Chrysler Products <<Shudder>>
I have a not-entirely-rational distaste for Chrysler products. Also, I have an entirely-rational scorn for their reliability ratings per various publications.
My dad was a Chrysler man, more often than not, though did own some Ford products too (three, that I know of, over a lifetime vs. roughly ten Chryslers). He never bought JPN new, though did own one second-hand from me (my 1981 Celica Supra, another story). I grew up in the suburbs north of Detroit, Oakland County. (Oakland County has little to do with Detroit city-of, btw, for those not familiar with the area.)
Many of my peer's dads were auto company executives and managers. My dad was not; rather, a manager of logistics for a major hardware (IT) firm. Nevertheless, I grew up seeing very few JPN cars in the area. To this day, Big 3 cars are more rule than exception in greater Detroit metro, as a point of area pride. I don't remember even seeing a Toyota until the late 1970s, though I was a just a kid in that decade. BMW and etc. were considered low-volume exotics. My cousin's 1980 BMW 320i (in Boston) may as well been a Ferrari for all I knew.
Suffice to say my dad had a LOT of Chrysler products, 1968 or so until his departure (last was a 2004 Chrysler Pacifica). In fact I grew up in, on, and around these products. He stood by them, to the last, downplaying any issues. Clearly his had more than a few, which bothered me when we discussed but never upset him all that much. Blown transmissions, electrical problems, little to not-so-little stuff.
I sold his Pacifica on his passing, for good money. It was not an enjoyable car in the details, and had screwball electrical problems I could not track down (didn't have time, tools, or patience to do this, as I was liquidating an estate within a time box). I wanted to like the Pacifica, but truly it was just a *blah* car. No real purpose to it, like most American cars, thus nothing to especially impress me enough to keep it.
Until and if things change, I have no intention of owning a Chrysler product, if only because Consumer Reports' and Edmunds' data says it all regarding owner experience: Below Average. There is so much vastly better out there, I'm unclear why they are (were, will-be) allowed to get away with the quality problems. To this day. Facts and data should rule the day, not dumb rhetoric about "Buy American", but that's life and politics I suppose.
My dad was a Chrysler man, more often than not, though did own some Ford products too (three, that I know of, over a lifetime vs. roughly ten Chryslers). He never bought JPN new, though did own one second-hand from me (my 1981 Celica Supra, another story). I grew up in the suburbs north of Detroit, Oakland County. (Oakland County has little to do with Detroit city-of, btw, for those not familiar with the area.)
Many of my peer's dads were auto company executives and managers. My dad was not; rather, a manager of logistics for a major hardware (IT) firm. Nevertheless, I grew up seeing very few JPN cars in the area. To this day, Big 3 cars are more rule than exception in greater Detroit metro, as a point of area pride. I don't remember even seeing a Toyota until the late 1970s, though I was a just a kid in that decade. BMW and etc. were considered low-volume exotics. My cousin's 1980 BMW 320i (in Boston) may as well been a Ferrari for all I knew.
Suffice to say my dad had a LOT of Chrysler products, 1968 or so until his departure (last was a 2004 Chrysler Pacifica). In fact I grew up in, on, and around these products. He stood by them, to the last, downplaying any issues. Clearly his had more than a few, which bothered me when we discussed but never upset him all that much. Blown transmissions, electrical problems, little to not-so-little stuff.
I sold his Pacifica on his passing, for good money. It was not an enjoyable car in the details, and had screwball electrical problems I could not track down (didn't have time, tools, or patience to do this, as I was liquidating an estate within a time box). I wanted to like the Pacifica, but truly it was just a *blah* car. No real purpose to it, like most American cars, thus nothing to especially impress me enough to keep it.
Until and if things change, I have no intention of owning a Chrysler product, if only because Consumer Reports' and Edmunds' data says it all regarding owner experience: Below Average. There is so much vastly better out there, I'm unclear why they are (were, will-be) allowed to get away with the quality problems. To this day. Facts and data should rule the day, not dumb rhetoric about "Buy American", but that's life and politics I suppose.
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