G
GadgetRick
Guest
Well, many auto manufacturers have been struggling. Part of that has been the economy. No matter how well the government is telling us the US economy is doing, it's not totally true. We're still hurting although slightly better. We're at risk of another bumpy road ahead as well. Manufacturing (as a whole) has been hurt BADLY over the last 5 years and hasn't recovered yet. So all of these guys need a hit to boost their profits.
The whole LR reliability issue is quite annoying actually. The Freelander I had was a pretty solid truck. So far, the Disco I have has been even better. I think the problem with the press who reports on reliability is they lump ALL issues--no matter how minor--as a hit against a given auto's reliability. So if, for instance, a piece of plastic needs to be replaced because it wasn't installed properly and broke, that's just as bad as say, a transmission problem where you can't even drive the auto. Not a totally fair comparison if you ask me.
Are there autos which have very few of these kinds of problems? Sure. Many Japanese autos are like this but they are, well, boring. Great autos but not much in the fun factor (overall). Even BMW and Mercedes have been falling lower on these lists of reliability.
I look at it like this. If LRs weren't reliable, why would people be using them in VERY remote areas in EXTREMELY harsh environments? They must be pretty good to work in these places and have gotten the reputation they have. The American press has pushed this perception that autos like LRs aren't reliable and the American people (being the sheep we tend to be) have bought into this.
Take Consumers Reports as an example. Typically, a very good publication for this sort of information. However, notice their trend over the years of not writing good things about autos from companies like BMW, Mercedes, etc. Sure, a model or two has gotten good reviews but, overall, they tend to say they just aren't terribly practical and very expensive so they don't write the great things about them like they would for say, a Honda Accord. They tend to be OVERLY practical.
And forget about pubs like Motor Trend and the like. Ever notice who wins their awards? Coincidentally, it always seems to be the auto with the biggest ad in the magazine. You tell me what's going on there.
However, the public wants a reason not to spend the money on an auto like a LR. Since the publications out there tell us they're unreliable they must be so I'm not gonna spend the money on that.
It's quite annoying but I don't see it changing anytime soon, if ever...
The whole LR reliability issue is quite annoying actually. The Freelander I had was a pretty solid truck. So far, the Disco I have has been even better. I think the problem with the press who reports on reliability is they lump ALL issues--no matter how minor--as a hit against a given auto's reliability. So if, for instance, a piece of plastic needs to be replaced because it wasn't installed properly and broke, that's just as bad as say, a transmission problem where you can't even drive the auto. Not a totally fair comparison if you ask me.
Are there autos which have very few of these kinds of problems? Sure. Many Japanese autos are like this but they are, well, boring. Great autos but not much in the fun factor (overall). Even BMW and Mercedes have been falling lower on these lists of reliability.
I look at it like this. If LRs weren't reliable, why would people be using them in VERY remote areas in EXTREMELY harsh environments? They must be pretty good to work in these places and have gotten the reputation they have. The American press has pushed this perception that autos like LRs aren't reliable and the American people (being the sheep we tend to be) have bought into this.
Take Consumers Reports as an example. Typically, a very good publication for this sort of information. However, notice their trend over the years of not writing good things about autos from companies like BMW, Mercedes, etc. Sure, a model or two has gotten good reviews but, overall, they tend to say they just aren't terribly practical and very expensive so they don't write the great things about them like they would for say, a Honda Accord. They tend to be OVERLY practical.
And forget about pubs like Motor Trend and the like. Ever notice who wins their awards? Coincidentally, it always seems to be the auto with the biggest ad in the magazine. You tell me what's going on there.
However, the public wants a reason not to spend the money on an auto like a LR. Since the publications out there tell us they're unreliable they must be so I'm not gonna spend the money on that.
It's quite annoying but I don't see it changing anytime soon, if ever...
