Don't make them like
they used to? Thank goodness
By Peter
Davidson • Bankrate.com
"They sure don't make cars like they used to,
and thank God for that," says car expert Lauren Fix.
"Consumers demanded cars that require less-frequent
servicing," says Fix, a nationally recognized automotive expert
and consultant from Buffalo, N.Y and author of "Just Drive
It!" which is slated to be published later this year.
Well, they're here.
For one thing, today's cars need less maintenance.
In the early 1970s, cars still had point ignition
systems which required tune-ups every 12,000 to 15,000 miles. Spark
plugs rarely lasted more than 15,000 miles before they became fouled
with deposits from leaded gasoline.
Then in the 1980s, automakers introduced electronic
ignition systems. Once set, ignition timing remains unchanged.
With today's autos, virtually everything from idle
speed to ignition timing is computer controlled. Since there's
nothing left to "tune" in the traditional sense, all
that's required is to replace the spark plugs, filters and other
wear items periodically to keep the engine. Many new cars and
trucks don't even need to go in for a tune-up for 100,000 miles.
"Today's cars are also built to last longer,
much longer," says Fix, a representative for "Be Car Care
Aware," a consumer education campaign that promotes the benefits
of regular vehicle care and repair.
"They used to fall apart as their odometers
neared the 100,000-mile mark. Now they're built to last. Even
the less- costly models can stay on the road for 200,000 miles
or more," she says.
She attributes the improvements in automobile quality
to cutthroat competition among automakers. It started in the 1970s,
she says, when Japanese autos from Honda and Toyota began earning
kudos for reliability and longevity. As a result, domestic automakers
lost sales to their Asian counterparts.
In recent years, Korean automaker Hyundai has set
the bar even higher for quality by offering a 10-year warranty
on every car and SUV in its line.
"A decade ago, Korean automakers struggled
with a poor reputation for vehicle quality. Now they actually
surpass domestics and other imports in terms of initial quality,"
says Joe Ivers, executive director of quality for J.D. Powers
and Associates, a Westlake Village, Calif.-based company that
conducts research and offers consulting and into product quality
and customer satisfaction.
Pushed by competition, all automakers have invested
heavily in producing quality vehicles -- and they've succeeded.
Recently, GM's Buick, Cadillac, GMC and Chevrolet
showed marked improvement, according to J.D. Powers.
"GM has turned a corner toward closing the
quality gap with foreign manufacturers," says Ivers.
Finally, cars are safer thanks to the improvements
that have been added in the past 20 years such as air bags, electronic
stabilizing systems and anti-lock brakes.
Other safety life-saving improvements include:
-
Traction control, which improves
vehicle stability and steering control
-
All-wheel drive, which distributes
power between the front and rear wheels
-
Automatic-dimming rearview mirrors,
which reduce headlight glare
-
Energy-absorbing bumpers and steering
columns
-
Daytime running lights, which increase
vehicle visibility to other drivers.
And still more technological improvements are on
the horizon, like tires that never wear out and radar-based cruise
control systems that will automatically adjust speed based on
traffic conditions.
"The ultimate goal is to make cars that refuse
to crash," says Deepam Mishra, director of automotive business
at technology developer Sarnoff in Princeton, N.J.
For example, this year Infiniti is offering the
first lane-departure warning system on its FX model. It's designed
to warn drivers when their cars are about to swerve out of lane
-- an important advance since swerving leads to half of fatal
crashes each year.
The system depends on a tiny camera installed in
the rearview mirror which monitors lane markings. If a car traveling
at more than 45 miles per hour begins to move toward the markings
without the driver using his turn signal, the system starts beeping.
"Auto safety has come a long way in the past
20 years," says Fix. "But in my opinion, we haven't
seen anything yet."
-- Posted: Feb. 15, 2005
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