Brand Report Card - Ouch!

[Garagejockey]

My 97 Cherokee, 6 cyl., 5-speed manual, bought new gave me 298k trouble free miles. I’ve never spent a dime on my wife’s Civic, Acura RSX-S, nor her Toyota Celicas. I’m on my third Ford Explorer and they have been trouble free. All of the previous mentioned cars were bought new. My C5 Vette was a nightmare. The Vette was bought used and had been severely neglected. I guess it’s the way they are treated by their owners determines whether or not they hold up.

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[Zince]

My 2022 4XE with less than 1000 miles has been 6 weeks now in the dealer waiting for parts , still no delivery date , no answer to my numerous emails to customer service and 4 calls without a response . I own two newish land Rovers , customer service and dealer response with LR is way beyond Jeeps .
I have owned 3 Wranglers , up to this one the other two have been impeccable, but Jeep ownership experience is now dreadful and I am
Unlikely to be buying a fourth. The only suprise in this survey is they aren’t bottom !

 

[gato]

The good news? It's one of the few brands that sees reliability/satisfaction in an almost COMPLETE inverse relationship. Meaning that no matter how the brand performs, satisfaction is always high.

Well, this is only good news for Jeep/Stelantis.

What it really says is that Jeep buyers will take any crap they put out, and ask for more of the same. No wonder they have no incentive to do better. Why would they?

 

[Traveller128]

Fiat fell off the rankings. Still, this is one of the most fun cars I’ve ever owned!

Wanted to like it, but I need more power. This worked very well for twisty roads, PP ecoboost 6 speed with a fairly good list of mods. 51/49 weight balance, over a gee lateral. Serious fun car, but with some real HP. 340 at the wheels on 91 octane, 380 with 5 gallons of race gas and the high octane tune. 12.90s second quarter miler at our altitude, but launching it was tricky. Man, would it handle though. Like it was glued. Proof that Ford can do something right.

But, we weren't taking it out in the hills enough, so we traded it on the Crosstrek last May.

I built something that will do it all finally, finishing up on it the next couple weeks. Another Mopar.

 

[aldo98229]

Wanted to like it, but I need more power. This worked very well for twisty roads, PP ecoboost 6 speed with a fairly good list of mods. 51/49 weight balance, over a gee lateral. Serious fun car, but with some real HP. 340 at the wheels on 91 octane, 380 with 5 gallons of race gas and the high octane tune. 12.90s second quarter miler at our altitude, but launching it was tricky. Man, would it handle though. Like it was glued. Proof that Ford can do something right.

But, we weren't taking it out in the hills enough, so we traded it on the Crosstrek last May.

I built something that will do it all finally, finishing up on it the next couple weeks. Another Mopar.

I really want to like Mustang...but I just can’t.

I test drove the 2012-2014 Mustang many times. But Ford’s terrible craftsmanship sent me home without pulling the trigger every time. I ended in a Dodge Challenger SRT8: loved the looks, the craftsmanship was much better, and the 392 HEMI is a beast.

The current generation Mustang is much better...but the styling is still missing something IMO.

Small roadsters like the 124 Spider and the MX-5 are definitely an acquired taste; especially in North America. They are quite small, with barely adequate power to get moving at a decent paste. But once you get used to the nimbleness of such a lightweight vehicle, to the balanced chassis, the simplicity of the entire car, you are hooked.

To be fair, I test drove MX-5 many times too without buying one; it too was missing something. It wasn’t until I drove the Spider, with its more classic styling, raucous exhaust, perfectly tuned suspension, that I was finally hooked.

I do like the 2024 Mustang, but it will probably cost $64,000 by the time you put a 5.0 and leather seats in it...

 

[Robby Robot]

Proof that Ford can do something right.

Well, I'd agree that Ford can do something right...with a little help. I do like that 2.3 Ecoboost engine (I think it is far better than what Jeep is doing with that configuration). And it wasn't too long ago that engine was leading edge racing tech with Ford Motorsport.

I still love V8s though. This one was straight from Roush with no mods, but since the Holman Moody shop is so close to me, I'm considering having them redo the forced intake. This of course is sending the Roush purists up a tree but, like I say with Jeeps, "your rig, your mods." I also had spoken to the Holman Moody shop about doing a V8 conversion to my '09 Sahara JK which I still sometimes kick myself for not doing.

 

[Traveller128]

Well, I'd agree that Ford can do something right...with a little help. I do like that 2.3 Ecoboost engine (I think it is far better than what Jeep is doing with that configuration). And it wasn't too long ago that engine was leading edge racing tech with Ford Motorsport.

I still love V8s though. This one was straight from Roush with no mods, but since the Holman Moody shop is so close to me, I'm considering having them redo the forced intake. This of course is sending the Roush purists up a tree but, like I say with Jeeps, "your rig, your mods." I also had spoken to the Holman Moody shop about doing a V8 conversion to my '09 Sahara JK which I still sometimes kick myself for not doing.

