Well, what with all the retro going on now, maybe they should bring back the DeSoto and really big tailfins?
I dunno.. reliability issues. My 1996 Pontiac Bonneville SSEi had something like 150K miles on it when I sold it. My 1993 Bonneville had 201K, and the guy who bought it drove it back to Philly from Frederick, MD with no problems. My 1986 Pontiac Grand Prix had over 200K and only stopped running after a poorly installed alarm system caused a fire under the dash. My 1980 Oldsmobile Cutlass had well over 200K with no problems... I could go on with my family's cars, but I think you get the point. Shiny Side Up! Bill
The newer cars don't compare to the older cars at all. Just look at the book values from the past last several years. A $16,000 cars sells for under $5,000 from a dealers lot 5 years later. Brakes, suspensions and electrical are all suspect and the interiors scratch and wear so quickly. Planned obsolescence at it's peak.
I drive a 2005 Chevy Impala as a company car, and no problems here either. Hell, interior looks like new. Maybe it's a "care" thing? Shiny SIde Up! Bill
Every time there's someone missing a page out of the "not every single car falls under this category but the vast majority do" book. If you compare 50,000 random BMW's and 50,000 random Chevy's that are over 5 years old the BMW's will average a better interior. Yes some people look after their cars very well and some don't, but my point was quality and reliability and the interior of the North American cars {even some of the higher end cars} is mostly poor.
I agree, but quality is a broader concept. I had zero issues with my former Jeep Liberty and Grand Cherokee, but ultimately I got tired of the coarse engine, dime-store switchgear and interior materials that were looking tired by 20,000 miles. I never worried about getting stranded, but it was hard to forget it was a mass-produced truck. My brother's (demo car) VW Touraeg is opulent in comparison -- it feels like quality, even if the quality numbers for VW are dicey (and he's had no issues with his.) Look in the Viper and it's the same deal. It looks like a $25K car inside, and Chrysler added the final insult by sharing the engine with a pickup truck.
Well duh! I would hope the BMW would have a better interior!!!! But I didn't show just one car, I think I went through several. Yes, GM has had some crappy interiors (last RWD Impalas come to mind) but that seems to be a then issue, not a now issue. Shiny Side Up! Bill
I'm going to disagree with you slightly. I am a BMW owner by the way. Over the past few years a lot of Bimmer owners, among other luxury brands (namely German manuf.) have had a huge issue with peeling of interior panels. Peeling would be one thing if it were after many years. Guys are running into problems 6 months in. I still think care is a big issue though.
I was thinking the exact same thing. I had a 745 and the thresholds started peeling on week 1. The rest of the interior held up very well.
Like I said above, every maker has it's issues and some cars have problems while the vast majority don't. In the case of the interior panels peeling, I'm not sure what you mean. Like the glue was coming off? If that's the case, then the quality of materials would still be great just the method of holding them on would be the issue and I'm still not clear on the cause but I'm sure the dealers would have solutions. Do you have a picture? In all of my German cars I've never seen this.
Actual paint peeling off the door panels. In some cases the steering wheels as well. Here's a few pics of one owners car: Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I've sold the car but it was really peeling. Probably 30% of the covering had come off. I had them replaced once under warranty and the second set was no better. It was a great driving car though. The 7 series are still my favorite big sled.
Big chunky hard bits of plastic, cheap uninspired interiors, not so great shutlines, crude feeling. Thats the domestics, and the market now like smooth ohc motors good paint quality interiors. Whatever domestic appeal chrysler has GM does it better. Their niche was reasonable engineering with inspired styling, the engineeering is falling behind and the styling lost it. Name a category where chrysler leads the pack, in every case some company offers something significantly better. The motor in my Jeep liberty is crude running by 1940's standards. But then if renault caould survive and prosper miracles are possible. I would be worried about Ford too. They are abandoning the premium market which is the only place where high cost producers stand a chance and their bread and butter commodity cars are once again sub par compared the japanese/korean. At least ford has the talent. GM at least is unlocking its talent.
The Ford Taurus has to be the worst car ever created. I liked the 500 and fuision models alot, they had something going for those two and they should have kept the 500moniker going for it insead of bring back that well junk. The 300C is laging big time and they need to something fast and the same goes for the charger otherwise they will both be a big flop like the GTO. Not only do they need a breadwinner each of them but they also need something thats going to attract the younger buyer like those in the market for the sicons and such the big 3 needs something like that going for them except alittle bigger and badder than what toyota's got. But the american camry is a start. Caddillac i would like to believe is going in the right direction but they need to redesign some of their models by now and hey where the hell is the cien! I remember that beast got the green light a few years back. Buick needs the Grand National in their lineup, that luccern or whatever its called ain't going to cut it thats to much of a retirement car.
Yeah its pretty sad but I have seen many BMW's, Audis, Rovers with interiors like that.........they don't build them like they did in the 80's.
I've seen a couple thousand cars in the last few years and I've never seen that "just happen". I've seen car with that kind of damage that cart around dogs, but not run of the mill driving. Perhaps Canadian cars are just built better....
It's not mine. Someones on E90Post. That's just one example. But mine was built in Regensburg I believe. I have no peeling. *crosses fingers* A lot has to do with the environmentally friendly crap they use. It doesn't hold worth a ****. I think some people may have more issues than others by using cleaners/chemicals on parts. It's another reason the paint on the cars themselves chips off so much easier than other cars too. Edit: I'm not saying being enviro friendly is bad, but manufacturers of these spray and products need to figure out how to make things last. Sure seems very do-able in todays day and age.
I don't like that the fact thats its another holden rebadged as a Pontiac.(So I hear its orginally a Holden) if they are going to do that they might as well release the company up here and can Pontiac for life.