Lemon Tree

When life gives you lemons ...

When I was in the 6th grade, my parents bought a new '69 Chevy Impala - frost green, 4-door hard top with a white vinyl roof. I was thrilled because it was nice and new; it replaced a 1965 Belvedere that had been in an accident, and was unattractive anyhow. I pretty shortly noticed when the new Chevy idled at intersections that the steering wheel would vibrate up and down -- thought nothing of it. The car was pretty well spent after 5 years -- thought nothing of that either.

The Impala was replaced with a new, 1974 Buick LeSabre and I had a more critical eye as a high school junior. The car was new, but had an off-color fender. Carpet was carelessly glued to the bottom of each interior door panel; the wood on the dash board wasn't even fake wood -- it was carelessly applied wood colored contact paper. On the whole car, it was hard to find anything flush or correctly aligned where it needed to be. My brother and I looked at the new 1976 mid-size Buicks when they came out. It was remarkable that almost every car had visible paint defects (runs, rivulets, rough patches) and even the pin striping was crooked. The problems cited here are cosmetic in nature -- but how does that bode for the car's ultimate reliability? The mid-70's was probably the low point for American auto quality.

By the 1980's, the scene had evolved. Detroit was getting its butt kicked by Japanese imports. Ford advertised "Quality is Job 1". Chrysler gave us the 7 year/70K warranty and announced, "The pride is back.". Patriot that I was back then, I purchased a new, 1989 Cougar LS. Here is a short list of atypical repairs encountered:

· Recall for caliper/brake problem one month after purchase
· Keyless entry quit working one year after purchase
· Stereo station search feature quit working @ 1 year
· AC quit working @ 3 years; had to get new compressor for $900
· Electronic dash panel burned out - twice
· Voltage regulator out after 4 years
· Engine oil leaks, resulting in damaged (burned) engine parts @ 5 years
· Exterior molding falling off @ 5 years

Had intended to keep the car for 7 years, but it was such a problem I had to unload it at 5 years. The engine leaks created an untenable situation. I did all the routine maintenance lovingly and naively -- made no difference. Must make a couple of observations here, with Chrysler & GM also in mind. The fact that a defect is covered by warranty is only a little comfort. There are 100 demerits for making a customer take off part of a workday to bring the car to a service department, and ride in a courtesy van -- 100 demerits at least. And what of the many times when the problem isn't fixed after all your trouble? Or not covered by warranty? I'd venture at least 1000 demerits for that.

The USA is known as a bold innovator -- home to many inventors and patents. We put a man on the moon, we developed the Polio vaccine and we created PC's. But for reasons as yet unknown, we can't make a car that doesn't become a leaky, wheezing rattletrap at 3-5 years. One can't help but think: If someone thought it was really important, they could make a quality domestic car. American consumers do notice these things and attitudes evolve. Toyota is about to become the number 3 seller in the US; all the big Japanese carmakers are gaining ground. And still, Saturn has had a recent recall for melting brake lamps. Maybe cars will go the same path as televisions (made almost entirely in Asia now) -- maybe the USA is not meant to be a foundry or factory place. But Honda and Toyota have factories in the US, subject to the same laws and union rules as factories owned by domestic companies. They still make good cars. Why is there still a quality gap?

Maybe Napoleon was right. He said, "There are no bad soldiers, only bad generals". When a military campaign fails, look not to how a particular soldier performed his duties, but how he was directed by his commanding officers. Maybe what American capitalism needs is a shakeup. Maybe -- the General could use a new general. It’s a matter of debate as far as what needs to change in our management styles – but something is wrong, and the proof is in the AC compressors that die after 3 years.