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sorry, yeah, I probably phrased what I wrote awkwardly, was meaning to reinforce your earlier comments... I had also heard the "inferior metal" line, but even a couple decades ago + robotics aside, Japanese tooling in many cases was + is absolutely outstanding (certainly not possible with inherently inferior steel)... that said, the box on eg a cheap CD player isn't necessarily going to be made to the same standards as industrial tooling (because it doesn't have to be, and so it shouldn't)... so I suppose, I have no idea what went into a car door of a 1989 Honda Civic! Regardless, I do know, I'd rather drive a 1989 Saab 900 ;-)...
Perceptions can be based on many factors... I don't know if the c900s were ever galvanized (per se), they just had a very good (+ expensive) paint process... some new cars are heavily galvanized (but in some sense inadequately primed) to the extent that the paint sometimes flakes off leaving an obviously galvanized + slower rusting finish (seen that on a few Volvos + Audis anyway)... I have noticed (though improvements are noticeable) that many Asian cars still rust faster... Mazda, Hyundai, and Kia are among the worst I've noticed (eg tons of mazda 3 jokermobiles around here stream rust out of their tail lights). Even Honda is not immune (relatives with a 2007 Honda civic had it in last year for minor rust repair). So depending on one's definition of "inferior manufacture" I would argue, it still kind of is true in some respects (and not in others), though they've improved in leaps + bounds... (of course others could bring up different failings in European and US cars as "inferior manufacturing" + fair enough, none of this is simple)... and fwiw, I don't blame the rust on the sheetmetal so much as small details missed (paint, seals, etc), and that is common to all brands to varying degrees, but I've noticed on average a higher level of corrosion on Asian cars, possibly attributable to numerous factors, including owner qualities...
wrt the wild west, again, I think we're saying the same thing (if viewing it from slightly different angles): when there is almost uncontrolled growth, there is plenty of risk to go along with the rewards, and one has to go in there with a good head on one's shoulders to not be taken for a ride. As alluded to elsewhere in this thread, there has been a stream of problem products coming from China (more so than from other countries, though other countries are not exempt) in recent years. Some deficiencies are accidents, others are "accidents", and other products are great... that's the wild west for ya! whether it's steel or semiconductors, nothing's exempt from the risk (or the reward)... a few "man made laws" wouldn't hurt (how about: "don't dump the industrial effluent in the river")...
China's automotive sector may be in the right time, right place, for electric drive automotive development. I don't think they are missing out in any way. In fact, they have the potential for one of the biggest automotive successes ever, imho.
for me, when buying a car, I'd personally wait to see a positive track record, but others are less risk averse, so that's cool, they might get more reward (eg a better price on a car) with potentially more risk (+ since it's risk, they may never see the downside, or they may be killed: partly a roll of the dice)... it's kind of like I would never buy a first model year car... others do (thankfully), and I sure hope they come out of the woodwork + buy up those 2010 + 2011 9-5's!
James...
posted by 69.63.5...
, Thu, 13 Jan 2011 05:52:09
, Fri, 14 Jan 2011 07:24:46
, Thu, 13 Jan 2011 08:20:43
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