But sadly, they aren't better because folks complained about fit, they were made a lot better because (in the case of Japanese cars) the technology for building them got better..
mac
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There were a lot of Dodge trucks going back to the dealer in the 90's to get the bed aligned with the road..lol
mac
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It used to be, anyway... I'm not sure any more, though I hope it still is.. I have a 99 Dodge ram that the VIN says is assembled in Mexico.. it's been a damn good truck for me.. Better than in the USA? A lot of dodge owners think so..
Folks in Mexico don't have the job security that the US workers have... Screw up a truck and they're back on the street..
mac
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Unless it's a Chevy S-10 or blazer with 4 wheel drive.. Instead of planning the filter on top, Chevy discovered that with 4x4, the transfer case interfered with the oil filter.. Redesign the engine or T-case? Hell no.. They put an "adapter" on the oil filter port and ran lines to and from the new filter mount under the hood.. As a result, the most often question inmost Chevy 4x4 groups is "how to fix leaking oil filter lines" My kid's blew out on him on the freeway.. fun.. Oh.. AFAIK, they never did do it right.. my '95 and a friends 97 blazer still have it and we both carry a $100 replacement kit for when it goes..
mac
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They don't change because it is done right the first time. ;~) If you recall the old Oldsmobile diesels engines back in the late 70's and early 80's, the filter system was totally bogus and was the source of 50% of its problems. The very last year the Olds diesel was built and used in the early mid 80's they put an elaborate fuel filter system on. It should have been put on the second year after all the problems in the first year.
Not quite. Cars are smaller today because of laws put in place to encourage improvements in fuel consumption, and SUVs are in fact primarily exploitation of a loophole in those laws--they fill the same nice that station wagons used to fill.
None of the current generation of cars are "affordable" by 60s standards--you pay more for a basic econobox than you paid for a Rolls or Ferrari in 1960 and inflation is not the entire reason. As for reliability, that is mainly the result of the emission laws that require that cars pass emissions at 50,000 miles, but also is the result of the nearly universal adoption of electronic fuel injection to meet emission standards and the improvement of seals and lubricants that occurred in industries only indirectly related to automobile manufacture. Neither of these is the result of competition from Japan.
And the popularity of SUVs, which fill the luxury sedan/station wagon niche but exploit a loophole in the fuel economy laws, suggests that the American public wants large cars when they can afford to own and run them.
Maybe Americans need to grow up and deal with the reality that oil reserves are rapidly running out.
It will be a stopgap measure at best, the fact is that China and India are sucking up tons of gasoline now that they're becoming massively industrialized and it will only get worse from here. Sure, you might be able to suck another 10-20 years of oil out of Alaska but in the end, we're going to be back in the same place with too much demand and not enough oil to go around.
Then PM would still be manufacturing in TN, too...I figured you'd pick up on that in a heartbeat...
I'm sure I've told the story of picking up stuff there directly years ago and getting the cook's tour...
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Or jumping the border.
On Nov 26, 2:39 pm, "J. Clarke" wrote: [snipped for brevity]
I suppose it is a rich man's option to drive 3 ton behemoth, spewing insane amounts of sickening fumes into the faces of people who cannot do anything about that? Wouldn't it be nice that if those, with the brainpower to become rich, would also apply their advanced thinking toward accepting the fact that their behaviour is irresponsible, nay, short-lived? Don't they give a shit what they leave behind for their grandkids?
"Smell my exhaust, you serfs!" "I am on this planet all by myself, eating and drinking and driving what ""I"" want." " I have NO responsibility to my fellow planet dwellers." "It is all for ME, ME, ME *diabolical laughter*." "And I will kill those who have more fuel for me to burn!!!!"
Nice.
Ooops...what I was trying to say, was that just because one can afford it, doesn't mean one has to be stupid about it.
... snip
Thanks. I bought some Pentair stock in 2004 when things seemed to be going up and shortly before the announcement to sell off Delta. Just got out a few months ago; I didn't lose money, but could have done better if I had bailed in 2005.
Only if the currently active tapped reserves are taken into account.
You really don't have a grasp on the amount of coal and shale reserves in the US, do you?
While deliberate waste is never justified, the idea that having us all drive Prius's will save the world is hardly a rational approach.
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Who currently owns the Tupelo and other manufacturing facilities and what is being done with them, if anything, Frank?
(Would it be possible to line up a set of investors and try to make an "All-American" brand?)
Where is Saw-Stop manufacturing, do you know? I always presumed they were using offshore contracted production, but don't actually know...
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Remember the same thing. I think "pot metal" was reference to a very low grade of metal casting that would neither weld, braze, nor glue well after it was made.
One doesn't have to be rich to afford an SUV, and SUVs have to meet the same emission laws as any other vehicle, so if they are "spewing insane amounts of sickening fumes" then so are little econoboxes. In California they are now putting emission controls on motorcycles and I understand that lawn mowers are going to be next--they've reached the point of diminishing returns with cars, SUVs, and trucks.
How is "their behavior" "irresponsible, nay, short-lived"? If you are talking about consuming fuel, if everybody drove a mo-ped it would still run out, just might take a little longer. There is no level of consumption that will result in the oil lasting forever. Might be the great grandkids instead of the grandkids who have to transition to a different fuel, but it's still going to happen.
OK, now you've officially lost it.
So get the laws changed so that station wagons and old-style luxury cars aren't unduly penalized and you'll see SUVs mostly go away.
Also known as white metal. See:
From what I understand, Colorado has 10 times the shale oil that all of the middle east has produced. We have it but we don't want to risk loosing "the cure for smoking" while going after it and it would certainly cause more global warming.
Might as well blow it all out of our asses and get it over with, huh? I tend to support the viewpoint that if we conserve, we might buy ourselves enough time to find alternate solutions. If you were in a life-boat, you wouldn't eat everything on board in one day, would you? No you wouldn't. You would conserve in the hope that there would be a rescue. This ball of dirt on which we float about in space, will not get rescued by an outside source. Our resources are finite. Conserving what we have is nothing but smart.
LOL... you think? Naaa, my sense of the absurd has its own way to illustrate things. You probably wouldn't understand why I broke out laughing when I saw a Lincoln pick-up truck.
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