RE: Was lug bolts, now US vs. German engineering

[16V Jason <jason@scirocco.org>]

At 11:07 AM 11/2/2001, Aaron Ness wrote:
>Don't get too down on VW for the little annoyances - '80s Bimmers rarely
>have working AC either, unless the owner dumps a bunch of cash into it.
>Even then, the cooling capacity is marginal.

Right.  Let's tawlk about this for a second.


> > I both agree and disagree.  Certainly your statement holds true for
> > BMW, Porsche, and Mercedes vs. The Big Three.  No argument there
> > whatsoever.

Oh, really? ;)  Read on...


> > We complain about shaky transmissions,

BMW Transmissions:  Unbreakable
Porsche Transmissions:  Reliable
Mercedes Transmissions:  Reliable

Let's not talk about *any* of their automatics, though.  Do you notice one 
HUGE difference though?  They're RWD cars.  That makes all the difference 
in the world as far as tranny life is concerned.


>  A/C that never works

BMW A/C:        Never works.
Porsche A/C:    Never works.
Mercedes A/C: Never works.

The only companies that can make A/C work for a long time are American and 
Japanese.  Thank God the previous owner put a Nippondenso A/C compressor in 
my Mercedes.  At age 13, it's on its 6th compressor -- let's just hope this 
one lasts.


>, bad
> > electrical systems,

You're joking, right?  They're not perfect, they're considerably better 
than average.  Look at any 15-year old car on the road:  Saabs, GMs, etc -- 
they all have visibly impaired electrical systems.  I will, however, say 
that at 13 years old, my Mercedes' electrical system is perfect, and I've 
never seen one with defects.  Same goes for BMW, though not nearly as good 
as the MB, though Porsches are not as good.  Volkswagens might have their 
share of glitches, but they're a walk in the park compared to most.  (And I 
won't even TALK about Jaguars).


>  rattles, shakes,

Chassis design from 1960s!! What else do you expect?

Put it this way, the Mercedes 190 launched in 1982 (same year as the Mk2 
and the E30 BMW 325i, FWIW), with an all-new chassis.  It didn't share a 
single part with any other car ever made.  Mercedes spent DM 5,000,000 on 
the REAR SUSPENSION ALONE!  In today's Dollars, that's around $3 million... 
which is more than Chrysler spent on the Cloud Cars (Cirrus, Stratus, and 
Breeze)  Think about that!  More research dollars for the rear suspension 
on my car than for the entire mid-size product line at Chrysler!!

Then again, my 1987 Scirocco cost $14,000, and my 1988 Mercedes 190E cost 
$32,000.  Think about what that would be today... can you imagine paying 
close to $60,000 for a 4-door sedan that's smaller than a Toyota Corolla 
(and slower)?  In 1987, a BMW 325is was $27,000.  Both were more than 
double the loaded Scirocco 16v's price...   And the Porsche 944 was about 
$30,000 as well!

...of course the Porsche, Benz and Bimmer are going to be made better!


>   Failed
> > heater motor resistors.

LOL!  All cars do that!  I've replaced that in several E30 3-series, many 
domestic cars, and even more Japanese cars.


>   Cracked exhaust manifolds.

Cast Iron.  That's the way it is.  Look at the Porsche 944 - they're 
notorious for cracking exhaust manifolds-- at $1600 a piece!


The bottom line Ron is that you're right.  We are driving the "chevys" of 
the German car industry.  However, the Chevys of the German Car Industry 
are better than the best that the US industry has to offer.


Jason


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