BUY AMERICAN (avoid that made in China)

[CA renter]

My experience with cars is the same as jpinpb’s. My family always owned American cars until the late 90s, with the exception of a Volvo (biggest lemon on the planet!) and two VW bugs in the 60s and 70s — and I can’t say enough positive things about those VWs…they’re not built like that anymore, though.

Our American cars have run at least as well as our current Honda, which has had its fair share of problems, BTW.

There were some American cars, especially those made in the 1980s, that had pretty major problems, largely because of planned obsolescence. BTW, while the head sheeple herders try to convince the sheeple that the unions caused the demise of the US automotive industry, the real reason for our downfall was the movement toward a shorter lifespan for durable goods, IMHO. People are willing to pay much more for quality products, but they won’t pay more for junk that breaks down within a few years. Planned obsolescence is bad for our economy and bad for the environment, but the China model (which we are all forced to accept, whether we like it or not) is built around it.
———————

June 06, 1985|By Dick Marlowe of the Sentinel Staff
Remember that old slogan, ”When better automobiles are built, Buick will build them?” There was something really inspiring about that jingle back in the days when cars were built to last.

With quality construction having long since given way to marketing strategies, automakers are now being told that better quality is bad for business.

If American automakers want to compete with the Japanese, they are going to have to give the consumer a worse car. At least that’s the opinion of Philip G. Gott, who works as an automotive engineering consultant for Arthur D. Little Co.

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1985-06-06/business/0300340118_1_gott-car-owners-cars-result

AND:

Film maker Michael Moore believes he had foretold the demise of GM in his 1989 film “Roger and Me”.

“It is a sad irony that the company that invented ‘planned obsolescence’ – the decision to build cars that would fall apart after a few years so that the customer would have to buy a new one – has now made itself obsolete”, he wrote on his blog after GM’s bankruptcy. He cites years of company ineptitude and a disregard for its workers.

“Beginning in the 1980s, when GM was posting record profits, it moved countless jobs to Mexico and elsewhere, thus destroying the lives of tens of thousands of hard-working Americans. The glaring stupidity of this policy was that, when they eliminated the income of so many middle-class families, who did they think was going to be able to afford to buy their cars?”

http://blogs.wheels24.co.za/CobusPotgieter/gms-worst-invention-planned-obsolescence

[jpinpb]

My brother is involved in the auto industry. He said planned obsolescence is too expensive. It is very difficult to program when a part is going to fail as far as testing when the part would fail. Too costly and timely. Not to mention what would happen if that leaked out. My brother says you are giving them too much credit. They had an easier time creating components that are difficult to replace. Plus dumbing people down who can’t fix things. People are no longer resourceful. When he worked at Mercedes he said they over-engineered things to make them durable. It is our society that is sadly all about throwing things away and buying the newest, latest and greatest. Companies don’t need to expire a product. They just need to add a feature. Look at Apple.

[jpinpb]

My brother is involved in the auto industry. He said planned obsolescence is too expensive. It is very difficult to program when a part is going to fail as far as testing when the part would fail. Too costly and timely. Not to mention what would happen if that leaked out. My brother says you are giving them too much credit. They had an easier time creating components that are difficult to replace. Plus dumbing people down who can’t fix things. People are no longer resourceful. When he worked at Mercedes he said they over-engineered things to make them durable. It is our society that is sadly all about throwing things away and buying the newest, latest and greatest. Companies don’t need to expire a product. They just need to add a feature. Look at Apple.

[jpinpb]

My brother is involved in the auto industry. He said planned obsolescence is too expensive. It is very difficult to program when a part is going to fail as far as testing when the part would fail. Too costly and timely. Not to mention what would happen if that leaked out. My brother says you are giving them too much credit. They had an easier time creating components that are difficult to replace. Plus dumbing people down who can’t fix things. People are no longer resourceful. When he worked at Mercedes he said they over-engineered things to make them durable. It is our society that is sadly all about throwing things away and buying the newest, latest and greatest. Companies don’t need to expire a product. They just need to add a feature. Look at Apple.

