They ought'a be ASHAMED !!

[misfish]

I now have a brand new 4cyl Ranger. It gets 35 mpg - pulls my 17 foot Lund and I work it on my wood lot. I paid 12,700 CDN dollars for it brand new. It is made in twin cities USA and has a Mazda engine.

 

Oldangler,is that the Mazda motor with the twin ignition set up?

I had that motor in my 93 b2200. Great motor and strong for a 4cyl.

[JohnF]

You know who Ought to be Ashamed... Each and every single one of us who hasn't taken the time to learn how to fix our own cars... These are machines, which need continually repair...

 

The one reason people complain about how much it costs to get their car fixed is because of the fact that they have to have someone else do it.

 

It costs a lot of money for the training to become a mechanic, to build a repair shop, to purchase tools, diagnostic equipment, and to keep up to the current industry standards. We chose dealerships to do repairs because they are UP TO DATE. Take your car to BOBS AUTO REPAIR, he is 60 and still turning a wrench, but he has no idea what to do with the computer system under your hood and left off the catalytic converter when he put on your new muffler, because you really just don't need it... You get what you pay for...

 

All that said, I drive a 2004 DODGE RAM Laramie, and let me tell you it costs money to keep it running well. It goes to the dealer because I don't want to be stranded on the side of the road due to the fact that someone didn't tighten the lug bolts on my tire properly ... I need the piece of mind that comes with knowing that the men and women that serve me are educated and work to industry standards... not to mention the awesome customer service I always get!

 

So to all the mechanics out there that put up with the everyday consumer hollering at them all day... you are doing a great job...

 

Just my two cents.

 

Jen ( Bernadette)

 

I think you already argued against your own point pretty darned well.

 

Did enuf of that stuff when I was young. It was fun then. Now it's a pita. I haven't kept up with modern auto technology and even my tools are out of date. I've got a big box full of Snap-On stuff that I started buying back before I went to university. At best it comes out occasionally to deal with a minor emergency on one of the lawn mowers or snowblowers. Nowadays you've got about as much chance of getting it right on your modern car as you do on your computer. Fugedabodit.

 

I like to spend my spare time playing, not up to my elbows in greasy parts and strange looking computers trying to figger out what's what. I'm happy to leave that stuff to the guys like Bernie who know what they're doing.

 

JF

[irishfield]

Yep like John says... my 60's and 70's cars a pocket knife and a screwdriver fixes them..... my daily drivers.. garage !

[Tybo]

Sure do love it.

30 below,3am, when I'm fixing a piece of equipment with a lap top.

sitting in the nice worm cab.

 

Never thought I would be saying, The components are communicating with

each other. 30 tears age.

[corvette1]

my 97 tahoe has 302,000 miles same motor my s10 blazer has 212,000 miles my 01 corvette has 140,000 miles 400hp and gets 28mpg i'll stick with gm

[Billy Bob]

my 97 tahoe has 302,000 miles same motor my s10 blazer has 212,000 miles my 01 corvette has 140,000 miles 400hp and gets 28mpg i'll stick with gm

 

SO, since 1997 you have driven 654,000 miles or averaged 54,500 per year. Seems like you would have no time for fishing or anything else.....

[Billy Bob]

my 97 tahoe has 302,000 miles same motor my s10 blazer has 212,000 miles my 01 corvette has 140,000 miles 400hp and gets 28mpg i'll stick with gm

 

SO, since 1997 you have driven 654,000 miles or averaged 54,500 per year. Seems like you would have no time for fishing or anything else.....

[Roy]

You can say that again!

[Abraxus]

I have to say, I still do love the old American cars. I will testify to that! My old man always had an old land yaht in the drive way and he could pull a motor and drop a new one in over a weekend easy! I learned a lot from handing him wrenches and hearing him curse under the car back then, you should hear me swear a song now! lol

 

About 6 years ago, I had the pleasure of helping an older friend of mine do a frame off restoration on a 1967 rag top pontiac firebird. That car was amazing and I hope to own it one day. Another friend of mine had a 1969 Judge! Another awesome car! Yes...gas guzzling pigs, but you know what? The things were built to last! If Americans could put the same pride, styling, and industry leadership in their vehicles today as they did then, we would never be having this discussion!

