[roadcat]

Back in the 70's, disgruntled GM employees welded coke bottles into the sills of cars, so that the car would rattle and it would be almost impossible to fix.

That must be what happened to a former boss of mine back in the mid-70s. He bought a new Chevy El Camino, and was only able to use 3 months out of the 18 months he owned it. The rest of the time it was in the shop for various problems. One time a flood of water came down from the leaky ceiling; Chevy dealer opened it up and found a wrench there from the factory. After various engine, tranny, rear end and paint problems he sued General Motors and won the lawsuit. He vowed to never again buy an American car, and didn't.

[The Cajun]

Bought a new 1980 El Camino for my wife, what she wanted.
No engine or transmission problems, but leaked like a sieve.
Leaked from the firewall into the cab, from the bed into the cab and from windows on both sides into the cab.
Dealer could never stop leaks.
Got rid of the thing due to mold building up under the carpet and beginning to smell pretty ripe.
Have never bought GM junk since.