I would not care if a 60MPG car made in the US was made in a union or non-union shop. What bearing does a union have on whether a product is good or bad?
57 mpg? That's so 20 years ago
- Thread starter Camper
- Start date
greg334
Veteran Expediter
Scranton??
Nope New Stanton, which is also known by Westmorland plant. It was most definitely union and the UAW screwed VW every which way but Sunday with their strikes and demands.
Link all you want, the real world and the EPA ratings were two different things. The real world didn't match the epa ratings and many people didn't even bother with the epa ratings but trusted reviews like consumer reports.
Actually it is a bit more complex than that. Chrysler drop it for a number of reasons, one was that it did not fit into their newer models where a v6 would. The emissions issue was simply a good reason to just remove the engine out of the line up and using the remaining production capacity to fill industrial orders.
Is it missed?
Only by a few, the versatility of the engine was limited.
As for 25 mpg, I wonder what car got that - outside of the epa ratings which actually mean nothing, how many actually got more than 20 without premium gas? My little 'a' bodies were good cars, the one I liked and should have kept was my '61 with the 170 slant in it, but alas hindsight is a great thing.
The strikes were a part, not the only reason, that plant shut down. The loss of certain tax breaks on the property were a contributing factor.
As I said, the UAW and the tax break loss were contributing factors, not the only causes.
Camper
Not a Member
OK..I'm not familiar with that particular operation. At any rate, it seems to have been a lesson VW learned from, as none of their subsequent factories are unionized, as far as I know.
Yes, EPA ratings are different from and usually higher than actual("real world") mileage. I didn't say I believed them..
Other than true MOPAR enthusiasts, I'd be hard pressed to find many who truly miss the Slant 6. The point is, it's another example of a great engine that doesn't meet today's nanny state environmental standards.
Hot in this truck too. Having to idle, my whimpy APU cannot keep up.
Dakota
Veteran Expediter
There' nothing like the sound of a Mopar Starter
Camper
Not a Member
No bearing per se on reliability but historically, non-union-made cars tended to perform better than union made counterparts in their class. For instance, Ford Escorts were good cars but they were nowhere near as reliable or economical as say Honda Civics or Toyota Tercels. Whether that was a union made vs. non-union made is debatable but at minimum it's a curious coincidence.
The real issue for me has more to do with politics than reliability. All else being equal, I'll take non-union made over union made any day of the week. The reliability happens to be an added bonus.
There' nothing like the sound of a Mopar Starter
Man, you got that right! Our next door neighbor had one when we were growing up. It would wake me up when he started that car in the morning.