 

The real problem for the Big 3 now is the simple fact that their brand value has been tarnished for at least 3 generations! I am 35, my brother is 8 years older. Less and less people of his age will buy the American brands because they have lived through the down fall in the quality of many of their models. My generation is filled with indivuals who will no longer purchase these vehicles. I hear these oppinions from the people in my age group everyday. Last but not least, the generation that is 8 years younger then me, will not buy the cars because they have heard all the grumblings from those geneartions above them such as my own. This later generation is the one that will be buying the hottest, newest cars and whats cool for a long time into the future! This is the market they must win if they wish to survive. The Big 3 have a very lofty and difficult road ahead of themselves. They have to change the way the majority of consumers currently view their product. Will the bail outs provide them time to do so? Hard to say for sure!

 

Ab

Edited March 4, 2009 by Abraxus

[Bernie]

Over the last 100 or so years manufacturers have come and gone. The strong, good company's survived. They had quality products and stood behind them. The not so good didn't make it. No one bailed them out. It's what makes (or once did make) our country strong, profitable and viable.

I am not an economist (who really is one? but thats another story) but to me it doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out the bailout is very wrong. If it is deemed necessary to get the economy going again give it to a strong forward thinking company, not a top heavy "lost it's track" company with too much baggage.

[kemper]

The only way I can see GM surviving would be if they were able to capture ME and my generation. I cannot remember the last time (if EVER) I heard one of my friends (from 16- 22) talk about buying a GM. It just doesnt happen, kids my age are looking at hondas, mazdas, toyota etc etc. No, we arent buying brand new cars today, but in 3 or 4 years we are out of school and looking at the new car market and GM will NOT be the company we are looking at unless they get it together and FAST.

 

I think the reason my generation avoids GM is simple, we have watched our parents headaches and cursing when their GMs fell apart for no apparent reason after 50 K.

 

My mom drives an Aztec, between 80K and 120K she probably spent more on keeping the car on the road than it was worth!

 

Dad drives a Cadillac CTS 3.8L, TWO read it TWO rear wheel bearings went before 100K.

 

Why won't I buy a GM?

 

Its simple, I have never had first hand experience with a GOOD one. The generations above me had years of quality GM cars, and look back on that when making their decision to buy another one even though the last one was crap... "All my GMs were good maybe the last one was a fluke"

 

I dont have that experience to drawn on when making a decision about a car, all I know is bad cars. Same with my friends, mostly bad experiences with family cars.

 

Im not trying to say that Imports dont have their share of problems, but overall they seem to stay on the road a little better.

 

/ rant

 

 

Next up, the reason a 19 year old with a job for 4 years can't afford to drive...INSURANCE

 

well save that for a later day

[Tybo]

It sounds like your dad's caddy has slammed off a curb or hit a pot hole very hard.

The dealer will keep on replacing the bearing until the warranty is up.

Once the warranty is done they will tell him he needs a Axel,$$$$$$$$$

your dad should take it to gooodwrench or green & Ross and get them to check it.

Get a work agreement,Then take it to the dealer to get the job done before it's out of warranty.

[irishfield]

It's not just GM's... it's all cars these days when it comes to wheel bearings. Leah's 2003 Ford Sport trac collapsed the front bearings at 61,000 KM last May and one of the replacements is shot already and thumping.

 

Our son came home yesteday with his 2005 Focus... 51,000 KM (30,000 friggin miles).. Rear left wheel bearing shot... which is nuts on a "follow" wheel that doesn't even get steering load. Bernie tells me he changes a handfull of wheel bearings a week in his shop... so how many millions is that country wide? Underdesigned junk all around with bearings placed too close together to combat torsion loads. Our three 60's/70's vehicles still have their original wheel bearings and brake lines !

Edited March 8, 2009 by irishfield

[danbouck]

It's not just GM's... it's all cars these days when it comes to wheel bearings. Leah's 2003 Ford Sport trac collapsed the front bearings at 61,000 KM and one of the replacements is shot already and thumping.

 

Our son came home yesteday with his 2005 Focus... 51,000 KM (30,000 friggin miles).. Rear left wheel bearing shot... which is nuts on a "follow" wheel that doesn't even get steering load. Bernie tells me he changes a handfull of wheel bearings a week in his shop... so how many millions is that country wide? Underdesigned junk all around with bearings placed too close together to combat torsion loads. Our three 60's/70's vehicles still have their original wheel bearings and brake lines !

 

 

Replacing a buddy's front wheel bearings tomorrow on his Toyota Echo with 40000k on it!