Why does everyone say that Cadillac builds there cars poorly?

[WakkaWu]

Why does everyone say that Cadillac builds there cars poorly?I have a friend that just recently got into an accident with his Deville.It was in the snow and he rearended a Lexus pretty damn good.I saw what both cars looked like after the reack and the back end of the Lexus was absolutely desroyed and my friends Cadillac was hardly hit.It looked like he had hit a small deer.On his car only the headlights and grille were destroyed and the bumper was messed up a bit.Though the Lexus was hit in the back it dies and would not start.My friend shut his car off and was able to start it again with no problem to move it into a position to put it on the tow truck.He had the front end fixed and is now driving it around again.

[Jimster]

What you have just witnessed is crumple zones. The car absorbs the impact and crumples up, while protecting the occupants.


What year Cadillac was this?


And the reason I say they are badly built has to do with the cheap interior materials that fall apart if you so much as look at them, the badly constructed Northstar V8 and the exterior moldings aren't the best either.


All new caddys have crumple zones and had the Lexus hit the Caddy (if it was a newer one) the Caddy would have similar damage to the Lexus- as teh Lexus had to absorb more impact

[boingo82]

True - the slower moving car absorbs more energy from impact in any accident. And in addition, the front of a car contains a lot more mass (engine and such) and that mass helps to absorb the energy. This is part of the reason most cars are designed with the engine in front - most collisions are front-on (because that's what direction cars travel) and it's far safer to have all that structure and mass in front of the driver to help cushion the impact. Same reason that stunt people fall onto cardboard boxes instead of pillows.

And tell your friend to allow at least a 3-5 second gap between him and the cars in front of him. More for bad weather, and EVEN MORE if the car in front has ABS and he doesn't.

[WakkaWu]

What you have just witnessed is crumple zones. The car absorbs the impact and crumples up, while protecting the occupants.

What year Cadillac was this?


And the reason I say they are badly built has to do with the cheap interior materials that fall apart if you so much as look at them, the badly constructed Northstar V8 and the exterior moldings aren't the best either.


All new caddys have crumple zones and had the Lexus hit the Caddy (if it was a newer one) the Caddy would have similar damage to the Lexus- as teh Lexus had to absorb more impact

Well I forgot to mention that he was hit in the rear too.Like a double wammy.But his back end wasnt too bad.Not like the Lexus.And like I said,why didnt the Caddy die?ita 2001.And were do you get your evidence that the interiors of Caddys fall apart so easy.My uncle has an Audi that the interior is almost all fall apart.The headliner in falling down too.And how are the materials cheap.My family has always had Caddys in the family and they don't fall apart.Im sorry but no Cadillac is badly constructed.You are very wrong.Knowing that you live in Europe you don't know much about these cars.

True - the slower moving car absorbs more energy from impact in any accident. And in addition, the front of a car contains a lot more mass (engine and such) and that mass helps to absorb the energy. This is part of the reason most cars are designed with the engine in front - most collisions are front-on (because that's what direction cars travel) and it's far safer to have all that structure and mass in front of the driver to help cushion the impact. Same reason that stunt people fall onto cardboard boxes instead of pillows.

And tell your friend to allow at least a 3-5 second gap between him and the cars in front of him. More for bad weather, and EVEN MORE if the car in front has ABS and he doesn't

Have you ever seen any accidents when the whole front end of the car has been absolutely totaled?I have.ABS doesnt work to well on black ice and its not very easy to stop on black ice either.He told me it was on the highway and a deer went in front of the Lexus.The Lexus slammed the brakes rear ending a car at a traffic light and car line of like 5 cars also rear ending one another.From my experience with these cars and being an American and these being my favorite cars and me reserching as much as I can in my free time on these cars I will refuse to believe anything that use say about the poor build quality of these cars.I can tell you this and this is a fact.Cadillacs are more well built than many European car manufacturers.

[boingo82]

Originally posted by WakkaWu


Have you ever seen any accidents when the whole front end of the car has been absolutely totaled?I have.ABS doesnt work to well on black ice and its not very easy to stop on black ice either.He told me it was on the highway and a deer went in front of the Lexus.The Lexus slammed the brakes rear ending a car at a traffic light and car line of like 5 cars also rear ending one another.From my experience with these cars and being an American and these being my favorite cars and me reserching as much as I can in my free time on these cars I will refuse to believe anything that use say about the poor build quality of these cars.I can tell you this and this is a fact.Cadillacs are more well built than many European car manufacturers.

Yes, I have BEEN in an accident where the whole front end was totaled. And I have seen quite a few. I didn't mean to suggest that your friend was driving poorly, however, it is important for ALL of us to drive extra-careful in winter weather.

It's true that it's difficult to stop on black ice; however, that's one of the exact situations that ABS is designed for. It prevents locking of the brakes which is exactly what occurs on icy pavement. It works much better on black ice than does a standard (non-ABS) braking system.

I didn't previously mention Cadillac's reliability problems. First I'd like to point out that quality of assembly/build and reliability don't necessarily have anything to do with crashworthiness.
However, I just pulled up the reliability reports on www.consumerreports.com (I am a subscriber) and found that the Catera's reliability was rated Poor and the Deville was rated Spotty. Reliability could not be determined for the other Cadillac models with lower sales numbers and for newer models.

On Consumer Reports' reliability forecasts (in which they make an educated guess at reliability for new models, based on past brand and model reliability) there were some interesting graphs.

For the Midsize/Large SUVs class, the Lexus RX300 topped the chart with an estimated reliability 78% better than average. It was followed by the Infiniti QX4, estimated 76% better than average. The Cadillac Escalade came in about 3/5 the way down the chart, at approximately 60% worse than average. Bottoming out was the Oldsmobile Bravada, at 191% worse than average.

In the Luxury Cars class, the Acura 3.5RL topped the chart at an estimated 70% better than average reliability. Halfway down was the Cadillac DeVille, estimated at 30% worse than average. Bottoming out the chart was the Seville, estimated at 117% worse than average.

Regarding your remark about European cars:
In the same graphs, Volkswagen/Audi's cars fell below average 7/8 times. Their lowest score was on the Audi TT at 78% worse than average. Only the Passatt came in above average for its class, at 13% above.

Volvo fared slightly better. They had 2 cars scoring above average, 2 below. Their best was the S60 at 19% better than average, and the worst their S80, at 42% worse than average for its class.

Saab's 9-5 got a 34% above average estimate.

BMW's 3-series was 23% below, and its 5-series 14% above.

Of all the manufacturers, worst altogether was Jaguar, with -135% on the X-type and -58% on the S-type.


The following data is taken off the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's website, www.hwysafety.org.

In regards to crashworthiness, the 2000-2003 Cadillac Seville recieved a "Best Pick" along with 4 other cars in its class. The 1993-1997 model was rated worst amongst its class.
The older Catera was not a best pick but had acceptable/good results.
No other Cadillac vehicles have been tested.

I looked at some of the Consumer Reviews on www.carpoint.com, which can be a very good indication of reliability/satisfaction.
About 9/10 of owners of the Seville and DeVille were very satisfied with their Cadillacs. However, when I looked at the Catera, fewer than half of the 1997 owners gave it more than a "5" out of a possible "10". For the 1998 model, about 40% still did not rate the car more than "5". Most Escalade owners appeared happy. But then again, the Escalade is a relatively new model (4 years) so long-term reliability is difficult to judge.


Personally I think that whether or not the engine died is poor indicator of crashworthiness and reliability. When you are in an accident, whether the car still runs should be the least of your worries. The biggest factor is occupant protection, and nearly all new Lexuses have good crash-test results.

If your family has had good experiences with Cadillac, good. I'm not telling you not to buy them, and I'm not telling you they're crappy. I'm simply relaying information that's been reported by other sources.

Personally, I don't own a Caddy and never will. Why? It's not because I'm worried about the reliability. It's not because I'm worried about the repair costs. (Though I am.) It's because, plain and simple, I don't like them. I don't like the styling, I don't like the dealers, I don't like the interiors, I don't like the fact that GM currently has 3 "old fogeyish" subdivisions going. (Oldsmobile, Cadillac, and Buick.) Just plain and simple, they're not my taste.

Also, please don't throw that "being an American" bs into the mix. I'm American too, born and raised, and you know something wonderful about this country?? There's no law that says that Americans have to like Cadillacs. So the American bit has nothing to do with it.

[WakkaWu]

Yes, I have BEEN in an accident where the whole front end was totaled. And I have seen quite a few. I didn't mean to suggest that your friend was driving poorly, however, it is important for ALL of us to drive extra-careful in winter weather.
It's true that it's difficult to stop on black ice; however, that's one of the exact situations that ABS is designed for. It prevents locking of the brakes which is exactly what occurs on icy pavement. It works much better on black ice than does a standard (non-ABS) braking system.
I didn't previously mention Cadillac's reliability problems. First I'd like to point out that quality of assembly/build and reliability don't necessarily have anything to do with crashworthiness.
However, I just pulled up the reliability reports on www.consumerreports.com (I am a subscriber) and found that the Catera's reliability was rated Poor and the Deville was rated Spotty. Reliability could not be determined for the other Cadillac models with lower sales numbers and for newer models.

On Consumer Reports' reliability forecasts (in which they make an educated guess at reliability for new models, based on past brand and model reliability) there were some interesting graphs.
For the Midsize/Large SUVs class, the Lexus RX300 topped the chart with an estimated reliability 78% better than average. It was followed by the Infiniti QX4, estimated 76% better than average. The Cadillac Escalade came in about 3/5 the way down the chart, at approximately 60% worse than average. Bottoming out was the Oldsmobile Bravada, at 191% worse than average.

In the Luxury Cars class, the Acura 3.5RL topped the chart at an estimated 70% better than average reliability. Halfway down was the Cadillac DeVille, estimated at 30% worse than average. Bottoming out the chart was the Seville, estimated at 117% worse than average.

Regarding your remark about European cars:
In the same graphs, Volkswagen/Audi's cars fell below average 7/8 times. Their lowest score was on the Audi TT at 78% worse than average. Only the Passatt came in above average for its class, at 13% above.

Volvo fared slightly better. They had 2 cars scoring above average, 2 below. Their best was the S60 at 19% better than average, and the worst their S80, at 42% worse than average for its class.

Saab's 9-5 got a 34% above average estimate.

BMW's 3-series was 23% below, and its 5-series 14% above.

Of all the manufacturers, worst altogether was Jaguar, with -135% on the X-type and -58% on the S-type.


The following data is taken off the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's website, www.hwysafety.org.

In regards to crashworthiness, the 2000-2003 Cadillac Seville recieved a "Best Pick" along with 4 other cars in its class. The 1993-1997 model was rated worst amongst its class.
The older Catera was not a best pick but had acceptable/good results.
No other Cadillac vehicles have been tested.

I looked at some of the Consumer Reviews on www.carpoint.com, which can be a very good indication of reliability/satisfaction.
About 9/10 of owners of the Seville and DeVille were very satisfied with their Cadillacs. However, when I looked at the Catera, fewer than half of the 1997 owners gave it more than a "5" out of a possible "10". For the 1998 model, about 40% still did not rate the car more than "5". Most Escalade owners appeared happy. But then again, the Escalade is a relatively new model (4 years) so long-term reliability is difficult to judge.


Personally I think that whether or not the engine died is poor indicator of crashworthiness and reliability. When you are in an accident, whether the car still runs should be the least of your worries. The biggest factor is occupant protection, and nearly all new Lexuses have good crash-test results.

If your family has had good experiences with Cadillac, good. I'm not telling you not to buy them, and I'm not telling you they're crappy. I'm simply relaying information that's been reported by other sources.

Personally, I don't own a Caddy and never will. Why? It's not because I'm worried about the reliability. It's not because I'm worried about the repair costs. (Though I am.) It's because, plain and simple, I don't like them. I don't like the styling, I don't like the dealers, I don't like the interiors, I don't like the fact that GM currently has 3 "old fogeyish" subdivisions going. (Oldsmobile, Cadillac, and Buick.) Just plain and simple, they're not my taste.

Also, please don't throw that "being an American" bs into the mix. I'm American too, born and raised, and you know something wonderful about this country?? There's no law that says that Americans have to like Cadillacs. So the American bit has nothing to do with it.

I really don't care what consumer reports says.What they say doesnt make them correct.Other than my Jaguar.I have a 1993 Coupe Deville.315,000 miles.Not one problem yet.So I will refuse to belive that they are unreliable.My fathers '89 Fleetwood,475,000 miles,only problem was the blower motor and tie-rods.These vehicles are very reliable.I used to live up in upstate New York about 6 months ago until I moved here and the winters up there are bad.Sometimes when I went to start my Jag it was very sluggish starting.When I did it with my coupe,no problem.And Im trading that Jag in within the next week for a 2003 Seville.

I feel that being American you will know more about American cars than that of a foriegner most likely.

Weather or not the engine died from a hit in the ass does have to do with the build quality and reliability of a car.A hit in the ass should only affect mid-engined cars when it comes to the engine dieing.

Of course the Catera isnt going to be good in a crash.Its not big like other Cadillacs.Its the size of a Grand Am and Im glad they stopped making it.Cadillacs are known for there big V8s and big cars.

[Jimster]

wwwwoooooaaah......Thats a lot to reply to, but oh well.......



Boingo- Interesting information about Jaguars indeed- any idea what the key cause of the poblems of the X-type were? Because in the British Motoring survey it came trumps for reliability as did the S-Type. A mixed bag of results indeed. It's a similar case with BMW- I have NEVER encountered someone who has anything bad to say about a late model TOTL European car- maybe it's just a case of Amerians being very picky over minor problems, maybe it's just a case of a majority of the bad cars going to America- Who knows. Your post sums up the Cadilliacs reliability problems nicely too Whether the CTS/DTS improves on the reliability record- I don't know- but I aren't putting anything on it.

In fact all cars are mixed bags when it comes to reliability- I had an absolute bliss of 45,000 Km with my Pug 6O7- and at the same time know some who are less than smitten- same situation with my 156, my Mondeo and (Renault) Laguna.

At the top of any reliability you will find these names- LS400, IS200, GS300/430, ES300- 'nuff said. NEVER doubt the reliability of Lexus.

Well- it is a suprise the Catera wasn't good in a crash- The Holden Commodore- which is pretty much the same car- only RWD and better engines- is indeed 4 star performer in the NRMA crash-tests.

A reason WHY the Devilles front-end wasn't totalled would lie in the fact that any Cadillac engine is EXTREMELY heavy- making for good crash protection and little need to crumple. When a car is rear ended- often the ignition is killed- just in case of a fuel leak that could result in a fire- the same thing happens with numerous Alfa Romeo's- including my one.


Perhaps if Cadillac actually start thinking about driver involvment, build quality to match BMW/Merc- Even Skoda (The worlds best build quality IMHO), as well as better engines and less of a cushioned, soggy ride- then I may be convined.


Oh and it'd have to be RWD too

[boingo82]

Originally posted by WakkaWu
....
I really don't care what consumer reports says.What they say doesnt make them correct.Other than my Jaguar.I have a 1993 Coupe Deville.315,000 miles.Not one problem yet.So I will refuse to belive that they are unreliable.My fathers '89 Fleetwood,475,000 miles,only problem was the blower motor and tie-rods.These vehicles are very reliable.I used to live up in upstate New York about 6 months ago until I moved here and the winters up there are bad.Sometimes when I went to start my Jag it was very sluggish starting.When I did it with my coupe,no problem.And Im trading that Jag in within the next week for a 2003 Seville.

I feel that being American you will know more about American cars than that of a foriegner most likely.

Weather or not the engine died from a hit in the ass does have to do with the build quality and reliability of a car.A hit in the ass should only affect mid-engined cars when it comes to the engine dieing.

Of course the Catera isnt going to be good in a crash.Its not big like other Cadillacs.Its the size of a Grand Am and Im glad they stopped making it.Cadillacs are known for there big V8s and big cars.

I am happy for you that you have had good experiences with your cars...I'm going to make a guess here and say that both you and your father very carefully maintain them...because I don't care what kind of car you drive, almost none will make it past 150,000 without good maintainence.

And BTW Consumer Reports' reviews are based on random surveys of hundreds of thousands of people. That doesn't make them accurate by any means. Another useful website is www.nhtsa.com, which logs consumer complaints RE: cars. However it's just one more bit of data to consider when researching autos. Just because 99% of people had problems with a car does not mean that every single one is bad. You can always be that lucky 1%. Like all of life, you have to hedge your bets and try to go with what seems to be the best possible car....but you may end up the one guy who walks away with a lemon. You just never know.

You're speaking of the Lexus being hit in the rear and that causing the engine to fail....but then in a different post you said the Lexus rear-ended another car. Please inform me which statement is correct. Any case, regardless of where the car is hit, there is still a "shock wave" that travels throughout the car. That's what caused the sun visor to fall out when I was rear-ended in my Sentra.

Actually the Catera did very reasonably well in the crash-test, especially considering the model year. The IIHS has only been crash testing cars for 5 years, and many that they tested in their first year were horrid. Considering the size/weight and year of the car, and that it got 5 "good" and only 2 "acceptable" that is actually very impressive.

BTW, when you want to end a quote of someone, you must type [ / quote ] only with the spaces removed.

And what does you father do that he puts 36k miles on a car in one year??

[WakkaWu]

I am happy for you that you have had good experiences with your cars...I'm going to make a guess here and say that both you and your father very carefully maintain them...because I don't care what kind of car you drive, almost none will make it past 150,000 without good maintainence.

And BTW Consumer Reports' reviews are based on random surveys of hundreds of thousands of people. That doesn't make them accurate by any means. Another useful website is www.nhtsa.com, which logs consumer complaints RE: cars. However it's just one more bit of data to consider when researching autos. Just because 99% of people had problems with a car does not mean that every single one is bad. You can always be that lucky 1%. Like all of life, you have to hedge your bets and try to go with what seems to be the best possible car....but you may end up the one guy who walks away with a lemon. You just never know.

You're speaking of the Lexus being hit in the rear and that causing the engine to fail....but then in a different post you said the Lexus rear-ended another car. Please inform me which statement is correct. Any case, regardless of where the car is hit, there is still a "shock wave" that travels throughout the car. That's what caused the sun visor to fall out when I was rear-ended in my Sentra.

Actually the Catera did very reasonably well in the crash-test, especially considering the model year. The IIHS has only been crash testing cars for 5 years, and many that they tested in their first year were horrid. Considering the size/weight and year of the car, and that it got 5 "good" and only 2 "acceptable" that is actually very impressive.

BTW, when you want to end a quote of someone, you must type [ / quote ] only with the spaces removed.

And what does you father do that he puts 36k miles on a car in one year??

Well,if you take of ANY car it will serve you well.

And I bet than 75% of the people on those sites don't keep there cars up on oil changes too and maintain it as the should.

but then in a different post you said the Lexus rear-ended another car. Please inform me which statement is correct.

The Lexus avoided hitting a deer and rearended a car at a traffic light.Which was a sudden stop and causing my friend to slam into the back of the Lexus.

That's what caused the sun visor to fall out when I was rear-ended in my Sentra.

No offense but talk about poor building quality.I would more expect the rear-view mirror to fall that the sun visor.

I dont think its any of your buisness what my father does but I will tell you anyway.He travels a lot.He's been to everystate but Alaska and many other countrys.But drives his car in the U.S....only rent went he goes to another country.

[boingo82]

Originally posted by WakkaWu


No offense but talk about poor building quality.I would more expect the rear-view mirror to fall that the sun visor.

I dont think its any of your buisness what my father does but I will tell you anyway.He travels a lot.He's been to everystate but Alaska and many other countrys.But drives his car in the U.S....only rent went he goes to another country.

OK, obviously listening isn't our strong point so I have gone through your posts and fixed the [ quote ] things to read [ / quote ] so your posts will be more readable.

I was merely curious about your father as he accumulates more than twice the typical amount of miles/year for the average consumer. It's also safe to say that the large amount of highway miles would have something to do with the cars' longevity.

The rear view mirror did not drop because in early nineties Sentras the rear-view is not glued to the windshield but is supported by a bracket in the headliner. Rather, it was the passenger-side sun visor that dropped. The visor had never been loose and was easily popped back in. Considering I was rear-ended in a 1991 Sentra with 170,000 miles, at a speed between 15-20mph, I think I fared rather well. The only damage was scratching on the bumper (from the other guy's broken headlights and grille), a trunk latch that needed a slight adjustment, and the dislocated but easily replaced visor. The other car, a 1989 Hyundai Excel, had a dented bumper, broken headlights, broken grille, hood that would no longer shut, and a broken backseat.

My exSentra was later totaled in a frontal collision at 25-30 mph. It needed a new headlight, hood, driver's side fender, and bumper. (And of course seatbelts.) The engine was fine. The radiator was bent slightly at the corner but was fine. The car still does not leak oil. It had 186,000 miles at total. It has been fixed back up and is now very near 200,000 miles. In fairness I should mention that this is a car that when new, only cost $13,000.

It's frankly ridiculous to compare a $40,000 - $50,000 Cadillac to a Sentra. The cars are completely incompatible in price, class, size, and weight.

Regarding the Lexus rearending a car at a traffic light, then being rearended himself (and that transfer of energy having the same effect as if he rearended the car in front again)...well that would explain his car not starting, now wouldn't it? You implied before that he had only been struck in the rear, which wasn't entirely accurate.


Jimmy: RE: the BMW and Jaguar reliability.
I have heard nothing but bad news about Jaguar automobiles here in the US. I don't know whether it's because they truely have horrid reliability problems, or because it's incredibly difficult and expensive to have them serviced here. With BMW I say the same thing. Very difficult to find service, and parts/service cost 2-3x the amount they would for another auto. This is in part because of the very tight quarters in BMW's engine compartments, especially with the V8s.

Another consideration is, are the Jaguars which are sold in the US built here?? Interestingly, when comparing reliability directly on Nissan products, the ones built in Japan have reliability far superior to the ones built in the US.

I agree also that with any car you buy, you don't know exactly what you'll get. You may get a perfectly assembled car with 500k trouble-free miles on it, or you may get the one that was assembled at 4:45 pm on a Friday. You never know. However, I do a lot of research on such things before buying any car, through a multitude of websites and people and mechanics I know. My goal is to buy the car that will be most likely to be the trouble-free dream. So far I am doing well.

One thing I can guarantee as well is that every car has its achilles heel - the one trouble-spot that is universal to the model - and you can figure out what that spot will be before you buy. For my Sentra it was the Blower Motor Resistor, a $20 part that affects only the climate-control fan speed. Nearly every early-nineties Sentra and Infiniti G20 made has to have this part replaced at some point or another. However, this is a much better achilles heel than the one the early-nineties Mazda 626 had. On that specific car, approximately 50% of the AT models needed a new tranny before 70,000 miles. 1994 Mazda 626 comments vs. 1994 Cadillac Seville vs. 1994 Infiniti G20 vs. 1994 Ford Aspire vs. 1994 Lexus ES300

I would just suggest that before purchasing anything, people check http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/proble...hTopic=Vehicle for consumer complaints regarding safety.

[Jimster]

Boingo- agreed- But you must ask- Why is it that American built productsare often inferior to thier German or Japanese built stablemates? I'm guessing it's the old American formula of quantity>quality. You G20 was built in Japan right?

However Japanese cars aren't without thier faults. My family owned New Zealand-built cars for years (Mitsubishi, Mazda, Honda, Ford, Toyota and Nissan mainly) and NEVER had a single incident with any- they were all a dream to own, but so far my mum's Japanese-built 7th-gen Honda Civic 5-door has been riddled with steering problems and faulty air-conditioning- compare that to the Nelson-built 5gen and 6th gen- which all went to high mileages without a problem. Needless to say she is trading it for a Skoda Octavia soon.

As for Jaguar- that's understandable- parts in Europe and back in my native New Zealand were easy to source- and the dealers are generally nice people, same with the BMW- in fact the 3-series BMW is a top-20 seller- so naturally parts were easy to source- and in Europe- you acan understand why it is so simple.



When I bought my Peugeot I had a fear that it was built on a Friday afternoon after a good-ol' French lunch
But cars these days are usually pretty reliabile- most of them score over 70% in reliability surveys.

And also it is just one fault that is always the same- Such as the Renault Laguna 1.9DCi has a common problem with the fuel injection system after refilling where the engine management sets the car into "limp home" mode, also numerous problems with the tyre pressure sensors.

[boingo82]

Originally posted by Jimmy_11_cars
Boingo- agreed- But you must ask- Why is it that American built productsare often inferior to thier German or Japanese built stablemates? I'm guessing it's the old American formula of quantity>quality. You G20 was built in Japan right?....

My G was assembled in Japan, in the Oppama plant, as was my boyfriend's Maxima. You probably know this already, but the G20, though few sold in the US, is extremely common in EU/NZ as the Primera.

My guess as to why the autos are of higher quality when originating in Japan is that, according to the stereotype, the average person in Japan is harder working and more diligent than the average American....I don't know how true that is, haven't seen it with my own eyes (though the average American is one lazy bastard) and I don't want to perpetuate racial stereotypes....but... At least according to Consumer Reports, the Nissans manufactured overseas score 20-30% higher than their America/Mexico manufactured counterparts. Both the G20 and the Maxima were at the tops of their respective classes for reliability, which was a huge influence in our purchase decision.


LOL..I think this thread wins the coveted "Most Words per Individual Post" award.

[Jimster]

Originally posted by boingo82


My G was assembled in Japan, in the Oppama plant, as was my boyfriend's Maxima. You probably know this already, but the G20, though few sold in the US, is extremely common in EU/NZ as the Primera.

My guess as to why the autos are of higher quality when originating in Japan is that, according to the stereotype, the average person in Japan is harder working and more diligent than the average American....I don't know how true that is, haven't seen it with my own eyes (though the average American is one lazy bastard) and I don't want to perpetuate racial stereotypes....but... At least according to Consumer Reports, the Nissans manufactured overseas score 20-30% higher than their America/Mexico manufactured counterparts. Both the G20 and the Maxima were at the tops of their respective classes for reliability, which was a huge influence in our purchase decision.


LOL..I think this thread wins the coveted "Most Words per Individual Post" award.

Interesting about your boy-friends car........I always thought all the US-market Maximas were made in the US So what kind of engine does it have??? The awesome JDM 3.0V6??? As for the G20/Primera thing- Yes I did know that- but nonetheless it may inform someone who doesn't know

I doubt it'd be laziness- Us Kiwis are the lazisest barstards in the world :finger: but our cars were always of top quality and finish. But I think that the Japs are stricter on quality control, while Americans just want to get as many out there as possible and sell them. Nonetheless the Maxima and G20 are both great cars- in favct I'm thinking of getting a Primera GT cheap and doing some serious mods I just don't want to fuck up my next 156 y'see But both the Maxima and G should bring you tons of happy miles

As for the most worded posts- Thats 'cos we rule

[boingo82]

Originally posted by Jimmy_11_cars


Interesting about your boy-friends car........I always thought all the US-market Maximas were made in the US So what kind of engine does it have??? The awesome JDM 3.0V6??? As for the G20/Primera thing- Yes I did know that- but nonetheless it may inform someone who doesn't know

I doubt it'd be laziness- Us Kiwis are the lazisest barstards in the world :finger: but our cars were always of top quality and finish. But I think that the Japs are stricter on quality control, while Americans just want to get as many out there as possible and sell them. Nonetheless the Maxima and G20 are both great cars- in favct I'm thinking of getting a Primera GT cheap and doing some serious mods I just don't want to fuck up my next 156 y'see But both the Maxima and G should bring you tons of happy miles

As for the most worded posts- Thats 'cos we rule

So far as I know all 1995-1999 Maximas were made in Japan, while the 2000+ are made in Tennessee. And yes, it has Nissan's VQ-series (9 times consecutive winner of Ward's Auto World's Best Engine award) 3.0 liter V6. We were able to get it below low book with the high miles, even though it's loaded (every option but traction control) and the interior had only one visible blemish. My G20 also has quite a few miles on it, but I had such a good experience with the Sentra, I have no doubts that I'll be with this car for a while (assuming another 85-yr-old doesn't pull out in front of me in a 45mph zone again).

Curious, what happened to your Alfa?

And in regards to the words/post, for AFers, we're doing remarkably well at spelling them correctly too.

[Jimster]

Originally posted by boingo82


So far as I know all 1995-1999 Maximas were made in Japan, while the 2000+ are made in Tennessee. And yes, it has Nissan's VQ-series (9 times consecutive winner of Ward's Auto World's Best Engine award) 3.0 liter V6. We were able to get it below low book with the high miles, even though it's loaded (every option but traction control) and the interior had only one visible blemish. My G20 also has quite a few miles on it, but I had such a good experience with the Sentra, I have no doubts that I'll be with this car for a while (assuming another 85-yr-old doesn't pull out in front of me in a 45mph zone again).

Curious, what happened to your Alfa?

And in regards to the words/post, for AFers, we're doing remarkably well at spelling them correctly too.

Read up here on what happened to my Alfa- http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/t75886.html

Interesting about the Maxima too- do you have any pictures of it? I had tons of mates in New Zealand who had Maximas given to them as company cars- and having driven pretty much every variation- I have to say not only are they a great drive- they have tons of punch too. The JDM Cefiro however- with its smaller engine isn't as convincing. You also gotta love the way they pile on the Luxury features- the NZ$50,000 (US$24,500) Maxima 3.0GV even had a TV in the dash even the middle of the rangers have Climate Control A/C. however though- I found it a bit too big for my liking- so when offered one in 1996 I took a Renault Laguna instead.

How well does the Maxima sell in the US? In Europe it simply doesn't sell- no one is remotley interested- but in NZ it was 2001's 7th biggest seller.


As for the spelling- if you want we could invite Moppie in here and watch it go downhilll :finger: