So, after owning a Toyota, I remember buying a Saturn because it was supposedly a “newer, different” kind of American manufacturer that actually cared about quality. That piece of shit lasted about 12 months before I started having problems with its electrical and computerized systems. I’ve been a Toyota man ever since.
After owning Toshiba and Sony, and after realizing that neither are in the laptop business anymore, I was trying to decide what laptop to buy. I finally decided to buy a Dell, reasoning that I had used some Dells at work, all of which seemed to function reasonably well. I’ve used this piece of crap not even 72 hours and I’m already realizing I don’t like it.
Next time, I’ll buy a Samsung, or even go out of my way to buy a Fujitsu (if they still make laptops), and won’t mind paying twice as much as I would for anything else.
*Apple is the lone exception – they make quality products, and I’m an iPhone user. Just never could get into Mac, but maybe it’s time I give it a whirl.
I’m a Honda driver. When I bought my most recent car, we considered buying American - but based on the research nothing in our vehicle’s class could compare in quality to Honda. I live in SE Michigan near the heart of the auto industry, where you will get active pressure to buy American cars. But the comparable Ford model to the CRV had reported engine problems within 5 years of purchase. I’ve never heard of a Ford lasting 20 years. So I bought a CRV. No regrets. If car manufacturers want me to buy American they need to get their shit together.
ETA: I used a MacBook Air/Pro for several years, tried to use a Dell and couldn’t believe the downgrade in quality. I returned it for another MacBook Air. Pretty sure I’m Apple for life.
I think American manufacturers have been told by someone – investors, maybe – that product lifespan doesn’t matter, that consumers will just keep buying when they need something new.
Okay, true, we will. We just won’t buy your product. I don’t get the thinking.
In all fairness, I replaced my Honda Fit after ten years, but that had more to do with the incoming baby than a burning desire for a new car. If you’re going for a luxury vehicle then sure, look at your Cadillacs or whatever else rich people drive. You want an offroading behemoth? Get that Jeep! But for the average person, I don’t see the point of making that investment for a product that doesn’t last. Hondas are cheap, low-maintenance, economical cars that last forever. Nothing fancy, but perfectly suitable for getting from Point A to Point B.
The Japanese options in both categories are superior to Cadillac or Jeep. The infamous GM Northstar engine is still spoken in the same fearful tones that mechanics use to speak about Lamborghini transmissions or or British car electronics (“Lucas, The Prince of Darkness”). The Jeep Wrangler is fine as a basis for building up a rockcrawler, especially since you can no longer find FJ40s at any reasonable price, but if you want a general purpose onroad/offroad vehicle, a Series 60 or Series 80 Land Cruiser, or a Toyota 4Runner VSE or Tacoma TRD Off-Road is a far more comfortable and reliable vehicle.
I know some that have lasted, but usually the people who own them know how to work on cars. The kind of people who are gleeful about extending the life of anything. (I am thinking specifically of my grandfather - who owns a Ford pickup and a Honda.) I don’t know the first thing about cars. I just want to be able to drive it as long as possible before it breaks down. In the ten years I had my Fit, the most I had to do was replace the battery.
My family drives Fords as dad is a Ford retiree. They tend to last for us with little mechanic intervention. Maybe not 20 years, but my last Escape was 15 years old when I traded it for a new one. They seem to succumb to rust before anything else major happens.
With that in mind, I’d be less likely to make a hypothesis on what might or might not last based on what somebody did or did not do to maintain the life of their vehicles. Y’know, it could very well be that there are 20 year old Hondas that continued to be decent enough cars but kept that way due to resourceful shadetree mechanics replacing timing belts/chains or a head gasket, or CV joints, or…
Certainly that should be a factor in anyone’s decision. I don’t think most people (and I could be wrong) plan to hang onto a car for 20 years, anyway. Hondas kinda run in my family, so I’m basing that off the longevity I’ve seen in them for my relatives as well as myself. We currently have five Hondas in the family, and I have a small family.
The other benefit of Hondas is that they are cheap. I think that’s a part of the value added, if you can buy something for comparatively little money that lasts a long time.
The corporate response spurred further unease: Foxconn CEO, Terry Gou, had large nets installed outside many of the buildings to catch falling bodies. The company hired counsellors and workers were made to sign pledges stating they would not attempt to kill themselves.
I work in American manufacturing, and the idea that 'Muricans make better products bc of pride or whatever is laughable to me.
Not trying to say my coworkers and I are lazy and don’t give a shit. But really, we’re just there to earn a paycheck. Our jobs, are not a way of life like it is for Japanese or Chinese manufacturers.
Whenever our company get an audit from one of our Asian costumers, it absolutely floors us at the things they will ding us for. Like scrapes on a wall, or a piece of scrap paper left on a tool. They are truly perfectionists.
Yeah, I’ve been driving Hondas since, like, 1979. I live in a part of the country where you need a car, and I used to drive 80 miles a day (round trip) for my commute. I wanted dependability. I got it with Hondas. And I drive my cars until they die, which is regularly well over 100K miles (last previous car was closer to 200K) with no significant mechanical issues.
One of the benefits of replacing your car every ten years (or more) is that slightly older technology is still new to you. My 2009 Honda Fit was the first time I ever had power windows. My 2015 CRV, which I purchased in 2019, has power windows, heated seats, a remote car starter, keyless entry, a right-side camera, a rear camera, and oh, everything I could ever dream of. And it was $26,000. I’m gonna be honest, the Fit was more fun to drive. But I had to get a Mom mobile. And I don’t hate those heated seats.
