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#21
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Perhaps it's not only American vs. *German*, and perhaps not only very
recently. Several years back I met a guy from Ford Australia who told me that they had shipped some Fairlanes (Ford Australia kept reusing that name even when the car bore no resemblance to any US-built Fairlane and when the name had long fallen out of use in the US) to Sweden, and the locals had pronounced them far superior to Volvos. Perce On 11/30/04 03:41 pm A.Muewi tossed the following ingredients into the ever-growing pot of cybersoup: > I am probably one of the few Germans who, after driving several German made > cars (Fords, Audi, Smart) and one Honda, bought 3 American cars. I live in a > neighborhood where everybody else works at the local Mercedes plant and > drives Mercedes. Not me. I don't like car trouble. > > Yes, I agree, the overall quality of German cars has deteriorated > considerably (see my neighbors complaing about the frequent electronic > issues of their cars), and, at the same time, the the price of an average > German car rose to unprecedented heights. There is an unholy race going on > among the car designers who put more and more electronic gadgets into the > cars and at the same time neglect quality control because it costs money. > > With the Audi, I had frequent minor troubles with the engine (carburator) , > the brakes, and the odometer, and the transmission that failed completely. > The Honda showed excessive wear on the rocker arms after only 60.000kms, the > alternator had to be replaced twice, too. Very expensive!! > Both German Ford's steering mechanisms went completely out at 80.000kms and > had to be replaced. About 900$ each. They also had frequent minor mechanical > problems. > Worst car ever is the Smart (a Mercedes affiliate). It is virtually falling > aparts when you drive it. You never know what is coming off next. Repairs > are very costly, because it is maintained by Mercedes. > > I first came across an American car when I was looking for a spacious van > for familiy transport. I ended up with a 98 Ford Windstar (I had a German > Ford station wagons before), which was considerably cheaper, more powerful, > and more luxurious than its German counterpart van, a co-production of VW > and Ford. Well, the Windstar never let me down, and the only trouble I had > within 100000 kms was a speed sensor acting up. No big deal. Maintenance > costs were low as well. I sold it when the kids wanted to go their own ways. > > After my good experiences with the Windstar I bought a Chevrolet > Trailblazer, which is quite an exotic model here. I was very pleased by its > comfortable ride and the powerful engine. I prefered it to the BMW X5 which > was 20.000 Euros (=22.000$) more or the Toyota (same price as the BMW). > I use to drive her very hard on the Autobahn (no speed limit!!) and she's > pulling my big trailer without problems. No issues so far, its 2 years now > with 43000kms on the odometer. Very good built quality, very solid > construction. > > Just recently, I bought a Chrysler Sebring Convertible for my wife (she > loves it) and I hope it will be as reliable as the Trailblazer and the > Windstar. > > Conclusion: there is no reason for buying German or Japanese Too many > issues, too expensive, bad reliability. >>Both JD Powers and Consumer Reports have said that the reliablity of >>German cars has become terrible. The Chrysler division products have >>scored much better that Mercedes division products in the last couple of >>years. |
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#22
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Perhaps it's not only American vs. *German*, and perhaps not only very
recently. Several years back I met a guy from Ford Australia who told me that they had shipped some Fairlanes (Ford Australia kept reusing that name even when the car bore no resemblance to any US-built Fairlane and when the name had long fallen out of use in the US) to Sweden, and the locals had pronounced them far superior to Volvos. Perce On 11/30/04 03:41 pm A.Muewi tossed the following ingredients into the ever-growing pot of cybersoup: > I am probably one of the few Germans who, after driving several German made > cars (Fords, Audi, Smart) and one Honda, bought 3 American cars. I live in a > neighborhood where everybody else works at the local Mercedes plant and > drives Mercedes. Not me. I don't like car trouble. > > Yes, I agree, the overall quality of German cars has deteriorated > considerably (see my neighbors complaing about the frequent electronic > issues of their cars), and, at the same time, the the price of an average > German car rose to unprecedented heights. There is an unholy race going on > among the car designers who put more and more electronic gadgets into the > cars and at the same time neglect quality control because it costs money. > > With the Audi, I had frequent minor troubles with the engine (carburator) , > the brakes, and the odometer, and the transmission that failed completely. > The Honda showed excessive wear on the rocker arms after only 60.000kms, the > alternator had to be replaced twice, too. Very expensive!! > Both German Ford's steering mechanisms went completely out at 80.000kms and > had to be replaced. About 900$ each. They also had frequent minor mechanical > problems. > Worst car ever is the Smart (a Mercedes affiliate). It is virtually falling > aparts when you drive it. You never know what is coming off next. Repairs > are very costly, because it is maintained by Mercedes. > > I first came across an