[Bob in St. Louis]

Ford can't be totally absolved in that particular situation.  Early in the Explorer's life Ford specified a 17 psi tire pressure to compensate for excessive noise and harshness while underway.  A 4000 pound car on 17 psi or tires is an accident waiting to happen.

Curious to know what the owners manuals specified for this generation vehicle.
in my professional opinion, the air PSI should have been between 35 and 40. My SUVs have all bee closer to 40.

And of course Ford went to Firestone to specify a given type of tire for their vehicle, just like so many other companies do. However, the ultimate "blame" is given to the entity who receives the most negative press. Has nothing to do with "who specified what, and who built what, by anybodies specifications". Silly people. Nothing is a given and nobody is guilty until proven by the media.

Bob

[TheChairGuy]

20 years of Consumer Reports and you still bought a Saab?  I don't have the heart to comment further.     Oh, what's wrong with VPI Classic turntables?  I thought they were good, did I miss something?   

SAAB's generally don't sell enough product in the US to have enough respondee's from Consumer Reports subscribers.  So, I bought it (originally leased it) 'blind' you might say.

My review after 82,000 miles: seats as good as any in your house, civilized highway ride, but problematic handling on the switchies.  Reliability has been very good (heater knob a sore point). Rediculously large turning circle for a car with only a 102" wheelbase.

I mentioned the VPI Classic as this is not a turntable that Consumer Reports is likely to ever review...if they ever review turntables again. I find it to be a real nice table, tho

John

[markC]

Pretty much every manufacturer has had it's problems/recalls.
My Dad is 79 years old and is a dedicated Ford man. Remember the steering columns catching fire on the early '80's Grand Marquies? Took his in, got it fixed-Ford's still #1 with him. Very reliable cars, I must say. He has had no major failures over the years with his various Fords that I can remember.
My old Monte Carlo is also very reliable. I've had it for over 10 years now. It only let me down once when the battery died-not it's fault. It's got 145,000 miles on it now. But, it leaks oil, it's rusting, the exhuast is failing and the suspension is on it's way out. I can forgive everything but the quart of oil it leaks every 750 miles. It's interior is starting to rattle as well. Good and bad.
It's all relavent. They are mechanical devices.
I really do like my Infiniti though. 73,000 miles on it and it's tight, solid and fast. Doesn't leak or burn oil either. But lets see what it's doing @ double that milage. The Monte started leaking @ around 100,000. The Monte had a rack and pinion steering recall that could stick "Causing loss of Control" and was considered a major safety issue. Again, all relative, they've all experienced recalls.

[Bob in St. Louis]

The Monte had a rack and pinion steering recall that could stick "Causing loss of Control" and was considered a major safety issue.

That was a bunch of crap.....

[lonewolfny42]

Here's the newest car problem to "pop up"....

http://wot.motortrend.com/6636585/auto-news/chevrolet-cobalt-steering-system-complaints-launch-federal-investigation/index.html

My 1987 Camry has 292, 451 miles on it and still starts every morning and delivers 35 mpg in mixed use. Between burning and leaking, it uses a half quart of oil between 3000 mile oil changes. Plates are $65/yr. Insurance is $197 every 6 months, and depreciation is zero. Everything works except the gas gauge. Of course, it's rusty and looks like shit. Two sides to every coin.

Tom....you've got me beat....'88 Camry here....168,000 miles...still going strong.
 Its the perfect work car for me...and there are still many of the '87 to '89 Camry's on the road today.

No problem with my gas pedal....it still uses a cable.

[S Clark]

...Zero problems over 1000,000 miles.
charles

Charles, did you mean 100, 000?  You would have to have put 100 000 miles per year for ten years to get 1Million.???

[cujobob]

How do you have a 22 year old car with less than 200,000 miles?

[lonewolfny42]

How do you have a 22 year old car with less than 200,000 miles?

Bought it used in 2000....with 51,000 miles on the OD.
A friends mother's car....she hardly drove it.

[Wind Chaser]

Years ago I had a Cressida with over 300,000 miles.  When I wasn't treating it like a 4 x 4 I drove it ruthlessly.  It took a lot of effort to drive that car into the ground!  Sadly Toyota stopped making them back in the 90's.  Now I drive a 94 Camry, looks and runs almost like new, trouble free with no issues. 

This is current issue is blue moon aberration.  I'll stick with Toyota.

[satfrat]

Pretty much every manufacturer has had it's problems/recalls.
My Dad is 79 years old and is a dedicated Ford man. Remember the steering columns catching fire on the early '80's Grand Marquies? Took his in, got it fixed-Ford's still #1 with him. Very reliable cars, I must say. He has had no major failures over the years with his various Fords that I can remember.
My old Monte Carlo is also very reliable. I've had it for over 10 years now. It only let me down once when the battery died-not it's fault. It's got 145,000 miles on it now. But, it leaks oil, it's rusting, the exhuast is failing and the suspension is on it's way out. I can forgive everything but the quart of oil it leaks every 750 miles. It's interior is starting to rattle as well. Good and bad.
It's all relavent. They are mechanical devices.
I really do like my Infiniti though. 73,000 miles on it and it's tight, solid and fast. Doesn't leak or burn oil either. But lets see what it's doing @ double that milage. The Monte started leaking @ around 100,000. The Monte had a rack and pinion steering recall that could stick "Causing loss of Control" and was considered a major safety issue. Again, all relative, they've all experienced recalls.

