Hilarious

On Dec 31, 2:22*pm, "Neil Gould" wrote:
Recently, Dave posted:

Some have learned..

My *1990 Town Car is still going, reliabily and lookin good, with
owner #3....

Then, it's fair to give it a two out of three, excluding the "economy"
aspect, as I don't think Town Cars got anywhere near 30 mpg. *;-)

And Toyota just got a downgrade from Consumer Reports..

Are those Toyotas Japanese-made, or made here in the US?

Times/things constantly change..

That's for sure. I really hope the US auto makers wake up, but when they
whine that it will be a hardship to meet a 35 mpg target in 15 years, I
wonder, given the number of vehicles that meet or exceed that today.

Neil

I think the US automakers have done a great job of turning around.

Wil

John Halpenny wrote:

My first car was a brand new white '68 Mercury Cougar, made in the
USA. I drove home and parked in the driveway to show it off.
Unfortunately, I couldn't get out because the inside door handle had
fallen off.

I was 7 when this happened, but remember it like yesterday.

My parents bought a brand new, 1972 Ford Gran Torino Wagon. A week
later they loaded the three kids and we departed CT for Disney World.
Yeah, I know this sounds like "Vacation", but stay with me! G

On the way home, the brand new Ford developed a loud thumping noise in
the rear end while traveling though southern NJ. A tow truck driver
raised the rear end on the hook, and was able to slide the rear axle out
of the housing, still attached to the hub! The car couldn't have had
more than 3000 miles on it!

They replaced that car with a '77 Toyota Corolla wagon, which all three
of us learned to drive on. Even after 3 16 year old idiots learned to
drive it, the car lasted 200k with no major repairs. My father still
has the window sticker from the Corolla, which I think cost $3200!

B A R R Y wrote:
John Halpenny wrote:

My first car was a brand new white '68 Mercury Cougar, made in the
USA. I drove home and parked in the driveway to show it off.
Unfortunately, I couldn't get out because the inside door handle had
fallen off.

I was 7 when this happened, but remember it like yesterday.

My parents bought a brand new, 1972 Ford Gran Torino Wagon. A week
later they loaded the three kids and we departed CT for Disney World.
Yeah, I know this sounds like "Vacation", but stay with me! G

On the way home, the brand new Ford developed a loud thumping noise in
the rear end while traveling though southern NJ. A tow truck driver
raised the rear end on the hook, and was able to slide the rear axle out
of the housing, still attached to the hub! The car couldn't have had
more than 3000 miles on it!

They replaced that car with a '77 Toyota Corolla wagon, which all three
of us learned to drive on. Even after 3 16 year old idiots learned to
drive it, the car lasted 200k with no major repairs. My father still
has the window sticker from the Corolla, which I think cost $3200!

And they kept the Ford for 4-5 years AFTER this happened? I remember
something similar happening in the late '60s with a new Ford my
Grandfather bought. He delivered the Ford back to the dealership and got
Chevy.

Recently, Dave posted:

Some have learned..

My 1990 Town Car is still going, reliabily and lookin good, with
owner #3....

Then, it's fair to give it a two out of three, excluding the "economy"
aspect, as I don't think Town Cars got anywhere near 30 mpg. ;-)

And Toyota just got a downgrade from Consumer Reports..

Are those Toyotas Japanese-made, or made here in the US?

Times/things constantly change..

That's for sure. I really hope the US auto makers wake up, but when they
whine that it will be a hardship to meet a 35 mpg target in 15 years, I
wonder, given the number of vehicles that meet or exceed that today.

Neil

"John Halpenny" wrote in message
...
On Dec 31, 11:01 am, "Maxwell" wrote:
"Bertie the Bunyip" wrote in
6.130...

The problem was everything else. The transition to plastics was in full
swing, the unibody eliminated the full frames, everything was lighted as
much as possible for fuel savings. I remember all kinds of problems with
everything from door and window operators, to heater controls, instruments,
front suspension issues and alike. What the japs were good at was building
small, lightweight and reliable cars, due to their complete attention to
every detail. I think failure of those small details sent a lot of US made
cars to the crusher while the engines and drive trains were still in pretty
good condition.

- My first car was a brand new white '68 Mercury Cougar, made in the
- USA. I drove home and parked in the driveway to show it off.
- Unfortunately, I couldn't get out because the inside door handle had fallen off.
-
- It was a very nice car in many respects, but I could never drive at
- the speed limit - there was a nasty vibration between 63 and 67 mph
- that they were never able to fix. The engine lasted 45,0000 miles
- before a valve job, and the body was rusted out in five years.
-
- It could have been worse. My neighbour bought a brand new Chev at the
- same time, and after three days her window fell out. Every car I
- bought since has been made in Japan.

