Toyota #1 Volkswagen #2 GM #3 The New Order

[crazyal]

I bought my first Toyota back in 77. It was a new Corolla with a 1.6 overhead cam engine. Back then if you lived in the north you would buy a car and bring it to a company like Rusty Jones to have it undercoated. Back then mud flaps were held on with sheet metal screws driven into the fender/ quarter panels. In about 3 years the steel would be rusting badly and by the 5 year mark the flaps would be falling off. I got in the habit of removing the flaps and giving it an extra coat of rustproofing each year. When I went to do the Toyota I found that Toyota punched holes in the fender before they painted it and then used plastic clips so the steel screw would never damage the paint. Those are the things that won people away from American cars.

 

[timswi]

I bought my first Toyota back in 77. It was a new Corolla with a 1.6 overhead cam engine. Back then if you lived in the north you would buy a car and bring it to a company like Rusty Jones to have it undercoated. Back then mud flaps were held on with sheet metal screws driven into the fender/ quarter panels. In about 3 years the steel would be rusting badly and by the 5 year mark the flaps would be falling off. I got in the habit of removing the flaps and giving it an extra coat of rustproofing each year. When I went to do the Toyota I found that Toyota punched holes in the fender before they painted it and then used plastic clips so the steel screw would never damage the paint. Those are the things that won people away from American cars.

There is some truth to that...However, my dad bought a new Honda Accord LX circa 1978 (I was a kid so give me year one way or the other)...It rotted out by 1982, only reason I know that is his next car was an 83 Buick Riveria that he kept it until he wanted a decked out new pickup after I got out of college....He went back to GM vehicles and never bought another import....The mechanicals were better, the bodies weren't. I worked for Honda in early 90's and they were still rotting out....Most manufacturers have these issues corrected today.

BTW rustproofing is one of the biggest rust creators that there is...I've never used it on anything. Clogs drain holes and seals in water and salt....I hate that stuff...I haven't been "offered" it on anything I've bought in the last 15 years. I think Ziebart et.al. only does accessories and detailing now.

 

[crazyal]

Undercoating faded out in the 80s. There is a company offering a 5 year warranty on any car they rust proof. Doesn't matter if it's new or used or if it's already starting to rust.

 

[aczlan]

We have a 25 yr old BMW Sunday car that has mitten clips in the carpet at the rear of where your front mats go. Simple, though not Big 3.
Jim

As does my '97 Volvo V90....

A friend of mine works on German cars and he told me the only good VW is a TDI...When one of my employees was looking at a VW gasser he told me to tell her to stay away---problems after problems.

Pretty much what I have heard... Dad loved his '03 Jetta TDI, bought it with ~79k miles and sold it with ~260k miles but it was only worth it because it got 45-50MPG.

Aaron Z

 

[BIG DOOLEY]

There is some truth to that...However, my dad bought a new Honda Accord LX circa 1978 (I was a kid so give me year one way or the other)...It rotted out by 1982, only reason I know that is his next car was an 83 Buick Riveria that he kept it until he wanted a decked out new pickup after I got out of college....He went back to GM vehicles and never bought another import....The mechanicals were better, the bodies weren't. I worked for Honda in early 90's and they were still rotting out....Most manufacturers have these issues corrected today.

BTW rustproofing is one of the biggest rust creators that there is...I've never used it on anything. Clogs drain holes and seals in water and salt....I hate that stuff...I haven't been "offered" it on anything I've bought in the last 15 years. I think Ziebart et.al. only does accessories and detailing now.

We use a petrolium grease type rust proofing on our vehicles from a outfit her in town.
Hot weather causes it to run the first 2-3 years and makes a mess by the drain holes.
But our vehicles are holding up great even with all the salt used on the road.
My 1998 chevy is mostly driven in the winter and looking great.
My 2006 chevy truck at work (not rust proofed) is rusting as we sit.
It was 1959 when America was introduced to the "Rusty Automobile".
The 1959 steel strike led to the importation of "quick rusting" foreign steel as we know it today.
Steel strike of 1959 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I remember my Aunts 1969 convertable XL Ford car rusting out within the first year.
Quality Job #1 wasn't the slogan back then and why all the car companies would ruin their own name with with rusty results is beyond me.
So many rusting autos here in michigan where salt is alpenty on the roads during winter.
I've rode in some that I wonder how the thing is held together while watching the road pass by under my feet.
Decades have gone by and American steel never was never brought back to resolve the problem.
Maybe a strike in the petrolium industry would lead to inexpensive forgien fuels and a return of $.79/gallon at the pump?
The foreign gas might cause the gas tank to rust out , but what the heck.

 

[BIG DOOLEY]

You be a smart man!!

I am from the lower peninsula.
Lots of trolls live under the bridge.
Say yah to da up eh!

 

[Renze]

Undercoating faded out in the 80s. There is a company offering a 5 year warranty on any car they rust proof. Doesn't matter if it's new or used or if it's already starting to rust.

Guy i visited few weeks ago had a 1978 mercedes diesel. He didnt use underbody coating as it locked the moisture in between layers he said. He softened the existing underbody coating (which turns hard over time) with used gear oil. It makes it soft again so it doesnt crack up and doesnt chip off when pebbles hit, he said.

 

[klm]

My 2010 Ford Taurus has hooks to hold the drivers floormat in place.

 

[dstig1]

Heck my '92 Ford Taurus SHO had hooks on the drivers floor mat. This is not New or import magic....

 

[Bird]

Car Doc, Toyota has had plastic hooks installed in the carpet that fit into a hole at the left rear corner of the mats forever that prevent slipping. I dont see any of the big 3 doing that?
My 2001 Ford truck had it. So did my Focus

As does my currently owned 2002 Ford Crown Vic.