Does Fiat still own Chrysler?

[bersaguy]

14 hours ago, gregintenn said:

My sister and her husband have an original Coronet with a 426 hemi and 4 speed. She also has a new Challenger Scat Pack. There's no disputing which one is faster.

On the flip side, she's had this car for less than a year, and I know it'd been back to the dealership for repairs 3 times, and I wouldn't doubt more. My wife bought a new Honda in 2011. It has 112k miles on it, and has never needed any repair whatsoever.

I had a buddy's dad buy him a brand new 1965 Plymouth Sport Fury with 426/ 4 speed and another buddys dad bought him a Coronet with same package Then when the GTX's and Road Runners came out they went to the 440 Six Pack motors which we also quick, just not quick enough............LOL

[Quavodus]

The 426 Hemi is a legend. I was surprised though to learn of the actual horse power. I've seen it posted on internet, websites and a program on Speed Channel. At 5000 rpm its at 425 hp, give or take about 1-2 hp. At 6000 its about 470 hp. I always thought it would've been at least 50 more.

[Quavodus]

On 10/12/2018 at 1:35 PM, OLDNEWBIE said:

I watch Scotty Kilmer's  youtube channel quite a bit. Some people out there say he's a paid hack but I still enjoy the channel.

American and some European is all junk now according to him but especially Chrysler/Fiat. Toyota is usually the best bet he says.

The guy's got me so paranoid now I'm thinking my next vehicle I'm gonna fork out the dough and get a Toyota.

He does say if you buy new and don't plan on keeping it 100K miles plus.......Buy whatever you want it will last that long.

Well as far as Toyota being the best, maybe but, a lot of makes get 200,000+ miles now. When I was a kid that was like seeing a unicorn. Older guys would go to a used car lot and see a car with 100,000 and avoid it like the plague. Nowadays people buy them with 200,000 or more. I worked with a guy that had a 1990 Ford Ranger that had 400,000+ on it. He drove it everyday. Original motor too. 

[peejman]

44 minutes ago, Quavodus said:

Well as far as Toyota being the best, maybe but, a lot of makes get 200,000+ miles now. When I was a kid that was like seeing a unicorn. Older guys would go to a used car lot and see a car with 100,000 and avoid it like the plague. Nowadays people buy them with 200,000 or more. I worked with a guy that had a 1990 Ford Ranger that had 400,000+ on it. He drove it everyday. Original motor too. 

Keep up with the routine maintenance and most newer cars will last a long time. 300k is the 100k of 25 years ago. Stuff wears out, but it's rare these days to see an engine failure where the engine had oil in it at the time. 

[dralarms]

2 hours ago, peejman said:

Keep up with the routine maintenance and most newer cars will last a long time. 300k is the 100k of 25 years ago. Stuff wears out, but it's rare these days to see an engine failure where the engine had oil in it at the time. 

My 06 ram, 5.7 hemi just rolled over 320200.  Stock engine and tranny. 

[bersaguy]

8 hours ago, analog_kidd said:

I recently bought a RAM truck, and have been very happy with it so far.

I really wanted the Toyota Tundra, but they are seriously proud of that truck and wouldn't budge on price. Plus they just laughed when they unashamedly said "Yep, it gets 13 miles per gallon". My RAM gets 18-20 with the Hemi V8. For way less money, I got a much nicer truck than what I could have afforded with the Toyota. The options I got on this truck would have bumped the price up $12-15k at Toyota.

I was going to go Ford when I realized I couldn't afford Toyota, but the trucks I looked at just didn't get my juices flowing. The V6 they are pushing didn't seem to have the power of the RAM, and the interior seemed just blah.

Plus RAM threw in a lifetime powertrain warranty. I told them that the truck I was getting out of was nearly 20 years old, and I plan on keeping this one even longer. So, for me that is a good deal.

I hope you have great luck with your Dodge. I owned several Dodge trucks back in the day and liked them well enough. Had 3 Dodge 4x4's and never stuck one in the mud and believe me I tried hard. Would probably still own one of the Ramchangers but could not afford the gas for one now a days. Now as for that Lifetime unlimited Powertrain Warranty. Read the fine print and see if they have a milage limit they consider lifetime. A buddy of mine got caught with that one on a  new Ford he bought and didn't read the fine print on what is considered a lifetime. His expires at 125,000 miles and that was what pushed him over the edge it buying the truck. It was not made clear to him at the time. Needless to say he was not a happy camper when he got back to the dealership and couldn't find his sales man anywhere and finally someone told him he was off for the weekend. Never heard what came of it but my buddy is not in jail anyway.

