"Tex Houston" wrote in message
...

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
Cars are another story. My first two cars were American, and due to
constant
problems, they almost put ME out of work. Once you realize you're being
bent
over like a newcomer in a prison, it's silly to submit to more or the
same
treatment.

My Chrysler was made in Mexico, my neighbor's Chrysler was made in Canada.
The two Hondas across the street were made in Ohio. What is an American
car?

Tex


At this point (since Japanese cars are rarely made there any more), it seems
to be a question of design and tolerances, and that apparently makes all the
difference in the world. You don't say which Chrysler you have, but chances
are good that it'll be burning oil by its second year. All Chrysler vans do
that, without exception, and relatively new Neons also smell pretty nasty
when you're driving behind one. A Toyota won't do that until 200k miles
unless you abuse the bejezus out of it. I had a 1982 Tercel that reached
180k miles. On the day someone smashed into it at 70mph and killed it, I
cleaned my stuff out of the trunk before it was towed and found I had the
same unopened bottle of oil I'd placed there on the day I bought it. The car
ran clean as a whistle at that age, with compression better than spec across
all 4 cylinders.

An engineer could explain why the American designers can't seem to do this.