Saw the new '07 Sebring Thursday

Well, HQ was there, but there was a "something Park" assembly plant
somewhere near Detroit that was a chronic problem...now I forgot!
Iacocca wrote about it in one of his books.

 

Try the Japanese government. That law's been in effect for years at
the behest of Japan, Inc.

 

Gee, I guess the LA Times was wrong! Perhaps they CAN be driven
longer than 50K, but inspections get purposely onerous? I know the
Times had a big writeup about this back when Chrysler was down in the
pits.

 

Nope, not a fact.
In Japan it's the car age that gets you. Keeping a car on the road oner
5 yrs gets expensive, too expensive over 10 yrs.
Inspections can cost a lot.

Some facts here- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaken_(Car_Inspection)

 

Right -- last I heard, there was no law forbidding driving a vehicle
past 50K miles. It's just that the refurbishing required makes it
completely impractical.

 

You have illustrated how out of date you are or perhaps you are an
import dealer trolling around. Whatever an import for many cars is now?
Some of the other responses here are also as emotional and biased.
I've had import cars, starting with VW Beatles in '58, then GM's compact
Chev II which just had to get larger.
Back to Chrysler in '79 with the Horizon.
My reason for going imports then to Chrysler was to get reasonable fuel
consumption and a car that handled well.
The huge sloppy handling NA cars of the 50s to 70s aren't my cup of tea.

As has been said almost all cars from well established companies are
built to very good quality levels today.
Exceptions may be newer manufacturers.
Limited service for some imports can also be a problem, where dealer
service is needed and it is only available in large cities.

However they all have their occasional problems, the surprising ones
I've heard of are VW's poor quality of the last several years and
troubles with some Mercedes models. These manufacturers have even
admitted their problems and of course said "all is now OK".
IMO the key to buying a new car is waiting a few years on significant
new mechanical designs and one year for a new body design.

As for NA cars not lasting 10 years, here are my more recent NA car
experiences. (Note that we travel in severe weather conditions going to
our ski hills, with significant road salt and grit. Our cars are not
babied and are used daily.)
-Had my Chrysler '86 Le'Baron for 10 years, still in very good condition.
Body rust free, engine and auto trans first class.
Only experienced one unexpected repair.
-Wife had her '87 Daytona for 14 yrs, still in very good condition.
No unexpected repairs, body, engine and trans first class.
Still had the original exhaust, the first year of stainless exhaust.
- My current '95 Concord. 11.5 yrs and counting.
Body rust free, looks like new, engine and trans performing as new.
Only one unexpected repair, the air conditioner, on which Chrysler
extended the warranty to 7 yrs. Cost me nothing to repair.
This Concord has lasted unbelievably well and since my needs have
changed slightly I'd trade it if I could find something better for me.
I've never kept a car so long, even a used one.

 

I stand corrected, and now that you clarify, I think this is what the
LA Time was alluding to...forced retirement of cars before they were
worn out, which started the "used engine/transmission" business for
Japanese models in Southern Calfornia, which was a booming business
started by the Watanabe Bros. in the mid-'70s. Low mileage cars would
be scrapped in Japan, and the engines/transaxles sent over here to put
in US high milers. I believe that's still a big biz here, but since
California smog requirements are much tougher than those in Japan,
most Japanese used power trains won't pass smog tests here anymore.
Wasn't an issue in the '70s and '80s, though, as most of the smog gear
was "bolt-on.".

 

Highland Park Machining attached to the main complex but it closed, or
was due to close, by the late 60s...now I forgot!

 

Yes, but these inspections end up being so expensive that the Japanese
trade in for new. The law was written as such to keep their auto
industry going.

 

Low mileage cars are usually not scrapped in Japan. More often, they are
shipped to other Asian countries with a demand for used cars.

 

I believe that the actual cost of the inspection works out to about $250 if
an owner takes the car in for an inspection him or herself. The inspection
process is very thorough, and every safety and emissions component is
visually inspected and measured or tested. That cost will jump to about
$2,000 if the owner pays a garage to take the car through the inspection
process and the garage tells the owner to fix a long laundry list of things
before taking it through the inspection.

The reason people change cars so often in Japan is consumer preference. The
average Japanese salaryman spends as little money as possible on housing and
furnishings and will spend money on cars, vacations, and designer clothing
and accessories for his wife.

 

How many Japanese cars do YOU have 438,000 miles on and still use them
every day?

Thought so.

 

Iacocca wrote his books over 20 years ago. Welcome to the new century,
Desert Troll.

 

Well, in context:

"Assembly quality on late '70s Chrysler products was dismal at best,
but once all the goofs were fixed, they were pretty darned good, "

....so spake DeserTBob

 

My old man has two Toyota Landcruisers, both over a half-million miles.
Granted, one he keeps the '68 for fun, but the '78 he uses for hauling,
snowplowing, etc.

If you use a 438,000 mile Chrysler as your daily driver, I'm not sure that's
something worth bragging about.

Visit any Nissan Maxima forum - not only do those people keep their cars for
hundreds of thousands of miles, the interior actually holds up too.

 

and your credentials are as questionable as your logic. I'm sorry
that *my* opinion isn't acceptable to you. Not that I or anyone else
for that matter care one bit who you think or claim to me.

You see, some of us are confident enough in ourselves that we don't
need to prop ourselves up with titles.

 

gee..a newspaper that's got their facts *wrong*? Whoda thunk? Having
lived in Japan, that pure and utter BS. There's no limit in the miles
you can have on your car. It just has to pass their safety inspection
like any other car.

 

utter BS. Do you just make this up as you go along?

 

Right - but I can read between the lines on this one, and no matter
the country Bureaucrats is Bureaucrats...

What the Government wants, the Government gets. QED.

The DIY car owner doesn't have to pay a mechanic and shop to do the
pre-inspection work and take the car in for them - but s/he is still
going to have to buy the parts and supplies needed to tear down the
brakes, axles, trans, suspension, and other items that the inspection
calls for ahead of time, to make sure he passes on the first try.

Or the owner can do the obvious items and take the car through cold,
and get Failed several times as they pick up on other "worn items"
that he has to repair or tear down for a closer inspection and bring
the car back later - only to fail the test again for something else...

Or you "scrap" the car (to be shipped overseas either as parts or
whole and sold as used) and buy a new one from a domestic Japanese
manufacturer, which supports the Home Country economy.

Again, QED. You can easily adjust the inspection rules and criteria
to get the desired results. You want to up the percentage failed, you
tighten the regs a bit.

Go ask Marv Specter where he gets a lot of his used FJ and truck
parts. Same thing for the engines at K. Watanabe Co., Et Al.

They come in from Japanese breakers by the container load, most of
them surprisingly grease free with lots of yellow paint dots on every
bolt head, nut and thread from the inspection process - and when the
owner decides to stop paying for the inspections, it's scrap to them.

Can't argue with that one as I don't know the culture in such
minutiae. But as an external observer it makes sense.

 

Show me any Chrysler that has made it to 480,000 miles. 1-2, that
maybe you've heard of? I know of 30 or 40 Toyotas in my small little
neighbourhood on Vancouver Island alone. My '89 Camry LE, 5sp. with
the 3.0L has 347,000Kms on it and the air still blows cold. Hasn't
needed a quart of oil between changes ever. Drives like a new car!
How many Lebarons are out there with that kind of mileage?