Originally Posted by honeeagle
Originally Posted by atikovi
Remembering that most people in the old days didn't expect cars from the 60's and even 70's to make it to 100,000 miles, and that now, most 10 and even 20 year old cars can make it to 200,000 miles without major issues, would tell you if they suck.
This ^^^^
how old are you? not being disrespectful but your post revels a lack of perspective .
Cars used to be crap and I remember before we had japanese imports all we got were european.The import wave made the domestics sit up and pay attention, took awhile but they are all the same now (statisicly) you have to drill down into the .000% to find a 'stinker'.
The anomaly will be breathlessly reported endlessly and repeated endlessly on the internet.
I remember the days before the web when magazines were the only way and they were only available 12 times a ..............year.
think about it
This X 100 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I remember new cars from the 60's and 70's when they were, "hand built from the ground up by union employees"..... They were pure crap... From the ground up. They rattled, squeaked, pulled left or right. They started hard, flooded when hot, quit when cold. Automatic chokes stuck. Fast idle cams stuck. Plugs fouled out in 10,000 miles.... If you were lucky. Something always managed to short out in the electrical system that no one could find.
Brakes squealed and grabbed. Paint was garbage. It chipped, peeled, flaked, was "orange peeled" in many areas, or else bubbled off from rust underneath in 3 years. Chrome pitted. Windows leaked. Then, on top of that, they drank fuel and provided anemic horsepower. The steel in them rusted as if it came from the mill pre packed in salt.
They handled like a covered wagon being pulled by drunken mules through a flooded wash. And they were seemingly on auto pilot back and forth to the dealer. Who couldn't diagnose, let alone fix the problem if their life depended on it. New car purchasing used to be a lesson in futility.
Today new cars are 1,000 times better. In spite of being 1,000 times more complex. Robotic assembly and welding assures quality, over some union paid hack who had as much pride in his work as a $20 New Orleans hooker. Modern computers assure proper fuel mixtures that allow 100,000 mile spark plug intervals, and easy starts regardless of temperature or humidity.
They pollute less in a years driving than 60's cars did on a single tankful. Produce more horsepower, run smoother, and get 3 times better mileage doing it. Engines and transmissions today can easily last well beyond 200,000 miles. Back in the 70's, if you made it 75,000 miles without having to pull the heads for a, "valve job", you bragged about it at the bar.
There are some things about "the good old days" that really were good. However the cars in the showrooms back then sure weren't one of them.