Most dependable vehilces done by JD Power

[Joey D]

http://autos.msn.com/advice/article.aspx?contentid=4022547&src=LP used

Let me just say that the S-10 being on top is a big sweetness, but what the hell the S-10 isn't a mid-size pick up. Anyways once again showing all you anti-American car people that American cars are not only quality, but also dependable.

 

[Omnis]

how many old beater american cars do you still see on the road?

 

[Joey D]

Lots to tell you the truth, on the way to work I see many old Caprices, S trucks, Old GM trucks, old Fords, etc.

 

[Omnis]

yeah. that was my point.

 

[Duke]

how many old beater american cars do you still see on the road?

How does 270,000 miles strike you? And that's only one of three or four 200,000+ mile American cars we've had. My Dad's 1989 Grand Caravan had over 350,000 miles on it.

 

[1X83Z]

how many old beater american cars do you still see on the road?

I got your point unlike Blazin and Duke () and it's a fair point - they're everywhere because they're so cheap to purchase and maintain. Even in poor condition, they'll run forever. I can't count the number of these I see daily:

 

[Joey D]

It was a long day, come on it was 95 today and I had to drive around a Cobalt SS .

 

[Emohawk]

Every time I go to the US I'm surprised by the amount of old cars around.
It's bizzare, I could go out my front door and point at a hill the border splits in half, but just on this side of the line you'll very rarely see an american car more then 18 years old just driving around unrestored.

 

[Joey D]

Just like my Delta 88 of Doom. 20 years old and still runing.

 

[High-Test]

Just like my Delta 88 of Doom. 20 years old and still runing.

Yeah!



Heck, My Biscayne ran great with the original motor(before we pulled it out) and it's 45 years old!


I can see the S series on the list, They're everywhere one looks around here, but they're all pewter colored...

I can count the number of foreign cars I've seen today older than 20 years on one hand.

I can count the number of american cars older than 20 years on.....


...an abacus, maybe?

You can't beat a Smallblock...

 

[McLaren'sAngel]

Hiya! Meow! (='.'=)

I am very surprised by these results! 👍 I guess I fell into believing that japanese cars are the most dependable cars around while everything else is "so-so." Just too many people around me kept on blaming my mom for getting me a Camaro Z28 because its an "American" car.

So far, I haven't gotten any problem right now. 👍

 

[a6m5]

How nice. GM finally is rated top on dependability, but has to give their cars away. Props to Hyundai. As the article said, I knew their "initial" quality improved, but looks like their dependability is top notch as well. 👍

P.S. Lexus....

 

[1X83Z]

I can count the number of foreign cars I've seen today older than 20 years on one hand.

I can count the number of american cars older than 20 years on...an abacus, maybe?

Well, that's a little biased for two reasons:

a) you live in Kansas. America's heartland is always significantly more prone to domestic cars, as you probably know
b) there simply weren't as many foreign cars around twenty years ago as there are today

I like to consider Denver (where I am) a relatively unbiased car-spotting area, and I think that proportionally, there's just as many 20yo American cars as there are foreigns. That said, I can't remember the last 20yo German car I saw, but again, there were few German cars around 20 years ago (which makes it hard to even compute proportionally).

 

[Omnis]

I got your point unlike Blazin and Duke () and it's a fair point - they're everywhere because they're so cheap to purchase and maintain. Even in poor condition, they'll run forever. I can't count the number of these I see daily:

Thank you, Doug. haha.

come on now, Duke.

 

[a6m5]

Well, that's a little biased for two reasons:

a) you live in Kansas. America's heartland is always significantly more prone to domestic cars, as you probably know
b) there simply weren't as many foreign cars around twenty years ago as there are today

I like to consider Denver (where I am) a relatively unbiased car-spotting area, and I think that proportionally, there's just as many 20yo American cars as there are foreigns. That said, I can't remember the last 20yo German car I saw, but again, there were few German cars around 20 years ago (which makes it hard to even compute proportionally).

I also see more owners of American cars, who take care of their cars to make it last. Maintenance is vital, IMO.

 

[1X83Z]

Yep - whereas most Audi 5000 owners have driven their cars into the ground and then back.

 

[niky]

Top Vehicles By Category
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Compact Car
Chevrolet Prizm
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Nice, but that's a Toyota Corolla.

Nice to see that quality is going up. What remains to be seen is long term quality. It's in ages over seven to ten years that Japanese cars still whip American cars. Three years old is n't a very long time. Some people only do about as many miles in that time as we put on our cars within half a year.

Any car will last twenty years if you take care of it. What counts is how much you have to spend on it to keep it that long.

 

[Omnis]

Nice, but that's a Toyota Corolla.

Nice to see that quality is going up. What remains to be seen is long term quality. It's in ages over seven to ten years that Japanese cars still whip American cars. Three years old is n't a very long time. Some people only do about as many miles in that time as we put on our cars within half a year.

Any car will last twenty years if you take care of it. What counts is how much you have to spend on it to keep it that long.

That's not always the case. Not with the old american cars, anyway, as mentioned.

 

[Duke]

My old Pontiac made it to 195,000 miles before we ever had the valve covers off. My father's '89 Grand Caravan made it to 350,000 something and other than plugs, pads, oil, and filters the only thing it ever needed maintenance-wise was a transmission rebuild.

 

[Azuremen]

WEll, it does go Japanese > American > European these days.

