Josh,
The reason? Honda and Toyota paid for it.
Tom
The reason? Honda and Toyota paid for it.
Tom
Honda Ridgeline, MT TRUCK of the year
- Thread starter Mike Ioco
- Start date
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Chuck Daily
Member
Mudflap - "That honostly confuses the crap out of me. How the hell are they the most reliable if this is their first year? I am scratching a hole in my head with this one."
Don't scratch too hard....go read the article and see for yourself.
http://autos.msn.com/advice/CRArt.aspx?contentid=4023544&src=LP%20pickups
Tom - "The reason? Honda and Toyota paid for it."
Yeah, right, Tom. Honda PAID Consumer Reports to report that. Man, if that ain't Conspiracy Theorist Theory, I don't know what is. You've already admited you are biased against anything Asian (Vehicle wise), so that comment shouldn't surprise anybody.
Consumer Reports prides itself on fair honest evaluations of everything they test. They won't even accept money for advertising from any of the car companies out there, let alone any other company that makes anything they test, so why would they be biased towards Honda/Toyota? I know, according to you Tom, EVERYBODY who reports ANYTHING on automobiles is biased towards Asain car manufacturers....I forgot.
Don't scratch too hard....go read the article and see for yourself.
http://autos.msn.com/advice/CRArt.aspx?contentid=4023544&src=LP%20pickups
Tom - "The reason? Honda and Toyota paid for it."
Yeah, right, Tom. Honda PAID Consumer Reports to report that. Man, if that ain't Conspiracy Theorist Theory, I don't know what is. You've already admited you are biased against anything Asian (Vehicle wise), so that comment shouldn't surprise anybody.
Consumer Reports prides itself on fair honest evaluations of everything they test. They won't even accept money for advertising from any of the car companies out there, let alone any other company that makes anything they test, so why would they be biased towards Honda/Toyota? I know, according to you Tom, EVERYBODY who reports ANYTHING on automobiles is biased towards Asain car manufacturers....I forgot.
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In 1989, CR reported saying the Mazda 323 was more reliable then the Mercury Tracer.
They were the exact car.
Go figure. Looks like Ford rushed in before the test and pulled a few wires so it wasn't reliable.
Tom
They were the exact car.
Go figure. Looks like Ford rushed in before the test and pulled a few wires so it wasn't reliable.
Tom
OK. I lied. I looked at this stupid thread again! :lol: Why?!?!? Why do I do it?!?!? Everytime I look at it I ask myself, why do I keep reading the ugly ridgeline thread? I already know it's the fastest, most reliable ugly TRUCK ever made, the past 6 months PROVE that! It will last forever and haul as much as any other 1/2 ton TRUCK, on 1/2 the gas and twice as fast. I know that. I'm going to burn my stupid Sport Trac right now and then I'm going to get on myvolkswagenbeetle.com and start me an arguement with those folk enjoying their bugs that my mini cooper it soooo much better than their old three-box shaped, I mean, ladybug shaped junk cars! :lol::lol::lol::lol:
Chuck Daily
Member
Tom - "In 1989, CR reported saying the Mazda 323 was more reliable then the Mercury Tracer. They were the exact car"
As most folks know, Ford is making some vehicles for Mazda, including the "B" Series pickups, that's true. But isn't it also true that Mazda have their own quality control folks on the Ford lines that make the Mazda vehicles? And isn't it true that, even though they may be bascially the same vehicle, that the same vehicles with that Mazda name tag are reportedly more reliable? How can that be? Could it be, with the additional quality control, that Mazda doesn't let so many unacceptable vehicles out the door? I don't know...I'm just asking the question.
Fred - "Everytime I look at it I ask myself, why do I keep reading the ugly ridgeline thread?"
Because maybe you're actually learning something?
Fred - " I'm going to burn my stupid Sport Trac right now and then I'm going to get on myvolkswagenbeetle.com and start me an arguement with those folk enjoying their bugs that my mini cooper it soooo much better than their old three-box shaped, I mean, ladybug shaped junk cars!"
