- #150 of 298
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Re: Funny thing about the Chevette... [andre1969] (uplanderguy)
by hpmctorque
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Dec 06, 2008 (6:14 am)
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I should mention that my message #148 was intended to chronicle some anomalies, rather than to defend Vegas and Chevettes.
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- #151 of 298
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Re: Funny thing about the Chevette... [andre1969] (uplanderguy) [hpmctorque
by andre1969
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Dec 06, 2008 (7:16 am)
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Replying to: hpmctorque (Dec 06, 2008 6:14 am)
Oh I'm sure we all have anomaly stories like that! I knew a guy, from one of my Mopar clubs, who back in the day had a Pinto and a Vega! Both of them made it to around 100,000 miles. The Pinto never had any significant problems. The Vega needed to have one cylinder sleeved, around 80,000 miles I think, but he talked about it like that was no big deal. I wonder how much something like that would cost?
I don't personally know anybody who's kept a Chevette long-term. I was always under the impression that it was one of those cars that helped spawn that "GM cars run bad longer than most cars run at all" line.
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- #152 of 298
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Re: Funny thing about the Chevette... [andre1969] (uplanderguy) [hpmctorque [andre1969]
by Mr_Shiftright HOST
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Dec 06, 2008 (7:27 am)
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Replying to: andre1969 (Dec 06, 2008 7:16 am)
Sure you'll find exceptions. Every now and then someone slips off a ten story roof and falls into a passing flatbed truck filled with mattresses---but that's a database of ONE!
My definition of a "worst car" would be something like this:
A car that has one or more serious inherent faults that will cripple 25% or more of the units manufactured within the first year of operation
So for instance if you take a Saab 900 Turbo, with a pretty well documented head gasket failure rate of around 9%, that ain't great but that doesn't make it one of the world's worst cars. But if you take a Maserati Bi-Turbo, where you could hardly find one that hasn't had an engine rebuild, (or multiple engine rebuilds), that's pretty bad.
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- #153 of 298
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Re: Funny thing about the Chevette... [andre1969] (uplanderguy) [hpmctorque [andre1969] [Mr_Shiftright]
by bhill2
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Dec 09, 2008 (1:09 pm)
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Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Dec 06, 2008 7:27 am)
My definition of a "worst car" would be something like this:
A car that has one or more serious inherent faults that will cripple 25% or more of the units manufactured within the first year of operation
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So I have to ask, Shifty. Was the Chevette a "worst car" by that definition? I always had the the impression that it was a crying shame as a car, but was reasonably reliable.
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- #154 of 298
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Re: Funny thing about the Chevette... [andre1969] (uplanderguy) [hpmctorque [andre1969] [Mr_Shiftright] [bhill2]
by Mr_Shiftright HOST
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Dec 09, 2008 (4:50 pm)
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Replying to: bhill2 (Dec 09, 2008 1:09 pm)
Good point! I think in the case of the Chevette, the entire automobile was a "fault". I doubt one of them could go one year without having to repair it and worse yet, the next failure would be something different.
It takes as much genius to make a car completely bad as it does to make it completely good I think.
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- #155 of 298
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Re: Funny thing...[andre1969](uplanderguy)[bhill2](Mr_Shiftright)
by hpmctorque
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Dec 10, 2008 (9:24 am)
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"It takes as much genius to make a car completely bad as it does to make it completely good I think."
I know what you're trying to say, shifty, since the cars that are "completely" bad or good are statistical outliers, but I don't think your statement is correct.
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- #156 of 298
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Re: Funny thing...[andre1969](uplanderguy)[bhill2](Mr_Shiftright) [hpmctorque]
by Mr_Shiftright HOST
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Dec 10, 2008 (11:06 am)
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Replying to: hpmctorque (Dec 10, 2008 9:24 am)
I guess what I mean is that a car that does absolutely nothing well should be placed on a Worst Cars list by default.
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- #157 of 298
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Re: Funny thing...[andre1969](uplanderguy)[bhill2](Mr_Shiftright) [hpmctorque] [Mr_Shiftright]
by boaz47
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Dec 10, 2008 (4:18 pm)
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Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Dec 10, 2008 11:06 am)
After reading all the list even if I didn't read all the responses I would agree with most of them. But what I don't understand is how they missed the X1/9 and the LeCar? And I happened to like the Morgan Propane car and the EV-1. But I can see their drawbacks. They also missed the Datsun F-10 and the B-210.
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- #158 of 298
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Re: Funny thing...[boaz47]
by hpmctorque
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Dec 10, 2008 (5:35 pm)
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I had a neighbor who had issues with his Datsun F-10, and I've read other complaints, but I thought the B-210, which I believe was the RWD predecessor to the FWD F-10, was a good little car.
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- #159 of 298
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Re: Funny thing...[boaz47] [hpmctorque]
by boaz47
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Dec 10, 2008 (10:26 pm)
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Replying to: hpmctorque (Dec 10, 2008 5:35 pm)
In the Book, "The Reckoning,." about the failings of the domestic manufacturers and the increase of imports the head of datsun USA said they all knew the B-210 was a horrid little car but it was the best they had at the time. He said he felt guilty watching a young American couple drive away in one but they, Nissan/Datsun needed the money. And the Le Car needs no explanation. Ours wasn't a bad little car but it was a slug compared to about anything on the road. A woman bought it from us for her teen age son or daughter, I don't remember witch. She said it should keep them from getting any tickets.
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