Bailing Away

I have to admit, I'm not a person with a great deal of sympathy for the so-called American automobile industry (I say "so-called" because many "foreign" cars are actually built in the US).

My first car was a 1985 Chevrolet Cavalier, and as such, it has a special place in my heart. I had it for just over eight years and it got me through college, into marriage, several moves and job changes, and up until almost exactly a year from the birth of my first child. Nonetheless, I can't overlook the fact that both the engine and the transmission blew out at around 70,000 miles. I paid a fair sum of money to get all that fixed, and it lasted another 50,000 until the engine went again.

The first car my wife and I bought together was a 1993 Mercury Tracer. That transmission went at 40,000 miles. I was infuriated -- I wrote several letters to the good people at the Ford Motor Company stating, in sum, that warranty or no warranty, there's no way that should ever happen. They feigned sympathy but of course did nothing, and I swore off ever buying another Ford product again.

Several years later, we needed a van and, despite my earlier pledge, we settled on a 1998 Mercury Villager and traded in the Tracer. This time, however, I took the plunge and bought the extended warranty. A short time later, I was glad I did -- that engine blew at around 38,000 miles. The warranty paid for almost all of it, but I had steam coming out my ears both on the principle and the inconvenience of the whole mess. Inexcusable, I fumed. That would be my last Ford vehicle. This was on top of a number of nagging mechanical and electrical issues that the dealership seemed incapable of repairing (the intermittent air conditioning was a particular irritant). And while we kept it a few more years, it was ultimately replaced with a Honda Odyssey.

To replace The Mighty Cavalier, we purchased a 1993 Mazda Protege, which we would keep for more than ten years. It was in that vehicle that I brought both of my children home from the hospital. This was and remains to date the best car I ever owned -- It was a 5-speed 1.8 DOHC with a fair amount of firepower. At around 100,000 miles, the body was starting to give way, but the engine could have run forever. It finally got to the point this year that it was too expensive to maintain, as the parts were become both scarce and expensive, and when the AC compressor went, it was time for a trade at 108,000 miles. But it still ran great.

We now own two Hondas -- the aforementioned 2005 Odyssey, and a 2007 Honda Fit that succeeded the Protege. Yes, we paid a little more for them, but (knock on wood) no mechanical or major maintenance issues. With my track record, I got an extended warranty on both, but we haven't had to use it yet.

I realize that the American Automobile industry is populated, by and large, with good, solid, hard-working people at all levels of parts, manufacturing and service, and I sympathize with them that the collapse of their industry in general and their employer in particular will adversely affect them and perhaps the country overall. But it's not my fault that they've produced inferior products at inflated prices for the better part of four decades. Any industry needs to keep up with the times or go away. We've seen this before -- ever hear of Bethlehem Steel?