[enkeivette]

And WHY.

I'm going to go with Dodge.

Here's a story for ya. I spent about an hour talking with Tony B (the owner of Fullerton Dodge, the buff guy from TV) about Vipers. He's owned 5 or 6 now, if not more. He said that they're awesome to drive, and I'll admit it's definetely one of the most attractive cars ever made. But he claimed that several of them overheated! And said that they're just not reliable... from the local king of Dodge himself.

My mom's Intrepid also had problems, so did my friends Sebring. All at low miles. My DD has 80K miles, and has already managed to toast a transmission, a timing belt and consequently all of the valves. I've also needed to replace the shifter cables and the spark plug wires, they were arcing on the coil. So major engine work, and a manual trans at less than 100K miles... I'm not in love.

Most Ford's sucked in the 90s, but at least they're getting better. Dodge on the other hand has not. Although my mom's SRT is fast, yes, it's just not reliable. For only being a few years old, it has already been though a full set of rotors (with moderate/ light use) it has needed repeated electrical work, and from what I hear, these things are notorious for toasting transmissions... sort of lke the 1st gen Neons. Also, my friends Magnum (Hemi) is now having lifter problems at less than 40K miles.

Also, in this decade, Dodge has had several SUV/ truck ball joint recalls... It's a f*cking ball joint! Get it right already, or use the ones from the 60s that seemed to work for ya! And the PT cruisers that had engine fire problems, because the power steering hoses would fail and spray PS oil all over the hot motor.

My most favorite (reasonably priced) auto manufacturer to date would have to be GM. Their trucks have balls, don't seem to have any problems, and are just fantastic IMHO. Plus, they don't have problems with failing injectors and turbos that the Ford Power Strokes seem to. Their sports cars have incredibly stout power trains that seem to be the choice of the aftermarket world, regardless of the generation. It's more common to see a Ford Hot Rod with a SBC or an LS1 than a SBF or a Mod Motor.

I know that I have limited experience, and my little tiny perspective probably means nothing, but this is how I feel. And this should be a good thread for the new Cafe that just opened up.