big whoop... my dad had a 95 camry with 150k on it before he sold it... new owner drove it a few months then one day while on the highway the car lit itself on fire.... shit happens

 

That would be because your vehicle does not have one of the engines affected by this problem. The first camry's would be 96 and newer that were susceptible to it.

 

No question that Ford/GM are building better crap than they did 20 years ago, but it's still crap.

 

So no crapping on the US makers is allowed? Well, how about a good poking in the ribs....
The cars from GM that are worth a damn are the CTS, Corvette, and anything with roots outside the US (G8=Australia, Saturn Astra=Opel Astra. Aura/New Malibu/La Crosse=Opel Insigna, but the Opel is far better in my opinion). And in these cars their interiors are not up to par. if you look at the Opel interior, it is beautiful. Why can't they just make it for this market? I posted this pic in another thread, but it bears repeating, along with the US version.

Opel Insignia interior:



And here is the Chevy Malibu:



You're telling me GM couldn't do better in the US? Give them a break? Granted, the Malibu is not terrible, but if you have been told by the automotive press for so many years that there are things they need to do to change, and then not do them for 25 years, then you need an enema.

Chrysler, well, I really used to love Chrysler, because they at least took a very different look (or some of the same with the 300 and the Challenger), and really made cars that would turn heads. And they have decent engines to choose from. Now, their interior is below Daewoo standards. Hard plastics, and switchgear that is the same in all models. Hell, even the Viper uses minivan interior pieces for their HVAC and radio. Not a forgivable sin in a $75K plus supercar.



All of the US automakers went for the brass ring, which were truck/SUV sales. They inflated the prices and sold tons of them (no pun intended). Once gas prices went up, um, where were the US makers with a quality small car? Nobody had one. You can say the Cobalt, but it's really ugly, and quite frankly, not something I would buy. I'd buy a VW golf before that, or even the Saturn Astra, but that is based on a European car anyway.

Has the big three gotten better? Yes. The MKS from Lincoln is close to being a good car, really close, but not starting at $37,995. Even a CTS is not that high, starting.

I'll stick with other brands, and purchase cars that will hold up over many years. For the record, I have owned 2 Chryslers, a Pontiac, a Nissan, Mazda, 2 Hondas, a Volvo, an Audi, and a Subaru. And I had far less drama and issues with the Japanese cars than the others.

No, the big three did not kill my first born, but they sure did screw up the US economy (along with Fanny Mae, gullible under qualified homeowners with bad ARM mortgages, and those financial f-ups that need federal money, but that's for a different day)...

I'm ticked enough to

 

why does GM have these shitty looking steering wheels when that opel steering wheel looks beautiful! and they need to stop using the same radio in every single damn car. I hate that effin power symbol. thats the only reason im attracted to the Astra more than any other car GM offers, because it is the car they sell in europe with the exception of the kickass engines offered over there

But after this treatment, they can go and hit the curb unless they do something about their shitty cars and shitty attitudes

 

oh and that opel interior looks just as good as the new acura interior

 

they should have just brought the opel name along with their cars.

 

Nothing wrong with some well-deserved criticism, but to make a blanket statement that I will never buy blah blah, seems kind of ignorant.

And criticizing GM now is like kicking a homeless man when he's down. We all know that Detroit has built some inferior product in the past, but they are trying very hard to make up for past sins and are coming out with some compelling stuff.

 

Too little, too late. They've shot themselves in the foot so many times, they will have a limp for the rest of their lives.

Not that they can't/won't survive, but more like the "Hyundai Stigma".

Hyundai's poor showing in the 80's (?) has hung with them and, now, 25+ years later, some people won't touch a Hyundai thinking they are cheap, or low quaility or un-reliable or just plain "2nd class". In fact, I don't think those things are true any longer, but getting over the perception may never happen.

FWIW - From new, I have owned & driven, 6 "domestics" and 4 Asian "imports".



BTW - +1 on the Opel interior, that looks pretty cool; where as the Malibu looks just plain boring.

 

My parents GM vehicles have been more reliable than my Honda and Ford products (and those that i know with Toyota/Lexus)

 

i think the hyundai stigma wont last very long with american cars. mainly because we are in america and nowadays everyone, whether it be car ethusiasts or the normal everyday Joe, we are all keeping a close eye on american cars.

also, the big3 put out nice cars at one point, everyone is just waiting for that again

 

if they sold the european cars here, i may actually look at them.

 

Since ~1999, I have driven daily 4 domestics (1 @ Dodge, Ford, Pontiac, Chevy) for a total of ~252,000 miles (36k, 60k, 88k, 68k respectively) and reliability has NOT been an issue. No doubt in my mind the Ford and Chevy could have gone another 50 or 60K+ with minimal issues - they just felt durable; the Pontiac, not so much.

Interior material wear has been marginal and interior design and material selection have been questionable. BUT mechanical reliability has not been an issue. This is a big difference from domestics I owned in the mid 80's/early 90's.


OTOH, two Acura's since 2002 (combined ~100k miles and counting) and no issues with them either. Overall design and interior materials are much better. Of course, each cost ~$10k more than the domestics, so .... .

 

some?? what happened in the 80's? there were a few fun cars, like the grand national, vette, and some of the ssei bonnevilles.
this carried over into the 90's with ho hum cars and way out there pricing and rapid depreciation
i would say 90% of what they have made since 1975 has been a pos sitting in some junkyard

i would say 20 years of shitty vehicles would be very hard to overcome.

Hell i bought a 4 year old hyundai in 1993 for $800. It was the biggest pos and had low miles. it will be a long time until i buy another.

The gm cars that i had, had problems out the wazzoo for no apparent reason, and not from abuse.

headliners sank like a fat girls carcover dress. Leaking antifreeze from everywhere, and i am sure some came out of the radio.


Ford...... only had one. And i tell you what, it was a pretty suite 87 escort gt.

It was a pretty reliable car until the tps kept going on it. The car would get warm and the tps would shut it off and the process started again. After that i started to have more problems.

It seemed with the fords, you were fine until you started having problems, after that they multiplied.

If i had to buy domestic, it would be a ford, so, there you go

 

opel gt i would have researched on, but not saturn sky.

 

Dallison how many miles were on your GM/Ford cars when you sold them?

Just curious.

 

damn, that was a long time ago. let me see if i can remember.....

pontiac 6000 somewhere around 115,000

ford 90,000

buick century 95,000


i think these were the only domestics i owned