[jpinpb]

My brother is involved in the auto industry. He said planned obsolescence is too expensive. It is very difficult to program when a part is going to fail as far as testing when the part would fail. Too costly and timely. Not to mention what would happen if that leaked out. My brother says you are giving them too much credit. They had an easier time creating components that are difficult to replace. Plus dumbing people down who can’t fix things. People are no longer resourceful. When he worked at Mercedes he said they over-engineered things to make them durable. It is our society that is sadly all about throwing things away and buying the newest, latest and greatest. Companies don’t need to expire a product. They just need to add a feature. Look at Apple.

[jpinpb]

My brother is involved in the auto industry. He said planned obsolescence is too expensive. It is very difficult to program when a part is going to fail as far as testing when the part would fail. Too costly and timely. Not to mention what would happen if that leaked out. My brother says you are giving them too much credit. They had an easier time creating components that are difficult to replace. Plus dumbing people down who can’t fix things. People are no longer resourceful. When he worked at Mercedes he said they over-engineered things to make them durable. It is our society that is sadly all about throwing things away and buying the newest, latest and greatest. Companies don’t need to expire a product. They just need to add a feature. Look at Apple.

[sreeb]

[quote=CA renter]

Our American cars have run at least as well as our current Honda, which has had its fair share of problems, BTW.

[/quote]

Mechanically, most cars are much better than they used to be. However there is more to a car than the engine and transmission. My wife’s 10 year old Buick is parked in the driveway. Aside from replacing the intake manifold, it has been reliable. However, the paint started peeling off in sheets at 6 years and the interior is basically dissolving as (very expensive) plastic bits just fall off and the cushions collapse. I won’t even think of buying another Buick until I start seeing 10 year old ones in decent shape. I won’t be buying a Ford either since I have had bad experiences with parts being either unavailable or ridiculously priced.

[sreeb]

[quote=CA renter]

Our American cars have run at least as well as our current Honda, which has had its fair share of problems, BTW.

[/quote]

Mechanically, most cars are much better than they used to be. However there is more to a car than the engine and transmission. My wife’s 10 year old Buick is parked in the driveway. Aside from replacing the intake manifold, it has been reliable. However, the paint started peeling off in sheets at 6 years and the interior is basically dissolving as (very expensive) plastic bits just fall off and the cushions collapse. I won’t even think of buying another Buick until I start seeing 10 year old ones in decent shape. I won’t be buying a Ford either since I have had bad experiences with parts being either unavailable or ridiculously priced.

[sreeb]

[quote=CA renter]

Our American cars have run at least as well as our current Honda, which has had its fair share of problems, BTW.

[/quote]

Mechanically, most cars are much better than they used to be. However there is more to a car than the engine and transmission. My wife’s 10 year old Buick is parked in the driveway. Aside from replacing the intake manifold, it has been reliable. However, the paint started peeling off in sheets at 6 years and the interior is basically dissolving as (very expensive) plastic bits just fall off and the cushions collapse. I won’t even think of buying another Buick until I start seeing 10 year old ones in decent shape. I won’t be buying a Ford either since I have had bad experiences with parts being either unavailable or ridiculously priced.

[sreeb]

[quote=CA renter]

Our American cars have run at least as well as our current Honda, which has had its fair share of problems, BTW.

[/quote]

Mechanically, most cars are much better than they used to be. However there is more to a car than the engine and transmission. My wife’s 10 year old Buick is parked in the driveway. Aside from replacing the intake manifold, it has been reliable. However, the paint started peeling off in sheets at 6 years and the interior is basically dissolving as (very expensive) plastic bits just fall off and the cushions collapse. I won’t even think of buying another Buick until I start seeing 10 year old ones in decent shape. I won’t be buying a Ford either since I have had bad experiences with parts being either unavailable or ridiculously priced.

[sreeb]

[quote=CA renter]

Our American cars have run at least as well as our current Honda, which has had its fair share of problems, BTW.

[/quote]

Mechanically, most cars are much better than they used to be. However there is more to a car than the engine and transmission. My wife’s 10 year old Buick is parked in the driveway. Aside from replacing the intake manifold, it has been reliable. However, the paint started peeling off in sheets at 6 years and the interior is basically dissolving as (very expensive) plastic bits just fall off and the cushions collapse. I won’t even think of buying another Buick until I start seeing 10 year old ones in decent shape. I won’t be buying a Ford either since I have had bad experiences with parts being either unavailable or ridiculously priced.

