I have a theory about American Cars....

[doghouseman]

I think every once and awhile, employees at an American car company are all on the same page, and produce a great product. By that I mean, management, engineers and line-workers are all clicking together and are making great cars. At least until middle management screws everything up.

I say this because I know there are some great years for American cars. The late sixties produced some great American cars for example. My current 2014 Chevy Silverado has been bullet proof so far and I would put it up against any other car world wide. So, I am not sure what was happening in 2014 at the Chevy Silverado plant, but they had things clicking.

So I would like to hear from you guys, some bragging about your American cars, especially trucks. If you have vehicle that is as good as any other car you have ever owned, post your compliment as a PSA for others.

 

[dkmw]

I had a 2007 GMC Yukon that was about as good as it gets for what it was. Seven passengers if you want, or take out/fold up some seats and it would hold a LOT of cargo.
Great tow vehicle. Super comfortable highway cruiser.

Plus it was very capable ( for a truck) in other ways. Disc brakes all four corners. Huge sway bars. V8 punch. Great cooling system; could idle all day in 90 degree temp without overheating.

The only reliability issues were caused by corrosion inherent to where I live. Other than that it only required routine maintenance. They say GMC trucks are Chevy with lock washers lol.

 

[BigDaddyLH]

C'mon Tesla owners, let's hear it!

 

[Tarkus60]

I have a 2019 Ford F150 5.0 only 40k miles. Great truck no issues what so ever. The Hp is amazing and it gets 21 mpg at 58 mph. This my last vehicle.

 

[dmrogers]

Currently driving a 2006 Toyota Tundra (bought it new). 107K miles. It's been a good truck and we have asked a lot from it. Still looks good too. I've had a few things I had to do to it, but for a truck that is almost 17 years old, I can't complain.
My son had a 2005 Tundra that he sold last year. It was in great shape. 280K miles! Ran like a top. Had people fighting over it. The only reason he sold it was to get a double cab.

 

[burntfrijoles]

The late sixties produced some great American cars for example.

There were certainly some classics like the GTO and 442. Unfortunately workmanship, tooling and design took a hit a few years later when the fit and finish in American vehicles took a sharp dive. The assembly line blues were famously blamed but it was really a failure at many levels.

 

[cenz]

2017 Ram Big Horn crew cab. 305 hp V6. Comfortable. 24 MPG at 70 mph.

Just returned from Philly to see the new granddaughter. Hit a bad storm 35 miles south of Rockford Ill. Pop into 4WD auto, be careful and no problem

Second round trip in a year from Frozen Sphincter MN to Philly. Truck is a pleasure to own and drive.

 

[Brent Hutto]

I don't give a darn about where my car was assembled or whose logo is on it. I don't think either of those things predicts anything in today's global manufacturing economy.

 

[brookdalebill]

Deleted

 

[elihu]

I’m driving a 2004 Tundra built in Princeton, Indiana. It has 266,000 miles and runs great. And it’s easily modified for icy weather-just drop two 50 lb bags of landscaping rocks in the bed and you’re good.

 

[telleutelleme]

97, 2007 and 2010 Silverados. All good.

 

[IowaTeleGuy]

2002 Silverado 1500HD 6.0. I will keep that thing on the road until the frame crumbles into dust. Then transfer the engine and transmission into a nicer chassis.

2004 Monte Carlo SS. 3800 V6 is still smooth as silk. Great car for long road trips (32mpg hwy in the flatlands)

1992 Honda Civic EX. Cheap and easy to fix. Great car for beating around from farm to farm. Not great for long road trips. Cabin is too noisy.

 

[schmee]

I've not gotten a GM product I trusted since 1970. Sure some of them get you to work, but small things fail, trim, interior, finishes etc and large things sometimes too. I've rented many when I traveled every week for 2 years. Just not up to import quality. GM failures I've had:
Chevy Vega: engine shot at 50k miles
2006 Chevy Colorado pickup: Tranny failure doing 35 miles per hour. Failed at 38K miles, warranty was for 36K miles.
Almost bought a Chevy CCR new in 2018 (?), but what a noisy little 4 cyl engine. Nothing like a Toyota.

