmmmm soft comfy seat.

My window seals were beaut!

Worst case of fit and finish I've seen was a '96 Nissan Bluebird. Everything
was loose and tinny feeling... and have you ever seen a door vibrate once
the car reaches 110KMH?

Bullcrap. My Fiero looked far sexier than the Honda Civics and Nissan
Skylines all the boys adore here. And the Fiero GT looks even better still.

You knew what the car was doing with the Fiero. The Fairmont wasn't so good,
the rest of mine were all pretty blah. Worst feel I've ever experienced was
a Subaru Leone. Yuck! And it was an awkward fit behind the wheel with poor
instrumentation.

I can recall being wobbly on my legs after driving the Fiero many times.
That car had BALLS! The Sigma didn't even turn me on, and it was quick for a
Japper (courtesy of its hairdryer)

What kinda Fiero were you driving, a freaking '84 2M4? Gimp.

I miss my Fiero. And I can honestly say if I could get another I would in a
flash. Offer me anything you like from Japan, but I'd rather a GM any day.
My parents have two Commodores, both have a wonderful drive (especially
Dad's VR Commodore Ute, very nice!). I've driven friends Japanese beasts,
some Australian gear, and some European stuff... but the GMs leave the best
impression.

I may be wrong, and it may be a terrible flaw, but I've had enough good
experience with GMs to say loud and proud 'Bugger your Japper, gimme a
Pontiac!'.

 

Can it be that export cars are checked more thoroughly than domestic
sales?

YES, YES, and YES... because they, manufacturers, want to put the BEST foot
forward.., you only get one chance to make a first grand impression...plus
when you are going to be far from home you don't take as much for granted..

 

Someone who wishes to "reject scornfully", "refuse with disdain",
"show contempt for". Nothing like the right word in the right place.

 

As long as they make better cars people will pay.

 

Hi,
Let's see after 3 years how much each car costs to run, Taurus vs. Accord.
And what'd be resale/trade-in value of each car.
Tony

 

Believe it or not, you are onto something regarding linear units. For
example, if a dimension on a part has been assigned a metric tolerance in
millimeters of 0.02, the inches(or Imperial--which some refer to as English
units) equivalent would be .0007. Rounded to 3 decimal places, which is a
very common practice on engineering drawings, the tolerance would be .001.
Therefore, the Imperial/English tolerance allowance would be sloppier, or
looser if you will, than its metric equivalent. So if you're designing
entirely in metric, you end up with tighter tolerances overall and less
tolerance stackup. Toyota performed tests regarding this very issue several
years ago. It's pretty hard to refute their reliability at this point in
automotive history--so there must be something to their tolerance studies.


By the way, I'm American, but certainly no fan of the Big 3's current
vehicle offerings. Not all American cars are pure junk, but a lot of them
are. Of course the same can be said for a few foreign makes as well. One
man's treasure is another man's junk. Next topic please...

S.T.

 

Your points are right on the money. American cars have very cheap and
cheesy looking interiors, lack status symbol feeling, have atrocious
outer styling and most importantly-- lack quality. Until American car
companies address these issues, I will buy the currently superior
Japanese and Euro cars.

 

Solid response. It is stuff like this we need to be discussing instead of
the broad sweeping statement in the original post. When all parts are made
correctly with tight tolerances, the final product, not with-standing
material defect, will be of high quality. Statistical theory proves it, and
the manufacturers who uses that method reaps the rewards of high quality and
growing sales.
Up until 1989, all my tool were standard, now, with my newer Ford I am
forced to have a metric set too..

 

Both american and imports can be spurn'd
Been driving for 33 years and here is what I've owned/driven:
1965 dodge dart with slant six/auto tran --- just normal maintaince
1966 ford fairlane 289 v8, auto trans -- just normal maint
1972 Datsun 510 manual tran -- problems with carb, had to replace,
otherwise normal maint
1978 VW rabbit manual tran -- constant problems: front disc brakes,
catalytic converter, radaitor
cooling fan thermo switch,
master cylinder, car hardly ran when it was
adjusted to pass
california smog tests
1978 dodge aspen wgn 318 v8 -- just normal maint
1991 dodge caravan v6, 4spd -- so far replaced: 4 water pumps, rack/pinion,
2 radiators, 1 set of brake
calipers, turn signal
assembly , fuel gauge sensor, oil drain pan gasket,

2000 honda accord ex 4cyl/auto trans -- normal maint
2003 honda CRV EX auto trans -- too soon to tell, but am counting on honda
quality

so from my list I've had major problems from one american made and one
foreign made.

