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Quality Is Not Job 1

Overall vehicle safety and body fit and finish on both domestic and imported vehicles has improved among all Toronto airport limousine automakers during the past three decades. Premature rusting is less of a problem and reliability is improving. Repairs, however, are outrageously expensive and complicated. Owners of cars and minivans made by GM, Ford, and Chrysler still report serious powertrain deficiencies, often during the first year in service. These defects include electrical system failures caused by faulty computer modules; malfunctioning ABS systems, brake rotor warpage, and early pad wearout; failure-prone air conditioning and automatic transmissions; and defective engine head gaskets, intake manifolds, fuel systems, suspensions, steering, and paint.

Nothing shows the poor quality control of Detroit’s Big Three automakers as much as the poor fit and finish of body panels. Next time you are stuck in traffic, look at the trunk lid or rear hatch alignment of the vehicle in front of you.

Chances are, if it’s a Chrysler, Ford, or GM model, the trunk or hatch will be so misaligned that there will be a large gap on one side. Then look at most Asian products: Usually you will see perfectly aligned trunks and hatches, without any large gaps on either side.
That, in a nutshell, is Detroit’s problem.

BMW X1 review – The mid-size SUV market is growing steadily and the “soft-roaders” as they are known are becoming more popular so we asked “Serman” to check out BMW’s new X1. Will it be different enough to its larger stable-mates the X3 and the X5 to warrant its existence?

What is it? Well this is BMW’s latest spin-off; the 1-series SUV, or X1 as it is to be called. It’s squarely targeted at Audi’s Q3 and VW’s Tiquan and is classified as a mid-size SUV. To shed some light on the confusion surrounding BMW’s badge-naming dictionary, we suspect BMW used the 1-series moniker to help matters. It’s based on the current 3-series using many shared parts and built alongside the 1-series coupe at the Liepzig plant, Austria. It’s supposed to offer a more premium feel than Honda or Toyota’s soft-roaders but be as versatile as a full-blown SUV. But with 3-series DNA running through it and the option of rear-wheel-drive, it becomes even more appealing, even against the competition.