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What happened so they are no longer sold in the USA is simple to answer.
The number of sales that can be projected, means that they would lose money as people no longer are buying those completely stripped models in sufficient numbers to make it practical to build them at a profit.
...................................This is precisely why I prefer lower-quality, failure-prone vehicles, that are simple to repair. Sure, the water pump might be a "wear item", failing every 20K miles. But if I can easily access it, I can easily replace it. If the water pump doesn't fail until 200K miles, but requires intervention by the dealer, and a $1500 repair bill, then how exactly is this extra "reliability" helpful?
Using your example, if you drive 10,000 miles a year and the water pump fails every 20,000 miles, then you will have to replace it every 2 years. After 200,000 miles and 20 years of driving, you will replace it 10 times.
If you drive the same 10,000 miles a year but the water pump fails at 200,000 miles, then you will have to replace it only once after 200,000 miles and 20 years of driving.
I'm willing to bet that your total cost of replacing the water pump 10 times will surpass the one time $1500 repair bill after 20 years of driving, you use in your example.
The "reliability is helpful" through the reduced cost, time saved, and inconvenience avoided by replacing the water pump once in 20 years rather than 10 times in 20 years.
Funny you started this thread because just yesterday my BF couldn't get into his new car. Apparently the battery drained overnight and the keys failed. Wasn't anywhere to put a key, at least we thought. He had to google to find out how to unlock it. It was not at all obvious. That's one reason I'm glad I went with a key pad on my car.
When you say key pad I am thinking the option where you have numbered buttons that allow you to enter a code of some kind to unlock the door. If the power were to go out on your car, you would not be able to use the keypad.
If what you mean is a key cylinder where you install a key that would not be considered a key pad, but a lock cylinder. Some would say key hole. Normally located near the door handle. No key needed for this.
This does remind me about a call I received years ago.I was called out to open a locked car years ago. The owner had shaved off all of the door locks and installed a solenoid system. He had accidentally locked his automatic door release in the trunk and he had no trunk release in the interior of the car. I asked if he had another one and he did at his home 10 miles away.
Using your example, if you drive 10,000 miles a year and the water pump fails every 20,000 miles, then you will have to replace it every 2 years. After 200,000 miles and 20 years of driving, you will replace it 10 times.
If you drive the same 10,000 miles a year but the water pump fails at 200,000 miles, then you will have to replace it only once after 200,000 miles and 20 years of driving.
I'm willing to bet that your total cost of replacing the water pump 10 times will surpass the one time $1500 repair bill after 20 years of driving, you use in your example.
The "reliability is helpful" through the reduced cost, time saved, and inconvenience avoided by replacing the water pump once in 20 years rather than 10 times in 20 years.
And why would a 200k water pump require the dealership anyway? It might take a little more time and be more cramped in a modern car, but the job certainly does not take 10 times as long or require a dealer.
Using your example, if you drive 10,000 miles a year and the water pump fails every 20,000 miles, then you will have to replace it every 2 years. After 200,000 miles and 20 years of driving, you will replace it 10 times.
If you drive the same 10,000 miles a year but the water pump fails at 200,000 miles, then you will have to replace it only once after 200,000 miles and 20 years of driving.
I'm willing to bet that your total cost of replacing the water pump 10 times will surpass the one time $1500 repair bill after 20 years of driving, you use in your example.
The "reliability is helpful" through the reduced cost, time saved, and inconvenience avoided by replacing the water pump once in 20 years rather than 10 times in 20 years.
Thank you. I thought I was the only one not seeing the upside of replacing and easily replaceable component every 20K miles.
A horse and buggy may have been much simpler to understand and repair, but I'd rather have a complicated modern luxury car any day.
And why would a 200k water pump require the dealership anyway? It might take a little more time and be more cramped in a modern car, but the job certainly does not take 10 times as long or require a dealer.
Long time ago I heard a comment that I took to heart.
The engineer said that if we car owners maintained our vehicles as if they were airplanes, they would last virtually forever.
90 GMC with 400,000 miles. Bought it new.
Do you have any idea how much it cost to maintain an airplane?
A stripped down 40 year old Cessna can still cost 6 figures and that's before you're talking maintenance. There's a reason not everybody owns an airplane.
I just want a basic pickup truck like they had in the 1970s, easy to maintain, with no bells and whistles except A/C and heat (if you count that as "bells and whistles).
I'm fine with the manual windows with the crank handles. I'd rather have it over the power windows anyway because sometimes the motor for the power windows dies and you have to spend about $200 to replace each.
2017 chevy spark has manual window handles
I have a 1973 Datsun Pick up That I will keep for life!!
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