10 Cars That Damaged GM's Reputation
 

Thats definitely a list of some of the worst cars ever built. The couple that Ive ridden in or driven on that list definitely deserve to be on there.

Hahahahahhaa the chevette?? that was a shitbox. My mom had the Caddy cimmaron, that thing was always breaking down. another POS

I always liked the look of the Vega, but they were a POS. However with a 400 SB and stout drive train they were a hoot!

Really though, my dad was a professional mechanic for the last 35 years and I was literally raised up in his shop. The same could be said about all domestic auto makers. I can list you a few repeats and new additions from Ford, GM, Chrysler...

Chevrolet - Citation, Cavalier, Beretta


Ford/Merc/Lincoln - Festiva, Fairlane/Grenada/Zephyr, Escort, T Bird/Cougar

Dodge / Chrysler - Lebaron, K Car, Horizon, Neon, really most of their sedan line up. Remember the Cordoba?

Thankfully most of these autos were so poorly built we didn't have to endure them for long...

10 Cars That Damanged US Auto Maker's Reputation?
 

Toyota Camry
Toyota Corolla
Toyota Tercel
Honda Accord
Honda Civic
Nissan Maxima
Nissan Altima
Nissan Sentra
Mitsubishi Galant
Mazda MX-6...

Can I list more than 10?

Should have added the 95-05 Pontiac Sunfire to the list..........Total POS. The rear suspension wasn't independant, so it shuddered like a pickup truck in bumpy corners. Also if you tried to look over your shoulder before changing lanes, you wouldn't see shit because of the bodywork in the way.

Same chassis as the cavalier.

Bottom line is they have built shit vehicles for decades and passed them off because there was no viable alternative. They really did sell out for short term greed, and that is where the Japanese always win. They look at the long term and have slowly out paced the domestics. First they srtove to compete then they strove to dominate. GM, Chrysler, Ford deserve to reap what they have sown...

Looking back on the 80's and 90's, GM, Ford and Chysler put some entertaining cars on the road.
Only problem was they were off the road once 80K was on the odo.

I remember when Cavalier Z-24's (late 80's) with a 5spd and the 2.8 were pretty respectable. May not have been the most reliable cars but were relatively fun for the time period.

I was about to say that cavaliers,berettas were the popular street race machines against the z28/mustangs at least in my town

I had an '89 Z-24 convertable back in the day... it was a POS, but chicks dug it... I knew a guy who had a '91 or so and put a 4.3L in it... it was pretty fucking slick.

:lol:

though my mitsubishi galant was shit! transmission went out twice.... fuck'n autos

I had a Sunbird and a Skyhawk. On one the odometer would go backwards occasionally, only stopping when you hit the brakes. On the other the windshield wipers would come on, only once when you turned corners. I also had to strike the dashboard regularly to fix the radio.

Real winners!!! :lmao:

i firmly disagree on k-car derivatives. ive owned two daytonas and they've been pretty damn durable. those early turbo engines required someone who wasnt a complete moron about doing maintenance

they missed the fiero. only rode in one once. about fifty feet down the road before it took a shit on itself

US automakers have no one to blame but themselves. They have run shitty businesses repleate with exhorbitant overhead producing products of inferior quality to their competitors.

The sooner they go out of business and Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and VW pick up that labor force the better.

The Nissan plan in TN is the shit. The pay and benefits are on par with the Saturn plant in TN. They just produce better vehicles.

EXACTLY... I firmly believe that if Toyota or Honda was a American founded automaker... all the other domestic brands would have been bankrupt long ago. they sell on the fact that 1 they're cheap and 2 that they're made in the US.

If the concern is that GM is "too big to fail" because of the loss of all those American jobs, why would Honda, Toyota, Nissan, etc. not build new plants and hire those displaced workers?

Wouldn't that give the US a domestic auto PRODUCTION industry without all the bad administrative and benefits legacy problems of Ford, GM, and Chrysler?

If GM, Ford, and Chrysler were gone tomorrow, what would Americans buy? Who would produce those cars?