I'm all about the V8's! I just can't keep away. Our latest project is a do-it-all hot rod like we drove 40 years ago (because we had ONE car then, not 4). The project goals were:

1. Can't be a show car. Those end up sitting, getting taken to shows, occasional track days, very seldom driven. In other words, not enjoyed. Been there, done that. Had some really neat cars, that ended up being sold with low miles. Some minor paint and body imperfections keep us from being nervous about using the car.

2. Must be able to do all the hot rod activities. Drag racing, road racing, shows if we want, club trips, etc.

3. Must be able to commute, take road trips, just generally be driven as a normal car.

4. 91 octane pump gas, no race gas, must be able to pull up to a pump and fill it. During the hottest summer months, I will probably throw a can of octane booster in it for safety. The idea being that there can be no special requirements that give us an excuse not to drive it any given day.

5. 500-550HP at the crank. At that level, things get fun. even heavy cars are a lot of fun. BUT, keeping the power level around there, keeps parts breakage down. 600HP and TQ is the magical place durability starts to be an issue with transmissions, axles, drive shafts and rear ends. The heavier the car and the more power it makes, the worse this gets.

6. Has to handle and stop. No weak brakes, no wallowing around in a passenger car that feels like a sofa. I prefer a muscle car that feels substantial, like an old school muscle car, but is nimble.

After a couple months of construction, this is what we ended up with. 2014 Charger Pursuit, BR9 package. Huge brakes, very firm suspension that handles, is stable, and is set up for extended high speed stability. Good hemi V8, relatively low miles (50K). After all the replaced parts to get it back to as new performance, I then added a Procharger P1X kit with their CARB legal tune. It's now over 500HP and it still gets good fuel mileage on trips (25mpg). It's getting 20-21 commuting, cold weather is hurting it a bit.

The thing that tipped me to the police car, is the suspension, brakes and all the extra cooling. Larger alternator, HD version of the 5 speed auto, should last under duress. Trans cooler, power steering cooler (large), oil cooler, HD radiator (severe duty II) with dual cooling fans. It's already ready to run at high speed for extended periods. When I decided to go with an ex pursuit car, it took me a few months to find a low mile one.

Taking it to test and tune Saturday April 1st, then on the 8th and then the 16th to get it dialed. Going to race it in the club challenge series at the local drag strip this year. Taking it to the NORC open road race in Ely NV to run the 110 average speed class (fastest we can go first time) and then possibly the Silver State Classic in September to run the 125 class (fastest we can go on the 2nd trip).

I'm having a blast commuting with it, it's very similar to early 70's Dodge police cars in that it feels like driving a big block, but it is completely smooth and quiet until you don't want it to be. It handles way better than you'd think, but it rides very firm. I happen to like that, so no biggy. It's a great trip car, good fuel mileage and I can stretch out my legs in it.

In short, it's fun, it commutes, and we'll see how well it races in a month. Taking it on a road trip later today up to Sun Valley where we'll be checking out creeks and trails.

 

[Traveller128]

Oh, and to put the cherry on the top, this has ties to Jeeping! Yes, it's a former Moab PD pursuit car. Some of you may have seen it over the years while you were down there. Still had a bunch of Moab clay/sand under it from dirt roads down there. Looks like Moab has come into serious money, because all their patrol cars are being swapped to Yukons with really nice scenic wraps on them. Good news is, they let some of these go with low miles. The place I got this had three, this was the cleanest one. This one was active until late spring last year.

 

[Heimkehr]

2014 Charger Pursuit, BR9 package.

What are the intake air temperature trends, relative to the filter's placement? Just curious.

 

[Traveller128]

What are the intake air temperature trends, relative to the filter's placement? Just curious.

They did infrared modeling originally, and found the left and right sides between the shock towers and the valve covers are the coolest places under hood. Oddly, where the factory filter housing picks up from is behind the headlight area, with a fender liner behind it, a lower cover that seals to the bumper underneath it, and there's not a great amount of air coming in except for between the frame and lower covers. It's actually warmer there since it's getting engine compartment air that came through the radiator.

The factory setup, does not lend itself well to outside cold air without making some holes to the front. Having a real hood scoop would help.

I have two Banks gauges picking up a LOT of info off the datastream, and it's not running hot intake temps. It's supposed to make rated power the way it is.

 

[Robby Robot]

Oh, and to put the cherry on the top, this has ties to Jeeping! Yes, it's a former Moab PD pursuit car. Some of you may have seen it over the years while you were down there. Still had a bunch of Moab clay/sand under it from dirt roads down there. Looks like Moab has come into serious money, because all their patrol cars are being swapped to Yukons with really nice scenic wraps on them. Good news is, they let some of these go with low miles. The place I got this had three, this was the cleanest one. This one was active until late spring last year.

That is one NICE project! I really hate to see this modern "muscle car era" come to a close, but I guess electric efficiency is the way of the future. As long as shops like Holman Moody (and yours, apparently!) keep them alive I'll keep cheering. I've never worked on any of the police cars but I've heard (specifically the Chargers) are quite robust so I imagine that's a splendid canvas to start with. Would love to see more of that.

And are those trials bikes in your profile pic? We might have some common ancestors!

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