Good thinkin', Fred, you go do that!
As most folks know, Ford is making some vehicles for Mazda, including the "B" Series pickups, that's true. But isn't it also true that Mazda have their own quality control folks on the Ford lines that make the Mazda vehicles? And isn't it true that, even though they may be bascially the same vehicle, that the same vehicles with that Mazda name tag are reportedly more reliable? How can that be? Could it be, with the additional quality control, that Mazda doesn't let so many unacceptable vehicles out the door? I don't know...I'm just asking the question.
Fred - "Everytime I look at it I ask myself, why do I keep reading the ugly ridgeline thread?"
Because maybe you're actually learning something?
Fred - " I'm going to burn my stupid Sport Trac right now and then I'm going to get on myvolkswagenbeetle.com and start me an arguement with those folk enjoying their bugs that my mini cooper it soooo much better than their old three-box shaped, I mean, ladybug shaped junk cars!"
Good thinkin', Fred, you go do that!
And also did you know Mazda made some cars for Ford. The Mercury Tracer was an identical clone to the 323, not the other way around. Fof had nothing to do in the building of the Tracer. Consumer Reports went as far as saying the 323 had a better feeling transmissin and the engine ran soother.
Mazda built the engine and tranny. I guess they built two different egines and tranny's. One for the Ford and one for the Mazda.
Tom
Mazda built the engine and tranny. I guess they built two different egines and tranny's. One for the Ford and one for the Mazda.
Tom
Josh Langel
Well-Known Member
I'm not trying to be a smart @ss, but why are you so sure that CR is so great/ what they say is what really is? I mean, instead of saying, "go read," TELL me why the RL is the most reliable since it's been out less than year. Don't tell me because some magazine says it, tell me why you think so.
Since the RL is nothing more then a rebadged Oddyssey, I guess that is why they give it the thumbs up. That and it is a Honda. That automaticaly means it is reliable.
Tom
Tom
Ethan X
Member
Eff the RL and the RL troll on this board.
Kerry Matthews
Well-Known Member
Somevody say "Tookie"?
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Chuck Daily
Member
Fred - "Yeah, that's it, I'm learning something! Yeah! Thank you, really. "
Hey, no problem. Just trying to help. Just doing what I can......
Tom - "And also did you know Mazda made some cars for Ford. The Mercury Tracer was an identical clone to the 323, not the other way around. Fof had nothing to do in the building of the Tracer. Consumer Reports went as far as saying the 323 had a better feeling transmissin and the engine ran soother."
No, I did not know that. I'd have to take your word on the CR report, because I never read it.
Now, you said, "Ford had nothing to do with the building of the Tracer". OK, so you are saying one major auto manufacturer has another one making maing vehicles for them, and they (Ford) had absolutely nothing to do with the building of the cars they (Mazda) were doing for them? You're serious?!? You think that the chief engineers at Ford told the Mazda engineers, "OK....over there in the corner is a bunch of Ford badges. Just build us a bunch of Tracers, slap the Ford badges on them, ship them to our dealers, and send us a bill. Thanks and see you when it's all over". You REALLY think that, Tom? If so, you are even more diluted than I thought you were. I can pretty much guarantee that Ford had some quality control people there making sure the Mazda folks were building them good vehicles.
Mud Flap - "I'm not trying to be a smart @ss...".
Too late.
Mud Flap - "but why are you so sure that CR is so great/ what they say is what really is? I mean, instead of saying, "go read," TELL me why the RL is the most reliable since it's been out less than year. Don't tell me because some magazine says it, tell me why you think so....".
CR has been a high water mark in the consumer products testing industry. Yeah, I think they are great. Are they perfect...?... no. But I think they are an excellent resource and, for whatever you are buying, they help you narrow down the vast choices out there, to the best and most reliable. Using the information they publish, you can be a more educated consumerand you can choose a little more wisely.
The reason I said, "Go read" because, in the first case it was some what of a test to see, if you were so interested, maybe you would actually go and read it. Reading between the lines, it's pretty obvious, you did not go and read the article.
