I was a kid when the Iron Duke came out. We had a Chevy Vega with the aluminum block 140 CI motor. Leaked a ton of oil and mom totaled it with about 23K miles on the clock. Someone ran a stop sign and T-Boned her in a residential area just a block from our house. Total loss! My dad bought my sister another Vega as her first car. Another junker, but it made it to 38K miles, before it started pouring oil from the motor.

My dad was a GM man and he tried so hard to stand up for their cars. He was so optimistic when the Iron Duke came out and he felt that the Chevy Monza/Pontiac Astra would become good cars.The list starts out good, but soon becomes terrible.

1967 Buick Wildcat

1973 Buick Centurion

1973 Chevy Vega Wagon

1975 Chevy Vega Wagon - my sister's first car

1976 Chevy Nova 2 door with a straight 6 - dad's commuter car

1977 Chevy Monte Carlo (305 4 Bbl V-8) - my sister's second car

1977 Pontiac Grand Prix (301 4 Bbl V-8) - my car in high school

1978 Buick Century Wagon (3.8L V-6 Even Fire)

1979 Pontiac Bonneville (350 4 Bbl V-8) - my car in college

1980 Chevy Camaro (305 4 Bbl V-8) - my car later in college

1981 Chevy Monte Carlo (262 CU V-8)

1981 Olds 98 (307 V-8)

1981 Pontiac Firebird (301 4Bbl V-8) - my sister's car

Dad passed and we got mom her last GM car. A 1991 Olds Cutlass Supreme with a 3.4L V-6) horrible car that didn't make it to 100K miles!

Then we got mom a Lexus ES 300 that she drove for years. Total loss from two accidents, so we got her a Lexus GS 350 - that's a nice car. It's 12 years old and she still drives it.

Comparing 2002 technology to 1991 technology is not really meaningful. Advances in engineering, design, materials technology even over a 10 year period are significant.

When I started in the mid '60s, heater hoses were changed annually, a tune-up was required in 12,000 miles, included new spark plugs and points, the engine would need rebuilding at about 60,000 miles, rings and valves, you could expect at least one wheel bearing to go in that time. Tires and brakes maybe 40,000 miles(no big leaps there), an occasional fuel pump tossed in. Front end alignment, once a year it was needed, ball joints and idler arm bushing failures not uncommon. Exhaust systems every couple of years, tailpipes and muffler at least. Leaky shock absorbers, in a couple of years you'd get at least one. You were doing good if plug wires lasted more than 2 years. Clutch release bearing, clutch friction and reface flywheel within the 60,000 mile rebuild. Auto transmissions were relatively trouble free at that time, they are maybe now 150,000 miles average before some repair is needed.

I agree that new cars are so much better and last so much longer with much less upkeep.

My dad's early GM cars were decent. 1967 Wildcat and 1973 Centurion. I'll even throw this one in the mix. After my 1979 Bonneville blew the motor, I drove a 1964 Chrysler New Yorker to college. I drove it for 2 1/2 years and I didn't touch the points, shocks, wheel bearing or heater hoses. When I bought the car, it had been sitting in a field for a long time. I had the transmission rebuilt, recovered the seats, rebuilt the carb and put in new spark plugs, cap, rotor, ball joints, wipers, fixed a leaking gas tank and replaced the battery. During my time of ownership, I changed the radiator hoses, changed the oil regularly, pulled the heads and found they were good and ditto for the cylinder walls, so I put it all back together with new gaskets. And I put a new set of Michelin's on. When I sold the car, it had over 160K miles. I'd say it was very reliable.

Something happened to the big three in the mid 70's. The cars got much worse, reliability suffered and major break downs became common. The 80's weren't much better and the 90's were mixed - some cars lasted longer, while others were bad straight from the factory.

Here's an example of how the Big Three lost their way. My sister had a 1979 Honda Accord with a 5 speed manual (the Accord first came out in 1976). It's 1970's technology, yet it would run circles around a GM car of the same era, the lowly Citation/Phoenix. Accord: 160k miles on the original motor and clutch. No wheel bearing problem. No leaky shocks. No exhaust problem. No suspension problems. Spark plugs would go for well over 50k miles. No carb rebuild. Peppy car that drove great.

Another example: I owned a 1978 Volvo 242 DL 2 door that I put over 350K miles on the original motor, one clutch and original transmission that never had grinding or slipping out of gear. No suspension problems. Only one set of front struts and rear shocks. Front and rear fuel pump changed. Radiator change once. Normal maintenance like brakes, belts, battery, hoses, filters and tires. Spark plugs over 60K miles. Cap an rotor about the same time. Same plug wires. Bosch FI and electronic ignition. One alternator. Original starter. Original FI system. Driveshaft center support and U joints replaced once. Original tie rods and rack and pinion unit. Original diff. Bulletproof car that wouldn't die.

I know Toyota owners who've had similar success with their cars. Ditto for Datsun, Mitsubishi and Mazda. And what about the 3M mile Volvo P1800.

I haven't owned a GM car for over 16 years. The last one was a disappointment (2002 Pontiac Grand Am) and I've found much better success with other brands. Also, no Fords or Mopar cars for a long time either.