The surprising truth about motor oils

kenmac · Feb 2, 2006

How can you compare a toyota compact truck with a full size dodge ,chevy, or ford .If you put a toyota truck through the same work out as I or anyone else with a full size truck does ,You will be calling a wrecker to pick up that toyota . A toyota is good for running up & down the road & to the grocery store.I have never seen anyone with a toyota compact pulling a a trailer loaded with a 3-6000# tractor.I have a full size dodge truck with 150,000 hard miles. A toyota compact would never stand up to what I have put my dodge through.my son has a 1988 ford bronco with over 200,000 hard/ rough miles with no problems. Let's put these miles on these small cars & trucks into prospective!

HGM · Feb 2, 2006

Brad,
Its funny you mentioned fewest recalls.. Have you seen this article about how well Toyota fared? I would also be interested in looking at the total numbers produced by each manufacturer. I'd be willing to bet that if it was a percentage of vehicles produced, those figures would be much more leniant on the American car companies...

Dont get me wrong here guys. Toyota has a good product.. Just dont fool yourself into believing that it is exponentially better than its American counterpart. Maintenance is a large part to their success, I agree not to the point of being **** about it(not for any brand).. Toyota has always been known for demanding that their new vehicles be serviced(not cheaply) at the dealer to retain the waranty.. If the American car companies followed these practices, they would have better reputations for longevity.

As to inferior materials.... Have you ever worked on Japaneese and American vehicles to compare the quality? just for example, some of the worst vehicles any American manufacturere has produced were rebadged Japaneese vehicles.. I wont go into naming them, but its true.....Someone compared a '80 Cadilac to todays Toyotas, that doesnt even desreve a reply..... Look at the track record of the same vintage or earlier(70's) import...

To each his own, but to make statements like this by what is heard on TV would be very lopsided. The American media is very kind to anything not American.. Guess its politically correct, do some digging and you'll find the truth...

By the way, Brad, the recall point was the only part I directed to you. I know you didnt make some of these other claims.

Bird · Feb 2, 2006

Greg, I'm not sure whether that article referred to recalls only for "safety" items or if they were talking about total number of recalls. And of course I don't know how the manufacturers decided whether to recall a vehicle or not. Sometimes it seems they fail to recall vehicles when they should, and other times I wonder when they bother with a recall on minor stuff.

Example: In December '02, I bought a 2001 Ford Windstar with 26,000 miles on it. I learned there had been 5 recalls on that vehicle and it had never been in to have those taken care of. So, of course, I took it to a dealer and they did all 5.
1. Add an additional ground strap to the rear air-conditioner (wonder whether they had shorts, fire, or just failure to work. Mine was working fine).
2. Replace a cover over the windshield wiper motor (I don't know what the difference was between the old and the new).
3. Inspect the trailer wiring plug for corrosion (none found but they put some kind of anti-corrosion in it - it doesn't have a trailer hitch so the plug will never be used).
4. Replace the front floor mats (I sure can't see the difference in the original and the new ones).
5. Something to do with a seat belt buckle (again they seemed to be working OK before the recall).
I guess if the seat belt buckle was defective and the lack of a ground strap could cause a fire, those would be safety items, but the other three sure weren't.

HGM · Feb 2, 2006

Very good point Bird...

That is another thing, the MASSIVE amount of recalls any company has could be related to a very minor issue. One of the recalls that comes to mind was for a label on the master cylinder of a Windstar. The label was not easy to see, thus providing an oportunity for the customer to put the wrong fluid in it /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif.. Also, there was a note on there about keeping the resivior full so the brake light didnt come on /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif.... Gota protect everyone nowadays...... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

BGL990 · Feb 2, 2006

I hadn't seen that - thanks, it is interesting. I never meant to say that Toyota is perfect. No vehicle is. My personal experience and research at the time simply pointed to Toyota (and the Japanese brands in general) as the being better than others. I haven't done the same research lately that I originally did 7 years ago, so things may have changed somewhat, I don't know. I do think the American manufacturers quality is going up, and I also think the Japanese/European quality is going down in some cases. Both of those are probably partially a result of so many companies buying out/merging with other companies. It's almost impossible to find a brand that is "pure" anymore. If/when I need to look for another vehicle, I will do the same thing I did before - lots of research to find out what is best at the time.