My last car was a 1986 Monte Carlo SS that I had for 19 years and 306,000. Consumer Reports gave this car one of it's lowest rating ever but it was one of the best running  and longest lasting cars I've ever owned.. I will never forget her  and will never own a foreign car. 
 
Cheers,
Robin

[goldlizsts]

Bought it used in 2000....with 51,000 miles on the OD.
A friends mother's car....she hardly drove it.

My '93 Camry is what, 17 now, 95K miles yet........ next major work is probably a new muffler.  But, it's still humming

[Wind Chaser]

My '93 Camry is what, 17 now, 95K miles yet........ next major work is probably a new muffler.  But, it's still humming

The timing belt should be due about now. 

My father has a 96 Honda CRV with less than 40,000 miles.  He's never kept a vehicle so long and driven it so little, but he's retired. 

[macrojack]

I bought my 1987 Camry for $2200 in 1996 when it had 130,000 miles on it. It's had several new timing belts, lots of brakes and tires, a couple of alternators, a new ring gear, two windshields, Cv joints, and many a quirky little thing like a turn signal lever. Still has the original 4 cylinder engine and 5 speed manual transmission. Original water pump was replaced at 223,000 miles as a pre-emptive move when a T-belt was being replaced.
I used this car to run a courier route for over two years and nearly 50,000 miles. It just keeps on truckin. We have 5 cars and only 4 drivers but I keep the old beast because I love it. My son's 1984 Mercedes 300 D turbo has 348,000 miles on the clock. Both are among the best cars ever made.
Last Friday I spent $1050 on a 1984 Toyota Tercel 4WD wagon. It has 168,700 showing and may need a rebuilt carb. Otherwise it appears to be another long runner. There's a feel to the switches and controls that my 2004 Matrix just doesn't have. Maybe Toyotas aren't what they used to be but I do believe that the ones made in Japan have been more durable as a rule.
Although I've never owned one, I suspect Subaru is another candidate for longest running cars. There are a hell of a lot of them running around Colorado with 250,000 or more on the odo.

[jackman]

Now Prius brakes are failing? 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Toyota-hit-by-over-100-Prius-apf-61349719.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=4&asset=&ccode=

Hmmmm, let's see...stuck accelerator pedal and bad brakes?  That's the best combo since laxatives and sleeping pills.  Doh!

[rollo]

Charles, did you mean 100, 000?  You would have to have put 100 000 miles per year for ten years to get 1Million.???

  Yes 100,000.  Typo.

charles

[ctviggen]

My 2001 Saab 9-3 Viggen has 107,000 miles on it and is still a great daily driver (23 mpg city, near 30 highway, 230 HP, 258 feet pounds of torque).  The only problems I've had with that car are AC and Direct ignition cassette (twice). 

My 1987 Jeep Comanche truck has 156,000 miles on it and I use it as a periodic driver and to haul stuff.  It has had its share of problems, but runs very well.  It has no AC, though, so I run it only during spring and fall (Saab has snow tires, and is better handling in the snow even though the Jeep is 4wd). 

We could go on with listing cars that have lasted well, but what does this mean? 

[ctviggen]

For instance, here's Saab with a million miles on it:

http://www.saabnet.com/tsn/press/060918.html

Does that mean that Saab is the best built car?  Not really. 

[Wind Chaser]

For instance, here's Saab with a million miles on it:

Man, that must have been towed around the planet a few times. 

[Bob in St. Louis]

Man, that must have been towed around the planet a few times. 

Now that's funny. I can't wait to tell the guys at work (Saab dealer) that one! 

Bob

[cujobob]

I have hundreds of friends that are hardcore pro-Toyota/Honda (not that it matters much, but I'll mention that they're asian so buying an asian name is popular)....it's just amazing how long their cars have lasted.  A friend of mine's family owns six Toyotas (all Camrys/Corollas)...1 of them well over 300,000 miles, 2 over 230,000 miles and the rest well over 100,000 wiithout any issues.  Unfortunately, those older ones are insanely ugly...I remember my old gf's purplish/brown Corolla ('94, I want to say)...I don't know who thought that color was a good idea, but they should have been fired.  This is all in Michigan...not a place with the best weather.

Modern cars SHOULD last, though...from any company.  I've only known a few people that had Big 3 vehicles with no issues.  Most of those were hardly used.  As I said before, here in Michigan...everyone basically has the option of buying a local option since there's always a family member at one of the car companies.  The fact there are so many Toyota/Honda products on the road says a lot IMO.