Ok everyone always talks about how they wish they had a BMW or some other import. I myself love a Good Ole Chevy Truck. Very dependable and its made in America. It can't get any better then that. I know not everyone is a truck person, but america makes some good cars too.
Heart Beat Of America...Today's Chevy Trucks!
~NiceMann
I certainly like that better than Ford, but I'm a Mopar person meself...do you have one of the new silverados, Nice? I like the way those look VERY much. I drove a 96 Tahoe for a little while, then switched to an Expedition, which was a huge mistake. I'm in a Durango now, and happy as a clam. Doesn't have the ridiculous gee-wizardry of the Ford and is made a little tighter than the Tahoe. And it's not a logistical exercise trying to find parking.
A big-pimpin Cadillac or good condition six-four would be very cool as well.
the ford f150 does outsell the honda accord or toyota camry, that's not by mistake. i myself wouldnt mind a lincoln if i could afford it, the new ones are sick.
Hey, I might be a beemer lover but I still dig my Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Hey now people I said CHEVY not ford.
Naa Fords a good company, I just always buy chevy.
~NiceMann
I gotta agree with you. GMC trucks are the way to go. Gotta love my 4.3 liters of turbocharged all wheel drive typhoon.
Until recently I have always found Ford's built quality of cabin body components to be of slightly better quality than GM stuff. My 1987 Taurus has worn so well inside with cloth seats. That's probably the only reason I never owned a GM vehicle. I like the fact that the 3800 series of engines was making more power and more efficiently via pushrod than most of the import DOHC engines.
If you need a real truck, ie your moving houses, you still gotta turn to Ford. Ever see how much those Ford tractors or earth movers can pull!?!It's outrageous!
I've been with my 1998.5 Ford Contour SVT for 2.08 years now and haven't had a single problem other than crappy gas mileage. A 2.5L DOHC should get more than 21 mpg on mixed city/highway when pulling a 2800 pound car. I guess the fact I have a lead foot doesn't help though.
Oh, I did have 1 problem, but Ford dealers induced it, and later fixed. Most American cars will do fine as long as you or your local mechanic maintain it rather than a dealership.
I honestly think dealerships "destroy" their own so that they can bill the Auto company for repairs under warranty. The dealer gets to make tons of money on labor and parts and the Auto maker suffers in name.
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Ço£o§§ü§ - yeah you can read into it...
All this hub-bub of ford or chevy/gmc. . . BAH! I'll take a Dodge 2500 dualy.
d
[This message has been edited by resented (edited 07-26-2000).]
s
[This message has been edited by resented (edited 07-26-2000).]
2.08 years, colossus? gee, couldn't you get a little more specific.
Has anyone ever looked at consumer-reports?
All the little red dots beside the imports and black spots beside domestic vehicles is no coincident. Japanese and German cars and trucks are superior. They run longer stronger and retain resale value far more than domestic. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for red white and blue(I own a Ford myself) but unfortunately, were still playing catch-up in manufacturing techniques, quality etc. Edward Deming (American) tried to convince American manufacturers to comit to total quality but nobody listend... he took his ideas and principles to Japan were they put them to work(Edward Deming Award). I work at Toyota and believe me.... they get on my nerves on how picky they are about the smallest details....then again... I'm proud to part of a company that strives to make a quality Automobile.
That's true, I'm a German auto enthusiast. But when it comes to trucks and big block engines, no one can beat the Americans. Although Toyota trucks are "refined" they just don't have the torque that a good ol' Dodge Ram v12 or a Ford F350 or Chevy Sierra has. There are just soo many more better trucks made in the heartland.
isnt it funny that we make superior trucks, the automobiles that take all the abuse, but we cant make a car that takes zero abuse and runs forever. what's up with that?
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by qeg84doa:
They retain resale value far more than domestic.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Resale value is based on the PERCEPTION of quality, not actual quality. Today, lemon examples of Toyotas and Hondas sell for just as much as a good specimen. If resale value was not based on people's perceptions, then well-maintained, good running cars would all sell for the same, regardless of the badge on the hood.
I have also been skeptical of the consumer reports methodology, an area on which they've been taken to task many times. I am just ignorant as to how those black and red dots are calculated. Does anyone have a CR issue in front of them? Their pseudo-scientific approach has always kind of irked me.
Finally, with regards to Edward Deming, that was decades ago. Do you honestly think American car companies haven't caught on by now? You can bet the early-90's saw car execs getting flogged by their superiors for letting the Japanese get so far ahead in QC. Today's impression of Japanese goods is still the product of our late-80's conception of the robot-Japanese businessman/factory worker, the mystique that suggests that they are a superhuman race of people, and that their success will always be a mystery to us. I can assure you American companies have been hard at work trying to figure it out, and given 15 years, I think they've probably cracked it. Considering the number of European companies that have been purchased by Americans, it's probably not that closely guarded a secret.
Chevy is the only TRUCK that I will buy, you know, "builty like a rock".
I do drive an ACURA, over 160K miles and still beat most of the newer vehicles...