 

Indeed NADA lists the retail of three year old Accord V6 at
$4,000 higher than the Taurus, however that would be a LOSS
of $4,400 on the difference in 'drive home' price if he had
bought another Accord.

He bought the 2000 Accord because of its resale value and he
buys new ever two or three years. Accord reliability reputation
was another, but one of the reasons he decided to keep his Accord
for his daughter was because all the dealers were offering him
$3,000 to $4,500 less than NADA trade price for
it on a trade. As to reliability his wife's 2000 Sable company
car did not have any problems while he had a leaky tranny and
multiple brake problems with his Accord over the same period
of time, even though her car had 10K more the clock.



mike hunt

 

There is an interesting story about this story in the current (August 03)
issue of"Car and Driver" magazine. The article is on page 24. The most
important line in the article says:
"Until the Big Two (Ford and GMC) of the domestic (American) auto.
industry can produce cars that not only equal but also SURPASS the
quality, value, function and performance of the ACCORD and the Cambry,
their future is uncertain."

I agree with the writer of the article.

 

|
| There is an interesting story about this story in the current (August 03)
| issue of"Car and Driver" magazine. The article is on page 24. The most
| important line in the article says:
| "Until the Big Two (Ford and GMC) of the domestic (American) auto.
| industry can produce cars that not only equal but also SURPASS the
| quality, value, function and performance of the ACCORD and the Cambry,
| their future is uncertain."
|
| I agree with the writer of the article.

And I would add that just as important, if not more so, is treatment of the
customer after the sale is also a big factor. GM is terrible in that
regard. Which reminds me, I need to write letter #3 to Mr. Lutz (that he
will ignore like the other two, I'm sure...along with customer service as
well)

 

Nah, I am sure he traded it in. Audis are nice looking cars but, the real
word on them is they break down a lot and their service is a nightmare. I
did know someone who owned a Audi, he loved the car but, I do know, I gave
him a lot of rides to the office because his car was in the shop (and he got
it new).

I drive a Lexus, and never had a problem...

--
-Dave

Dave At 'anywherecool" dot "com'
AIM: DavidinRI / MSN: ( MyE-mail address)
ICQ: 10640235

http://www.anywherecool.com

 

So don't buy an American car! Nobody fuckin' cares!!

 

American Cars are generally 1/3 the price of the european cars you refer
to that perform so well.
Just remember They all rust out just the same.
Factory defects are as many or more and cost 3 times more to fix. I
talkin about Major engine work and replacements, electrical work etc.
You have to wait weeks and months for parts. BMW, Jag all have this problem.


If you dont need to depend on a car on a daily basis, You have money and
time for the car to be in the shop. You can pay three times more. You
want a better fit and finish. Buy European. Otherwise buy American or
some cheap Jap Rig so you can get to work in some kind of a reliable manner.

Mike

 

m:

Amen. My brother was driving me around in his 6-cyl Camaro a
while ago. The rattles and squeaks were bad enough, and the
windshield provided an excellent view of the lumpy hood, and
little else. But I almost busted a gut when he "bragged" about
the 160 HP of his 3.5l six.

My '93 Prelude is a 2.3l four and puts out the same HP. He was
thankfully silent about his Camaro for the rest of the ride.

--

 

American Automobile manufacturing knotheads refuse to give the public what
they want. If they build better cars the public will come.
They have the best technology but refuse to use it in the USA.
Example Jag vs. Lincoln LS
Why wont they put independent rear suspension on ford and Lincoln full size
cars. some idiot is telling them the limo business don't mind hey the other
buying public do care.
Why is GM still using so many Push Rod engines.
Why is the crown Vic Blowing up when rear ended? Correct the fire problem
,first fire the idiot responsible for allowing this problem to continue. Put
an independent rear suspension on that car and no import in that class will
be able to compete with it.
Remember any imported 8 cyl cost over 40 Grand.
They believe that they can cut corners with the American public. and they
have a captive rental market to dispose of their cars.
A restyled Sable with About 250 hp v6, disk brakes on all 4 wheels.
Arrest all GM Stylist their cars are ugly and some.Aztec, all Pontiacs, most
Buicks all front drive Cadillac's.
Chrysler are beautiful cars but reliability is a question.
I have owned ford and mercury cars and SUV's
GM cars
Dodge Trucks
and Hondas.
Keeping my fingers crossed Honda beats them in reliability .
They can definitely build better cars if they want to. they do so in Europe.
Cant beat the corvette and CTS. example of what they can do.

 

crossposting trimmed.

Asked.
Answered.