Heavy Hitters!

I grew up supporting the American auto industry just like most people. But somewhere along the line, the American auto industry turned on me. I didnt have the money to pay for all the repairs that I was forced to pay whenever an engine burned up or a head gasket started leaking on cars with less than two or 3 years on them. What I spent in MUFFLERS ALONE allowed for the opening for a dozen muffler shops in the Kanawha Valley. Most of them are now closed. Why? Decent cars finally arrived on our shores.

"Back in the day", you traded cars at around 35 thousand miles (if you had money). I then bought that car and had not only the bank payment but the repair bills.

The late 70s was the last straw. I bought a foreign car and swore that I would never own another American car as long as I lived if I had the choice. Before you get pi$$ed at me remember this: I wasnt the only one who felt that way. Americans just like me were tired of supporting an industry that was outdated, bloated, overpaid and under engineered. That started for many (like me) in the late 70s and Detroit has been dying to this very day. They wont recover either. The American badge is poison now. And except for the old folks and some "good ole boys", the new badges sport names like Honda and Lexus. This will continue until the end, which is not that far off now. Oh sure, there will be those who will continue to purchase "TANKS" like the scaled down school buses they just HAVE to have to take little Johnny to soccer practice. But their end is near also, and they will be forced to downsize like the rest of the world. When that happens, these people will move to Toyota's etc.

Sorry Detroit, you screwed me out of so much money that it's embarrassing, but what goes around.. comes around right?


JUST OUT FROM CONSUMER REPORTS


Overall, the best cars sold in the U.S. are made by Honda. That's the conclusion of a recent analysis conducted by Consumer Reports that looks at the reliability, performance, fuel economy, comfort, interior fit and finish, and ergonomics of 262 vehicles we've recently tested.

Honda, with an overall score of 78, is followed closely by Toyota (75) and Subaru (72). BMW, Mazda, Nissan, and Volkswagen are tied at 71, after rounding.

Detroit automakers garnered some of the lowest scores, but we have seen some significant signs of improvement in Ford and GM vehicles this past year.

we have seen some significant signs of improvement in Ford and GM vehicles this past year.

Yes we have, but only because they HAD to improve, not because they WANTED to improve. But it's too little too late now brother.

And now, Detroit is SO desperate to sell cars , that few of their Ads even mention "quality". They now push GADGETS, like "OnStar" and some Microsoft crap that just came out. Sorry... but people want quality FIRST and gadgets SECOND. Detroit STILL doesnt get that.

Number of GM plants in WV: zero
Number of Chrysler plants in WV: zero
Number of Ford plants in WV: zero

Number of Toyota plants in WV: one, and it:

Our West Virginia plant is in its 11th year of assembling 4-cylinder and V6 engines for our operations in Canada and Indiana— and for the first time outside Japan, the West Virginia plant is producing automatic transmissions for plants in Kentucky, Indiana and Canada.*

Established:
1996

Current Investment:
$773.6 million

Employment:
995

Operations:
TMMWV manufactures 4-cylinder and V6 engines, five-speed automatic transmissions and automatic transmission gears. TMMWV has an annual capacity of more than 550,000 engines and 600,000 automatic transmissions.

With another doubling on the way.

Buy American. Buy union free. Buy Toyota.

Flaming Fords

What decade is this again?

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2 ... fires.html

But the problem with the list you post of the top auto makers:

Muscle Cars and Trucks

None on the list produce any that can compete with those 2 classifications.

You can barely get a piece of plywood in any truck not made in the US, and I figure its because all those Japs and Chinks are so short and live in boxes only produce 4x4 sheets of plywood.

And nothing can compete with the Charger, Mustang or Corvette.

Again, not talking about size or use or abilities. Talking about quality.

Like I said years ago on the air: We have NEVER been able to produce a quality 4 cylinder engine. We still cant make one that will stand-up to anything Honda or Toyota has. The Japanese perfected the 4 cylinder while ours blew up or burned up left and right. Now, we're producing a couple of 4 cylinder SPORTS cars with turbos on them! Hahaha! Cant wait to see how long THEY last. I'm not saying we haven't IMPROVED the 4 cylinder engine, I'm just saying they're still not up to par with anything almost any Japanese company produces. And when you're going to spend 18 to 25 grand for a car, that can make a real difference.