Sometimes bankruptcy helps an ailing company to become profitable. Other times it helps an irreparably damaged company cease to exist.

Wow...thats gotta be the most ass backwards list ever

the thing is... THEY WOULD... and from speaking to quite a few employee's of both domestic and import automakers plants in the us... the folks work'n for Toyota and Honda seem to be happier. they aren't worried about loosing their jobs at least.


how so? those cars listed did just as much damage to us automakers reps as their own fuck ups... prior to Toyota and Honda... 100K was a HUGE mark... you'd rarely own a vehicle past 100k cause 1. it wouldn't last much longer... 2. it took a HUGE hit to it's value. I'd say Toyota and Honda are the reason that's no longer the case.

shit I haven't bought a truck in the last 5 years that had UNDER 100k (yes all toyota's) go back to the 80's... I'd be wear'n a straight jacket.

Fieros were badass little cars... I've seen small block Chevy's shoehorned into those things... one of the coolest I saw was actually a 3.4L V6 turbo...

during the 80's
Corolla, Tercel Accord and Civic...were very reliable...as long as you got a manual transmission.
Maxima was iffy at times (fueling...transmission)
Nissan had the Stanza (Name changed to Altima during a the 90's rediesign. Stanza was ok.
Sentra...not exactly golden and basically a shitbox. 91 redesign major improvement
Mitsubishi was garbage half the time (ever see a mitsu carb last more than 80k?
MX-6 was a non starter until 88 when they pProbes and 626 and MX-6 outa flatrock. The 12 valve 2.2 was decent. Power steering pumps were not.

I don't get rid of a Honda or Toyota until after they've had 200,000 miles.

In Sixxxer's defense, this is what Toyota and Honda were producing at the time GM was producing the Vega:

http://www.jknet.fi/images/car/Toyot...ta_Corolla.jpg

http://image.motortrend.com/f/949913..._hatchback.jpg




At the Corolla Toyota and Accord Honda was producing during the X cars:

http://www.dragtimes.com/images/5319...ta-Corolla.jpg

http://pdftown.com/image/6839-Accord87.jpg



And the Camry Toyota Accord Honda was producing during the Saturn years:

http://canada.motoseller.com/c/images/5170936.gif

http://www.used-car-buffalo.com/NCTDPHOTOS/acccar.gif


Toyota and Honda have been kicking Ford, GM, and Chrysler's ass for decades.

If you want a brand new Fiero with zero miles on the clock, there is a place called The Fiero Factory near Huntsville, AL. They will build you a brand new Fiero from the ground up.

Here's their website:

http://www.thefierofactory.com/


You can also get a zero time DeLorean as well:

http://www.delorean.com/restoration.asp

i meant stock of course, some inventive folks out there. seen the northstar swaps?

AE86 was a bad bitch in its day and still is :drool:

On the other side of the coin, I have a 95' GMC Sonoma that I bought new in Nov of 94'. It now has 247,000. miles on it, still holds 50lb's of oil pressure at idle and still gets the same 23 MPG it got when new. I've spent $1300. in repairs on it in 14 years and it still has the original Alt, water pump, radiator and heater hoses for God's sake.
Now it has some issues that will never be fixed because it is too old to be worth the repair costs, but it has been as good of a truck as the 85' Toyota I replaced with it and a hell of a lot nicer truck overall. If it blew up tomorrow I would still have gotten my moneys worth out of it.
It anything it was built too good, shit it's 14 years old and I'm still driving it, so the auto industry hasn't gotten another sale out of me since. Oh and the 4.3 V-6 is a kickin little engine, for a truck.

Frankly, the japs just know how to outdo everyone on cars. I had an 02 S10, and I swear it was the biggest piece of shit ever. my 86 tercel with an auto didnt give me that much trouble over the time I owned it, and that car had 228K on the odometer, with a rough life and still ran like new.

Exactly why I'm driving a Tacoma right now.

<<<<<<< Honda Ridgeline.

Ridgeline != Truck

It's more car than truck. Gas mileage is the suck, which is pretty truck-ish...

