"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
"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.

Yeah, and the Japanese stuff never breaks down right? A good friend of mine
will not buy any other kind of vehicle other than a Toyota, always tells me
how great they are, buy conveniently forgets to mention that his 2002 Tundra
V8 had to have that camshaft replaced at less than 10,000 miles and his 2003
Rav 4 spends more time sitting at the dealers repair shop than in his
driveway.
My wife's 92 Ford Crown Victoria had 159,000 miles on it when we traded it
in on a 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis and it didn't burn a drop of oil between
changes. My sister in law has a 92 Chevy Astro van with a V6 in it that has
over 377,000 miles on it and not had a major break down.
Back in the 1970s and 1980s there was a lot of junk manufactured here but if
you haven't tried an US brand lately you might be surprised.

Jack Cassidy