F. George McDuffee wrote:
On Fri, 24 Feb 2006 16:18:40 -0800, Tim Wescott
wrote:

To me, the Vega was frustratingly near miss -- they could have spent
5-10% more on the thing and had something that really was a good,
inexpensive car.

===============================
I think you have just identified *THE* cause for the current
problems at both Ford and GMC. The value analysis people did not
know when to stop, or the manufacturing people were over-ridden
by styling.

My current complaint is the use of plastic headlight lenses
and/or projector style lights in place of the standard size glass
lens units. After a few years the plastic lenses start to be
come cloudy and cut down the available light. New units are not
availalbe for most older cars and new ones that are available
cost 100$US and sometimes a lot more. I now have to use fine
compound and a buffer 2 times a year to keep the lenses clear.
Older sealed beams and even halogon units were 10$ each tops.

Yup. I got a rock hole in my Toyota's GLASS headlight, noticed the
problem before the mirror was wrecked and cleaned it with detergent
and water. Then I dried it out and put clear vinyl tape over the tiny
hole. It is still working fine, and the fix is so invisible the
safety inspection people can't even find it. Those headlights
are now 16 years old.

On our Dodge Ram van, the plastic headlights are very white and
hazy. I tried to buff them, and finally realized they were hazy
on the INSIDE, too, so I could buff till they wore through before
they would get clear. Those plastic headlights are only 6 years
old!

Jon