Ridgeline is pretty much an on road only truck... but it's honda so it'll run forever

Fixed it for ya...


I know the imports can make a decent vehicle. Just waiting for any of 'em to make a REAL pickup (ie diesel 3/4 or 1 ton)... :tt:

Toyota I think is coming out with their Diesel next year or 2010... I believe it'll be in 3/4 or 1 ton.

honda I believe is a LONG way away from that...

the problem though is toyota will build the truck but compared to the Domestics it'll be more expensive up front. not many people will buy it because of that. Toyota needs to bring back the quality BASE line trucks like they built their name on.

IE MY TRUCK... fucker doesn't have power anything... ok... it has power steering... but a rubber mat for a floor covering. manual windows... no A/C... 5 speed... but 1 ton rated axles... fully boxed frame... a motor that'll run 250,000 miles easy if you maintain it, and 150,000 easy if you don't.

To bad Toyota couldn't make a body last over 60K :lol:

actually... the BODY did... it was the bed... the body is made from Japanese steel... the bed from American steel.

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u...a/DSCN0579.jpg

Let's see... I don't tow anything... I don't plow anything... I don't off-road anything... Why would I need a 1 ton?

Because in America you ain't cool unless you have 5X more vehicle than you need.

American steel....
:zowned:

Reminds me of VW steel in the late 70's/early 80's

those were the good ole trucks right there. the 4x4 with a 22RE under the hood and a 5 spd, with just like you said, bare essentials. they're still popular pickups, if they arent totally rusted out. the beds WERE the weak links though, but overall an outstanding truck that pretty much set the new standard for quality.

problem is that the masses wont buy a bare minimum type truck, its gotta have bells and whistles, satellite radio, gps, fruity air conditioning, what? a good ole road map, and the windows down at 55 aint good enough?

Just a couple quick things.

The Chevrolet Citation(x-body car) was actually Motor Trend's Car of the Year in 1980.

The only car that ever gave me any real issues was a brand new 1996 Honda Civic.....bought back on the lemon law due to numerous issues.

Oddly enough, I had a 1997 Dodge Neon that was flawless for the 80k miles that I had it before being asspacked by a Grand Cherokee.

I have a 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche with 120k miles and no issues with minimal maintenance. It's been a great truck.

I also have a 2000 S-10 that is obviously cheaply built, but has never let me down. 130k miles on it and it starts every time, runs fine and still gets me the 22mpg that it always has. That said, the interior rattles can only be masked by Tejano music(blends in with the sounds of maracas). Third door can no longer be opened as the handle broke off in my hands while opening it one day. The driver's seat can not be reclined anymore since the recline lever sheared off ....and I don't mean the plastic piece, the metal shaft snapped in two. The lumbar support on the seat is nonexistent at this time. The armrest console lid will not latch and the plastic shell beneath the upholstery on that lid is busted. Various pieces of trim are loose, and the inner door panel on the passenger side is cracked at the aft lower area.

Any manufacturer can build a turd. Even the mighty King of Quality Toyota. Recently looked into the Corolla and Matrix and those interiors are shit....kind of like my S-10. I won't even mention the 5.7L cam failures on the Tundras. Fortunately, these days, the manufacturers seem to be more even in regards to quality of current offerings than in past decades.

True dat.

My neighbor has an old Toyota pickup with a blown head gasket... I think it's actually on it's 2nd head gasket... It's been sitting, non-running since I moved in a year ago... One of these days I'm going to offer him $100 for it or something... as soon as I figure out what I'm going to do with it and can justify a project... I think it'd be good to hone up on my automechanical skills and maybe make some sort of Mad Max vehicle out of it...

There will always be a need/want for big vehicles.. Americans have campers and boats. Contractors need 3/4, 1 ton trucks to tow equipment and trailers...