Here's another way to look at it: Harley Davidson was going down the tubes using old design, old technology. Their engine tolerances were so large that parts literally fell off the bike and oil leaks were common on new engines. The Japs came out with Honda in the early 60s and the motorcycle world was changed forever. This forced Harley (after many years struggling) to build a better machine. But to this very day, no Harley has near the quality of say... a Honda Goldwing. I know those are fightin words to some but nobody beats the Japs at small engine design..period. And if you can build a tiny engine with tight tolerances and make it run like a Swiss Watch, then it's easy to go up in size to a 6 or 8 cylinder engine. The opposite in not true however: You can build a big old clunky V-8 with loose tolerances and it will run by brute force alone. But take that same idea and make it into a 4 cylinder and you have the 1960s and 70s here in the U.S.... in other words disaster.

Jerry wrote:Again, not talking about size or use or abilities. Talking about quality.

quality.

I remember seeing an almost new Mustang 2 with the emblem hanging sideways and the grill melting.

One of the many things that I think Detroit has wrong is the concept of the second car.
This isn't something they were saying, it's just a feeling I get.

Here's what I'm saying. If you buy a nice tv or stereo, pay a lot of money, you expect quality. But if you get a cheapo one for the basement or garage then you don't expect all that much.
I get the feeling that Detroit does this with their lower (not low) priced cars. It's good enough for the second car that doesn't get used much.
And if we made the kind of money the Auto Industry bigshots made we might feel the same way but the truth is most Americans don't have a cheap second car. They have the best car they can afford and they might understand when that means the dash isn't as fancy or the interior isn't as nice but it doesn't mean that the thing can be unreliable. They have to get to work every morning and after a long hard day at work the last thing they want to do is work on the car so they can get to work tomorrow.
There are no cheap new cars, there's just the ones we can afford. Some of us can afford more or less than others.

Bob Church wrote:One of the many things that I think Detroit has wrong is the concept of the second car.

Second car? Second car? Hell man... they never got the FIRST car right!!

Besides that, if the economy keeps sliding no one will be able to afford a second (lousy) car.

Build a good dependable car and I will buy it.
My newest car is 15 years old, it does not have a bunch of JUNK added to it. It runs fine and I keep it up. Much better than what is being built today by any manufacturer.

BTW you are correct about Harley's too, mine spent more time spread out in the garage than on the road, BUT I had one! LOL

So much for basebal, hotdogs, apple pie and chevrolet. That was the good ole days before all NAFTA and all the out sourcing. You can't find a car made in America, that has all American parts.

I don't think I want a car or truck made in America,...unions pretty much screwed that up.....I have a 1990 GMC with 330,000 miles and runs great....guess what....made in Canada.....argue with that.....

Thats awful close to Detroit.

Close,but no cigar...

Buy American! (+ keep me in work )

But really, GM + Chrysler have improved greatly in the last few years.
And as Jerry stated, It's not enough!
I my view, I think it boils down to the work ethic of America and Americans. Top and bottom of the Companies.

I think Ford already has two feet in the grave. When I see one of their new cars, I truly see their confusion of the market place.
A couple years ago they had their vans (I think it was) catching fire, also.
The hell with quality, Ford can't achieve safety!

At the end there will be a few CEO types making out like bandits, and screwing everyone under them. You gotta love the American Capitalist (money at any/anyone's cost ).

bigJ wrote:But the problem with the list you post of the top auto makers:

Muscle Cars and Trucks

None on the list produce any that can compete with those 2 classifications.

You can barely get a piece of plywood in any truck not made in the US, and I figure its because all those Japs and Chinks are so short and live in boxes only produce 4x4 sheets of plywood.

And nothing can compete with the Charger, Mustang or Corvette.

2007 Mustang: 0-60 5.7 sec;

2007 Dodge Charger: 0-60 6.0 sec

2007 Corvette: 4.3 sec

2007 TOYOTA TUNDRA FULL SIZE TRUCK: 0-60 6.0 sec;

THINK ABOUT IT!

bigJ wrote:But the problem with the list you post of the top auto makers:

Muscle Cars and Trucks

None on the list produce any that can compete with those 2 classifications.

You can barely get a piece of plywood in any truck not made in the US, and I figure its because all those Japs and Chinks are so short and live in boxes only produce 4x4 sheets of plywood.

And nothing can compete with the Charger, Mustang or Corvette.

2007 Mustang: 0-60 5.7 sec;

2007 Dodge Charger: 0-60 6.0 sec

2007 Corvette: 4.3 sec

2007 TOYOTA TUNDRA FULL SIZE TRUCK: 0-60 6.0 sec;

THINK ABOUT IT!