American car when I was looking for a spacious van > for familiy transport. I ended up with a 98 Ford Windstar (I had a German > Ford station wagons before), which was considerably cheaper, more powerful, > and more luxurious than its German counterpart van, a co-production of VW > and Ford. Well, the Windstar never let me down, and the only trouble I had > within 100000 kms was a speed sensor acting up. No big deal. Maintenance > costs were low as well. I sold it when the kids wanted to go their own ways. > > After my good experiences with the Windstar I bought a Chevrolet > Trailblazer, which is quite an exotic model here. I was very pleased by its > comfortable ride and the powerful engine. I prefered it to the BMW X5 which > was 20.000 Euros (=22.000$) more or the Toyota (same price as the BMW). > I use to drive her very hard on the Autobahn (no speed limit!!) and she's > pulling my big trailer without problems. No issues so far, its 2 years now > with 43000kms on the odometer. Very good built quality, very solid > construction. > > Just recently, I bought a Chrysler Sebring Convertible for my wife (she > loves it) and I hope it will be as reliable as the Trailblazer and the > Windstar. > > Conclusion: there is no reason for buying German or Japanese Too many > issues, too expensive, bad reliability. >>Both JD Powers and Consumer Reports have said that the reliablity of >>German cars has become terrible. The Chrysler division products have >>scored much better that Mercedes division products in the last couple of >>years. |
#23
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Don't quite get it. Sustantial complaints about problems and dealers as
well as plaudits. DAS -- For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling --- "Daniel J. Stern" > wrote in message n.umich.edu... [...] > > Take a look here at Peter Wendt's page: > > http://members.aol.com/peterwendt/usautogw.htm > .. |
#24
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Don't quite get it. Sustantial complaints about problems and dealers as
well as plaudits. DAS -- For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling --- "Daniel J. Stern" > wrote in message n.umich.edu... [...] > > Take a look here at Peter Wendt's page: > > http://members.aol.com/peterwendt/usautogw.htm > .. |
#25
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The way the dollar is sailing down the Sebring Convertible will make a very
cheap replacement for my CLK Cab....they just need to modernise the folding roof design... DAS -- For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling --- "A.Muewi" > wrote in message ... > Hi everybody, [...] > > Just recently, I bought a Chrysler Sebring Convertible for my wife (she ...... |
#26
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The way the dollar is sailing down the Sebring Convertible will make a very
cheap replacement for my CLK Cab....they just need to modernise the folding roof design... DAS -- For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling --- "A.Muewi" > wrote in message ... > Hi everybody, [...] > > Just recently, I bought a Chrysler Sebring Convertible for my wife (she ...... |
#27
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On Tue, 30 Nov 2004, Percival P. Cassidy wrote:
> Perhaps it's not only American vs. *German*, and perhaps not only very > recently. Several years back I met a guy from Ford Australia who told me > that they had shipped some Fairlanes (Ford Australia kept reusing that > name even when the car bore no resemblance to any US-built Fairlane and > when the name had long fallen out of use in the US) to Sweden, and the > locals had pronounced them far superior to Volvos. The Australian Ford line contains numerous world-class vehicles, including a full range of up-to-date RWD passenger cars and utes with vastly better performance, economy, ergonomics, emissions and safety than anything Ford sells in the rest of the world. Australia gets a RWD Falcon with 4-litre inline Six (normally aspirated, turbo or supercharged), thoroughly modern in all respects. North America gets the Five Hundred, a warmed-over Taurus. There ain't no justice. |
#28
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On Tue, 30 Nov 2004, Percival P. Cassidy wrote:
> Perhaps it's not only American vs. *German*, and perhaps not only very > recently. Several years back I met a guy from Ford Australia who told me > that they had shipped some Fairlanes (Ford Australia kept reusing that > name even when the car bore no resemblance to any US-built Fairlane and > when the name had long fallen out of use in the US) to Sweden, and the > locals had pronounced them far superior to Volvos. The Australian Ford line contains numerous world-class vehicles, including a full range of up-to-date RWD passenger cars and utes with vastly better performance, economy, ergonomics, emissions and safety than anything Ford sells in the rest of the world. Australia gets a RWD Falcon with 4-litre inline Six (normally aspirated, turbo or supercharged), thoroughly modern in all respects. North America gets the Five Hundred, a warmed-over Taurus. There ain't no justice. |
#29
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On Tue, 30 Nov 2004, Dori A Schmetterling wrote:
> Don't quite get it. Surprise, surprise, surprise...Dori doesn't get it. Go back to sleep, dearie. Sorry to wake you. |
#30
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On Tue, 30 Nov 2004, Dori A Schmetterling wrote:
> Don't quite get it. Surprise, surprise, surprise...Dori doesn't get it. Go back to sleep, dearie. Sorry to wake you. |
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