My experience with American cars since the late 90s has been terrible. I had a 97 Ford Escort wagon, 2002 Chrysler minivan, and a 2003 Dodge Stratus SXT. None of them got anywhere near 100k miles before crapping out. My 98 Civic EX 5 speed manual was at 308k when I sold it looking good and running strong. Sold it in 1 day. My 07 Acura had 258k when I sold it. My current 2015 Honda Accord Sport 6 speed manual has 224k and runs like new. My wife's 2014 Infiniti Q50 has about 160k and screams. Love that car.
I have a theory about American Cars....
- Thread starter doghouseman
- Start date
Jim_in_PA
Friend of Leo's
What's considered an "American" car at this point in time? Origin? Ownership? Assembly point? Percent of North American including USA content? That's a big challenge at this point!!!! My current vehicle is a brand that originated in another country, but the vehicle was built in Indiana by US workers. My previous vehicle was a brand that's considered a "home grown" brand, but owned by a large non-US corporate entity and was also built in the US by US workers.
I don't have any. But I've got these and they're very dependable.
StoneFaceGrin
TDPRI Member
I’m on the hunt for a clean, low mileage 2019 Ford Flex as it’s time to knock my 2014 down to secondary duty. 2019 is the last year made.
The 2014 replaced a 2011 which died valiantly saving my wife’s life in an accident.
We love a Flex and are sad Ford no longer makes its equivalent in less than XXL size for $75,000.
Whether I have the money or not I will not spend it on a damn car. And I love cars.
The 2014 replaced a 2011 which died valiantly saving my wife’s life in an accident.
We love a Flex and are sad Ford no longer makes its equivalent in less than XXL size for $75,000.
Whether I have the money or not I will not spend it on a damn car. And I love cars.
MarkieMark
Friend of Leo's
Explain. In English, not "small enterprise" speak.
Completely lost me there.
I walk under a Tesla and see half shafts made in Mexico, (Well, that is "America") or spindles made in China, or take apart the center stack to replace the failing memory chips and... There isn't anything made in North America in sight.
Coming back to GM, I get boxes and bags of OE parts. One that isn't sourced off-shore is so rare it causes one to take pause.
This topic is as close to 100% fallacy as one can come in the current times.
68tele
Friend of Leo's
"98 Chevy Venture: rough shifting POS.
'87 Pontiac Grand Am: another crap transmission.
2004 - Present: various Hyundai...bulletproof/underpriced.
'87 Pontiac Grand Am: another crap transmission.
2004 - Present: various Hyundai...bulletproof/underpriced.
Have had my Prius for 7 years and I am going to start doing my own oil and filter changes.
Dealer used to let me bring in my own oil and filters (Mobile 1 Extended Performance Oil and Filter) and they would do the change for $19.99. Well they discontinued that policy and now offer Mobile 1 Synthetic with a Toyota Filter for $89. I can do it myself for less than that. The Prius has 80K on it and the warranty is long gone. I kind of miss doing it, the Rav4 has an extended warranty, so we are covered for a total of 8 years.
The Prius is too low to get to the filter and it is too low for standard ramps, so I bought a set just for it.
The Prius has a full under belly pan, but there is an access panel to get to the filter and the drain.
Dealer used to let me bring in my own oil and filters (Mobile 1 Extended Performance Oil and Filter) and they would do the change for $19.99. Well they discontinued that policy and now offer Mobile 1 Synthetic with a Toyota Filter for $89. I can do it myself for less than that. The Prius has 80K on it and the warranty is long gone. I kind of miss doing it, the Rav4 has an extended warranty, so we are covered for a total of 8 years.
The Prius is too low to get to the filter and it is too low for standard ramps, so I bought a set just for it.
The Prius has a full under belly pan, but there is an access panel to get to the filter and the drain.
Twofingerlou
Tele-Holic
I used to change the oil in a lot of those. Unless they changed the design since then the damn pan makes a mess.
Blackmore Fan
Friend of Leo's
We're living in a golden age of cars. One automotive magazine I read called the situation "PGC" era...most manufacturers are making "Pretty Good Cars". Gone are the days where Ford, GM, and Chrysler rolled out problem after problem. Everyone makes a "pretty good car". That's a problem for all of them now--no manufacturer can hang their marketing plan on the equivalent of "Ours don't break".
They now have to find something else to differentiate themselves on.
They now have to find something else to differentiate themselves on.
How do things look in the hell hole?
I will use a carefully cut plastic gallon milk container and cram it in the opening.
I spent quite a while carefully designing and cutting it
Used the same thing on a 2014 Ford Focus I had, which also had a belly pan.
Did a great job of making sure the oil went where it was supposed to
Twofingerlou
Tele-Holic
I’ve pretty much have only owned GM vehicles and have had good luck with them. A few Silverados, some old square bodies, probably close to a dozen S10’s through the years. The S10’s I had ranged from 2.5, 2.8 or 4.3 trucks and all were pretty bullet proof. Mostly four speeds for the older ones, one was a dove speed and a couple autos in the newer body style.
The LS engines are pretty damn bullet proof as long as you keep the AFM/DOD out of the mix which I’ve seen that cause issues later down the road.