[Eugene]

[quote]American cars are fine as long as you don’t plan to keep them more than 3 years.[/quote]

Everyone’s experience is different. Myself, I have about 6 years and 80 thousand miles across two American cars, and the most serious issue I had in all this time had to do with easily damaged dashboard paint and being unable to buy an exact match in any auto parts store (I ended up paying $75 to a mechanic to have it fixed).

On average, American cars are not much less reliable than cars from other first-world countries.

[quote]Well I like the Corvette and Viper- top sports cars. I think between USA, Germany and Italy the funnest coolest cars around. Of course the Nissan GT-R is one hotrod as well.[/quote]

Corvette is nice. I like the HUD and the dashboard computer system. It’s convenient to see text messages instead of icons (e.g. “LOW TIRE PRESSURE” or “ABS ACTIVE”) and to be able to see things like tire pressure readings from each tire with a few button clicks. It gets close to 30 mpg highway as well.

GT-R is supposed to be a monster, especially when it comes to track racing. Four wheel drive and sophisticated electronics. Unfortunately, the price tag is such that I won’t even bother to test-drive one.

[Eugene]

[quote]American cars are fine as long as you don’t plan to keep them more than 3 years.[/quote]

Everyone’s experience is different. Myself, I have about 6 years and 80 thousand miles across two American cars, and the most serious issue I had in all this time had to do with easily damaged dashboard paint and being unable to buy an exact match in any auto parts store (I ended up paying $75 to a mechanic to have it fixed).

On average, American cars are not much less reliable than cars from other first-world countries.

[quote]Well I like the Corvette and Viper- top sports cars. I think between USA, Germany and Italy the funnest coolest cars around. Of course the Nissan GT-R is one hotrod as well.[/quote]

Corvette is nice. I like the HUD and the dashboard computer system. It’s convenient to see text messages instead of icons (e.g. “LOW TIRE PRESSURE” or “ABS ACTIVE”) and to be able to see things like tire pressure readings from each tire with a few button clicks. It gets close to 30 mpg highway as well.

GT-R is supposed to be a monster, especially when it comes to track racing. Four wheel drive and sophisticated electronics. Unfortunately, the price tag is such that I won’t even bother to test-drive one.

[Eugene]

[quote]American cars are fine as long as you don’t plan to keep them more than 3 years.[/quote]

Everyone’s experience is different. Myself, I have about 6 years and 80 thousand miles across two American cars, and the most serious issue I had in all this time had to do with easily damaged dashboard paint and being unable to buy an exact match in any auto parts store (I ended up paying $75 to a mechanic to have it fixed).

On average, American cars are not much less reliable than cars from other first-world countries.

[quote]Well I like the Corvette and Viper- top sports cars. I think between USA, Germany and Italy the funnest coolest cars around. Of course the Nissan GT-R is one hotrod as well.[/quote]

Corvette is nice. I like the HUD and the dashboard computer system. It’s convenient to see text messages instead of icons (e.g. “LOW TIRE PRESSURE” or “ABS ACTIVE”) and to be able to see things like tire pressure readings from each tire with a few button clicks. It gets close to 30 mpg highway as well.

GT-R is supposed to be a monster, especially when it comes to track racing. Four wheel drive and sophisticated electronics. Unfortunately, the price tag is such that I won’t even bother to test-drive one.

[Eugene]

[quote]American cars are fine as long as you don’t plan to keep them more than 3 years.[/quote]

Everyone’s experience is different. Myself, I have about 6 years and 80 thousand miles across two American cars, and the most serious issue I had in all this time had to do with easily damaged dashboard paint and being unable to buy an exact match in any auto parts store (I ended up paying $75 to a mechanic to have it fixed).

On average, American cars are not much less reliable than cars from other first-world countries.

[quote]Well I like the Corvette and Viper- top sports cars. I think between USA, Germany and Italy the funnest coolest cars around. Of course the Nissan GT-R is one hotrod as well.[/quote]

Corvette is nice. I like the HUD and the dashboard computer system. It’s convenient to see text messages instead of icons (e.g. “LOW TIRE PRESSURE” or “ABS ACTIVE”) and to be able to see things like tire pressure readings from each tire with a few button clicks. It gets close to 30 mpg highway as well.

GT-R is supposed to be a monster, especially when it comes to track racing. Four wheel drive and sophisticated electronics. Unfortunately, the price tag is such that I won’t even bother to test-drive one.

[Author]

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