So do I..A perfectly good, disposable 99 Taurus..I have a long commute. It is an unremarkable, solid, reliable car that I can park anywhere, with decent economy (~30mpg), and reasonable acceleration.
It's my WIFE who has the Jaguar Problem. In fairness, I spend about the same amount of time working on each. (The Ford gets a LOT more miles on it, and the language is MUCH worse under the hood of the Jag.)
Time for the "Lucas, Prince of Darkness" jokes. Nothing ever serious, just "Being pecked to death by ducks"..loose connectors and onboard computers that really NEED to talk to each other.
Never had a Mercedes. I like things that were put together by people who speak some approximation of my language. It makes reading the manuals easier.
Maintainability and Reliability go hand-in-hand with availability.
But today was different: I must have seen at least 20 Ferraris (the new ones), a handful of the super-charged convertible Bentleys and a smattering of Lambos and other exoctics. (Porsches don't even seem to rate anymore.) Maybe it's the economy or maybe it's getting near the end of the year for tax write-off purposes, but it was interesting seeing so many on parade.
And oh, by the way, Newport Beach is probably 75%+ Bush country. The Hollywood libs hate it.
Yeah, that's what I've got too. '99 Taurus. They say that the foreign nameplates have less trouble. Since I've always bought American, I can't say for myself. I've never had any really serious trouble, though, despite 30 years of experience with the American vehicles. I always get the extended warranty. I feel like the manufacturer ought to have an incentive to build a more reliable car. I give it to them. I can't work on the cars they make nowadays. Too complicated.
"German, to me, looks like what worms do under rocks."
P.J. O'Rourke, "Holidays in Hell".
the Jag is a Ford!!