[bersaguy]

Say what you want about the new import car motors but I have one for ya'll and it's an American. My brother up until he retired owned a Body shop that fixed wrecks and did general body work. He had a 1962 dodge pickup truck with a  slant 6 235 CID motor in it. When he bought it the truck had 21,000 miles on it and he bought it to run for parts and run errands. They did the regular maintainence on it when it was time. He retired and sold his business in 2003 and that old dodge truck had 467,000 miles on it and it was the original motor. in the later years he said every time they started it up it sounded like a hay baler and you could hear every lifter in it but it was still starting and running the day the new owners took over the business. Say what you want but pound for pound the slant 6 225 and 235 motors were  2 of the best engines ever built by and American auto maker.

[monkeylizard]

If you don't like US brands being owned by foreign companies, then you're really going to hate what's coming next. China is dictating what gets built and will control the design direction for the next 20 years or more. It's all about the money and the Chinese market bought 28.2 million new cars in 2017 vs our 17.2 million. Plus that market is growing and ours is shrinking. If I was running a car company, I know which customers I'd be designing my products for. Plus the Chinese government is requiring a WHOLE lot of electric-only vehicles in the coming years and that's going to make its way here. Like it or not.

[Quavodus]

Its just sad. I like a lot of the newer cars and trucks but, its just the way businness is done now.

Edited October 14, 2018 by Quavodus

[Quavodus]

11 hours ago, monkeylizard said:

If you don't like US brands being owned by foreign companies, then you're really going to hate what's coming next. China is dictating what gets built and will control the design direction for the next 20 years or more. It's all about the money and the Chinese market bought 28.2 million new cars in 2017 vs our 17.2 million. Plus that market is growing and ours is shrinking. If I was running a car company, I know which customers I'd be designing my products for. Plus the Chinese government is requiring a WHOLE lot of electric-only vehicles in the coming years and that's going to make its way here. Like it or not.

Theres something to be said about the good 'ol days.

[MacGyver]

5 minutes ago, Quavodus said:

Theres something to be said about the good 'ol days.

They’re not coming back.  

We can be nostalgic for the past - but the economic opportunities of the future are going to look a lot different than those of the past.  The biggest opportunities will either be hyper-local where distribution doesnt work at scale or they’ll be global.  

[Grayfox54]

Chrysler sure ain't what they once was. When I was a kid my Mom had a thing for the Plymouth Fury III with the 383 engine.  Big old land yacht that it was, it was a good choice for her business.  I know she owned two, but maybe it was three. They served her well, but come tune-up time, changing that #8 spark plug was a real PITA!  Changing that one plug took twice as long as changing the other seven and was guaranteed to result in blood and some serious cussin'.  

In the mid 70s I bought a used 1972 Dodge Dart Swinger  with that nasty little 340 in it. I admit it was the fastest car I've ever owned, Good lookin' too. But it seemed like I spent more time fixing the damned thing than actually driving it.   One week after I got it, the transmission went out. Thank God for 2nd owner warranties which my Dad was smart enough to add.  When the dealer got through with it, he told me the only original part still in it was the case. It was a love/hate relationship at best and as soon as I got it paid off, it was gone. 

Now, after 42 years of turning wrenches, I wouldn't own a Chysler product of any kind and would strongly recommend against them. They are complete POSs these days. And yes, that includes the much praised Ram trucks. We tried them in our city fleet for a while and they wouldn't hold up. Also, when Ford discontinued the Crown Vic, we tried the Dodge Chargers as Police cars for a while. Same problem, they just can't hold up to that kind of work. 

JMHO: stay the Hell away from Chysler! 

 

[bersaguy]

34 minutes ago, Grayfox54 said:

Chrysler sure ain't what they once was. When I was a kid my Mom had a thing for the Plymouth Fury III with the 383 engine.  Big old land yacht that it was, it was a good choice for her business.  I know she owned two, but maybe it was three. They served her well, but come tune-up time, changing that #8 spark plug was a real PITA!  Changing that one plug took twice as long as changing the other seven and was guaranteed to result in blood and some serious cussin'.  

In the mid 70s I bought a used 1972 Dodge Dart Swinger  with that nasty little 340 in it. I admit it was the fastest car I've ever owned, Good lookin' too. But it seemed like I spent more time fixing the damned thing than actually driving it.   One week after I got it, the transmission went out. Thank God for 2nd owner warranties which my Dad was smart enough to add.  When the dealer got through with it, he told me the only original part still in it was the case. It was a love/hate relationship at best and as soon as I got it paid off, it was gone. 

Now, after 42 years of turning wrenches, I wouldn't own a Chysler product of any kind and would strongly recommend against them. They are complete POSs these days. And yes, that includes the much praised Ram trucks. We tried them in our city fleet for a while and they wouldn't hold up. Also, when Ford discontinued the Crown Vic, we tried the Dodge Chargers as Police cars for a while. Same problem, they just can't hold up to that kind of work. 

JMHO: stay the Hell away from Chysler! 

 

Back in the day when a police department placed an order for new cars the cars the police got were not the same cars you bought at a dealership. They were special built strictly for police use and they held up a lot better than the Police cars of today because they don't special build the police cars any longer so what the police get it the same thing you get at a dealership. That is why they don't hold up. I got that information from a mechanic that works in the Metro Police department garage. He said there is nothing special about them any longer.

[Grayfox54]

Yep, that is true. Even just a few years ago when the Crown Vic was still THE police car, we got ours with a "police" package. About all that amounted to was rubber floor mats and a heavy duty electrical system to handle all the electronics cops use these days. However, Ford did include pre-wired harnesses for things like lights, computers, radios and such. That was good. 

A few years back when we were trying the Charger Police cars, I just happened to be the first on the scene at a traffic accident involving a city truck. A couple of minutes later, a patrol car came roaring in at a high speed. The damned Dodge's brakes were smoking so bad that I ignored the accident and went over to make sure the damned car wasn't on fire! 

[bersaguy]

1 hour ago, Grayfox54 said:

Yep, that is true. Even just a few years ago when the Crown Vic was still THE police car, we got ours with a "police" package. About all that amounted to was rubber floor mats and a heavy duty electrical system to handle all the electronics cops use these days. However, Ford did include pre-wired harnesses for things like lights, computers, radios and such. That was good. 

A few years back when we were trying the Charger Police cars, I just happened to be the first on the scene at a traffic accident involving a city truck. A couple of minutes later, a patrol car came roaring in at a high speed. The damned Dodge's brakes were smoking so bad that I ignored the accident and went over to make sure the damned car wasn't on fire! 

Yep, they quit putting the special suspensions on them, the over size brakes on them and anything else not stock on common cars. They said that was to prevent the high speed pursuits that police officers got involved in. They don't want the officers to get involved in them any longer and tell the officers to use their radios to relate where the bad guy is and hope their are cars closer to the and guy so they can do the stop. I don't think it's working because the police are still doing high speed pursuits hoping they can chase them into some spike strips with officers ahead of them. Some times it works and sometimes it don't. 

[peejman]

 

3 hours ago, bersaguy said:

Yep, they quit putting the special suspensions on them, the over size brakes on them and anything else not stock on common cars. They said that was to prevent the high speed pursuits that police officers got involved in. They don't want the officers to get involved in them any longer and tell the officers to use their radios to relate where the bad guy is and hope their are cars closer to the and guy so they can do the stop. I don't think it's working because the police are still doing high speed pursuits hoping they can chase them into some spike strips with officers ahead of them. Some times it works and sometimes it don't. 

Nope, it was because the "normal" car already has the vast majority of the "police" upgrades from 20 years ago. It already meets the "police endurance" specs, hence the 100k miles of the past is 300k miles today. 

Police cars don't have bigger brakes because modern brakes are huge and there isn't room for anything bigger. They don't have "heavy duty" cooling systems because the normal car is designed to sit idling for hours and not over-heat.  They don't have high output alternators because the normal car already has one. The base electrical loads have increased tremendously over the years.