Now, I can only give you my .02 on the subject because, unlike CR I do not have access to surveys from 6 million auto owners. But, first of all, one of the reasons I think the RL is, and will be, reliable is attention to detail the Honda engineers have. The fit and finish of my RL is leaps and bounds ahead of other vehicles I have driven. I test drove a bunch of brand new pickups from other manufacturers and, during the test drive, they had squeaks and rattles. I mean, brand new, just off the semi and they were rattling?!?! You think those rattles are going to get better as the vehicle gets older? I think not.
Going back a second to fit and finish....the tolerances in my RL are some of the tightest I have seen, and eveything fits exactly the way it should. No big gaps here and little ones over here. I drove a brand new Silverado and it looked like Stevie Wonder put the friggin' thing together.
Now, as far as reliablility, I can only go on what I have experienced with my RL. I have a little over 9000 miles on mine, which isn't much as far as vehicles go, so it's still early in the realiability game, but my RL has performed perfectly. Not one hesitation, not any tranny slippage, nothing. It runs pretty much perfect. I couldn't have asked for any better.
I have owned other brand new vehicles that wouldn't start, sputtered, had to be towed back to the dealership several times during the first several months of ownership.... and have owned brand new vehicles where transmissions had to be "adjusted"
Hey, no problem. Just trying to help. Just doing what I can......
Tom - "And also did you know Mazda made some cars for Ford. The Mercury Tracer was an identical clone to the 323, not the other way around. Fof had nothing to do in the building of the Tracer. Consumer Reports went as far as saying the 323 had a better feeling transmissin and the engine ran soother."
No, I did not know that. I'd have to take your word on the CR report, because I never read it.
Now, you said, "Ford had nothing to do with the building of the Tracer". OK, so you are saying one major auto manufacturer has another one making maing vehicles for them, and they (Ford) had absolutely nothing to do with the building of the cars they (Mazda) were doing for them? You're serious?!? You think that the chief engineers at Ford told the Mazda engineers, "OK....over there in the corner is a bunch of Ford badges. Just build us a bunch of Tracers, slap the Ford badges on them, ship them to our dealers, and send us a bill. Thanks and see you when it's all over". You REALLY think that, Tom? If so, you are even more diluted than I thought you were. I can pretty much guarantee that Ford had some quality control people there making sure the Mazda folks were building them good vehicles.
Mud Flap - "I'm not trying to be a smart @ss...".
Too late.
Mud Flap - "but why are you so sure that CR is so great/ what they say is what really is? I mean, instead of saying, "go read," TELL me why the RL is the most reliable since it's been out less than year. Don't tell me because some magazine says it, tell me why you think so....".
CR has been a high water mark in the consumer products testing industry. Yeah, I think they are great. Are they perfect...?... no. But I think they are an excellent resource and, for whatever you are buying, they help you narrow down the vast choices out there, to the best and most reliable. Using the information they publish, you can be a more educated consumerand you can choose a little more wisely.
The reason I said, "Go read" because, in the first case it was some what of a test to see, if you were so interested, maybe you would actually go and read it. Reading between the lines, it's pretty obvious, you did not go and read the article.
Now, I can only give you my .02 on the subject because, unlike CR I do not have access to surveys from 6 million auto owners. But, first of all, one of the reasons I think the RL is, and will be, reliable is attention to detail the Honda engineers have. The fit and finish of my RL is leaps and bounds ahead of other vehicles I have driven. I test drove a bunch of brand new pickups from other manufacturers and, during the test drive, they had squeaks and rattles. I mean, brand new, just off the semi and they were rattling?!?! You think those rattles are going to get better as the vehicle gets older? I think not.
Going back a second to fit and finish....the tolerances in my RL are some of the tightest I have seen, and eveything fits exactly the way it should. No big gaps here and little ones over here. I drove a brand new Silverado and it looked like Stevie Wonder put the friggin' thing together.