My first new car was a 1968 Chevy Nova. Nothing fancy anywhere on it, not the best
performing car by any means, but it was cheap, reliable, and adequate for my needs at the
time. It was simple enough that I learned basic do-it-yourself maintenance on it. It was
still in good running and body condition when I sold it 6 years later. This was before
the industry really went south in the 70s. However, I remember a mechanically minded
cousin advising us in the late 50s or early 60s that the first thing you should do when
you get a new car was take a wrench and screwdriver and tighten everything you could get
at. I guess even then the shop floor instructions were "just keep 'em moving, we'll fix
anything you miss at the dealer under warranty."

Of course, that meant that millions of PO'd customers had to have things fixed. So when
Japanese cars started appearing without those minor manufacturing glitches because of
their attention to detail, even a mediocre import carried an aura of quality compared to
the U.S. equivalents. Their comparatively better attention to details in design vs.
domestic models further eroded the U.S. car image. (OTOH, in the late 80s my wife bought
a Japanese import that we sold less than a year later because as soon as we drove it home,
the finish started speckling from exposure on the boat to salt water and/or acid rain.)

U.S. car quality has improved significantly from the "slap 'em together and move 'em out"
days. I'm still driving a 1995 domestic sedan. The exterior and interior are a bit worn
but it still runs reliably and has more than adequate performance. Whenever anyone tells
me that it's time to get a new one, I point out that it's paid for and I average less than
$2k a year on maintenance, which is about 3+ months worth of new car payments when you add
in the increased insurance and taxes (both dirt cheap now). YMMV, but when it goes I'm
definitely not going to automatically rule out a domestic model.

Gig601XLBuilder wrote:

And they kept the Ford for 4-5 years AFTER this happened?

Exactly 4 years.

I remember that Gran Torino having constant issues. Maybe it was a
Poster Child for Lemon Laws. G It rusted to Swiss cheese in only 4
years, too.

Both parents (divorced) have had all kinds of cars since then, but
neither has ever bought another Ford.

"John Mazor" wrote in message
news:Tobej.40370$NL5.17655@trnddc05...

- My first car was a brand new white '68 Mercury Cougar, made in the
- USA. I drove home and parked in the driveway to show it off.
- Unfortunately, I couldn't get out because the inside door handle had
fallen off.
-
- It was a very nice car in many respects, but I could never drive at
- the speed limit - there was a nasty vibration between 63 and 67 mph
- that they were never able to fix. The engine lasted 45,0000 miles
- before a valve job, and the body was rusted out in five years.
-
- It could have been worse. My neighbour bought a brand new Chev at the
- same time, and after three days her window fell out. Every car I
- bought since has been made in Japan.

Sounds familiar.

In 1984, my wife and I traveled to Phoenix for the Christmas Holidays and
rented a Pontiac Trans-Am. It had 1700 miles on it.

When my wife went to put the rental contract in the glove compartment, the
glove box door fell of into her lap.

My last American car was a 1977 Chevelle Malibu Classic. They could never
get the cruise control, the radio, or one of the power windows to work
properly. The front end could never hold alignment for more than 10,000
miles.

I traded it for a Toyota Celica in 1979, then put 125K miles on that with
only oil changes and put new tires on it at 60,000.

Since then, it's been Toyota (Camry, two Four-Runners, a Tacoma and a couple
Tundra's), or Honda (two Accords and a Acura RL).

I frequently have to rent cars (typically American cars on the rental lots
in smaller towns) when I travel, and though Detroit has made some
improvements, they're still behind Japan by a wide margin.

Fortunately, they don't salt the roads our here in the west though many
municipalities are starting to do that since it's cheaper than sanding the
roads three or four times.

--
Matt Barrow
Performance Homes, LLC.
Cheyenne, WY

In article ,
B A R R Y wrote:

Gig601XLBuilder wrote:

And they kept the Ford for 4-5 years AFTER this happened?

Exactly 4 years.

I remember that Gran Torino having constant issues. Maybe it was a
Poster Child for Lemon Laws. G It rusted to Swiss cheese in only 4
years, too.

Both parents (divorced) have had all kinds of cars since then, but
neither has ever bought another Ford.

hmmm, I guess it was lucky that I bought my first new car in 1980
and haven't had any problems with any of my domestic cars.

apparently YMDV...

--
Bob Noel
(goodness, please trim replies!!!)

"Neil Gould" wrote in message
...
Recently, William Hung posted:

I think the US automakers have done a great job of turning around.

If it was a 360º turn, perhaps that explains why they're all tanking big
time.

Neil



Probably one of those "...three point reverse roll to knife-edge tactical
pitch-out" moves. Either that or they blew a tire and spun out. Who knows?
(apologies to Dudley :-))

Recently, William Hung posted:

I think the US automakers have done a great job of turning around.

If it was a 360º turn, perhaps that explains why they're all tanking big
time.

Neil