My current daily is a 2017 3/4 ton with the 6.0 LS. Took me over a year to find a truck like this since most newer 3/4 tons and 1 tons are diesels. Some of the gassers that I found were loaded to the max or clearly a previous work truck that had been abused. I found this one two years ago or so, it is a stripped down rubber mat work truck. That said it has all you need, power windows, locks, Bluetooth, keyless, backup camera ect. Got it with 40k on the clock and it clearly had been taken care of.
I have worked in shops in the past and there’s pros and cons to everything. There were certain models that were bullet proof some were clearly junk out the gate.
I think alot of those old straight sixes were hard to beat. Jeep probably lost a certain fan base after killing the 4.0. My uncle used to have an older F150 with a straight six, he beat the hell out of that thing for probably 25 years, hauling anything and everything. Towing a cattle trailer you name it.
I had worked in a dodge dealership right after high school. At that time neons and pt cruisers were still prevalent. I’m convinced those were designed to be a POS.
The LS engines are pretty damn bullet proof as long as you keep the AFM/DOD out of the mix which I’ve seen that cause issues later down the road.
My current daily is a 2017 3/4 ton with the 6.0 LS. Took me over a year to find a truck like this since most newer 3/4 tons and 1 tons are diesels. Some of the gassers that I found were loaded to the max or clearly a previous work truck that had been abused. I found this one two years ago or so, it is a stripped down rubber mat work truck. That said it has all you need, power windows, locks, Bluetooth, keyless, backup camera ect. Got it with 40k on the clock and it clearly had been taken care of.
I have worked in shops in the past and there’s pros and cons to everything. There were certain models that were bullet proof some were clearly junk out the gate.
I think alot of those old straight sixes were hard to beat. Jeep probably lost a certain fan base after killing the 4.0. My uncle used to have an older F150 with a straight six, he beat the hell out of that thing for probably 25 years, hauling anything and everything. Towing a cattle trailer you name it.
I had worked in a dodge dealership right after high school. At that time neons and pt cruisers were still prevalent. I’m convinced those were designed to be a POS.
jvin248
Doctor of Teleocity
.
I need to build me a partscaster, maybe two pickups with four fenders and a three way transmission.
I think that is whut I needs.
.
Vehicle brands and models matter much less than owner maintenance and care.
Garage vs street parking, regular oil changes, timely parts replacements, and boring driving not race car antics. Treat it like driving home a new forty thousand dollar television, not an old rental delivery truck.
.
I need to build me a partscaster, maybe two pickups with four fenders and a three way transmission.
I think that is whut I needs.
.
Vehicle brands and models matter much less than owner maintenance and care.
Garage vs street parking, regular oil changes, timely parts replacements, and boring driving not race car antics. Treat it like driving home a new forty thousand dollar television, not an old rental delivery truck.
.
In addition to the Taco, my other vehicle is a 2017 Challenger. It's more a luxury muscle car than a drag racer; I ordered it with every option. Super smooth and quiet going down the highway, heated and cooled leather seats and steering wheel...it's nicer than my house. And it's a real blast to drive because it has no trouble getting out of its own way. I had to replace the #5 fuel injector in it about three months ago; that cost me $40 and about an hour of work.
Here's the Taco Truck. Turns out "rotating the tires" is not something that happens just by driving it. Who knew?
Here's the Challenger. It's a real blast, even if I'm just getting groceries.
Spoiler alert: ^^this^^ was made in Canuckistan!
Here's the Taco Truck. Turns out "rotating the tires" is not something that happens just by driving it. Who knew?
Here's the Challenger. It's a real blast, even if I'm just getting groceries.
Spoiler alert: ^^this^^ was made in Canuckistan!
CV Jee Beez
Tele-Afflicted
I hate driving my wife's 2015 Chevy Equinox (because of it's anemic power) but as a piece of equipment it has been the most reliable. No problems. Like a faithful mule. Also, I'm comparing it to a foreign V8.
G Stone496
Tele-Meister
2017 Harley Davidson
oatsoda
Tele-Afflicted
It doesn’t matter how amazing a vehicle is, even with annual undercoating and vigilant maintenance, the nova scotia roads, salt, and weather will consume it entirely about 9 minutes after your last payment.
JIMMY JAZZMAN
Tele-Afflicted
Isn't this thread supposed to be on American cars and trucks?
imwjl
Doctor of Teleocity
Vertical is nothing new and in most Henry Ford era history. A simple way to think of it would be the firm does more or has more of the whole process as their own and in house. In old days Ford had their own foundries and woodworking. In modern times Tesla doesn't use same two firms who make most car interiors. Pertaining to GM now is the news I mentioned where they are invested in a Nevada mine.
None if this will or can be like a decades or generations past because now all the major auto makers have the whole world as their market. Not just autos but in this era many companies have more or a lot more of their sales outside the shores where they live. Just because of that you will see parts made all over.
My "rust belt" region famous for supplying the auto industry still does but not exactly as in the old days. Beyond specialized parts or plastic parts some of it is engineering and software. The major university engineering school here still has same and more automotive partnerships that are generations old and fired up on now and future stuff.
If we satisfied some people with an all/everything in USA automobile it would be much more expensive just from the whole world market matter - the number of trucks, trains and ships that would always be traveling empty.
IMO we need to be really proud of our US automakers now but also thankful for international brands here. The supplier I once worked for would have been dead if all they did was make the GM and Chrysler parts. Parts destined for high US content Hondas and John Deere not only saved the day but helped teach the firm a lot because at the time Deere and Honda were so much smarter and more nimble than our Chrysler and GM customers.