Now, as far as reliablility, I can only go on what I have experienced with my RL. I have a little over 9000 miles on mine, which isn't much as far as vehicles go, so it's still early in the realiability game, but my RL has performed perfectly. Not one hesitation, not any tranny slippage, nothing. It runs pretty much perfect. I couldn't have asked for any better.
I have owned other brand new vehicles that wouldn't start, sputtered, had to be towed back to the dealership several times during the first several months of ownership.... and have owned brand new vehicles where transmissions had to be "adjusted"
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The Tracer was built by Mazda in the same assembly plan as the 323 was. The interior was identical, the exterior is too.
I could agree if they said that the body fit and finish was better on the Mazda because the grill and tailights were different on the Tracer.
As for saying the engine was better on the 323 is wrong. Plain and simple. Both engines were made in the same plant in Japan. You really think Ford would send thier engineers over there to make sure they are good? I don't buy that crap.
Cunsumer Reparts can be very misleading.
The government can say we added 1 million jobs last month. They forget to say we lost 1.1q million jobs last month to outsourcing. We actually lost 100,000 jobs.
Tom
I could agree if they said that the body fit and finish was better on the Mazda because the grill and tailights were different on the Tracer.
As for saying the engine was better on the 323 is wrong. Plain and simple. Both engines were made in the same plant in Japan. You really think Ford would send thier engineers over there to make sure they are good? I don't buy that crap.
Cunsumer Reparts can be very misleading.
The government can say we added 1 million jobs last month. They forget to say we lost 1.1q million jobs last month to outsourcing. We actually lost 100,000 jobs.
Tom
Nelson Atwell
Well-Known Member
This whole thread goes to show that if someone spends $25K on a vehicle, they will use any argument to prove they made a smart decision. Frankly, I think the Ridgeline and my ST both are crap compared to the Toyotas I've owned, but I don't have money like MudFlap to buy a new vehicle every six months. I've been on a first-name basis with the local service department for the past two years. I have been to see the Ford dealership at least monthly for the past two years getting this and that repaired.
I'll deal with my POS Ford as long as it runs or until I give it to my daughter. Then I'll buy a Toyota FJ Cruiser.
You guys can argue until the cows come home...oops there they are!
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The cows have come home!
I'll deal with my POS Ford as long as it runs or until I give it to my daughter. Then I'll buy a Toyota FJ Cruiser.
You guys can argue until the cows come home...oops there they are!
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The cows have come home!
Josh Langel
Well-Known Member
RLowner,
I don't care to read the report since it comes from a source which uses auto manufacturer advertisements as their sponsorship. Money talks.
I didn't even read the one on the Tundra. I careless. Since I have had my troubles with a couple of my vehicles that were "raved" by CR (or at least given high marks) I believe it's all in each and individual vehicle that the quality lies. I mean, I could have a perfect Tundra, but the next may be a POS. My first Trac was wonderful, but the second had just too many problems.
Caymen may say that the Tundra is junk; he may know someone whom owns a Tundra and it may be a piece of crap. Your RL is built (to your standards) well, so each and every person has their own standards. Some may think a little rattle in a truck is normal, I don't think so, but some people may... so they will most likely think the rattle isn't a problem and the vehicle may be 'perfect' to them. EVERY vehicle has a problem (or a blemish of some type).
I think the RL is pretty cool looking, but it's also not exactly what I want.
We're on a topic that consist of opinions (and some facts), so there won't be a common ground.
To me the Trac was a trend setter. It was perfect. After a little over five years some other vehicles have managed to make it into the market (including the RL).
I would wait to compare the RL to the new 07 ST, there are more similarities there. A better duel.
I have no clue as to the quality of the new Trac or RL, so I cannot say a thing.
Those who call a vehicle crap without having a bad experience with it (or personally knowing of one) are plain ignorant. Yes, IGNORANT.
I don't care to read the report since it comes from a source which uses auto manufacturer advertisements as their sponsorship. Money talks.
