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We work on a number of Japanese commercials and they are truly awful to drive and work on, too complicated when trying to be simple.
Parts are dear too, not really built for this weather climate lots of rust and the engineering is very old fashioned.
I have a Japanese MPV and it has rust all over it, 1000% more than a Fiat Estate that is a year older. My daughter had a Suzuki Vitara that was very rusty at 5 years old.
The cars were/are reliable mechanically but both could teach a Lancia Beta how to rust away.
Unlike Fiat it appears the Japanese have still not discovered that steel can be galvanised.
My wife has a 51 reg Suzuki Grand Vitara, we do not wash it as much as we should the only things we have spent on are a new battery, one section of exhaust and front brake pads. My sister has an old Honda she never cleans it and it doesn't have a spot of rust on it.
We work on a number of Japanese commercials and they are truly awful to drive and work on, too complicated when trying to be simple.
Parts are dear too, not really built for this weather climate lots of rust and the engineering is very old fashioned.
I have a Japanese MPV and it has rust all over it, 1000% more than a Fiat Estate that is a year older. My daughter had a Suzuki Vitara that was very rusty at 5 years old.
The cars were/are reliable mechanically but both could teach a Lancia Beta how to rust away.
Unlike Fiat it appears the Japanese have still not discovered that steel can be galvanised.
My wife has a 51 reg Suzuki Grand Vitara, we do not wash it as much as we should the only things we have spent on are a new battery, one section of exhaust and front brake pads. My sister has an old Honda she never cleans it and it doesn't have a spot of rust on it.
The Mazda is "R" reg and has far more rust (Bonnet, Front wing seam & rear arches) than a "P" reg Fiat Marea which has none whatsoever.
The Vitara was "M" reg and may have been one of the ones built by Santana in Spain but at 10 years old the paint was just peeling off in sheets and revealing rusty panels underneath.
______________________________________________________________ Sed quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
We work on a number of Japanese commercials and they are truly awful to drive and work on, too complicated when trying to be simple.
Parts are dear too, not really built for this weather climate lots of rust and the engineering is very old fashioned.
I have a Japanese MPV and it has rust all over it, 1000% more than a Fiat Estate that is a year older. My daughter had a Suzuki Vitara that was very rusty at 5 years old.
The cars were/are reliable mechanically but both could teach a Lancia Beta how to rust away.
Unlike Fiat it appears the Japanese have still not discovered that steel can be galvanised.
My wife has a 51 reg Suzuki Grand Vitara, we do not wash it as much as we should the only things we have spent on are a new battery, one section of exhaust and front brake pads. My sister has an old Honda she never cleans it and it doesn't have a spot of rust on it.
The Mazda is "R" reg and has far more rust (Bonnet, Front wing seam & rear arches) than a "P" reg Fiat Marea which has none whatsoever.
The Vitara was "M" reg and may have been one of the ones built by Santana in Spain but at 10 years old the paint was just peeling off in sheets and revealing rusty panels underneath.
I had Ford Granadas and Vauxhall Carltons that had rot holes within 5 years. Nissan, Toyota and Mitsubishi cars were particularly good at disintegrating as were Renault. A lot of Fiats and Alfas of the 70s and eighties spent more time in garages than on the road, and to top it off We had a brand new Mercedes 207D van Y Reg in 1992 which turned from white to white and brown rust camouflage in less than 2 years. Thank goodness that things have come on a lot in the last few years for all manufacturers.
We work on a number of Japanese commercials and they are truly awful to drive and work on, too complicated when trying to be simple.
Parts are dear too, not really built for this weather climate lots of rust and the engineering is very old fashioned.
I have a Japanese MPV and it has rust all over it, 1000% more than a Fiat Estate that is a year older. My daughter had a Suzuki Vitara that was very rusty at 5 years old.
The cars were/are reliable mechanically but both could teach a Lancia Beta how to rust away.
Unlike Fiat it appears the Japanese have still not discovered that steel can be galvanised.
I've just sold an 8 year old Mitsubishi Evolution at weekend. It was red (aka pink most of the time) and starting to rust all over. Shocking really.
If it was an 8 year old BMW M3, it wouldn't have any on it at all.
