Daniel1312@aol.com wrote:
>
> In England you just don't see old jap cars. The engines may run for ever but
> the steel is thin
Ah, nothing like publically basing your argument on
an obviously verifiable mistruth... take your micrometer around
some car lots and you'll see it's the same all around for
cars of the same era. (don't compare a 1998 car from any
company against a bugeye and expect to draw a useful
conclusion)
Japanese car survival rates are economical and cultural
in nature, not quality.
To start with, the Japanese got into the market by targetting the
lower end. Honda Civics and Toyota Corollas were cheap cars
that offered incredible value, and sold in droves to people
who wanted cheap transportation.
Simple economic truth, you don't see a lot on the road today
were bought because they were cheap, owners were cheap,
and the cars had the hell driven out of them every day until
they weren't worth fixing, then trashed.
It's similar with our British cars. As an example,
even though neither were cheap cars, compare the survival
rates of MGAs versus the more expensive MG Z Magnettes.
The simple fact is that MGAs were bought as fun cars
and likely cherished, and Z Magnettes were bought as
family cars and driven every day.
Then, like the japanese econoboxes, the ZBs weren't
worth fixing and were abandoned.
Does that mean the ZBs are "crappily made" compared
to MGAs, because they aren't around anymore?
Obviously not.
Case in point, I stripped a ZB parts car that had been
parked since it was 8 years old. Sounds like a restorable
time capsule, but in fact the car had lived an extremely
hard life and was totally clapped out even though it
had only been used 8 years. Engine was knackered, floorboards
were tin roof sections from a barn, interior was worn out.
...about where most daily drivers find themselves
eventually, Japanese or otherwise.
Simple fact: If Japanese cars were really junk, Britain
would still have a car industry.
--
Trevor Boicey, P. Eng.
Ottawa, Canada, tboicey@brit.ca
ICQ #17432933 http://www.brit.ca/~tboicey/
It's difficult to respect a sport not played on ice.
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/// (If they are dupes, this trailer may also catch them.)
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