Ford to stop selling cars in North America

[Xist]

I briefly had a roommate with a Mini. During that short time he called a mechanic.

I watched some video where someone complained of his first-world problems of maintaining a luxury car.

My teenage Hondas with around 210,000 have cheaper maintenance than new luxury cars, even if I rebuild an engine!

I imagine that Lexus owners tell a quite different story.

[Hersbird]

Originally Posted by Xist

I briefly had a roommate with a Mini. During that short time he called a mechanic.

I watched some video where someone complained of his first-world problems of maintaining a luxury car.

My teenage Hondas with around 210,000 have cheaper maintenance than new luxury cars, even if I rebuild an engine!

I imagine that Lexus owners tell a quite different story.

And here I think Honda's are overly complicated. Maybe it's just after 2000. Vtec is a PITA. The idle control is way over complicated and expensive. It doesn't seem to take much to have it running not right that has 7 possible failed parts all with the same symptoms. Each possible part is $100, if not $200.

I remember my 2000 Saturn had everything easy to reach, just a few $20 or less sensors, and it went 200,000 with just a $45 starter and $8 coolant temp sensor both that didn't take more than 20 mins to change out. It did need a clutch in there but that was before I owned it, still a reasonable job compared to my Subaru which pretty much needed the engine pulled.

[jcp123]

Yeah, it's maybe the newer Hondas you are thinking of. I rock the non-VTEC! Although if VTEC burns your biscuits, you probably could level the same criticism at the vast majority of the cars in the last ten years with some sort of variable valve timing. One of the only things I ever replaced on my Echo, for instance, was the variable valve timing actuator.

On the other hand, I do agree that the idle control valve is kind of a strange bird. Flip side of that is it has a degree of cleanability and servicibility most others don't, so that might save you from having to replace it when it gives trouble. And I'd classify underhood access as very good on my Civic. I can't say whether that's true or not for other mid-90s Honda products, but I'd wager it is. If my experience with the Civic is any good indication, Hondas are more well-engineered that I'd ever have thought. It's actually cured me of the Honda hate of my youth.

[Ecky]

I understand the VTEC mechanism is actually quite reliable on most models. It's quite a rare failure point as long as oil is changed as it should be.

[Xist]

Weird. I quoted someone who recently said that all Civic parts were $20 and ones from the sixth generation lasted forever.

I did not receive an error, so where did my message go?

[Hersbird]

My experience was on a 2002 accord with the 4 cylinder and automatic.

[freebeard]

Since we're talking about Hondas in a Ford thread, what about this?


https://jalopnik.com/these-are-the-m...bye-1826482760

Then there’s the MD-F, an 18x7 towering over the rest of the catalog. One forum user with a chance to buy a rare set bemoaned that this setup is strange to the point of uselessness. “I have absolutely no use for them nor will I ever. They’re 18" and 4x114.3 which makes them useless to me and most of the people here.”

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Vman455

Except, the linked article doesn't say that, and the only price it quotes is for an at-the-time 2-year-old used Ranger.

The 2011 Focus started at $16,640 and topped out at $18,870, $710 more than the Ranger's starting price.

If Ford brings the Ranger back it will be a bigger truck, and a more expensive one than it was in the past. There's no way it will be price-competitive with small cars from any manufacturer (since Ford won't have any left...), let alone cheaper.

I did some confusion. Anyway, the Ranger remains price-competitive to the Focus in some countries.

[MetroMPG]

Light trucks take a record 69% of U.S. market

U.S. light-truck sales as a whole in the U.S. grew 7.7 percent in 2018, according to the Automotive News Data Center, to 11.98 million units — a level that car sales have never reached.


Car sales plunged 13 percent and would have dipped even further but for Tesla finally achieving decent production of its Model 3 sedan in the second half of the year, Chesbrough noted.


Car sales fell to 31 percent of sales, from 36 percent a year ago and 50 percent in 2013. The 5.4 million cars sold last year represented the fewest since they had tail fins, in 1958.

Source: https://www.autonews.com/sales/light...d-69-us-market

[redpoint5]

2018 US total sales:

1. Ford F-Series - 909,330
2. Chevrolet Silverado - 585,581
3. Dodge Ram - 536,980
4. Toyota Rav4 - 427,170
5. Nissan Rogue/Rogue Sport - 412,110
6. Honda CR-V - 397,013
7. Toyota Camry - 343,439
8. Chevrolet Equinox - 332,618
9. Honda Civic - 325,760
10. Toyota Corolla - 303,732