How many households in the US? Somewhere in the 140 million range isn't it? Cost to do this would be 2.8 Trillion dollars.

Paper and ink required for generating revenue is cheap. In a few years, 2.8 trillion dollars may not even be a good starting salary for a high school drop out.

I have driven everyone of my Ford and GM productd for at least 150,000 miles. One currently has 244,000 miles and is still running strong. Not always, but in general, you get the reliability out of your vehicles that you put into maintaining them. Foriegn or domestic.

:thumb: My current car has 200,000 miles + on it and I typically get more than 250,000 miles on cars before scrapping them.

I have driven everyone of my Ford and GM productd for at least 150,000 miles. One currently has 244,000 miles and is still running strong. Not always, but in general, you get the reliability out of your vehicles that you put into maintaining them. Foriegn or domestic.

 

I agree with this. I think the reliability criticisms of current American cars and trucks are greatly overstated and may be largely a function of the maintenance the owner performs. One thing I have unscientifically observed (at least in my neck of the woods) is that many of the domestic cars on the road don't appear to be as well maintained (dirty) as imported vehicles (often freshly washed). Now, I know the amount of dirt on the exterior doesn't necessarily equate to the quality of maintenance (oil changes, scheduled maintenance, etc.) in every case, but I do think it is a reasonable general indicator. No machine can be expected to be reliable if it is not properly maintained.

I agree with this. I think the reliability criticisms of current American cars and trucks are greatly overstated and may be largely a function of the maintenance the owner performs. One thing I have unscientifically observed (at least in my neck of the woods) is that many of the domestic cars on the road don't appear to be as well maintained (dirty) as imported vehicles (often freshly washed). Now, I know the amount of dirt on the exterior doesn't necessarily equate to the quality of maintenance (oil changes, scheduled maintenance, etc.) in every case, but I do think it is a reasonable general indicator. No machine can be expected to be reliable if it is not properly maintained.

 

 

Now, why'd you have to call me out? :cry: I don't wash my car because I (unscientifically) believe that the dirt holds the car together longer.

Now, why'd you have to call me out? :cry: I don't wash my car because I (unscientifically) believe that the dirt holds the car together longer.

 

 

I suppose you think rust holds the car together too, huh? :lol:

My current car is a Chevy. Had been with imports for several years, but gave GM a chance. Big win for me. GREAT car, excellent gas mileage, nice ride, ... I love it.

I agree with this. I think the reliability criticisms of current American cars and trucks are greatly overstated and may be largely a function of the maintenance the owner performs. One thing I have unscientifically observed (at least in my neck of the woods) is that many of the domestic cars on the road don't appear to be as well maintained (dirty) as imported vehicles (often freshly washed). Now, I know the amount of dirt on the exterior doesn't necessarily equate to the quality of maintenance (oil changes, scheduled maintenance, etc.) in every case, but I do think it is a reasonable general indicator. No machine can be expected to be reliable if it is not properly maintained.

 

The world is ending, I agree with H. I do think that there were some issues with vehicle reliability in the 70's and 80's but because of competition for foreign makers those issues have been drastically reduced.

 

I'm on my 3rd S10 pickup. The first one was my first brand new vehicle in 1987. I sold that one 2 years later because I wanted A/C and cloth seats. Vinyl seats and no A/C is a pain in the butt in the summer (pun intended). I drove that one for 12 years with no major problems. I did all of the regular maintainance and it was running good when I traded it. My latest one has 67,000 miles on it and is in the shop right now getting new tires (the first new set that I've bought for it) and the oil changed and getting ready for a nice long drive to Florida.

 

And FWIW my truck gets all of the scheduled maintanance but the exterior is a bit dirty.

This is just my opinion. I think the foriegn car companies did a much better job of getting their customers to do oil changes, tune ups, etc.

 

BMW had oil change count down lights 30 years ago.

 

A friend of mine had a 79 Prelude, manufacturing recomendation was to run 10w-40 in spring and fall, 5w-30 in winter, and 20w-50 in the summer. They wanted you in the habit of changing your oil 4 times a year.

 

American car companies didn't stress it back then, like they do now.

 

I think American car companies wanted you to burn through your car and buy another one every 3 years. While the foriegn companies wanted your car to last so that you would not want to buy a car from anyone else and would hopefully get friends and family to buy from them.

My current car is a Chevy. Had been with imports for several years, but gave GM a chance. Big win for me. GREAT car, excellent gas mileage, nice ride, ... I love it.

 

 

I'm a Chevy man myself but don't get too giddy...The biggest difference with the imports now are trade in values. If you decide to trade that GM in a year or two you'll see what I mean.