FCA seems to make the worst junk in automotive history. I was just wondering if there was ever a time when Chrysler was considered a good company that made reliable cars. And what caused Chrysler to go downhill?
The last time Dodge made reliable cars, the Dodge brothers were still alive.
At the start of the company their vehicles were actually very reliable. But after the brothers' untimely deaths, the company started going downhill and never recovered.
During Scottys time maybe. For many decades they haven't been going downhill, but falling through the earth, making their customers wish the ground beneath them would disintigrate and they could fall into the depths of the earths crust.
At some point they did, but it was a long time ago. Probably because of bad overall management, like their quality control and so forth.
Similar question asked here. Scroll down to Mod_Man’s answer:
https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/qa/the-last-great-model-of-bad-brands/
Honestly I think the motors throughout the history of Dodge/Chrysler have not been bad. I mean I got to give FCA credit for at least sticking to a NA V8 for most of their line up, while companies like Ford have transitioned to horrific GDI/Turbo motors. And the Cummins put in RAMS now is the gold standard today. The new ZF transmissions they are using now are overall solid and well built. They also make some great looking vehicles. The downfall is using garbage electronics and parts.
Agree on the Cummins being an excellent motor. However, now they are using some Italian-made diesel motors that are terrible quality.
Mod_Man yes you are correct. There is a reason I did not mention ECO diesel motors. And, again, you are right they are absolute trash piles. I was more referring to the HEMI line of motors and the Cummins. As far as motors that have an overall history of reliability.
If you go back to the 1960s to around 1975 they were very reliable for the most part. The Plymouth Valiant and Dodge Dart in particular were legendary for being nearly unkillable, at least until the bodies rusted away. TorqueFlite automatic transmissions were the best in the business and set the standard. Chrysler's quality took a severe tumble later in the 1970s with the release of the half-baked Volare and Aspen, and crap tech like the Lean-Burn system.
Going a bit further back, in the early 1950s Chrysler had a very good reputation for engineering but quality took a nosedive with the wildly-styled 1957 models rushed to market. It took quite a while for them to recover from that black eye.