Still, its clear Toyota gets the top marks. Considering the Prizm is just a rebadged Corolla, and Lexus is Toyota.

Though its certain Ford and GM are making some big strides I think in quality.

My parent's Town and Country didn't make it to 150k before the tranny completely died.

But the big thing in keeping a car running for a long time is maintance. You take care of it, and it will last a time lot longer than if you neglect it or do stuff half assedly for it.

 

[1X83Z]

I would however like to point out that reliability does not equal quality, and having been in a new Impala recently, I think that's a point that needs to be stressed.

 

[xXSilencerXx]

My dad had a 1980-85 or so ( not completley sure of the year but I know it was from the 80's ) Nissan Stanza for a little while and it was a hunk of ****.

 

[McLaren'sAngel]

I would however like to point out that reliability does not equal quality, and having been in a new Impala recently, I think that's a point that needs to be stressed.

Hiya! Meow! (='.'=)

Want to explain that please! 👍 They way I am picking up with quality is that you mean by how the car is put together and with what kind of material?

 

[1X83Z]

Yes, the plastic interior inside the new Impala would put a plastic thing to shame. It was a joke.

 

[Omnis]

My dad had a 1980-85 or so ( not completley sure of the year but I know it was from the 80's ) Nissan Stanza for a little while and it was a hunk of ****.

We have a 90 or 91 stanza and it's just now giving us 'problems'. That's just because nobody takes care of it and my grandma is totally clueless about everything (we gave it to her). I hear they're notorious for electronic problems and stuff, though. All the door sensors and crap on our car totally went out the window, but other than that it's been pretty good.

I don't know if there are japanese cars from the 60's and 70's on the roads (in japan) like there are american cars over here. But anyway, that's the past and I don't think they make american cars as good as they used to....but the knowledge is obviously there if it's a part of the company's legacy. I guess it's just up to the big-wigs' judgement on whether they decide to use it.

 

[Omnis]

Yes, the plastic interior inside the new Impala would put a plastic thing to shame. It was a joke.

Hahahaha. So true.

 

[niky]

My dad had a 1980-85 or so ( not completley sure of the year but I know it was from the 80's ) Nissan Stanza for a little while and it was a hunk of ****.

Though that's true, that particular time for Nissan was a very difficult period, and their quality problems were so bad then, that it's carried a very bad taste in the mouths of ex-Nissan owners, up to today, when their reliability, though far from being optimal, isn't in the dumps.

All said, it's true that the old cars will last a long time. Lower compression ratios, looser tolerances, and less g*d-fr*ckin'-damn electronics make for easier maintenance and better cars... hold your hand up if you know how to disassemble and clean a carb?.....




Now, who here can diagnose, computer-tune and clean a fuel injector system (including cleaning the injectors themselves) in their own garage?... (hell, I'm sure some of you can... but I can't!)

 

[a6m5]

We have a 90 or 91 stanza and it's just now giving us 'problems'. That's just because nobody takes care of it and my grandma is totally clueless about everything (we gave it to her). I hear they're notorious for electronic problems and stuff, though. All the door sensors and crap on our car totally went out the window, but other than that it's been pretty good.

My '85 Maxima was one of those "bulletproof" cars as well and didn't experience any elctrical problems either. What killed my car was me. It was my first car, and I didn't know what timing belt was, or what it could do when it broke.

I don't know if there are japanese cars from the 60's and 70's on the roads (in japan) like there are american cars over here. But anyway, that's the past and I don't think they make american cars as good as they used to....but the knowledge is obviously there if it's a part of the company's legacy. I guess it's just up to the big-wigs' judgement on whether they decide to use it.

They don't have old cars in Japan. It kind of sucks, because Japanese cars are known for reliability, but overthere, lightly used cars get scrapped or shipped out to other countries right away. Also, back in 60's, American cars were probably more dependable than Japanese cars. I'm not sure about 70's, but I'm guessing that's when Japanese automakers caught up.

Edit:

All said, it's true that the old cars will last a long time. Lower compression ratios, looser tolerances, and less g*d-fr*ckin'-damn electronics make for easier maintenance and better cars... hold your hand up if you know how to disassemble and clean a carb?.....




Now, who here can diagnose, computer-tune and clean a fuel injector system (including cleaning the injectors themselves) in their own garage?... (hell, I'm sure some of you can... but I can't!)

Very interesting. 👍

 

[niky]

They don't have old cars in Japan. It kind of sucks, because Japanese cars are known for reliability, but overthere, lightly used cars get scrapped or shipped out to other countries right away. Also, back in 60's, American cars were probably more dependable than Japanese cars. I'm not sure about 70's, but I'm guessing that's when Japanese automakers caught up.

Interesting for me, too... the 'pines is one of those countries where they sell 'scrap' Japanese cars. Since the Japanese consider anything with a mudstain on the carpet or a dented fender scrap, we have a LOT of those 70's Japanese cars. Reliable, heck, yes. Rustproof? Definitely not.

 

[a6m5]

Interesting for me, too... the 'pines is one of those countries where they sell 'scrap' Japanese cars. Since the Japanese consider anything with a mudstain on the carpet or a dented fender scrap, we have a LOT of those 70's Japanese cars. Reliable, heck, yes. Rustproof? Definitely not.

You know what would be cool? Japanese has been into the vintage/retro trend since the 90's, as you might already know. You guys should sell the 70's Japanese cars back to the Japanese for profit. 70's Japanese cars are soooooooo rare!