I didn't even read the one on the Tundra. I careless. Since I have had my troubles with a couple of my vehicles that were "raved" by CR (or at least given high marks) I believe it's all in each and individual vehicle that the quality lies. I mean, I could have a perfect Tundra, but the next may be a POS. My first Trac was wonderful, but the second had just too many problems.
Caymen may say that the Tundra is junk; he may know someone whom owns a Tundra and it may be a piece of crap. Your RL is built (to your standards) well, so each and every person has their own standards. Some may think a little rattle in a truck is normal, I don't think so, but some people may... so they will most likely think the rattle isn't a problem and the vehicle may be 'perfect' to them. EVERY vehicle has a problem (or a blemish of some type).
I think the RL is pretty cool looking, but it's also not exactly what I want.
We're on a topic that consist of opinions (and some facts), so there won't be a common ground.
To me the Trac was a trend setter. It was perfect. After a little over five years some other vehicles have managed to make it into the market (including the RL).
I would wait to compare the RL to the new 07 ST, there are more similarities there. A better duel.
I have no clue as to the quality of the new Trac or RL, so I cannot say a thing.
Those who call a vehicle crap without having a bad experience with it (or personally knowing of one) are plain ignorant. Yes, IGNORANT.
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Rick Kent
Well-Known Member
Wait a minute, I am not sure where everyone stands on this issue.
Can all of you that posted please explain it again to me?
Thanks
Can all of you that posted please explain it again to me?
Thanks
Kerry Matthews
Well-Known Member
The Ridgeline suks, and that's that... You like it, fine... Go back to your RL page.
Josh,
I agree with what you said. AThe media raves about the RL. "It is so much better then the Sport Trac" yaddi daddi dah. What was Honda doing when the Spor Trac came out?
How about Nissan? Toyota, Chevrolet? Dodge? Did the Sport Trac get Tyota's attention to produce more HP? What about Nissan. The Frontier with a Supercharger produced less HP then the Trac does. People complained about not having enough power. More power then Toyota, Nissan, and Chevrolet. People complained.
Consumer Reports can be very flawed.
I will use an example. I am just using it as a possible scenero.
Person A buys a Taurus. People say a Taurus in unreliable and should be avoided.
Person B buys a Accord. People say it is the best car out there.
Person A has a small problem. A wheel weight falls off causing an annoying vibration. The thought in the back of thier mind. "I wish I would have gotten an Accord. I would not have had this problem. Never agian, it is Honda only for me"
Person B has a fuel leak and the vehicle catches on fire. It is a total loss. In the back of that person's mind "I guess I must have gotten the one in a million bad Accord. If they were junk, nobody would say how good they are. Time to buy a new one."
The odds of every car coming off the production line being perfect is slim. I have had my issues with my Trac, but I also know I abuse my vehicles. I change my oil once a year, no mater the mileage. My Escort GT's oil is close to 3 years old. The Trac runs synthetic, the Escort GT doesn't. I live in an area with really nasty roads. I accept the fact that I will need ball joints and my shocks will fail quickly. Besides that, I drive the crap out of my vehicles. I overload them, I tow too heavy of a load. I drive too fast, I take off too hard. I run the tank nearly dry on every tank because I really hate getting gas. So, I fill up with the needle below E. I know they say you should not do that, but I don't care. If it breaks, odds are I broke it. My ball joints go bad, I accept the fact that our govenor would rather invest state money into a rare coin collection and loose the money the fix our roads. If I blow my Tranny, I remember when I hitched up my Trailer weighing 8000 LBS and pulled it up a steep hill. If I blow my engine, I know the number of times I have changed my oil over the course of 60,000+ miles.
Was it caused by me? Maybe, maybe not. I am willing to bet I did not help it survive any longer and I might have sped it up.
Tom
I agree with what you said. AThe media raves about the RL. "It is so much better then the Sport Trac" yaddi daddi dah. What was Honda doing when the Spor Trac came out?
How about Nissan? Toyota, Chevrolet? Dodge? Did the Sport Trac get Tyota's attention to produce more HP? What about Nissan. The Frontier with a Supercharger produced less HP then the Trac does. People complained about not having enough power. More power then Toyota, Nissan, and Chevrolet. People complained.
