Mercedes Sales Down

Reuters ^ | 4-09-03 | Madeline Chambers

[putupon]

Who makes the parts?

Canadians.

BTW, Don't buy a Dodge, they make a crappy truck no matter who owns the company. My last one was an '88 D150, trans gone @ 80K. People I know with newer ones always have them in the shop.

My '96 Ford Ranger is still going w/ original belts, hoses, & plugs @ 105K. All thats ever been done is change the oil.

[razorback-bert]

I just bought a Caddy, hell of a good big car, tight as drum, holds the road and 25 mpg at 75 mph. I quit GM in 1982 after fighting over a POS Buick my ex bought, drove BMWs and Lexus untill now.

[schmelvin]

One year and two weeks ago, I had the misfortune to get between a semi and a delivery truck on a snowy interstate in my Dodge Dakota pickup. Not much left of the Dodge afterwards. I had to pull my bumper out of the ditch so the trooper could record my license plate number. I'd never seen a vehicle disintegrate like that.

Yikes! I'm glad to hear you walked away from that in one piece.

We have a Brit made Range Rover, and it's been good to us. No problems, great ride... We can take it 4-wheelin' like the big bunch of yahoos we are, or we can clean it (and ourselves) up and hand the keys to any valet without receiving indignant snorts or condescending eye rolls.

These days I don't buy anything without checking to see where it was manufactured. It MUST be made in the USA or by a true ally, before I'll fork over one red cent. I will NOT buy any product made in China, France, Germany, etc. It's not always easy, though. A company that used to be an American icon can now be owned by Germans, yet the parts manufactured in Taiwan, then assembled in Mexico, and the end product sold by American salespeople. The whole thing makes my head hurt.

[CholeraJoe]

I actually limped away. Messed up my leg. I got better. I'm driving 3 tons of Detroit Iron now. Chevy - Like a Rock.

[brianl703]

I discovered that Cortelco (whom used to be owned by ITT) still makes telephones in the USA, including a clone of the Bell System 2500 desk telephone with real mechanical bells. Not sold in normal stores (that I've seen...they ought to), but I hear that Graybar sells them for $35. I can buy a cheap made-in-china junk phone for $15 and maybe it'll last a year...or I can buy a Cortelco 2500 set for $35 and it'll probably outlast me.

http://www.cortelco.com/2500.html

[brianl703]

How about Ford and Jaguar??

My understanding is that Jaguar's reliability actually went up when Ford bought them.