Amen... you know there is a good chance that motor will still be turning 10 or 15 years from now. Is that worth a 10-15% premium? Looks like America thinks it is.

I always knew my Ford-150 was better :p

Don't even go there, Japan has been subsidizing their industries, and more specifically car companies for many years.
The fact that they have been so profitable, selling this stuff over here, doesn't speak well for our consumers.

In fact, Toyota recently asked for Government bailouts from Japan.

Seriously? A frame rusting in 9 yrs is horrible. My 2001 Grand Prix is rust-free underneath. Toyota is using some seriously low-quality steel.

I'm not a snob. I wanted the absolute best gas mileage I could get, and there's no comparison to my Corolla. In fact, the newer Corolla's can't even get the MPG I get. It's got 125K miles on it in just over 3 years and I still get about 38 on the highway at 70.

The frame on my 65 chevy Van isn't rusted..

So now your calling out every American consumer who buys Japanese just because they want a better automobile?? You make no sense.

Niether is the frame on my '60 CJ-5.
When hanging the new exhaust we found a crack in the frame right in the middle of the passenger side wheel arch but I'm pretty sure that's due to running a whole lot more motor than the designers intended. ;)

I've been in the car business for 15 years and have never heard this before. Just called a couple of my buddies in the the business and they've haven't either. Sounds like propaganda to me.

IMO that's largely a myth, over the past four years I've spent more on repairs on my wife's Camry than I did my Caravan, and it's five years newer. And don't even get me started on the Accord we used to have...

Perhaps somewhat, because i do believe American manufacturers have been forced to make better cars because of the dominance of foreign makers.

But the Foreign cars still have a far better resale value than American.

Yay. Seeing that I generally buy cars that are 5-6 years old, that only means I'll pay more for them. That, coupled with the fact that parts are friggin' outrageous for them, I don't really see what I'm gaining. Next time I'll buy the comparable Chevy for $2-3K less and take my chances.

A new car built by my company leaves somewhere traveling at 60 mph. The rear differential locks up. The car crashes and burns with everyone trapped inside. Now, should we initiate a recall? Take the number of vehicles in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C. A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one.

Are there a lot of these kinds of accidents?

You wouldn't believe.

Which car company do you work for?

A major one.

You are not your ****ing khakis!

I'll counter your myth with a truth of my own....

We bought my wife a new Dodge Grand Caravan in 1998 with only 12 miles on it. I purchased a new Toyota Camry with 5 miles on it in 1991.

We finally got rid of the POS Grand Caravan in 2002 after spending an ungodly amount of money trying to keep it roadworthy...with the main culprit being the electrical system. We traded it in for a 2000 Sienna XLE with 14k miles on it. The only problem we have had with it was the automatic door on the passenger side. We have put over 100K miles on it and spent less on repairs/upkeep in the almost 7 years we have owned it than we spent in the 4 years we owned that Grand Caravan.

But I will go you one better.....I owned that original 1991 till i traded it off in 2000 for a 2000 Camry...I spent nothing more than upkeep money (normal maintenance) in those 9 years and still couldn't come anywhere near to what I spent in what ungodly money keeping that POS Grand Caravan on the road.

Just thought I would offer my experience....

mmaddog
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