I'm sure hoping they caught on, when quality is equal and supply is high due to competition, prices go down!
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~Grizy
Great, so how much is shipping?
I gues I'm the only Dodge truck lover here?
You listen to a Ford Powerstroke 7.3 and then to a Cummins and you tell me which one you like more...
I gotta go with the Powerstroke...
Whats the deal with the pushrod engine?
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~Grizy
Great, so how much is shipping?
Even though I'm an American, I must admit that American cars/trucks suck. No offense to those owners, but Japanese cars by far excel in almost every test category. My parents own a Ford Taurus, one of the best selling American passenger cars in recent years. They are constantly in and out of the shop with it, whether it be recalls to constant brake work. I'm extremely satisfied with my import, and would never buy American.
HONDAS RULE
its still true that american cars are a good 5 years behind imports...
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by AJ:
its still true that american cars are a good 5 years behind imports...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Nah AJ, I think its only 3 or so years, hehe
Lets not foget about the Good 'ole '95 GMC (same as chevy, right?) 4WD K1500 SWB, and its awesome plastic bearing races in the tranny that seem to pulverize after 80k mi....
Other than that, it as a great truck.
See, that post above about the Taurus and the brake problems show that people don't know about cars. The standard Ford (Motorcraft) organometallic pads are better than what Honda puts on most of it's cars. In fact Honda is now using Ford's Motorcraft division as an outsourcer for electronics and brakes.
Now if your Taurus had constant brake problems, either
1) the cars was designed so poorly that it's weight distribution was like 99F and 1R. I don't think this is the case. All the midsize cars have about 60F 40R weight distribution, plus or minus 5% depending on options and model. Plus, ask any independent mechanic which pads wear out faster (Taurus sedan or Accord sedan) and he would say the Taurus usually fails around 35K while the Accord fails around 27K on average. Mind also that the Accord is a lighter car.
2) The guys putting on the parts are idiots. Especially if you take it to a Ford dealer. Why would the Ford dealer purposefully do a bad job on repairs, especially when it's under warranty? Because the dealership (privately owned) stands to make money at Ford's expense.
Braking systems are relatively independent of the car. For $1200 bucks you could upgrade the entire brake lines, and change all 4 wheels to Bear braking system with huge 13" sweeps (crossed drilled or slotted). The braking on the car would exceed anything in it's class. I've done this to my car and it can be done to any car. Some extra money needs to be spent if the car has ABS.
Every car has it's weak points. Some cars are just laddened with them. My family has had a piece of junk from Ford (1980 Fairmont) and 2 awesome cars from Ford (1987 Taurus wagon, 1996 Taurus sedan, 1998.5 Contour SVT). Obviously the same automaker has the ability to produce entirely different products. I've seen Civics that commute 180 miles a day that have nearly 260K on them in 10 years that have almost repairs and I've seen Civics with 18K needing new alternators.
½ the time it's the drivers fault. So let it go. My #1 priority in a new car is safety, and only recently have Honda and Toyota focused on safety. They're doing an excellent job at it too! I'm just saddened that one of my fav importers, Nissan, hasn't cared to protect it's customers. Else I would probably buy a new Maxima.
Ço£o§§ü§ - yeah you can read into it...
BTW, what I considered to be Ford's best car, the Contour, which I own has given me no problems in 2.3 years of ownership. Other than 3 oil changes with Mobil 1 synthetic and custom oil filters and 2 tire rotations it's made 18.5K problem free. Everything is working on the car like brand new.
The only problem I've had are 2 flat tires that needed to be patched. A shocking total repair cost of $19.83.
My dad's 96 Taurus has run fine since Dec 95, but it did need one coolant recall that the Ford dealership really messed up on. Plus one EGR valve needed cleaning (cuz my dad ignores normal maintenance schedules.
Just curious, has anybody else had such problem free reliability?
Ço£o§§ü§ - yeah you can read into it...
Yup Yup, colossus you got great points. I noticed overall American and Euro's are much more durable. I've heard and seen too many Honda's and Toyota's overheating or having some minor problems constantly.
I tend to disagree with that statement I've owned a lot of cars myself and my family has owned a lot of cars. The japanese cars that we have had have been totally more reliable than the american and german cars that we have had. We've had two bmw's a 528 and a 325, three vw's a jetta, a golf, and a passat. The american cars that we've had have been one camaro, a mustang one malibu station wagon a ford bronco and a gmc typhoon. The japanese cars that we have had one miata, two rx7's, toyota celica, lexus gs 400, acura legend, acura integra gsr, honda civic, honda accord, toyota camry, toyota avalon. The japanese cars have totally ruled in regards to reliability. The american and german cars have had a lot of electrical and cooling problems and a lot of things have broken that you would never think would break. Like a heater core, exhaust manifold, intake manifold, seatbelt, doorlatch, odometer, speedometer, engine mounts. For the most part the japanese cars have been problem free, with only scheduled maintenance and normal wear and tear, like brake pads, clutches, water pumps at the most. All the vehicle that we have had follow the same maintenance guidelines. Actually we would go farther without maintenance with the japanese cars with no problems.
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