My last American made auto was and I still have it a 1995 Dodge 4x4 pick up. the paint and head liner fell off of it after 3 years, Because of that I will not or have I ever bought another American auto I have a Honda and a Toyota and love them.
Another car thread
- Thread starter Tweety Bird
- Start date
Colonialgirl
Hawkeye
chuck said:
You can thank the EPA and the Federal Government for the poor paint on the '95 pickup; They MANDATED a change in the paint formulations, Plus the auto companies were going to a "water based" product too. Dodge/Chrysler weren't the ONLY ones having problems, I recall that GM/Chev Corsicas, you could take a razor blade and peel the top coats off down to the primer; sure made doing "touch-ups" and blends on them a pain in the gazoo.
Rick Courtright
Hawkeye
Colonialgirl said:
Hi,
I dunno how well "EPA approved" paint holds up in cooler climes, but I think the EPA (together with its local henchmen, such as AQMD and CARB out here) owes just about every car owner in the warmer states from FL to CA at least one paint job! And all that paint falling off of "sunburned" cars has to go SOMEWHERE. How many endangered species are thriving on it? :evil:
Rick C
OP
Tweety Bird
Single-Sixer
New cars are no worse than even a 30-year-old car in many ways.
Even the 1985 Honda Accord I drove for a year or so had a computer-controlled carburetor. It was a very efficient car but it had over a dozen vacuum lines to the "computer" to control the carburetion. I shudder to think what would happen to that engine if and when any of those vacuum lines developed a crack or other problem. The electronics had control of things, but no way of reporting the trouble like an OBDII car can do.
I'll take electronic engine controls over a system like that any day of the week - and all day on Sunday.
Even the 1985 Honda Accord I drove for a year or so had a computer-controlled carburetor. It was a very efficient car but it had over a dozen vacuum lines to the "computer" to control the carburetion. I shudder to think what would happen to that engine if and when any of those vacuum lines developed a crack or other problem. The electronics had control of things, but no way of reporting the trouble like an OBDII car can do.
I'll take electronic engine controls over a system like that any day of the week - and all day on Sunday.
Geoff Timm
Single-Sixer
I bought the Honda Fit, it allows my wife to ride or drive, even with a bad hip. The flexibility of load space is great too. I liked the upright driving position and the 32 mpg is great compared to a 2001 Ford Crown Victoria.
I looked at Fords, the Turkish Transit was the only one with a decent front passenger position and I hit my knees in the drivers seat. The 24 MPG rating was scary too.
Geoff
Who notes the Ford C-max was unavailable outside Europe at the time.
I looked at Fords, the Turkish Transit was the only one with a decent front passenger position and I hit my knees in the drivers seat. The 24 MPG rating was scary too.
Geoff
Who notes the Ford C-max was unavailable outside Europe at the time.
I took a chance several years ago when looking for an inexpensive commuter car and settled on a Kia Rio. That was 2008 and in 2010 I was the meat in a pickup sandwich. I liked that Kia so much that I replaced it with a 2010 Hyundai Elantra. That too was a great car, but when they changed engines in the 2013 Elantras and got 36 mpg, we bought one of those. All three of those cars never spent a minute at the dealers for quality issues or repairs. They have hooked me and the Korean cars have my loyalty for now. By the way, prior to the Koreans, I mostly bought Ford products when looking for a new vehicle. Still like the Ford offerings, but why give up on a good thing?
Dave
Dave
OP
Tweety Bird
Single-Sixer
My brother has a Kia Rio and likes it a lot.
I saw a sign in the window of a Kia on display at the Medford, OR airport last month saying it has a 20 year, 200,000 mile warranty. I assume that's a dealer bump to the factory warranty but it's the first time I'd ever seen anything like that.
I saw a sign in the window of a Kia on display at the Medford, OR airport last month saying it has a 20 year, 200,000 mile warranty. I assume that's a dealer bump to the factory warranty but it's the first time I'd ever seen anything like that.
