Re: [DMCForum] "The Air Car" (not a hovercraft)

[Farrar Hudkins <fhudkins@xxxxxxx>]

I can't imagine they would be highly prized over there... even in their 
country of origin, American cars are generally held to be gas-guzzling, 
semi-reliable vehicles with an expected lifespan of 100,000 miles. 
Conventional wisdom (which can be wrong, of course) also has that 
American automatics have a -much- shorter lifespan than imports. I have 
had better results, but then again I take care of my vehicles ... I know 
plenty of people who have abused their Hondas and Volvos for years and 
they're still going, whereas a Chrysler would never have managed that 
kind of treatment. Most people over here drive Toyotas and Honda cars, 
with pickup trucks being mostly Ford and Chevrolet.

All things being equal, unless you pay a -lot- for a car, a Japanese one 
will give you more for your money. Sure, the water pump might cost twice 
as much for a Honda as opposed to a Dodge, but chances are you'll not 
have to replace it for a while in the Honda, whereas in your Dodge if 
you haven't replaced it before 100,000 miles you're lucky.

Additionally, I think American car companies generally do not have the 
quality control that Japanese car manufacturers do. Whereas American 
manufacturers tend to let a lot of things "slide", the Japanese seem to 
be very good at not letting a lot of lemons get sold.

I guess my only problem with Japanese cars is they're everywhere. At 
least the DeLorean is different ... it certainly doesn't look like 
everything else on the road! What's more you don't have to "accessorize" 
it to attract attention. Its looks are great even without fancy paint 
jobs, different wheels, spoilers, and hearing-aid downpayments. :)

My new slogan is "DeLorean: No Rice Necessary".

--Farrar

Martin Gutkowski wrote:
> I'm not arguing your point - just reinforcing my contention with Bill 
> that within the auto market, in general, there's the US.... and the rest 
> of the world. And speaking as part of the latter, american cars aren't 
> prized very highly over here.

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