Good news for American car/truck builders

That is good news indeed!

To bad the RV manufactures can't have a rating like that.

It's always good to get good news.

Bet they have to go to 3 decimal places to find any difference what so ever,best to last is tiny.

hone eagle wrote:
Bet they have to go to 3 decimal places to find any difference what so ever,best to last is tiny.

Very true, because nobody makes an unreliable vehicle anymore. It's just too competitive in today's market to get away with building junk.

How does the good news apply to us? I was hoping that the Feds would loosen the manufacturing regulations because of all the electronic gadgets in these cars that just about pass for aircraft, if not spacecraft. It's my understanding that Ford has the most rigid frame under the body in the pick-up market. Is that still true?

AmericaOverland wrote:
How does the good news apply to us? I was hoping that the Feds would loosen the manufacturing regulations because of all the electronic gadgets in these cars that just about pass for aircraft, if not spacecraft. It's my understanding that Ford has the most rigid frame under the body in the pick-up market. Is that still true?

They probably had the most rigid frame with the fully boxed frame on the F150. They're switching over to open C-Channel according to reports (probably to save weight) so time will tell how they compare to the others in terms of rigidity.

This is good news for all manufacturers and shows that the "domestic" brands have basically caught up with the other brands in terms of reliability.

I can attest to this first hand. I used to own a 2005 Jeep Liberty. I told myself that I would never own another Chrysler product after that vehicle. After spending a lot of time with the new RAM trucks I was blown away by the quality improvements. The materials are much better. I went from a 2013 Tundra to a 2014 RAM and I can say by any measure of quality I've found (interior materials, serviceability, design, etc) the RAM is on par with the Tundra.

I've always liked GM vehicles. My family has had very good luck with them. My dad buys Chevy trucks for his construction company and he has never had any major issues. My grandfather is a salesman that puts about 50,000 a year on his vehicles. He drives Chevy cars and he puts hundreds of thousands of miles on them before trading them in.

Our F150 rides better than a car, with 175,000 miles plus on it.
I've had to replace number 8 coil twice and plugs once.
Only thing was keeping check on oil level as the 5.4 has used oil since day one.
I'm going to spend a little money on it instead of trading. The trucks are just too expensive, for me, now.
The C channel will certainly be less stiff. I saw one advertisement about going to an aluminum frame, I thought. I don't think that is a good idea. It would do for Soccer Moms who don't haul anything but groceries but any weight or towing a no no, I think.
It's to save weight and CAFE averages and too heck for suitability of the vehicle.
For the prices, now, they should be made of rhodium.
Henry Ford made some steering and suspension pieces out of 100% Vanadium on Model T or maybe it was the Model A.
They should make the frames out of it.It could be lighter and stronger.

Great to see! Thanks for posting Skipnchar.