why oldsmobile?

[Blake442]

There was actually a book written about this by one of the Olds insiders a few years ago, though I'm afraid I can't remember the name.

It didn't have anything to do with sales, as Olds was doing quite well in the last few years. Alero's and Bravada's sold like ****ing hot cakes up here.

Basically, Olds was the first to bite the bullet as part of a plan to homogenize the GM product line. Buick, Pontiac, and the others were to follow. They were beginnaing to pave the way to have GM be the marque of their vehicles as opposed to having Chevy, GMC, Cadillac, Buick, Pontiac, etc... So you could go buy your GM Escalade, GM Cobalt, or GM Grand Am. But for some reason or another, they have not continued any farther down that path.

I'll try and find the title of the book so you can check it out for yourselves.[/url]

 

[srercrcr]

I wouldn't be too quick to knock the centenarian crowd. They have lots of disposable income, seek comfort, and it's the largest age demographic by far.
To ignore them would be negligent.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

I wouldn't be too quick to knock the centenarian crowd. They have lots of disposable income, seek comfort, and it's the largest age demographic by far.
To ignore them would be negligent.

Yet another problem with America. We have too large a percentage of our population that is not part of the work force. We need more young people, or else we will become a nation of elder care centers rather than a leader for the future. Too many abortions are now starting to take their toll.

 

[Furtrader]

If I can't expect 400k miles from your cheapest car with almost perfect reliability, then I really could give two sh*ts if you still have a job.

I hope 400,000 miles was a typo on your behalf.
I, too, expect quality for my money.
However, I don't expect Benz fit and finish on a Geo.
I highly doubt anyone would expect an $11,000 car to run damned near perfect for 400,000 miles.
A lofty goal indeed.

As for this:

We have too large a percentage of our population that is not part of the work force. We need more young people, or else we will become a nation of elder care centers rather than a leader for the future. Too many abortions are now starting to take their toll.

Um, ya.Okay.Sure.
That's the reason.
Has nothing to do with the cultural attitudes of the 1970s, '80s, and '90s.
The changing dynamics of the nuclear family.
Where many people decided to get careers and put themselves first.They chose not to have kids.
Or the fact that many who chose to have families, decided on smaller families.
Or even the rather high cost of raising kids.
No.
These are not some of the reasons behind the aging population.
It's the abortions.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

I do not think 300-400k miles an unreasonable figure from a car costing around $12,000. I only paid $11,500 from my Frontier and have abused it for over 312,000 miles and have had only one major issue (transmission rebuild at 243,000 miles at a cost of $650). If today's cars can't reach that it is only because they try to do too much for the money. Decontent them a bit and put the money into reliability. If I can't expect that kind of reliability, then I am getting ripped off by the auto maker. After all, you should be able to drive a car 30-40k miles a year without incident for a long time with proper maintenance. I do all my own work, and don't see why anyone else would not do the same. Cars are very basic, simple devices that any idiot can fix. The fact that some choose not to is why cars don't last as long as they should, barring salt corrosion or accidents.

 

[joe_padavano]

There was actually a book written about this by one of the Olds insiders a few years ago, though I'm afraid I can't remember the name.

Here ya go:

http://www.amazon.com/Project-2000-Olds ... 141960600X

 

[Blake442]

I do not think 300-400k miles an unreasonable figure from a car costing around $12,000. I only paid $11,500 from my Frontier and have abused it for over 312,000 miles and have had only one major issue (transmission rebuild at 243,000 miles at a cost of $650). If today's cars can't reach that it is only because they try to do too much for the money. Decontent them a bit and put the money into reliability. If I can't expect that kind of reliability, then I am getting ripped off by the auto maker. After all, you should be able to drive a car 30-40k miles a year without incident for a long time with proper maintenance. I do all my own work, and don't see why anyone else would not do the same. Cars are very basic, simple devices that any idiot can fix. The fact that some choose not to is why cars don't last as long as they should, barring salt corrosion or accidents.

I still don't understand why you're so insistant on turning your back on manufacturers that aren't up to your unreasonable standards. I hate to break it to you, but there isn't a new vehicle today that will meet that mark. Most people don't own their new vehicles past 100,000 miles, it's a fact. And ALL manufacturers take this into consideration. Cheap cars are cheap cars. The fact that you think a cheap vehicle should reach 400K without incident is comical.

My '89 Chevy C1500 has over 200K miles on it of hard driving as well. I know it's not as much as your beloved truck, but aside from a set of fuel lines that rusted out, and a few front brake jobs, the truck is 100% original and everything works with the exception of the A/C. It was purchased new by my mom's ex-husband who worked as a contractor, it was worked hard, towed trailers, and all those miles are stop and go city miles.

Maintainence is the biggest factor. He maintained it religiously as you say that you have done to yours, and with the number of these Chevy trucks that are not only still on the road, but they also have acheived incredibly high mileage. I know of at least three people that have gotten over 300k out of their original Chevy C/K pickups, and one of them has over 450K on it now. Yes, the motor was replaced at about 375K, and it's gone through two transmissions, but for how hard he works that truck (farm truck+commuting+plowing snow), it's unbeliveable.

I know you may have gotten burned by a couple sh*t box cars, so has everybody else in this world, get over it. I've had a couple examples of those cars you so vocally dispise, and I had great experiences with them.

 

[Blake442]

There was actually a book written about this by one of the Olds insiders a few years ago, though I'm afraid I can't remember the name.

Here ya go:

http://www.amazon.com/Project-2000-Olds ... 141960600X

Excellent, that's exactly the one I was looking for. Thanks.

 

[dan2286]

I tend not to view 180k as very high miles before an engine gives up. For me, there have to be numerous examples that see 300-500k miles before I consider it a reliable engine (See my sig). My pizza delivery truck (since new) has 312,000 miles and 180psi of compression on all 4 cylinders and has not had so much as a single sensor failure in 10 years. Yes, the OE clutch gave up at 200k, the original water pump only lasted 190k, and the original starter went at around 270k, but all in all it has been a fairly reliable vehicle. I fully expect to see 400K+ before the original engine ever needs to be removed from the truck. However, this is a very common experience with KA24E and KA24DE powered Nissan D21 (Hardbody) and D22 (Frontier) pickups, not an anomaly like ANYTHING with a Quad 4.

Most people dont deliver pizza and dont drive that much per year. There is a huge difference between using a car for delivering pizza and using a car just to go to work/store/etc. I personally think that if you drive any car 30-40k miles a year it will last a lot longer than a car that is driven 10-15k miles a year, no matter what it is. You really cant compare your truck to other cars/trucks that are not driven nearly as much as yours is, they are two completely different circumstances.

 

[olds307 and 403]

I have an 81 307 get 475,000 km before the timing chain skipped. It may have been the second chain on it. The car came with all the bills since new, well taken care of. It still used no oil and had good power up to the chain skipping, would still be going if I put a chain on it. Oil pressure was still reasonable. We also had a 75 350 Olds get over 300,000 km, sold for scrap with seized caliper and slight knock. Someone drove that car for 5 years after that. Our sbc powered vehicles used more oil and rarely got over 300,000 km. I still don't get why the sbc was chosen for everybody to build. They were junk till the 80's in my book.