Yup. And in the 80's my parents drove shitty little econo-cars and we had 3 large vegetable gardens and lots of other stuff that all pointed towards the not so great times my folks were experiencing financially. As a kid I didn’t think about it. But in hindsite a lot of folks in that era were going through the same…

I’m only 40 but have been through it seems like 3 economic collapses:

They are also tied to economic bubbles as well as collapses. Come the pending recession Americans will do what they always do: Panic, sell at a huge loss, fill the lots with the things and maybe for about 10 seconds start buying you know- actual, practical, cheaper cars. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

Thanks for mentioning this. It always pisses me off when ( usually some loud right winger ) bellows about GM and then ignorantly proclaims Ford required no bailout when in fact they totally did.

At the end of the day... its not exactly even that good looking. If anything it looks like a plain-ole-Mercedes. But given the (still) bubbly economy I assume Mercedes figured the time is ripe now if any to pull more money from some gullible pockets.

The picture of the engine is exactly why most German cars tend to start having serious issues within 3-4 years: Just look at that yellow plastic chain guide. Toyota tried something like that in the 80's and they would wear out and the chain would then start sawing into the engine block. So much unnecessarily, overly…

Both of these guys come off as cranky old men who are crabby that they have a car that’s actually different. Secondly, the car they have is probably one of the very earliest examples thus some of the bugs mentioned have likely been worked out anyway.

Hmmm... You know, I had been looking at replacing my 23 year old Tacoma with either a new Tacoma or Chevy Colorado but seeing as how they are

Ok, sure. fair enough. I just don’t really see a big difference between the two. They are more or less crossovers. But at least for around here the Traverse would actually be different.

So in other words you’re kind of being snotty about the Chevy just because its a Chevy. PS: My brother owns a Subaru outback and let me tell ya that even with its manual transmission its not exactly the most amazing thing I’ve driven... And yes- around here in the Bay Area where everyone turns their noses up at…

My Brother ownsA Subaru Outback. I’m sorry but its more or less like a camry shaped like a sorta-kinda-SUV-wagon thing.

Nah... practically every other hipster family in XXX metro area drives Subarus. At least the Traverse is different...

Cars today are more like akin to a PC, mobile phone or TV set. Tear em’ apart and they’re full of parts from any number of manufactures and put together whom knows where. My Volt was assembled in Detroit and is about 50% domestically produced content. The transmission is Japanese. The battery is Korean. The engine is…

Fair enough. I can buy that and yes- all its takes is one bad experience to sour someone’s opinion. That said, I’d say that anyone who really and truly wanted a vehicle they could outright count on for unquestionable reliability would still to this day be either a Toyota or Honda. We’ve owned many in our family and…

I agree with almost all of what you said. The public is weary of this. Weary of the investigation as well weary of hearing about our jackass president. I’d say many people are also starting to lose faith in the system: If a madman can get away with everything with zero repercussions then what value is the legal…

It looks like a puffer fish on wheels.

I dunno... My boss, My MIL, and several friends who’ve owned VW products- and for that matter any number of other german makes- have has a slew of issues with the things. The old stereotype that they’re more or less over-engineered is the reason for most of these issues. Ranging from complicated modules for the…

Do not go VW... my mother in law had a Jetta that had damned near nonstop problems. That and like 50% of those I know who’ve bought products from that company... Audi, VW, etc...

Hopefully the Diesel engine in these are better than the one that was in my cousin’s super duty. He has a 2012 super duty with a diesel that more or less self destructed. It’s been maintained and treated well and so now he’s having to install a new engine.

Whoopee... Another bland and easily forgettable SUV thing...