Old Enough To Remember?

Chris09 said:
The transmission is an ST400 with the switch pitch converter [one of the last before the turbo 400]
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The st400 snd th400 were the same unit just a different branding. The vp converter was a simple swap IF you knew how. The pump. Forward drum and converter was needed along with two other things. I used to do this swap into chevys.
 
Whoa Nelly Belle . . .

"Happy trails to you,
Until we meet again.
Happy trails to you,
Keep smiling until then."

Shuey
 
When cars coming over here from Japan were just plain junk. Today the quality is so high they have crippled much of the American car industry. We have the Trucks, but they won the automobile war.:(
 
To be honest the cars from the big three wete not all that great either. I remember the small block chevys soft camshafts. The gm th200 trans that you were lucky to get 35,000 miles, the olds diesel and everyone of the big three leaked oil from new.
 
red one said:
When cars coming over here from Japan were just plain junk. Today the quality is so high they have crippled much of the American car industry. We have the Trucks, but they won the automobile war.:(
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I think we all won. I remember lots of quality and durability issues with US designed and US and Canadian built vehicles. Japanese quality forced US manufacturers to improve their build quality in order to stay competitive, In addition, many "foreign" vehicles from Japan, South Korea and Europe are now built in the US, Canada and Mexico, creating hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs and 10's of Billions in overall economic benefits every year.

I'm not sure the US "won" the pickup war. In 1964 the US government, at the request of the big 3 domestic manufacturer imposed a 25% duty on all foreign pickups / light trucks. US manufacturers immediately raised their prices and consumers in the US and Canada have been paying this price premium for almost 60 years.... This tariff minimized competition in the light truck area of the market and you have to wonder how pickup trucks might have evolved if this tariff protected market did not exist. US consumers indirectly pay for this tariff and you have to wonder how many 10's or 100's of Billions in excess profits went to the big 3 manufacturers over a 60 year period due to their tariff protected market.

I suspect that relatively few Americans are aware of this tariff. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax
 
ReSTored said:
I think we all won. I remember lots of quality and durability issues with US designed and US and Canadian built vehicles. Japanese quality forced US manufacturers to improve their build quality in order to stay competitive, In addition, many "foreign" vehicles from Japan, South Korea and Europe are now built in the US, Canada and Mexico, creating hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs and 10's of Billions in overall economic benefits every year.

I'm not sure the US "won" the pickup war. In 1964 the US government, at the request of the big 3 domestic manufacturer imposed a 25% duty on all foreign pickups / light trucks. US manufacturers immediately raised their prices and consumers in the US and Canada have been paying this price premium for almost 60 years.... This tariff minimized competition in the light truck area of the market and you have to wonder how pickup trucks might have evolved if this tariff protected market did not exist. US consumers indirectly pay for this tariff and you have to wonder how many 10's or 100's of Billions in excess profits went to the big 3 manufacturers over a 60 year period due to their tariff protected market.

I suspect that relatively few Americans are aware of this tariff. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax
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We had President Reagan impose a taffif on all foreign motorcycles over 750cc's back in the early 80's I think. This was to save our 1 remaining large motorcycle manufacturer. Without that tax/ tariff Harley Davison would of went bankrupt for sure. So yeah I agree government been helping for awhile now. The result is still the same Japanese motorcycle and automobile quality surpasses. A 25K Goldwing may not be as shiny as a Harley Davidson CVO but at 25K vs 50K for the CVO the Goldwing is the better choice here.....it still would be even if was 50K:)
 
Sadlsor said:
I just know that I can never see myself paying seventy or eighty grand for a new pickup truck.
Or for a used one, for that matter.
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30 or 40 years ago , I said I would never pay 30 grand for a new pickup, but I recently paid twice that. Years ago when I was on dial-up internet and high-speed first started making headway, it was like $40 a month and I said "there's no bloody way I'm going to pay that"... Now I pay twice that... Lol
The only time-tested claim I've made and stuck to is that I refuse to buy another ex-wife a new house
 
Sadlsor said:
I just know that I can never see myself paying seventy or eighty grand for a new pickup truck.
Or for a used one, for that matter.
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I guess its called inflation. When I started looking at bikes to buy one could get a brand new KZ 1000 Kawasaki for under 2 Grand. Now Goldwings and BMW's and Harley's go on from 25K to 50K. Back then I could not even dreamed a motorcycle would cost as much as a nice house back then. At 68 i got one bike in me if i live that long so I won't have that sticker shock of paying for the price of riding, You do know we aren't going to take our $$$ with us when the big one comes.
 
ReSTored said:
I think we all won. I remember lots of quality and durability issues with US designed and US and Canadian built vehicles. Japanese quality forced US manufacturers to improve their build quality in order to stay competitive, In addition, many "foreign" vehicles from Japan, South Korea and Europe are now built in the US, Canada and Mexico, creating hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs and 10's of Billions in overall economic benefits every year.

I'm not sure the US "won" the pickup war. In 1964 the US government, at the request of the big 3 domestic manufacturer imposed a 25% duty on all foreign pickups / light trucks. US manufacturers immediately raised their prices and consumers in the US and Canada have been paying this price premium for almost 60 years.... This tariff minimized competition in the light truck area of the market and you have to wonder how pickup trucks might have evolved if this tariff protected market did not exist. US consumers indirectly pay for this tariff and you have to wonder how many 10's or 100's of Billions in excess profits went to the big 3 manufacturers over a 60 year period due to their tariff protected market.

I suspect that relatively few Americans are aware of this tariff. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax
Click to expand...
I bought my first car after graduating college in 1982 and though tempted by the Japanese offerings, I decided to Buy 'Murican to reward the efforts Detroit was making to compete with with these upstarts.

A good friend bought a 1982 Dodge Charger 2.2, an extension of the Omni/Horizon platform. I on the other hand bought a 1982 Pontiac J2000 hatchback. The Dodge was getting decent press for its performance with that 2.2L engine, while my J2000 had the 1.8L carburated 4-cyl with a lousy 4-spd manual.

What a POS. Shifting was like stirring a tire iron in a coffee can full of nuts and bolts. My sister and BIL had a Datsun B210 with a manual which I drove the wheels off and its gearshift was like flipping a toggle switch. What a contrast. The J2000 was gutless, rusted in a damp breeze and ultimately died following a ski trip to Stowe, Vermont with -20°F temps where it refused to start and after belching huge plumes of black smoke once it started, never ran right ever again. Traded it for my first Acura, an 88 Integra 3dr with a manual. I LOVED that car.

That Charger my friend bought? He let me drive it a couple times, and strangely turned out to be worse than the Pontiac! Cheap plastic and flimsy controls greeted every touch on the interior.

Not sure who turned out better in those deals...
 
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