New study reveals which cars likely to be kept 15 years or longer
01-09-19, 01:43 PM
#76
Lexus Fanatic
A perfect example was, some years ago, when the Chrysler PT Cruiser first came out.....one of those classic retro-styled vehicles that generated a lot of hype and demand at first. As I was stopping for dinner one night at one of my favorite restaurants, a middle-aged couple pulled up in a brand-new white PT Cruiser, with temporary dealer-tags. We got into a conversation about it, and the guy told me they had just bought it that afternoon....paid several thousand dollars over list for it (I don't remember exactly how much). I asked him (politely) if it bothered him to pad the dealer-coffers that way, and he said no, not a bit. He and his wife both liked the car, had enough in the bank to give the dealer what they wanted, took the attitude that money wasn't everything, and just didn't feel like waiting for prices to come down. So, I congratulated him on his purchase, reached into my brief-bag, pulled out a bottle of You-Know-What, and handed it to him. At least it would help keep the new paint nice.
01-09-19, 03:29 PM
#78
Lexus Champion
LOL. Yeah it's hard to imagine, but the PT Cruiser was a phenomenon when it came out although it didn't last too long. Based on the forgettable Neon it wasn't a very good vehicle but the styling and versatility caught the attention of lot of (older) people.
01-09-19, 03:34 PM
#79
Lexus Champion
Lol oh I know, an ex of mine had one though this was long after they were out. It was good for utility and hauling stuff.
01-09-19, 03:38 PM
#80
Lexus Fanatic
Yes.....you have to understand the hype that it generated at the time, when it was introduced....and the demand it produced for whatever the dealers could get in stock. I don't know if you were around then, but, believe me, that hype was substantial. We saw it with a number of retro-themed vehicles, not just the PT Cruiser...the Chevrolet HHR, two-seat Ford Thunderbird, Chevy Camaro SS, and also, earlier, with the Mazda Miata, Porsche Boxster, BMW Z3, and Honda CRX. It seems difficult to imagine in this day of deals and incentives, but, when those vehicles debuted, dealerships were essentially giving them away if they went out the door at list price.
A friend of mine, at the time, after ordering it, waited 13 months for delivery of his then-new 1997 Porsche Boxster....it was already more than a year old when it was delivered.
01-09-19, 03:50 PM
#81
Lexus Champion
Yes.....you have to understand the hype that it generated at the time, when it was introduced....and the demand it produced for whatever the dealers could get in stock. I don't know if you were around then, but, believe me, that hype was substantial. We saw it with a number of retro-themed vehicles, not just the PT Cruiser...the Chevrolet HHR, two-seat Ford Thunderbird, Chevy Camaro SS, and also, earlier, with the Mazda Miata, Porsche Boxster, BMW Z3, and Honda CRX. It seems difficult to imagine in this day of deals and incentives, but, when those vehicles debuted, dealerships were essentially giving them away if they went out the door at list price. A friend of mine, at the time, after ordering it, waited 13 months for delivery of his then-new 1997 Porsche Boxster....it was already more than a year old when it was delivered.
A friend of mine, at the time, after ordering it, waited 13 months for delivery of his then-new 1997 Porsche Boxster....it was already more than a year old when it was delivered.
01-09-19, 04:33 PM
#82
I give Chrysler props for making a retro hatch. They certainly cashed in during the early years. Unfortunately they let it languish. The interior materials were also craptastic. The PT Cruiser's competition the Chevy HHR was also nothing to write home about.
01-09-19, 04:42 PM
#83
Lexus Champion
Never seen one up close but I liked the look. Once they dropped the 6.0 in there it got my attention, at least it had real muscle.
01-09-19, 04:42 PM
#84
Lexus Fanatic
Quality-wise, no, I agree, these cars were not well-built. But their retro-styling became an instant craze the moment they were introduced.
01-09-19, 05:13 PM
#87
Lexus Fanatic
Last edited by mmarshall; 01-09-19 at 05:17 PM.
01-18-19, 10:24 AM
#88
Chevy called out for reliability claim, pulls commercial
I linked it on Post #30, but it's been taken down from YouTube
Source
A Chevrolet ad is again causing a ruckus, but this time it's less about style than about substance. According to a report from the Detroit News, Chevy pulled a national commercial at the same time the legitimacy of the statements made in the advertisement were questioned. The spot claimed Chevrolet had better reliability than Ford, Honda and Toyota.
Chevrolet has pulled the ad but says it did so due to a new marketing direction focusing on the Silverado.
The dispute regards a new version of the "Real People, Not Actors" ad (you know the ones) titled "Chevy Surprises Competitive Owners When It Comes To Reliability." The description of the video read, "See what happens when competitive vehicle owners find out about Chevrolet reliability." It was posted to YouTube on Jan. 1, 2019, and ran on both national and local channels.
The video, which racked up tens of thousands of views and received more thumbs down than up, has since been taken down (a shell of the page can still be seen here). According to the report, the national commercial has also been removed from programming, with the local ads also coming down in following weeks.