Consumer Reports can be very flawed.
I will use an example. I am just using it as a possible scenero.
Person A buys a Taurus. People say a Taurus in unreliable and should be avoided.
Person B buys a Accord. People say it is the best car out there.
Person A has a small problem. A wheel weight falls off causing an annoying vibration. The thought in the back of thier mind. "I wish I would have gotten an Accord. I would not have had this problem. Never agian, it is Honda only for me"
Person B has a fuel leak and the vehicle catches on fire. It is a total loss. In the back of that person's mind "I guess I must have gotten the one in a million bad Accord. If they were junk, nobody would say how good they are. Time to buy a new one."
The odds of every car coming off the production line being perfect is slim. I have had my issues with my Trac, but I also know I abuse my vehicles. I change my oil once a year, no mater the mileage. My Escort GT's oil is close to 3 years old. The Trac runs synthetic, the Escort GT doesn't. I live in an area with really nasty roads. I accept the fact that I will need ball joints and my shocks will fail quickly. Besides that, I drive the crap out of my vehicles. I overload them, I tow too heavy of a load. I drive too fast, I take off too hard. I run the tank nearly dry on every tank because I really hate getting gas. So, I fill up with the needle below E. I know they say you should not do that, but I don't care. If it breaks, odds are I broke it. My ball joints go bad, I accept the fact that our govenor would rather invest state money into a rare coin collection and loose the money the fix our roads. If I blow my Tranny, I remember when I hitched up my Trailer weighing 8000 LBS and pulled it up a steep hill. If I blow my engine, I know the number of times I have changed my oil over the course of 60,000+ miles.
Was it caused by me? Maybe, maybe not. I am willing to bet I did not help it survive any longer and I might have sped it up.
Tom
Chuck Daily
Member
Wow....a flurry of replies..... I like this...this is interesting....
Tom - "As for saying the engine was better on the 323 is wrong. Plain and simple. Both engines were made in the same plant in Japan. You really think Ford would send thier engineers over there to make sure they are good? I don't buy that crap."
Again, I did not see/read that article, so I will have to take your word on that.
You don't think Ford would send some engineers over to the Mazda plant, that is making the vehicles that they are going to put their name on, to make sure they are being assembled/made up to Ford's standards? You're really serious on that? Man, if you are right, and that's true, Ford has some major problems. I mean, they are going to have to close a bunch of plants and lay off a bunch of people of they can't get their stuff together. Oh, wait, they're already doing that. 0K,...cheap shot, I know..sorry.
I cannot comment on how the auto industry executes "cooperation" between manufacturers, and what transpires in the dealings/business with each other, because I have never been directly involved with one of those type of transactions. But, I can comment on how the lawn care industry does their business.
I was working as an IT contractor at John Deere in WI for 5 years. John Deere made a deal with Honda to build X number of lawn tractors for them. As it worked out, Honda actually saved money by having them built by John Deere here in the states, and JD could make more money per unit buy building Honda's tractors for them, than they would normally make on building and then selling their own tractors. So, it was a win-win for both companies.
I won't go into all of the details, because this post would be 10 times longer than this one will be, and it's going to be long as it is....but talking about quality control.....Honda would not let JD put JD's standard engines in their tractors. Those engines did not meet their quality control standards. They wanted their own engines in them. So, they built X number of engines, and sent them over to the states to have JD install them in the tractors. After the engines were built, they were checked by quality control. Before they were boxed for shipment, they were checked again. After they were taken out of the boxes, they were checked again. Just before they were installed in the tractors, they were checked....and after they were installed in the tractors they were checked and, before they went out they door, they were checked again. I forget the exact number of Honda tractors that JD assembled made for them, but in was in the range of 14,500, and in that number they had 1 engine fail after installation. One out of 14K. That's pretty good.
