16th Aug 2011, 10:21

I totally disagree. I work on cars myself, and over the years have worked on cars from all makes. Hands down your typical Japanese car has better components and better machining quality, as well as better choice of materials.

For example a lot of the hardware, nuts, bolts, and screws on the Toyotas, Hondas, and Nissans use yellow anodized plating versus the zinc plating I more often find in Domestic drivetrains.

Additionally, American cars I find are more difficult to work on and use poor layouts of the components. For example, have you ever changed the spark plugs on a Ford Ranger? Well, first of all the 4 cylinder version uses EIGHT plugs. That, and half are nearly impossible to get at, and if you're lucky they aren't rusted to the block, because some that were in my brother's truck sat in depressions that collect water.

On the Toyotas and Hondas I've worked on, it's clear that the engineers were thinking about how to make it easier to work on. It took me literally 5 minutes to change the starter motor on my Tacoma. It was placed right where I could get to it standing next to the fender, and it was very easy to get at with a wrench.

Either way, I've worked on both, and Toyota, Honda, and Nissan simply use better parts, and are easier to work on.

17th Aug 2011, 16:12

I never really had a problem changing plugs in a Ford 2.3 litre. Try changing the plugs on any front drive Toyota V6; the back 3 are loads of fun. Ever change the starter on a Cressida? Or try removing the brake rotors on older Accords, they are pressed on and the whole spindle has to be removed. Just saying that a lot of imports suck to work on also.

17th Aug 2011, 18:12

I'm sure Honda engineers were thinking of ease of service when they built their V-6's so that you have to remove the INTAKE MANIFOLD to change plugs!! My neighbor was just quoted $1600 to do a tune-up on his V-6 Honda. He is trading it instead.

18th Aug 2011, 14:30

Yes, I'll agree some cars - regardless of manufacture - are hard to work on.

That said, my brother has a 98' Avalon with a V6, and it's a 5 minute job to change the plugs. You just need to have a thin-walled long socket to get down in there. On the other hand, it took us a day solid to change the timing belt.

If you want to talk about removing rotors, then I can't imagine anything being more difficult than the 2nd gen Taurus. You have to go out and actually buy a special tool just to unscrew the rear brake pistons just to get the new pads in. My housemate had a 92 Mercury Sable (basically a Taurus). First of all the car blew its head gasket at 90,000 miles. Secondly, the car leaked everything - oil, coolant, transmission fluid - whatever. Lastly, the engine was literally crammed under the hood and a pain to work on. There was ZERO room to get your hands in there. The brakes took us all day to change.

The reason I bought the Tacoma I own was due to how easy it is to work on. I looked at Chevys, Fords, Nissans, and Mitsubishis before buying my truck because I'd look under the hood, under the chassis and frame, and so forth, and the Tacoma was the easiest to work on and get at things. That, and it didn't have the stupid plastic cover lots of cars and trucks use now. Not that it matters, because the truck hardly ever had any issues.

7th Feb 2012, 17:54

I have owned both domestic and foreign autos. The best car I have owned was a '93 Mazda Protege. That was a fantastic car. It was very reliable. I only had to replace those parts due to wear and tear. I owned it for almost 9 years, and put 194,000 miles on it.

The worst car was a 1998 Ford Windstar. Biggest hunk of junk I have ever owned.

I currently have a Honda and Nissan, and both are good cars. I owned a 1996 Ford Taurus with the Vulcan V6 engine. Not a bad car, but not a great car. It was average. I know that model of Taurus, 1996 - 1999 was an average car. I know the transmissions weren't very good on those models, but I never had a transmission problem.

Would I buy a domestic today?? I would buy a Ford before a Government Motors car, and definitely will not buy any Chrysler products. I had a Dodge rental recently, and just found it average to below average. It had ungainly handling, and had large blind spots and wasn't comfortable. The gas mileage was okay, just that the other items were a no go for me.

8th Feb 2012, 16:12

Have you ever seen a Chrysler Cirrus/Dodge Stratus/Plymouth Breeze with the 2.5L V6? Not only do you have to remove the intake manifold to get to the back plugs, but you have to remove the cowl assembly to get the intake off! Even worse, a simply battery replacement on one of these cars requires lifting the vehicle, removing the left front wheel and inner wheel well, and hoping the bracket bolts aren't so completely rotted that they snap off in the battery box.

10th Feb 2012, 11:58

I never leave the "government motors" comments unchallenged. Those who have issues with the government loan guarantees to GM need a few FACTS:

1) Had GM failed, it would have thrown the country into the deepest depression since 1929, destroying hundreds of thousands of jobs, thousands of subsidiary companies, and the destruction of both Ford and Chrysler as well.

2) Since the few billion dollars in assistance, GM has hired tens of thousands, opened a number of new plants in the U.S., and generated over 100 billion dollars in new tax revenues for the U.S.

3) GM currently builds some of the world's best cars, such as the world's fastest sedan and station wagon, world's best sports car and world's most economical non-hybrid car. In addition, the Volt has won numerous awards, and is widely recognized as the best electric vehicle on Earth. Reliability is a given, with a 100,000 mile warranty. We have one. It just hit 100,000 miles without a single repair.

So when our anti-progress, anti-U.S.-industry Republican friends start putting down GM, they will be met with the cold, hard facts every time... I PROMISE.

10th Feb 2012, 12:57

The Volt is overpriced, and it will likely not continue for very long, like many many other GM failed experiments. No one wants to pay $40K for an electric car! Also, there are still problems that lead to fires with those cars, that haven't been addressed.

Unfortunately, all of your other examples are gas hog "fastest" cars that do little for the average driver. Who needs to go 0-60 in 3.9 seconds and get 15 mpg driving around, when you can barely afford to fill up your car already?

GM needs to focus on a whole line of efficient cars that are built better. They need to focus on more cars for the masses that are specifically designed for the middle class that is shrinking very quickly. The Cruze will likely be as forgettable as the Cavalier and now Cobalt have become. They just don't measure up to the competition.

Also, the doomsday scenario you've painted from GM failing is ridiculous. Smaller companies would have no doubt bought the brands up and continued to produce vehicles under them. Ironically, that probably would have forced the name GM to become a better brand. Unfortunately they continue to build the same vehicles... many EXACTLY the same since before the meltdown.

Don't listen to government spurred media hype about GM and their fantastic turnaround. What they've seemingly achieved in a year or two is not humanly possible for any company to do, let alone one that was already almost bankrupt.

But you can continue to believe whatever "facts" you like. It's America after all... the land of the free... and the oh-so-honest media.