In the video, the host brings people who are supposedly Ford, Honda and Toyota owners into a room with car-branded sheets covering numerous vehicles. The host "tricks" the owners by leading them to believe their cars are the most reliable vehicles on the road before pulling off sheets to reveal Chevrolet automobiles. The owners are surprised, with one remarking, "You had me bragging."
But the manufacturers in the video, Ford, Toyota and Honda, all pride themselves on their dependability and did not take the claims lightly. The report details that all three manufacturers reached out to Chevrolet to challenge the commercial to various degrees.
For the purposes of this commercial and these claims, Chevrolet commissioned independent research company Ipsos to conduct a survey. The details specify that reliability is defined as "the percentage of vehicle owners who reported they have not repaired or replaced any vehicle components in the past 12 months (excluding fluids, filters and those related to accident/collision)."
The survey sent out 840,979 letters to 2015 model-year vehicle owners, with time in service starting December 2014 through June 2015. Overall, Ipsos received 48,679 responses from Acura, Audi, BMW, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Ford, GMC, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Jaguar, Jeep, Kia, Land Rover, Lexus, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Ram, Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo owners. Full details on the survey can be found here.
According to the Detroit News, Chevrolet is denying that their recall of the commercials has anything to do with the dispute. You can see Chevy's statement and the full report here.
In a statement to Autoblog, a Chevy spokesperson said, "Chevrolet stands by the reliability claim and the ad remains in the brand's toolbox but we have decided to take it out of the regular rotation at this time to launch new Silverado creative. We have not altered our marketing campaign because of any concerns with the accuracy of our ad content."
Chevy added, "We will not comment on conversations with other manufacturers."
In the most recent Consumer Reports brand reliability rankings, based on feedback from 640,000 vehicles owners, Honda ranked ninth, Toyota 10th, Ford 20th and Chevrolet 23rd. Beyond the matter of reliability, the Chevy Bolt and Impala did make CR's overall recommendations list of top 10 vehicles by category.
Chevrolet has pulled the ad but says it did so due to a new marketing direction focusing on the Silverado.
The dispute regards a new version of the "Real People, Not Actors" ad (you know the ones) titled "Chevy Surprises Competitive Owners When It Comes To Reliability." The description of the video read, "See what happens when competitive vehicle owners find out about Chevrolet reliability." It was posted to YouTube on Jan. 1, 2019, and ran on both national and local channels.
The video, which racked up tens of thousands of views and received more thumbs down than up, has since been taken down (a shell of the page can still be seen here). According to the report, the national commercial has also been removed from programming, with the local ads also coming down in following weeks.
In the video, the host brings people who are supposedly Ford, Honda and Toyota owners into a room with car-branded sheets covering numerous vehicles. The host "tricks" the owners by leading them to believe their cars are the most reliable vehicles on the road before pulling off sheets to reveal Chevrolet automobiles. The owners are surprised, with one remarking, "You had me bragging."
But the manufacturers in the video, Ford, Toyota and Honda, all pride themselves on their dependability and did not take the claims lightly. The report details that all three manufacturers reached out to Chevrolet to challenge the commercial to various degrees.
For the purposes of this commercial and these claims, Chevrolet commissioned independent research company Ipsos to conduct a survey. The details specify that reliability is defined as "the percentage of vehicle owners who reported they have not repaired or replaced any vehicle components in the past 12 months (excluding fluids, filters and those related to accident/collision)."
The survey sent out 840,979 letters to 2015 model-year vehicle owners, with time in service starting December 2014 through June 2015. Overall, Ipsos received 48,679 responses from Acura, Audi, BMW, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Ford, GMC, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Jaguar, Jeep, Kia, Land Rover, Lexus, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Ram, Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo owners. Full details on the survey can be found here.
According to the Detroit News, Chevrolet is denying that their recall of the commercials has anything to do with the dispute. You can see Chevy's statement and the full report here.
In a statement to Autoblog, a Chevy spokesperson said, "Chevrolet stands by the reliability claim and the ad remains in the brand's toolbox but we have decided to take it out of the regular rotation at this time to launch new Silverado creative. We have not altered our marketing campaign because of any concerns with the accuracy of our ad content."
Chevy added, "We will not comment on conversations with other manufacturers."
In the most recent Consumer Reports brand reliability rankings, based on feedback from 640,000 vehicles owners, Honda ranked ninth, Toyota 10th, Ford 20th and Chevrolet 23rd. Beyond the matter of reliability, the Chevy Bolt and Impala did make CR's overall recommendations list of top 10 vehicles by category.
01-18-19, 10:33 AM
#89
Lexus Fanatic
A Chevrolet ad is again causing a ruckus, but this time it's less about style than about substance.
Anybody that would believe TV ads to start with would probably buy beachfront property in Kansas.
01-18-19, 10:44 AM
#90
Lexus Champion
my wife's store for morning shift, I passed 3 cars scattered on freeway looking like they played tic-tac-toe game. One small
car looked like totaled. When glanced passing by them all 3 cars did not have winter tires.
Last edited by Htony; 01-18-19 at 10:54 AM.