Now, does Honda do that kind of quality control on the cars/trucks they make? I dunno, but I bet is is almost as stringent. Maybe that is why they have a reputation for producing reliable vehicles because...well, they are reliable.
Mud Flap - "I don't care to read the report since it comes from a source which uses auto manufacturer advertisements as their sponsorship. Money talks."
Mud Flap, you are NOT paying attention. You must be thinking of Edmunds. CR DOES NOT accept advertising money from ANYBODY, let alone car manufacturers. That is the only way they can be unbiased in their reporting. They finance their operations by private fund raising and subscriptions to their magazine and website. They do not accept money from any company/person who's product might make it to their test labs. Anyway...I'm surprised you don't want to read it out of curiosity.
Mud Flap - "Those who call a vehicle crap without having a bad experience with it (or personally knowing of one) are plain ignorant. Yes, IGNORANT."
I agree 100%.
NelsonOKC - "Frankly, I think the Ridgeline and my ST both are crap compared to the Toyotas I've owned.."
NOKC...
Tom - "As for saying the engine was better on the 323 is wrong. Plain and simple. Both engines were made in the same plant in Japan. You really think Ford would send thier engineers over there to make sure they are good? I don't buy that crap."
Again, I did not see/read that article, so I will have to take your word on that.
You don't think Ford would send some engineers over to the Mazda plant, that is making the vehicles that they are going to put their name on, to make sure they are being assembled/made up to Ford's standards? You're really serious on that? Man, if you are right, and that's true, Ford has some major problems. I mean, they are going to have to close a bunch of plants and lay off a bunch of people of they can't get their stuff together. Oh, wait, they're already doing that. 0K,...cheap shot, I know..sorry.
I cannot comment on how the auto industry executes "cooperation" between manufacturers, and what transpires in the dealings/business with each other, because I have never been directly involved with one of those type of transactions. But, I can comment on how the lawn care industry does their business.
I was working as an IT contractor at John Deere in WI for 5 years. John Deere made a deal with Honda to build X number of lawn tractors for them. As it worked out, Honda actually saved money by having them built by John Deere here in the states, and JD could make more money per unit buy building Honda's tractors for them, than they would normally make on building and then selling their own tractors. So, it was a win-win for both companies.
I won't go into all of the details, because this post would be 10 times longer than this one will be, and it's going to be long as it is....but talking about quality control.....Honda would not let JD put JD's standard engines in their tractors. Those engines did not meet their quality control standards. They wanted their own engines in them. So, they built X number of engines, and sent them over to the states to have JD install them in the tractors. After the engines were built, they were checked by quality control. Before they were boxed for shipment, they were checked again. After they were taken out of the boxes, they were checked again. Just before they were installed in the tractors, they were checked....and after they were installed in the tractors they were checked and, before they went out they door, they were checked again. I forget the exact number of Honda tractors that JD assembled made for them, but in was in the range of 14,500, and in that number they had 1 engine fail after installation. One out of 14K. That's pretty good.
Now, does Honda do that kind of quality control on the cars/trucks they make? I dunno, but I bet is is almost as stringent. Maybe that is why they have a reputation for producing reliable vehicles because...well, they are reliable.
Mud Flap - "I don't care to read the report since it comes from a source which uses auto manufacturer advertisements as their sponsorship. Money talks."
Mud Flap, you are NOT paying attention. You must be thinking of Edmunds. CR DOES NOT accept advertising money from ANYBODY, let alone car manufacturers. That is the only way they can be unbiased in their reporting. They finance their operations by private fund raising and subscriptions to their magazine and website. They do not accept money from any company/person who's product might make it to their test labs. Anyway...I'm surprised you don't want to read it out of curiosity.
Mud Flap - "Those who call a vehicle crap without having a bad experience with it (or personally knowing of one) are plain ignorant. Yes, IGNORANT."
I agree 100%.
NelsonOKC - "Frankly, I think the Ridgeline and my ST both are crap compared to the Toyotas I've owned.."
NOKC...
Josh Langel
Well-Known Member
I'll go check the article out when I get a chance.