OTOH 3 Dodge products since '98 have been zero failures. Just maintenance.
It's very hard to change a company culture. Somewhere after the 60's GM culture just went bad.

I was involved with manufacturing for over 40 years. I can tell you this:
-When a company that makes high quality stuff makes a lower price item, it almost always continues to be higher quality. The workers have a quality mindset and can't get away from that.
-When a company that makes low quality stuff tries to make a high quality product, they fail for a long time until they can change the mindset/culture.

 

[Hodgo88]

Someone else mentioned in another thread that they had been discussing with their wife how certain models were hallmarks ('65 stang for example) that later declined in quality.

I was pondering that and I came to the same conclusion as you - there must be times when the organization as a whole is cohesive. Other times, there is simply an amazing engineer - read: Metzger.

In the truck world, I'd say a great example is the 2nd gen Ram, particularly with a 12v Cummins. One of the last great classic pickup trucks IMHO. Bringing back the dropped fender line, it was both retro and fully modern (and would be copied). The 12v is known as one of the greatest diesels of the 20th century, and hey - don't have to delete what isn't there.

Also the last two generations of Tacoma - and let's face it, one is hardly more than facelift of the other - are nearly perfect midsize trucks. The former Tundra too, but it didn't stand head and shoulders above the half ton competition in the way the Tacoma did compared to the Frontier and Ranger. My dream would be a low mileage 2015, final year with both a manual transmission and manual windows.

If you'll allow a stretch of the truck genre... nearly every Land Cruiser Toyota has ever built has been its own form of perfect too.

 

[ficelles]

This is the fifth XJ Cherokee I've owned since buying the first one back in '94. I could think of loads of things to complain about, but of all the vehicles I've owned it's my favourite. I hope I can keep finding good ones for as long as I'm driving. With my low mileage this one should see another decade unless it gets legislated off the road.

 

[Milspec]

There hasn't been a really good truck built since 1999 in my opinion. Ford screwed up their motors with bad engineering and so did Chevy with 5.3L being one of their worst and don't even get me started on their fuel management systems. Dodge hasn't done anything right since the '79 Power Wagon and I am surprised they even exist today.

As for cars, the last good American cars have been the Ford Panther platforms (Town Car, Grand Marquis, Crown Victoria) and Buick Park Avenues....all of which are gone today.

I miss what AMC had going for them...great engineers who built vehicles with ease of maintenance in mind expecting the owner to do most of it themselves. They couldn't keep up with the others in the style department due to lower profits, but there are no vehicles built today that come close to allowing the owner to handle most repairs....not even some mechanics.

 

[Milspec]

I don't give a darn about where my car was assembled or whose logo is on it. I don't think either of those things predicts anything in today's global manufacturing economy.

I predicts a lot to the communities around the factory though.

 

[Gaylord Amsterdam]

The best American cars I've ever owned for quality and reliability have Been: 68 Impala Super Sport, 1976 Monte Carlo, 1988 GMC Suburban, 1994 GMC Suburban. 1982 Ford Econoline.

The Monte Carlo was a tank, I abused that thing so bad, street racing, Burnouts, Over revving the engine, Cookies, Drifting, omg I was young and dumb and nothing ever broke until I hit a telephone poll taking a corner way to fast, but I walked away without a scratch thanks to its well designed frame.

 

[Milspec]

This is the fifth XJ Cherokee I've owned since buying the first one back in '94. I could think of loads of things to complain about, but of all the vehicles I've owned it's my favourite. I hope I can keep finding good ones for as long as I'm driving. With my low mileage this one should see another decade unless it gets legislated off the road.

View attachment 1079267

That's because AMC engineered that one and Chrysler left it pretty much alone albeit for the engine change, but the 4.0L production wore out the tool and die so they had to move on. For those that didn't know, the 4.0L was designed by AMC just prior to Chrysler buying them out. AMC would have done very well for the 2 decades with the EFI motor addition, but never got the chance.

 

[2HBStrat]

I'm a fan of the '55-'64 Chevys...