Quote:
gerardo wrote:
^ Certainly, just as many other small car buyers remember those "less than steller examples of the automakers craft" like: the Pinto, the Chevette, the Vega, the Cavalier...
Absolutely! The problem Fiat and many Euro car companies that no longer offer products in North America have is perception based upon a model that was a failure or a dealer network that was weak (Lada, Daiwoo, Fiat, Peugeot,Renault, Alfa Romeo, all the British makes and even Mercedes and BMW )which led some most of them to stop offering products in N.A.
Ford had terrible rust prone LTD's in the 70's , Chrysler made lemoms called Volare and Aspen and GM had Vega, Cavalier, Cadillac Cimarron and others but they continued to make product lines that were very good and their reputation was reestablished or remained in tact.
Many people say FORD stands for Fix or Repair Daily or Found On Road Dead but I have driven Ford Crown Victorias for almost 30 years and this model at least has been reliable and acceptably trouble free. I would not have owned a Ford in the early 70's. Hyundais first offering in Canada was a trial balloon not sold in the US called a Pony which sold like hotcakes but the bodies disintegrated with the road salt so fast they gave the company a really bad reputation for years that they have only recently recovered from. I would not hesitate to buy a Hyundai today since the products are excellent and the dealers network is well established. If Fiat had stayed with selling cars in Canada with a strong dealer network the better products would have established a better reputation also. BTW the Chevette was not a bad car for the price as there are still a few on the roads up here.
This Post was from: https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?post_id=20731