prophet@umcp-cs.UUCP (04/03/84)
To rjk@mgweed:
I tend to agree with you about American cars being poorly designed and
engineered, but let's be sure we put the blame for this in the proper
place.
Actually, the American car companies have some of the best engineering
talent in the world. The problem resides with the management and the
business practices of the industry.
For example, there is a Mechanical Engineering professor here at the
University of Maryland that is a consultant for General Motors. This
professor was granted a large sum of money by GM to do research into
exactly how to build a camshaft so that it will fail at precisely in
the 70,000-80,000 mile range. This is really a remarkable engineering
feat. Obviously, though, the company should spend its money into more
constructive research.
Also, I also sympathize with the gentleman's (I forget his name) who
has the Chrysler automobile with the engine problem. My father owns a
1982 Plymouth Reliant, and the lack of decent quality control is
evident throughout. We have had numerous problems with the carb,
and also with windshield leaks. Some of the upholstery is already
coming apart. Also, the alternator went bad at 10,000 miles, and was
not covered by Lee Iacoca's infamous 5 year, 50,000 mile warranty.
As for myself, I intend to stay with Japanese cars even though the de-
alers are price-gouging them.
Dennis
--
Call-Me: Dennis Gibbs, Univ. of Md. Comp. Sci. Center.
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