Then there are the people that don't care about gas mileage they simply want to have a big vehicle.. This is america...not Europe...yet

What year? 4x4 or 2wd? I may have to beat you to it! :drool:

It's a 4x4... I have no idea what year... Hell, I don't know shit about it... I remember talking to him about it when I first moved in... He said the thermostat went to hell and the head gasket was blown... also said it was the 2nd head gasket. Fuckin' truck hasn't moved since I moved in.

does it look like mine? does it have a solid front axle or IFS?

if it's solid front... offer him $200 and I'll give you $800. seriously. I need a solid axle to do my swap.

Jesus H Christ Ebbs... I don't know shit about the fuckin' thing... it does resemble yours though...

well look under the front... if it's got a solid front axle it's what I need. :lol:

the solid axles are getting rare... as the last year they were made was 85. so their in high demand.

I'm positive it's newer than an '85... and I'll be damned if I'm crawling under my neighbor's truck to find out for your dumbass.

well then never mind... you'd have made $600... :lol:

I really want a runner... 86-89... the removeable top... like the one I pictured before that hidious tundra

I'm pretty sure it's not going anywhere... maybe I'll just fucking ask the guy.

No Buick Skylark? The list is flawed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMLTpVUxPts

They should have included the 1981 Cadillac Seville. It was available with three very exciting engine choices- the unreliable and underpowered V8-6-4, the unreliable, underpowered, and noisy Olds 5.7 Diesel, and the brand new, next-generation, unreliable and underpowered "4100" V8! As a bonus, it was fugly.

And I've said it a million times on CF, but i don't think i've said it here yet- when I was shopping small cars in 2001, I bought a Neon- it had far more features for the money than the Civic, and felt like a luxury car next to the Sentra. Except for recurring problems with the sunroof (shouldn't have let the stealership talk us into taking a sunroof car), it did just fine for 80k until it got caught in a flooded street. We'd probably still have it otherwise.

A 4.1 litre pushrod V8.......now there's a winner :dthumb:
2-barrel carb I'm guessing?

Worse, it was a fuellie :panic:
An aluminum block with iron heads... only GM.

I happen to be a fan of neons they happen to have a great history as club racers and still have much motorsports potential.

Was it the one they sold off to Rover and Triumph?

No...the HT-4100 was crap Cadillac design from late 70's early 80's.

The engine Rover nabbed was from Buick circa early 60's (that one was all aluminum...block and heads)

I love my Ridgeline, and it goes off-roading (fire roads on a ranch, sometimes a bit rough but not challenging) all the time. It literally floats over bumps, dips, etc. - 4 wheel IRS FTW!

ok... a fire road IMO is still a road... shit my friends WRX he rails down fire roads...

THIS is off roading
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3.../bendrocks.jpg

Are you on the Ridgeline forum?

Ridgeline ('08 RTL - Nimbus Grey) is the best truck I've ever owned... My dad, who's owned dozens of trucks, says the same about his '06 RTS...

Funny thing is... it's not much of a truck from a lot of standpoints, but I wouldn't give mine up for anything.

Hey, you have great tastes! :rockout:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3216/...898f2ac3_b.jpg
Sounds like we have almost the same truck - '08 Nimbus Grey RTL w/ Nav. I also replaced the rabbit ear grill w/ the RTX one. Also the best truck I've owned yet. Yes, I'm on the RL forum w/ the same name, but I go there very rarely. W 2 cars, a truck, and 2 motorcycles, that's more forums to keep up w/ than I have time!

Ebbs15, I only use my Ridgeline to get to the trailhead, since I'd rather ride my dirtbike over the fun stuff. The 4 wheeling thing really seems to bring out the Bubbas around here!

yeah I hear ya... never got in to dirt bikes... though haven't ridden one in a long ass time...

I like the ridgelines but just couldn't afford it and a bike and my toyota.

Hey! That's my truck!

I thought I saw you on the RL forum... I actually need to log in and get with some guy about an RTX grille... I'm actually going to put driving lights in the grille... baja style...

Same here.

All the Yota Truck fans...make sure your late 90's mid 00's isn't suffering from premature frame rot.

The body and everything else cound be mint....but the frame's rusting away.