84 Chevy chevette and an 86 Olds firenza. I understand that American cars have improved their reliability, but they still aren't as good as Japan. This isn't just my opinion, it's what consumer reports and other companies like JD power, et al are reporting.

Heavy duty trucks... different animal. We dominate.

MACS wrote:

You speak the language of the peasant.

HockeyDad wrote:

84 Chevy chevette and an 86 Olds firenza. I understand that American cars have improved their reliability, but they still aren't as good as Japan. This isn't just my opinion, it's what consumer reports and other companies like JD power, et al are reporting.

Heavy duty trucks... different animal. We dominate.

MACS wrote:

Henry Ford invented the Automobile, but the American Union killed the US auto industry. Or was it healthcare costs? Let's raise everyone's minimum wage to $15/hr too - a pay-cut to everyone else.
It's a crying shame that the country that invented the automobile, can't produce the most innovative product.
China's on the moon and we're still watching Voyager 1.

cacman wrote:

Try purchasing a real automobile from them.....#-o

Car reviews mean little to me, I ask real people who've bought and owned one. To each....keep on supporting Japan

TMCTLT wrote:

Last consumer reports I read on car reliablity had the big three out of Japan on top, America in the middle, and the big three out of Germany dead last.

I have had a good cross section of cars and worked on lots more. The Japs have the reliability, but it is nothing you don't pay for. GM and Ford can be good values. And I'm sorry, but I have no respect for the over priced German POS's so many people drool over, and yes, I had one.

The still drive a 2003 Infiniti I bought new. And some minor issues aside it has been bullet proof.

Brewha wrote:

I can do one better than "asking real people". I'll go by my own experience. Owned 8 Japanese cars and they have all done great by me.



I'm on my 2nd. 2004 G35 and 2011 G37. Head and shoulders above the Germans. 99% of the car for 80% of the price.

The German cars look great, and perform great too... but the German engineering expires with the warranty.

I'd buy American first, I think.

MACS wrote:

I drove the wheels oft a '99 Mazda Milennia S. Finally junked it in 2013 at 226,000. Parts were too expensive and too hard to find to keep it running.

At about 120,000 miles the supercharger belt tension pully locked up and threw the belt. It also tore the wire to the crankshaft position sensor. Repair shop wanted $2100 for repairs. I picked it up on the back of my friend's 20 ft trailer and sourced the parts myself. The best price I could find on the tension pulley was about $300 from a Mazda dealership out of North Carolina. MSRP for a new one was $365 and no parts house carried a generic version. The other parts cost about $300. Total cost to tow it to the shop then trailor it home plus parts was about $800.

Three months later the tension pulley for the accessory drive belt locked up and busted the belt. All I had to replace was the pulley and belt. My friend meet me with his trailer so no towing bill. Only had to get a pulley and belt this time. Repair cost was about $375 including shipping for parts.

The tranny finally died and the best repair estimate I could get was $2500. By then, I had two bent rims that required adding air to the tires every other day even with a quart of green slime in each one. All the ball joints were shot. The front end was so out of alignment the last pair of front tires had exposed belts on one side and 1/4" of thread on the other side. The tilt steering motor was dead as was the AC.

I tried parting it out. I listed some parts on the internet with no takers so after it sat 8 months I junked it to pull-a-part for $325.

Abrignac wrote:

I had a 2005 Mazda 6 I bought new on a dealer close out for six grand off the sticker. It had a V6 and the sport package. My job kept me on the road those day and I drove the wheels off of it with no real problems. The car was tight, but the V6 was all Ford - nothing to write home about.

Still, having driven six dozen comparable rental cars, I give the Mazda its propers - it handled better than most anything in its class.

Brewha wrote:

Infiniti G series? Damn, you have got good taste!
For what it's worth, just bought the wife a new Murano. Its got the same leather interior as the Infiniti and the rear seats have a power fold down/up (she has a bad back). I highly recommend.

As far as Das German autos, I could tell you horror stories all night. Having spent years working with German engineers (in a related industry ) I can tell you this; there is the right way, the wrong way, and the German way.

Brewha wrote:

The funny thing about the tension pulley's on the Milennia, they looked exactly like the ones from a Crown Vic, but one bolt hole was about 1/4 inch off. It retailed for about $50 bucks. Go figure.

The odometer on the S model went up to 160. When it was about a year old I took it to 148 on I-95 between Richmond and Fredericksburg. In it's day it was a smooth riding car. The S model had a factory super charger and a tight suspension.

I miss that car.

Abrignac wrote:

Speedometer, Right ?

wheelrite wrote:

Henry Ford DID not invent the automobile. Karl Benz did (founder of Mercedes Benz a German car company) in 1885.

Ford invented the assembly line,,,,

wheelrite wrote:

Henry Ford did not invent the automobile. He didn’t even invent the assembly line. But more than any other single individual, he was responsible for transforming the automobile from an invention of unknown utility into an innovation that profoundly shaped the 20th century and continues to affect our lives today.

He failed with his first two companies before he succeeded with Ford Motor Company.

The idea for using a moving assembly line for car production came from the meat-packing industry.

He was one of the nation's foremost opponents of labor unions in the 1930s and was the last automobile manufacturer to unionize his work force.

Ford mobilized his factories for the war effort and produced bombers, Jeeps, and tanks for World War II.

http://www.hfmgv.org wrote:

High wage, low skilled factory jobs pioneered by Ford accelerated both immigration from overseas and the movement of Americans from the farms to the cities. The same jobs also accelerated the movement of the same people into an ever expanding middle class. In a dramatic demonstration of the law of unintended consequences, the creation of huge numbers of low skilled workers gave rise in the 1930s to industrial unionism as a potent social and political force.

http://www.hfmgv.org/exhibits/hf/Henry_Ford_Legacy.asp wrote: