question du jour
question du jour
What automotive makes are you partial to, and why?
I think it goes a bit beyond the domestic/import question into our own personal experiences as gearheads and shadetree mechanics.
So speak from your own experience, giving rational reasons why you favor or dislike a certain brand. Something they always seem to do? A way that a dealer’s treated you? The way a car is put together? Or maybe you were a fan of a certain brand until you owned a car of theirs that really let you down. Let’s hear it, in context of brand loyalty (or disloyalty). Maybe you’ve not had experience with more than one make–do you find things you think could have been done better, objectively?
I don’t wanna hear, “Well, my pop says all _____ are crap, so I agree with that,” or such like. Real reasons.
I’ll always be partial to Toyota. The cars seem designed with a certain intelligence in mind–everything is screwed or bolted together securely, not snapped, and quality (in my mind) aluminum is used instead of plastic in many cases. Most simple repairs are just that–simple. It’s as if the engineers consciously thought of what would have to be replaced in relatively short intervals, and made those bits more accessible. All bolts and nuts are either 10, 12, 14, or 17 mm, which makes repairs quicker without the guesswork, and instead of things being done half-assed (i.e. wiring harness routed too close to exhaust manifold, so wrapped in flimsy heat shield), they’re done right (wiring harness re-routed completely to avoid conflict).
This stands in contrast to my experiences working on Fords. I’ve singlehandedly done an engine replacement in a Taurus wagon and a transmission swap in a Foxbody Mustang. Most bits are well-designed, but many simple, simple parts require disassembling half the engine bay to access, and I’ve seen more than one item simply screwed into the sheet metal of the engine bay wall without a nut welded onto the other side of the metal–so guess what happens when you overtighten just a hair (as is easy to do)…
Other observations along brand lines have to do with quality of operation. For example, every GM car I’ve ever driven has had the most abominable turn signal lever I’ve experienced. You flick it one way or another to indicate the direction you’ll be moving, and instead of the pleasing, positive *thunk* I get from a Toyota, the result is the most sickeningly flimsy, plastic *click* imaginable. It just doesn’t speak quality to me. Every Honda I’ve driven has a uniformity among switchgear operation (no play, precise movements) that seems like it would be worth paying extra money for, even if a certain car came with fewer features outright. And finally, every German car (Audi, VW, BMW) that I’ve had the pleasure to drive has had a tautness, a lack of slop, in the suspension that engenders real confidence in the handling and makes them fun to drive.
Maybe I’m just overly picky, but these are the details that shape my experience with a certain make, and influence me greatly (more than anything else, really) when I’m considering another car.