One of the guys I met at a GTG of Ford diesel truck owners had just started to work for the division of GM that built the ABS.
After his oreintation tour, his guide asked if he had any questions. he replied, " Who is the dumb SOB that designed that noisy ABS?"
His guide hung his head, and said, "Uh, that would be me...", "But", he went on, " The system you see is not the system I designed. The accountants kept asking me to reduce the cost, reduce the cost. What you have is a result of all that cost cutting"

Not to bash GM, but its the same story all over, everyone is looking to reduce cost to reach a price point that the marketing types say they have to reach.

How do the Koreans manage to get so much content into their cars at the ridiculously low prices they charge? Not saying that a Hyundai is a Mercedes; Hyundai lacks what an automotice enthusiast wants in a car,--that indefineable "feel"---, but if you think of a car as an appliance--they do a pretty good job.

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags