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Chrysler, Ford, GM cars: Are they really that bad?

 
sabfsu sabfsu
New User | Posts: 13 | Joined: 02/08
Posted: 02/14/08
09:21 AM

More luxurious??? Really????  Compare a Lincoln or Cadillac to a Benz or Lexus-  The US loses- not even close!  

 
joshua1 joshua1
New User | Posts: 1 | Joined: 02/08
Posted: 02/14/08
12:46 PM

Yes, they are that bad.I have owned several Domestic vehicles and come from a family bying nothing but.From my first hand exerience they have all been junk or about to be junk.We usually would trade in when we started having problems.Then get raped on trade in since most american vehicles hold their value like a sheet of paper.I have owned around 10 hondas in the past 13 years and can tell you it has been far more rewarding and I dont get raped trading them in like I was.And these Hondas and Toyotas are more american now than the American vehicles are.What a shame.Toyota is the biggest manufacturer today and I can see why.Anyone who says these vehicles are junk are apparently idiots.Sorry I wish domestics were actually armerican and were built better.  

 
retrobasher retrobasher
New User | Posts: 9 | Joined: 12/07
Posted: 02/14/08
05:21 PM

You must be a big three guy or you are blind. Millions and millions people cannot be wrong. If the domestic cars are so good as you said why have so many people abandoned them? From my experience the vehicles you mentioned above are all junks. I am not talking about the style, I am talking about the fit and finish, build qulity, performance, reliability.

"The seats are very firm"
That's the only point you are right. But on the controry, my experience is the firm seat is more comfortable, provides more support. The domestic car seat gives me a sinking feeling, such as your body is deeply trapped.

"Since the Acura is made by honda, it has a lot of plastic."

Are there any cars made from plastics than GM Saturn?

"The front bumper is plastic so it scratches very easily."

Can you name any car's bumper of today is not made of plastic?

I think you don't know nothing about cars.  

 
retrobasher retrobasher
New User | Posts: 9 | Joined: 12/07
Posted: 02/14/08
07:02 PM

regarding the new technology used in cars, the over 50 years OHV V6 and V8 engines still are mainstays, 4 speed transmissions are a commonplace for GM, Chrysler, and Chrysler is still braigging the Hemi, an over 50 years design, while the imports have long been used DOHC, VVT engines, 5 to 8 speed transmissions. The 3.6 V6 engine that GM just developed a couple of years ago, they call it "High Feature" engine.  

 
89cxsport 89cxsport
New User | Posts: 2 | Joined: 05/08
Posted: 05/05/08
09:12 PM

My family has always had domestic cars. Almost everyone has had 200 thousand plus upon retirement. We have had an occasional *** or german vehicle but had more problems with them.  I currently work in a service center that services only german vehicles. They break just as much as anyother car.  I think it depends on how a vehicle is driven, and how well it is taken care of to give a good base for quality.  Our highest milage car was a 92 Cavalier station wagon with a 2.2 in it.  Almost all reveiws said it was unreliable, but yet we put 298,000 miles on it before the transmission gave up.  I know of a 2003 mazda protege with 48000 miles that needs another engine since it pushed a rod out bottom.  Go figure  

 
f430shift f430shift
New User | Posts: 22 | Joined: 04/08
Posted: 05/05/08
09:20 PM

I ask myself: what do i want in a car?
1. Reliability
2. Economy
3. Performance/mileage
4. Comfort
(in order of importance)

Say what you want about japan cars, you can bet the areas where they screw up on are done much worse by our disjointed butchering. Ford? Bland at best. Chevy? Flashy but trashy. Plymouth? er...
Chrysler? fall-apart -land!
Dodge? all performance, no reliability or anything else for that matter. there are a few great american cars (solstice, acuras, etc) but we have otherwise screwed up bigtime. are we improving? yes. But painfully slow.  

 
david.yochum david.yochum
New User | Posts: 36 | Joined: 04/08
Posted: 05/06/08
07:56 AM

I think overall car quality is really just hit or miss at this point with many companies (although there are a few exceptions). Based on recent vehicles that have made their way through Automobile Magazine's office though, I'd rank major companies as follows:

BMW
Honda
Mercedes
Toyota
VW
Nissan
Ford
Hyundai
GM
Chrysler

..arguments?  

 
dweins dweins
New User | Posts: 1 | Joined: 05/08
Posted: 05/06/08
01:58 PM

The first people to rip U.S. cars are the magazines such as this one.  It seems that BMW and Honda always get a free pass.  There will be complaints in the article that are explained away so then they are always rated on top.

I'm happy at least the Chevy Malibu and CTS are getting decent press.  Ford has some solid vehicles as well.  Only Chrysler is truly lagging.  

 
marc.noordeloos marc.noordeloos
User | Posts: 122 | Joined: 10/06
Posted: 05/06/08
05:33 PM

Our Four Seasons fleet has given us a pretty good idea of which countries build reliable cars. Over the last few years, our experience with American and Japanese cars has been pretty good. Our Suburban needed a few tweaks here and there and our Acadia felt a bit tired at 30k miles but they soldiered on quite well. Our Jeep Wrangler never had an issue. Lexus test vehicles never, ever break.

