Just saw on the new where for the first time ever US automakers have finally beat out the europeans, and everyone else except for Japan. And guess what the SVT Focus was at the top of the list as far as the low amount of problems that required warranty work.
SVT Quality.
- Thread starter HISSMAN
- Start date
Nice! If you ask me it's not only the workmanship but materials that matter.
Every Japanese car I've owned or driven are TIN CANS! I just don't feel safe in them. When I close my doors on all my Ford's that solid *THUNK* is reason enough for me to feel right at home.
The doors tell the tale, considering one of the largest death incidences in the US involves t-bone accidents.
Every Japanese car I've owned or driven are TIN CANS! I just don't feel safe in them. When I close my doors on all my Ford's that solid *THUNK* is reason enough for me to feel right at home.
The doors tell the tale, considering one of the largest death incidences in the US involves t-bone accidents.
sohowcome
Captain Obvious
Yeah I am stuck on Ford quality seems to be very high on all the vehicles I have owned!!
The SVT Focus rivals any BMW I've seen in quality, the Euro is fantastic. Typically owners dog and trash them though. Japanese have fit quality, but the methods they use to build unit-bodies and door frames are old-school. They also use the thinnest metals. As long as they pass the static crash tests, theyre done engineering, in the often not so controlled real world, they get shreaded. Another misconception is due to the EXTENSIVE and expensive milage interval check-ups Japanese cars "require" to retain warranties, and for some reason, the owners follow almost religiously. US auto owners tend to beat the shit out of their family cars and ignore interval maintenence. One other thing is that Consumer Reports has admitted the diference between a perfect red circle and a black one is minimal(sometimes 5%). Yet people flock to this inconsistant, biased source of "info" by the millions.
US cars get shit because of initial bugs on releases, Japanese cars get the luxury of spending two years in Japan before getting to US markets. Not to mention that Japan has not used the term "recall" for their "safety updates, and product enhancements. Congress has passed a law saying that a RECALL is a RECALL, so we shall see how things go. The testing process of the latest Fords have delayed releases lately(mustang, hybrid escape, F-series, ect), but will come out with about 2 years of theoretical "road use" on Job 1.
US cars get shit because of initial bugs on releases, Japanese cars get the luxury of spending two years in Japan before getting to US markets. Not to mention that Japan has not used the term "recall" for their "safety updates, and product enhancements. Congress has passed a law saying that a RECALL is a RECALL, so we shall see how things go. The testing process of the latest Fords have delayed releases lately(mustang, hybrid escape, F-series, ect), but will come out with about 2 years of theoretical "road use" on Job 1.
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Ever closed the door of an Escort? I don't like the way the Econoline's doors close, either. Fords that are 10+ years old are solid. That's what you get as time passes, everything gets cheaper. But that's just me and my experiences.
I agree.
Take example #1. My "super quality, never dies" 1987 Toyota SR-5 Xtra Cab 4x4:
My uncle disappeared in the Olympic Mountains in Washington and I was very lucky to be given this beautiful truck as a gift. Back in 1998 it only had 52000 original miles. Flawless in every respect. I took this gem home and all was well.
Then, the troubles began. At 60000 miles the automatic transmission began to shift extremely hard. Contacted the dealer and they said this trannie was nearly bulletproof. Later on I found out this was a lie as most of the other mechanics I knew had heard a lot about these "bulletproof" trucks.
At 69,000 miles the fuel sender and speedometer cable went out (WTF???).
At 75,000 miles the A/C went out and I had to spend $520 getting it "fixed". It still would die at idle so I had to rev the motor to get cold air.
At 79,000 I wound up paying $1300 for a "maintenance" item. Yes you guessed it, the timing chain is a maintenance on this truck and it requires the entire block to be dismantled to get to it.
At 84,000 miles the brakes had to be completely replaced, servo, master cylinder, and all the trimmings.
At 90,000 miles the fuel pump, steering pump, and radiator had to be replaced.
At 94,000 miles the tires had to be replaced because they were getting such odd scalloping wear. They were nearly new.
At 101,000 miles, the steering rack had to be replaced.
At 126,000 miles, the engine began to clank and I replaced the head at $700. Worked for 100 miles then clanked again.
I wound up trading it in. A beautiful truck that wouldn't even go 50MPH without overheating or breaking down.
Go figure.
Take example #1. My "super quality, never dies" 1987 Toyota SR-5 Xtra Cab 4x4:
My uncle disappeared in the Olympic Mountains in Washington and I was very lucky to be given this beautiful truck as a gift. Back in 1998 it only had 52000 original miles. Flawless in every respect. I took this gem home and all was well.
Then, the troubles began. At 60000 miles the automatic transmission began to shift extremely hard. Contacted the dealer and they said this trannie was nearly bulletproof. Later on I found out this was a lie as most of the other mechanics I knew had heard a lot about these "bulletproof" trucks.
At 69,000 miles the fuel sender and speedometer cable went out (WTF???).
At 75,000 miles the A/C went out and I had to spend $520 getting it "fixed". It still would die at idle so I had to rev the motor to get cold air.
At 79,000 I wound up paying $1300 for a "maintenance" item. Yes you guessed it, the timing chain is a maintenance on this truck and it requires the entire block to be dismantled to get to it.
At 84,000 miles the brakes had to be completely replaced, servo, master cylinder, and all the trimmings.
At 90,000 miles the fuel pump, steering pump, and radiator had to be replaced.
At 94,000 miles the tires had to be replaced because they were getting such odd scalloping wear. They were nearly new.
At 101,000 miles, the steering rack had to be replaced.
At 126,000 miles, the engine began to clank and I replaced the head at $700. Worked for 100 miles then clanked again.
I wound up trading it in. A beautiful truck that wouldn't even go 50MPH without overheating or breaking down.
Go figure.
Here's a link on the quality of US cars. Pretty interesting.
http://www.freep.com/money/autonews/consume9_20040309.htm
http://www.freep.com/money/autonews/consume9_20040309.htm
Also look at the "LIST OF OWNER SATISFACTION" based on only 200,000 "subscriber votes". WTF is that? I wish they would find a more exact way of rating reliability. How many of you here subscribe to consumer reports and submit surveys?
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