reliability of American cars (gasket, credit, brakes, engines)
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the reality is that american cars have been as reliable as any cars in the world ever. all you got was the negative hype for years.
This is true ^
I don't even see where Japanese car makers passed American car makers in "quality" or "reliability". Most cars from the 90's regardless of the brand seem VERY similar, and same with today. I own two American cars:
2001 Camaro Z28 with 135,000 miles on it. Car has had NO mechanical issues whatsoever. I've kept up on the maintenance regularly with oil changes, coolant flush, transmission fluid swap, brake fluid, brakes, tires, etc. If you maintain the car it will reward you and keep on going.
2015 Fusion SE with 11,000 miles on it. The car is surprisingly luxurious for a Ford in my opinion. ALMOST fully loaded with a lot of great features, rides smooth, great fuel economy, and very stylish in my opinion.
I think the only thing that Japanese auto makers did in the 90's is finally catch up to American auto makers. Japanese cars before 1990 in the U.S. were pretty junky, once the 90's came around they stepped up their game. All this stuff about American cars not being reliable is hogwash. And I DO NOT include Dodge/Chrysler, they've been owned by Daimler and now Fiat, they haven't been a REAL American car company in years. As far as I'm concerned it's just Ford and GM now.
Unlike Ford and Chevy, Chrysler has had a long running issue with their transmissions not being very reliable. Couple that with the fact that pretty much half of the engines they made from the 90's thru the early 00's were Mitsubishi engines and it's not even an American car. Owned by Daimler and now a merger with Fiat.
To their credit I think within the past 5 years Dodge/Chrysler has really stepped up and is basically on the same playing field as the other big 2.
I owned a Chevy not too long ago, then bought a Toyota. The build quality of the interior and overall is like night and day.
What kind of Chevy and what kind of Toyota did you own?
Comparing a 1980's Chevy Citation to a 2010 Toyota Avalon is no comparison. But a modern day Impala against a modern day Avalon and I think most people would actually prefer the Impala.
I think a lot of the vehicles Chrysler is turning out theses days like the Grand Cherokee, Ram, 300, Charger, Wrangler, and Challenger are cool and desirable.
For someone looking to lease or own short term, they're a lot of fun.
However for actually owning in the long run, Chrysler has a reason for it's bad reputation. For every one of your uncle bob's 1994 Grand Cherokee with 350k miles on it, there are 30 sitting in a junkyard.
But I have to give them credit though, they are no longer plagued with engine issues. The hemi and pentastar are solid. Maybe if they can get the electrics right in a few years, they'll be more reliable.
Unlike Ford and Chevy, Chrysler has had a long running issue with their transmissions not being very reliable. Couple that with the fact that pretty much half of the engines they made from the 90's thru the early 00's were Mitsubishi engines and it's not even an American car. Owned by Daimler and now a merger with Fiat.
To their credit I think within the past 5 years Dodge/Chrysler has really stepped up and is basically on the same playing field as the other big 2.
The transmission in my van still works perfectly, and the engine is not a Mitsu engine. I had one of those (the smoking 3.0 as it was known) before. Daimler did own them at the time although the design preceded Daimler's ownership, Daimler did get rid of some options that Chrysler had designed in, such as separate turn signals and brake lights.
The transmission in my van still works perfectly, and the engine is not a Mitsu engine. I had one of those (the smoking 3.0 as it was known) before. Daimler did own them at the time although the design preceded Daimler's ownership, Daimler did get rid of some options that Chrysler had designed in, such as separate turn signals and brake lights.
Well not every tranny is going to be a lemon, but Chrysler/Dodge did earn a reputation for lousy transmissions for almost 10 years. In the mid 00's they had some of the least fuel efficient cars. The Dodge Caliber is a real embarrassment, but so was the Pontiac Aztek, but Pontiac is dead. I'll say that Chrysler has stepped up their game since the big crash in 2009.
The transmission in my van still works perfectly, and the engine is not a Mitsu engine. I had one of those (the smoking 3.0 as it was known)
My Montero had one of those. It also burned oil and smoked like crazy.
I kept oil in the back and added as needed. But it never quit.
At well over 100K miles the thing just kinda fell apart.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ColdAilment
The Dodge Caliber is a real embarrassment, but so was the Pontiac Aztek
The Caliber is easily the worst car I've driven in the last decade.
As for the Aztek... they looked goofy but were actually very useful and functional.
Maybe it was just ahead of it's time. I can name several cars that are every bit as ugly, starting with approximately half of Nissan's lineup.
My brother has a Dodge Dart that is less than a year old. Within the first week the GPS/Stereo/HVAC took a dump and had to be replaced. Just recently he had to take the car in and leave it for two days while the struts were replaced.
My 2013 Kia Rio5 SX is approaching 75,000 km and I haven't had one non-scheduled service appointment. The only time that there is a buzzing or rattling from the interior is in the extreme cold and even then it only lasts until the car warms up.
We have a 2009 Kia Borrego that has 120,000 miles on it and we literally have not spent a dime on repairs other than regular maintenance issues like oil changes, tires, and brake pads. On the other hand, our 2013 Dodge Journey with 50,000 miles has been in for multiple issues including a new radio module, two transmission updates, new struts and a few other things that I can't remember right now. There is a squeaking sound in the suspension that the dealer claims to never hear, and they can't find the cause. The transmission is rough and clunky. And the screws fell out of the sun visors so that they just flopped around!!! Never again.
The Caliber is easily the worst car I've driven in the last decade.
You never drove a Saturn Vue.
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