It seems that the Europeans are the farthest behind. Our BMW test vehicles regularly seem to give us trouble, though we still love driving them. Our last two VWs have been quite reliable. Audi can be hit or miss. Our RS4 was near perfect but our A6 had quite a few problems.  Jaguar still doesn't seem to be quite there based upon our XK experience. Land Rover also is a bit suspect.

Any specific requests, let me know and I'll look through our records...  

 
GoDiesel GoDiesel
New User | Posts: 1 | Joined: 05/08
Posted: 05/07/08
10:47 AM

Never say never e.g. I'll never buy another Chrysler again ... When Toyota first got here they were junk that couldn't be driven on the freeway.  Hyundai was a joke not too long ago.  People buy imports because they are imports.  I have a few friends who have never had or driven a domestic and still swear that they are bad cars.

Between I and my wife, we have had:
A Prelude that stalled a lot.
An Accord that blew the engine.
A Chevette that ate the brakes regularly.
An Escort that blew the engine.
A Mazda 626 that leaked oil like crazy.
A 200SX that had way too many electrical problems.
A Camry that is very reliable after 135K miles.
And an Escape that exceeded our expectation.

We are not loyal to any brand, just buy what we wanted at the time and after some research.  To discount domestic cars is to do yourself a disservice.  

 
sabfsu sabfsu
New User | Posts: 13 | Joined: 02/08
Posted: 05/29/08
09:58 AM

Berretta?  Really?  I haven't seen one of those in ten years here in South Florida.  I actually liked them when they came out, but heard a great deal about reliability issues.  I've never owned a GM vehicle, but friends and family members had the old rear-drive Regal- great car!  

All cars break, that's a fact.  

For refinement and driving enjoyment with the family, I prefer my 04 VW Passat V6.  It costs more to fix and maintain, but it's great to drive.  

For utility, I like my 01 Ford Ranger XLT.  It's big enough to do work around the house or to tow a small boat, but it still gets acceptable gas mileage.  

For gas mileage (very important these days), fun, and commuting to work, I like my 99 Mazda Miata.  Nothing like unwinding in a two-seat convertible at the end of a long day.  

All three cars have been relatively dependable, as most modern cars are.  Just keep driving what you enjoy
1  

 
Unioner Unioner
New User | Posts: 1 | Joined: 06/08
Posted: 06/02/08
05:14 PM

ever hear this story....it pretty much sums it all up

John and Nancy wanted to buy a new car, so they decided to go to the domestic dealer and purchased a brand new car.  Days later they went back to pick up the new car....John and Nancy were so excited to drive off the lot and show the entire world their new car.   As they drove off the lot,  they heard a loud clanking noise coming from the rear..  John figured they must of ran over a piece of debris, and thought nothing more of it.     Next day, John drives into work with his brand new car, and along the way he drives over a railway crossing.....'clank clank clank',  its the same noise he heard yesterday.... Now hes puzzled and drives further with no issues.   On the way home he drives over the same railway tracks and again the loud clanking noise is heard.  He decides to take it back to the dealer and describes the problem, the dealer assures him that the car needs to get broken in.   John decides "ok,  lets give it another chance".  Sure nough over the next week the same clank noise is heard over the tracks.  John decideds to talk to the dealer again, and asks that they test drive the car.     The dealer agrees and hears the clanking noise.   After 2 hours of inspection, John gets his car back with a full inspection completed and without issues.   John is pleased and drives the car off,  once again the clanking is heard as he drives off the lot.   He drives right back and furiously demands an explanation.  The dealer rechecks the car but this time the technician rides in the back and listens for the source of the noise.   After the clanking is heard the technician knows its coming from the right rear quarter of the car.   As he looks under and above there is nothing out of the ordinary.  He decides to remove a welded panel from the inside of the trunk and finds a pop can with a note saying............" Makes quite a racket...doesn't it....your UAW"  

 
Ford12 Ford12
New User | Posts: 2 | Joined: 09/08
Posted: 09/28/08
01:36 PM

well the japanese and foreign car manufacturers are going to start making better cars here because here in the US we have labor unions to help screw things up for automotive companies. i'm personally a big fan of American Muscle but i respect japanese cars as well. I have friends who have japanese cars older than they are and they still run and they run them hard too. i also have friends with american made cars that are older than they are and still run great. i think its just the mindset people have, i mean now its like 60% of all cars are made by machines...maybe even more than that...so when something goes wrong with an american car when driven by an import lover, yeah they make a big deal about it and vice versa. i owne a 1999 ford escort, it used to be my moms and has been taken care of every 3000 miles and babied. i have had no real problems with it and have put around 20,000 miles on it. i just treat it right. same with any car domestic or import. treat it right and remember...its a piece of metal made by machines...theres gonna be a few lemons  

 
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