I agree with Gary. To the point that I must question what my next truck will be. Please understand, I have been a Mopar man since the 60's. I've only purchased two new vehicles in my life, both of them Dodge trucks. I love the size and style of my Dak; but... In 1999 I bought my "new" Dak, a co-worker purchased a Toyota at the same time. Since then, I have had all the routine maintainence performed - on schedule. We have similar driving habits and each drive about the same mileage per year. With 73,000 miles on my odometer, I have had the following work done:
- transmission has been into twice
- serpentine belt tensioner has been replaced
- water pump has been replaced
- center armrest trim strap has been replaced (this armrest only gets moved about once a month when we vacuum)
Now, with 73,000 miles the tranny is again acting up, the front end squeaks so bad it is a public embarrasment to drive in public (ball joints are not worn, I checked), and when it first starts it clatters like an old GM 350 until the oil gets circulated.
My friend with the Toyota - nothing except routine maint. I haven't abused this truck. In fact, it's probably had the easiest life of any truck I've owned.
Cal Hyer
Byron, Ga.
Seriously, Ford and GM aren't hurting because their union, it's because
of what cars they make. If you look at your everyday driver, they are
concerned about fuel economy. They buy the hondas and toyotas because
theyre reliable, and get good milage.
How does a hemi-powered charger or a 4.6l Mustang fit into this??? It
doesn't. There's only a small percentage of people who want power, the
rest of them want economy.
This is exactly what happened in the 70's when the oil embargo hit. The
big 3 made their big boats, and the imports made economy cars. Everyone
knows that's when the imports secured a huge foothold in the american
market. And they're taking a bigger share now. Toyota just about took
over as #1, and theyre going to take more real quick.
So it's not really unions, or retirement pensions, or healthcare. It's
the stupidity of the people running Ford and GM.
Gary Hedlin
05 4.7 SLT
98 3.9 Sport
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| Make your plans NOW to attend the National DML Meet in Colorado! |
| Date: July 15-23, 2006 - More info: http://meet.dakota-truck.net |
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