Over the years, there have been men on this URL who insult and mock content Toyota and Honda owners. A couple have even used the word “gullible” to describe happy T and H owners.
For the most part, these men are in several categories. A few actually want a car to work on, because they love to work on cars. They delight in taking a car that is out of commission and making it good again. To spend Saturday changing some part is fun, so they really don’t count that as a serious repair.
Others who mock T and H never owned one. Or, in some cases, they bought an old, abused clunker, because they didn’t want to pay the big money for a good used one. Then, they announce T and H are junk, because they had to work on theirs all the time.
A very few simply want to feel superior, by claiming a group of people don’t know what they are doing. I have a brother much like that.Years ago, when he had an old Beetle, he swore they were the best car in the world, and mocked “road sow” owners. The minute he sold it, he denounced the Beetle as over-rated, and his Dodge Dart was the best car in the world. Etc.
T and H did not become popular because people are stupid or gullible, or misinformed. They became popular because people who were used to taking their cars to the shop for repairs on a regular basis, bought a T or H, and drove them for years with no serious repairs.
The dash didn’t fall down. The glove compartment didn’t flop around The doors didn’t stop closing securely with normal force. And, if they pulled their maintenance, the motor outlasted their desire to drive the same car year after year.
My eldest son had a junker, and now is a dedicated Honda owner.
My son-in-law had his Contour in the shop all the time; the wiring harness even went bad and had to be replaced. He got an Isuzu thingie, and it ran great until around 120,000 miles when those stupid cooling system o-rings started failing. He fixed it, but this spring it developed a major gas odor, my guess is fuel regulator, but he had a baby to drag around, so he got his second Odyssey. He now is a dedicated Honda owner and swears he will never drive anything else.
When we retired in 1997, we had an old 9 passenger wagon, and it did well on long trips, 1500 miles in two days, until some guy in Austin failed to stop with traffic.
We then bought a nice looking 1989 Caravan with 120,000 miles. Most of the three years we had that vehicle, we’d leave McAllen in the morning, and drive to Amarillo, a 13 hour drive. Then, we’d make an appointment at the mechanic. Then, we’d leave Amarillo and drive 900 miles to the Midwest, and make another appointment. When we got back to McAllen, we’d make another appointment.
We drove it around 60,000 miles in 3 years. And, we never did get the over-heating stopped. But,that makes sense because the Caravan has a little, toy radiator.
Finally, after the major damaged head repair and the transmission failure, I said enough, and in 2001, a few weeks after the terrorist attack, we decided to buy a new Sienna.
I haven’t taken a long distance cross the USA trip since October 2009, when we put 5,000 miles on it. When we leave McAllen, we know we will be sleeping near OKC that night, or maybe in Central Lousiana. And, the next day we also know where we will be sleeping. Up to 6 days round trip, and the only time we have gone to a mechanic is when maintenance is due. For example, we had the timing belt, I think, replaced per maintenance recommendations, in the Quad Cities, since were going to be there a week.
I assume eventually we will have a breakdown on the highway, it has to happen sooner or later, I think, but this 175,000 miles haven’t given us much grief.
And, the heat gauge acts like it’s glued in place. Going uphill in the Texas Hill Country when it’s 100+, at 3500 rpm and 70 mph, or 5000 rpm if the hill is really mean, that heat gauge does not move.
I am glad Ford and Chevrolet have started making good cars. I am one of those millions who don’t care. They abused us for decades, and I will not go back just because they finally realized they had to build quality cars.
There are people who don’t need the extra quality at extra cost. If a family knows they will trade at 100,000 miles, a Caravan will probably suit them.
Here in Mexico, labor is cheap. So, high reliability is not that big a deal.