As for comparing a Toyota to a big American truck, yes it is true that Toyota does not make a vehicle with the same load carrying and towing capacity (yet). That hasn't been their market focus I guess. If you tried to use my Tacoma for that sort of hauling obviously it wouldn't fare as well as a big honkin 3/4 ton but I wasn't looking for that sort of truck anyway. Comparing my truck to a Ford Ranger or something - I'll take my Toyota thanks. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Apparently Toyota is working on a truck that is supposed to scare the b'jeepers out of the big 3 for sometime in 2007 or so. We'll see. If it actually comes to fruition, I'll be VERY interested in it ...

As a final note, let me emphasize that I never intended to offend anyone. Everyone has their favorite vehicle/tractor/whatever. I'm partial to Japanese products. Others won't touch them. That's OK.

HGM · Feb 2, 2006

( As for comparing a Toyota to a big American truck, yes it is true that Toyota does not make a vehicle with the same load carrying and towing capacity (yet). That hasn't been their market focus I guess. If you tried to use my Tacoma for that sort of hauling obviously it wouldn't fare as well as a big honkin 3/4 ton but I wasn't looking for that sort of truck anyway. Comparing my truck to a Ford Ranger or something - I'll take my Toyota thanks. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Apparently Toyota is working on a truck that is supposed to scare the b'jeepers out of the big 3 for sometime in 2007 or so. We'll see. If it actually comes to fruition, I'll be VERY interested in it ...

As a final note, let me emphasize that I never intended to offend anyone. Everyone has their favorite vehicle/tractor/whatever. I'm partial to Japanese products. Others won't touch them. That's OK.

)

No offence taken here, like I said to each his own... I personally dont like the feel of a Japaneese vehicle. Although I must say some of the Mazda's I have been in recently are more refined than the average import that I recall. I'll keep my Ranger /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif , so no problem there either...

As for a new BIGGER truck to sacre the big 3... Well, your right to say it aint here yet, but..... I dont believe they will be as dominant as they would like you tho think.. Dont forget, the "big 3" arent sitting on their heels either, heck, they're working on 2010 already....

BTW, for what its worth even some bigwigs have made the comment about the "big 3" being gone.. I totally agree, this is a "World Market".. It is more accurate to say the "Big 6" in this day and time. The obvious 3 plus Toyota, Honda, & Mazda. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

cp1969 · Feb 2, 2006

( I do think the American manufacturers quality is going up, and I also think the Japanese/European quality is going down in some cases. Both of those are probably partially a result of so many companies buying out/merging with other companies. It's almost impossible to find a brand that is "pure" anymore. )

Yep...most people think a big Dodge pickup is a good 'ole USA product and a Honda is a Jap import. Wrong on both counts. Some of the highest quality cars are those that are made here in America but have foreign nameplates.

A friend bought a new Ford F250 in 1976 for his roofing business. When I asked him in ~1994 how many miles it had, the answer was 675,000. He still has it but it has been retired to farm duty.

There are a number of million-mile Dodge Cummins pickups running around.

billbill1 · Feb 2, 2006

I have a full size Chevy with 150,000 miles I use for the heavy stuff. Thank goodness I don't have to drive it everyday, I'd be broke!

kenmac · Feb 2, 2006

I also drive a jap. car to save on gas . Not pointing the finger at you ,but I have friends of mine that bost all the time about their toyota truck with 200,000 miles on it with no problems , but what has it done other than to & from work or to the store.I tell them to bring over their toyota truck with 200,000 miles & we'll hook my trailer (with tractor loaded) to his toyota & watch it drop dead in it's tracks..... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

anyway this is way off the original subject /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif