2nd Jul 2016, 11:11
I have a Durango on here that I sold at around 300000 miles. Had one trans. But it was all flat, clean, cool air New England highway. Changed the oil it seemed every month in a fast lube. But someone else doing start stop, mountainous or dusty conditions may not have the same comments. I am surprised my cruise control didn't wear out.
5th Jul 2016, 17:15
I've seen such anti-Toyota and Honda comments on this and other sites for years. Most are baseless and not really tied to reality. That those two brands still dominate most of the long term reliability reports more or less disproves that. This isn't to say the Big three make bad cars. But Hondas and Toyotas are still make some of the most reliable cars money can buy.
5th Jul 2016, 21:29
So in other words frame rot, engine sludge, ball joints, ABS problems, sudden acceleration and recalls were just fictional made up stories about Toyota?
5th Jul 2016, 22:33
Look up Acura flagship Honda TL and peruse the transmission area. Look up Camry sludging. Not dreaming this stuff up. A high sales volume on fuel efficient cars isn't all there is. I see reliability that has dropped from at best satisfactory. Old ones 80s and 90s I am with you. Not the newest.
6th Jul 2016, 09:28
Every auto maker has good and bad cars. Where it appears the imports got it right was economy cars. However when you look at the faults when you start getting into bigger V6 cars, you see they start to have a lot of issues.
6th Jul 2016, 19:09
Even better, buy a V8. Cars barely idling with a full load of accessories on the interstate. A high revving 4 cylinder, running an air conditioner etc isn't for me.
7th Jul 2016, 22:06
I really, REALLY dislike the "import/domestic" arguments. Look under the hood of your car and it's the same as a PC, TV set, or mobile phone. It's made out of a billion parts sourced from every country on the planet, was probably designed some studio who knows where, is based off of a platform that was either foreign or domestic, and is sold in a dozen different countries as either totally different brands or models.
This isn't the 1950s anymore and most of the time you're just buying for the badge. But the numbers don't lie: Toyota, Honda, and Lexus are still at or near the top of that list. I really don't care about their nation of origin anymore than any other brand. I own both Japanese and American brand cars and they are all fine.
9th Jul 2016, 12:51
It would be great if I worked and traveled worldwide. But I work here and have been downsized more than once from intense foreign pressure. Seems the best direction to work for today isn't in manufacturing, but in the service sector or in the medical field. Or move to China. Our economy is weak. You can keep going to school, but there's no guarantee of job security today. The Internet is a factor as well. You can shop for a new car at the lowest price then fly and drive it home. There is a new car dealer near me that now keeps school buses on site that steadily pay the bills. Pretty sad in my opinion.
10th Jul 2016, 12:35
When is the last time the import lover bought a brand new car? The real competition today is the Internet and companies like Carmax. Low mile cars with exact options, even color. People are holding onto cars longer. And it's not strictly quality, it's keeping a budget. Factor in how many new car brands there are today as well. A lot of the profit goes overseas. The few factory positions considering there are 50 states doesn't stir the economy much.
11th Jul 2016, 14:45
Again - out come the generic comments like "import lover" or whatever. I find it interesting that often times those whom are still stuck in that mindset somehow blame other non-American brands for what has happened historically over time to the US auto industry. Nobody said to any of the big three: "hey - you must move your production to Mexico/China/Korea". That was the decision of the boards of those companies whom are of course beholden to the shareholder. And this is still happening.
Americans aren't stupid either. Any company, whether they be foreign or domestic, will fail if they sell a shoddy product. We have a free and open economy and the best will rise as the worst falls. It's not the responsibility of the consumer to buy a faulty product just because it is either of foreign or domestic origin. They have the choice to choose as they please and in the end this has the effect of - as JFK put it - "raise all ships". That back in the 70s and 80s Japanese companies came in and started selling highly reliable cars was a major disruption to the US auto industry, which had grown complacent since there wasn't any outside competition to speak of. But as of now the big 3 are producing more or less the same level of quality as the Japanese brands. At the same time, other formerly poor quality brands such as Hyundai are making better and better cars. It's all about market competition and in the end the consumer wins.
But getting back to the topic at hand - the American labor used in automotive production - I'd suggest some here really look under the actual lid of the typical American auto factory of today.
For example: I grew up in the rural South. Today there are factories from BMW, Mercedes, VW, Hyundai, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and of course plants for GM and Ford too. Then there are steel plants, parts plants and a zillion other suppliers for those factories. The auto industry has transformed the South into an economic powerhouse. So for people from my region, this has been highly positive.
BTW, did any of you know that of all US automotive exports, the largest is actually the BMW X5? In fact the Spartenburg SC BMW plant is the largest BMW plant in the world and exports 3/4 of its cars produced.
But anyway... so for example the Toyota Avalon. It's made in Georgetown KY, and if actual US-made and sourced parts were included, is one of the most actual "American-Made" cars you can buy. Like I said, made in KY by US autoworkers. Then there are cars like mine, a Chevy Volt. It's made in one of the oldest GM factories, the GM Hamtramck assembly plant. It is roughly 45% domestically produced with the rest coming from Korea, Japan, and parts of Europe (the engine is Austrian). In both cases we have American workers in American communities earning American dollars, which are used to pump back into their respective economies.
In the end, strip away all of the feel-good stuff and you are left with the almighty dollar. At the end of the day, the person standing next to you buying stuff at the grocery store has a job. If that's really what it's all about, then I fail to see a difference between someone who puts Toyotas together versus someone who puts Chevys together. They are all part of the US economic machine and also contribute to the economy overall.
1st Jul 2016, 21:33
You want overrated, look at some of the Japanese cars being made. 2004 Honda Accords with transmission problems, Toyota sludge issues, and yet people still hail them. They're living off their reputation, plain and simple. And I love Japanese cars. The Ford is at 200,000 miles, things are going to break, need servicing. Even a Japanese car at that mileage will need some work.