A year without "Made in China"

[HarmanKardon]

Originally Posted by merrylander

Our two Chevys were really made in Oshawa Ontario but that's fine by me. What a lot of people seem not to realize is just how long it takes to implement a new car design. AFAIK it is a matter of several years so it took the Bif Three a while to get it done. Remember when a muffler would burn out in 20,000 miles? So when was the last time you replaced a muffler? Our two Chevy Impalas are 13 years old, so far all we have replaced is tires and batteries.

Well, my Audi is 35 years old and has 300000 kilometers know, and needs all 50000 kilometers a new muffler. My Volkswagen is ten years old and has 90000 kilometers now and nothing has been replaced apart from tires, oil, brake fluid (and Bremsbeläge, don't know the English term for that) and batteries.

"AFAIK it is a matter of several years so it took the Bif Three a while to get it done" is absolutely not comprehensive to me. It is an US insider sentence. But no biggie.

It is not the American customers job to design, to build reasonable and rational cars. This is the job of the car engineers. The American customer's job is to buy such American cars - if available.

[JJIII]

Originally Posted by HarmanKardon

"AFAIK it is a matter of several years so it took the Bif Three a while to get it done" is absolutely not comprehensive to me. It is an US insider sentence. But no biggie.

May I help? AFAIK (As Far As I Know) it is a matter of several years (to implement a new car design) so it took the Big Three (Ford, Chevy, and Chrysler) to get it done. Rob will correct me if I'm wrong.

[merrylander]

Originally Posted by JJIII

May I help? AFAIK (As Far As I Know) it is a matter of several years (to implement a new car design) so it took the Big Three (Ford, Chevy, and Chrysler) to get it done. Rob will correct me if I'm wrong.

Quite right, oh and Bremsbeläge is brake lining or brake pads.

[hillbilly]

Originally Posted by HarmanKardon

It is not the American customers job to design, to build reasonable and rational cars. This is the job of the car engineers. The American customer's job is to buy such American cars - if available.

Not if they don't like them. I'm going to drive what I like to drive, not what some engineer ''thinks I should like''.

[HarmanKardon]

Originally Posted by hillbilly

Not if they don't like them. I'm going to drive what I like to drive, not what some engineer ''thinks I should like''.

hillbilly the customers would like what engineers develop when the product makes sense to them in many respects.

Erik - thanks for the post, rich and clarifying.

merrylander, JJIII thank you for your English & American English lessons.

[BlueStreak]

Originally Posted by hillbilly

Not if they don't like them. I'm going to drive what I like to drive, not what some engineer ''thinks I should like''.

Regardless of what you drive, it's what "some engineer thinks" you should like. It doesn't matter if that engineer lives in Michigan, Germany or Japan or wherever. And virtually every vehicle on the road is already subject to state and federal standards.

Grow up and face it. It's how the world is and always be from now on.

Dave

[HarmanKardon]

Originally Posted by BlueStreak

Regardless of what you drive, it's what "some engineer thinks" you should like. It doesn't matter if that engineer lives in Michigan, Germany or Japan or wherever. And virtually every vehicle on the road is already subject to state and federal standards.

Grow up and face it. It's how the world is and always be from now on.

Dave

This is one of my cars, it is 35 years old. I like it because it is a rare classic car but I am not interested in what engineers had in mind when they designed it in the early seventies...

Generally I think that you are right, as far as I understand your point of view.

[ebacon]

Originally Posted by HarmanKardon

This is one of my cars, it is 35 years old. I like it because it is a rare classic car but I am not interested in what engineers had in mind when they designed it in the early seventies...

Generally I think that you are right, as far as I understand your point of view.

Which city has "OG" on the license plate? In the US "OG" means "Old Gangster"

[HarmanKardon]

Originally Posted by ebacon

Which city has "OG" on the license plate? In the US "OG" means "Old Gangster"

Dave tomorrow is another day. Certainly a better one.

iceline I do not know if the maintenance of a German average car like VW is actually much more expensive in the United States, if so...

You guys astonish me once again. Star spangled banners everywhere, but "Made in USA" is cr*p? Oh my, miraculous Americans.

ebacon OG means Offenburg, a small town in the rhine valley. It is near Lahr, ask finnbow.

[Wasillaguy]

I think to some extent the U.S. car companies were depending on patriotism to induce Americans to continue buying domestic vehicles regardless the lack of quality. This is where we got Vegas and Colts and Pacers.
Unfortunately for them, most Americans are not so patriotic that they want to suffer with a dog turd on wheels just to help their neighbor keep his job. This is where we got Corollas and Civics and Subaru wagons.

They've learned their lesson for the most part, and have been putting out reliable cars for the last 10 or 15 years, but the damage is done, and as previously pointed out, folks are slow to go back where they've been burned before.