29th Sep 2012, 01:13

...yet they're still obviously more reliable and durable than the junk being churned out nowadays. The toughest, most dependable cars were made in the 1970s. Compare a Mercedes W123 of that era with a brand new A Class, and you'll see my point.

29th Sep 2012, 12:59

Yeah the good old days of emission strangled engines, sloppy workmanship and rusting on the showroom floor - bring back the good old 70s - NOT!

29th Sep 2012, 17:25

Crown Vics are well-built and reliable, just like the full-size cars of the 70's.

6th Oct 2015, 05:51

The 70s were better cars. I owned enough of them to know. And yes, cars today are being built badly in many cases. And it's not just the manufacturers that are the problem.

I was a taxi cab driver for many years, and used to pickup auto workers and take them to the bars to drink till 2am. And it wasn't always on the weekends either. Many would complain that it was the manufacturers cutting back on quality parts that was to blame for bad cars being built today. But what those workers never took the blame for, was the fact that they were partying till 2am on work days.

So between the manufacturers cutting back on quality parts and the workers that party till 2 in the morning, and then go to work with a hangover, I am not surprised there is so much junk being built today, and so many call backs.

12th Oct 2015, 02:18

But in turn there are more robotic operations and higher quality torque controlled assembly operations. Tooling that gives light signals if torque angle and stripped fastening is an issue. Tooling that doesn't release the assembly until all bolts are sequenced properly and so on. Less operator influence than in the past.