23rd Nov 2011, 15:20

My worst experiences were with Trailblazers. They have horrifically under-designed suspension components. We had virtually every failure common to these vehicles, as I found numerous cases of each of my problems with a quick search on the Internet. The stalling issue (which is very dangerous in traffic), the jet sound, which was not the fan clutch on ours, it was part of the tranny. I researched it and found two different issues... Of course ours was the more expensive.

We had the left turn signal failure.

I traded the second one with a completely shot front axle on it, and the tranny was failing too. You could smell the burning fluid every time you drove it. I was just glad to get it to the Toyota dealer and never look back.

I did also have an Olds Cutlass back in the 90's, and it too was a nightmare to own. I was into that car for almost $6K in repairs, and finally dumped it at 98K miles. The Trailblazers were traded at 36K miles and around 80K miles. It is impossible to get even to 100K miles, without some sort of major repairs, with anything GM in my experience. My vehicles were also well maintained with fluid flushes and changes on a regular basis, and I always used full synthetic oil in them.

Sorry to repeat this story, but people are always asking me so... and at least I can provide specific examples of failure, and not just media hype about what could be wrong with a vehicle.

As far as a Vette goes... well, they are in a different class. It is like the Dodge Viper. They are both specialty cars that are built to a much higher standard than the average car. The Vette has its own plant, so it isn't even attached to GM, other than in name. Plus for the price, it better be good!

I truly don't know why people get so angry and defensive of their car brands. You can say whatever you like about Toyota, and go on about sticking gas pedals and recalls, but until I actually have any issues, it won't make any difference to me. Mine is a non-defective vehicle that has been recalled, but has not needed anything changed. Don't listen to the media. They overstate everything, and have made the Toyota recalls headline news. Yes, Toyota has screwed up, but it isn't as widespread as the media says it is. ALL manufacturers have had recalls. It is a business that is heavily scrutinized, and has many many design details. That, coupled with mass production, just makes it that much easier to make mistakes. Toyota will get back on track soon enough. As far as I am concerned, they've never really gone too far off track. They keep me on the road in a trouble free vehicle that is costing me nothing extra to drive. What more could I ask for?