"W Bittle" <wbittle1@alltel.net>, being of unsound mind, did utter in
news:1068677919.897292@cache6.usenetserver.com:

>
>> Yes. American automakers need to stop making crap. For some strange
>> reason people seem drawn to quality, service and value.
>>
> There are some American vehicles that do perform well with respect
> to
> overall quality, but they are few. What bothers me is that Toyota is
> looking more at the profit margen. It seems every time a company
> starts looking more at that, quality takes a hit in favor of profit.

It does, yes. Walked past our '99 Tercel today and my wedding ring happened
to hit the plastic mirror body. It made a dreadfully thin-sounding hollow
noise. So I went and tapped it again to hear it once more, then did the
same thing to the mirror on the '91 Integra. The Integra's mirror housing
is much thicker.

I wouldn't necessarily blame the automakers, though. They are under almost
insane pressures to cut costs while satisfying a bewildering and very
expensive array of government mandates.

One easy target for cost-cutting is trim and interiors.
1) Interiors are not exposed to the weather
2) Interiors and trim are subject to only the most basic governmental
regulation (other than air-bags)
3) Interiors are increasingly important to consumers as the cars themselves
become so reliable as to become almost appliances
4) Interiors and trim are cheap and quick ways of altering the look and
functionality of cars in ways that do not involve government crash-testing,
emissions certification or other expensive compliance procedures.


--
TeGGeR®