Women Don't Like Buying Cars Made In Detroit

[LWolf]

35. Some of it is a trust issue.

Some of it is that Detroit doesn't build what I want. They've never seemed to care about what I look for, until just recently.

I drove Ford, Mercury, Dodge, and Chevy vehicles the first 15 years of my driving life. They constantly broke down, left me on the side of the road, and needed constant extra maintenance. Especially the Fords. Most of them were gas guzzlers.

Here's what I want from a vehicle:

1. It must be rock-solid reliable: no break downs on the road.
2. It must be built well enough to take a licking and keep on ticking: regular oil changes and fluid checks/changes, air filters, windshield wipers; belts and hoses changed out every 100,000 miles; brakes and clutch every 100,000 miles; no major engine work needed until 250,000-300,000 miles have been reached; electrical systems etc. keep working.
3. It must LAST that 250-300K, 15-20 years. That's what makes it worth the price it costs to buy it.
4. It must be available in 4wd, or at least in awd. I prefer 4wd, because it's on demand and I can turn it off when not needed, increasing mpg. Unfortunately, unless it's a truck, awd with lower mileage seems to be the best available.
5a. It must get good gas mileage. Great gas mileage if possible. At least for its class.
5b. I'd love a hybrid or an electric vehicle that offered all of the above.

I don't care about making a fashion statement or a power statement with my care. I care about getting where I'm going safely, reliably, and economically.

Small, dependable, efficient, and will go the distance. Maybe Detroit is doing better on that "go the distance" thing than it was back in my first 15 years of driving. I don't know. The last 3 vehicles I've driven have taken me another 25 years without the cost in time, $$, roadside assistance, and repairs I experienced those first 15 years.