[Christ]

Toyota did this with frame issues. They were buying vehicles back at something like 1.5x book value in "Good" condition, without noting the actual condition of the vehicle.

Some noted that based on dealer perceptions, their intention was to feed new sales, taking advantage of a bad situation, but to suggest that they purposely built a "bad" vehicle with that in mind seems like a bit of a stretch.

I had an Aerostar that always had transmission issues... to the extent that I swapped the trans for a manual (with considerable labor involved, and a great expense). Shortly thereafter, I sold the van to a farmer to use as a "field truck" because it was all wheel drive (electronic 4 wheel assist), who cut the top/rear off it and continues to use it to this day with no issues to speak of.