I only sold it because I didn't want the hassle of £2-£3k for the repairs and respray
To compare a brand new motorhome to a 8 or 10 year old car cant really be classed as an equal or fair comparison. To compare them to commercial vehicles like is also not at all accurate. There are probably 90% more Transits on UK roads compared to Ducatos in the commercial market but in the leisure market the figures are probably pretty much reversed.
The only way that a true comparison can be made is for a Japanese manufacturer and a motorhome manufacturer to get some built and out on either demo or rental, so that the general public can get a hands on experience of the vehicles and then we will see what decisions they make knowing the full and correct facts and figures.
I received a phone call today from Bob Morris of Isuzu Truck UK. This followed an email reply that Nikki King their MD sent me.
We had a very interesting discussion on this subject and covered many of the points brought up on this thread.
Although I have owned Japanese cars and a Japanese van I am no expert on their vehicles so other than my experiences and what I hear on the Internet and from other sources I do admit to have a limited knowledge on this subject.
For this reason I have asked Bob to come onto the forum and give us some more information. From our conversation today I think that he should be able to enlighten us a little more on the subject of of Japanese chassis.
One thing he did tell me that I didn't know is that Winnebago have used Isuzu chassis on their RVs but they were under the GMC badge.
I found this TRUCKWORD.com.au
PLEASE NOTE THIS ARTICLE IS DATED 2008 Current Isuzu Trucks are all Euro5
In an Australian first, Isuzu Australia Limited (IAL) is offering motorhome builders a modified cab chassis straight from the factory, reducing the time and effort required for body fitment by local manufacturers.
Isuzu's NQR 450 Premium (motorhome spec) incorporates an engine inspection hatch instead of the traditional cab-tilt engine access used in most other truck applications.
According to research conducted by insurer Australian Pensioner's Insurance Agency (APIA), two-thirds of Australians over 55 years of age are eager to take a trip for an extended period of time around Australia. This is a ritual, which is most commonly referred to as the trip of the 'grey nomads'.
Comprising of mainly baby boomers, APIA's research finds that almost 50 per cent would like to spend more than four to six months on the road travelling, a statistic that is leading to a burgeoning motorhome industry.
Available in many sizes and with varying appointment levels, the most popular motorhomes are the C Class which offer a good combination of size, appointment levels and affordability.
Isuzu's NQR 450 Long Premium provides the cab chassis for a variety of C Class motorhomes , due to its well regarded specification and impressive level of standard features.
Equipped with an easy-to-use Automated Manual Transmission (AMT), cruise control and multi-media infotainment system including standard satellite navigation and optional (available at extra cost) reversing cameras, the Isuzu truck is one of the most user friendly on the market.
According to IAL Engineering & Product Support Manager, Simon Humphries, the NQR 450's advanced safety features combined with special factory modifications make it ideal for motorhome applications.
"Instead of the usual cab-tilt, which is commonly used for engine access, the NQR 450 Long Premium has been modified to include an engine inspection hatch, providing easy access to the engine for maintenance and repair," Mr Humphries said
"Features such as driver and passenger airbag, Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Anti Skid Regulator (ASR), electric mirrors and front and rear stabiliser bars make this truck extremely safe and easy to drive."
In addition to the user friendliness of the truck and car-like comfort features, the Isuzu SiTEC Series II 185 engine is also one of the cleanest and most fuel efficient on the market, according to Mr Humphries.
"The 'New Generation' Isuzu SiTEC Series II engines are rated to a minimum of EuroIV emissions standards, making them some of the cleanest conventional diesel engines available on the Australian market," he said.
"Whilst both the USEPA 04 standard and European measures meet Australia's ADR 80/02 emissions regulations introduced earlier this year, the Isuzu engines emit as little as one sixth of the harmful exhaust particulate matter (PM) standard met by other comparable Japanese trucks.
"Providing this specification truck directly from the Isuzu factory has certainly pleased many motorhome manufacturers, and in turn is making the building process faster and more efficient for customers."
My previous posts focussed on large vans. The reason I posted them was in response to peoples beliefs that Japanese vans are too narrow for large conversions. I think that these posts prove that you can go from one extreme in motorhome size to the other. There are some great small coachbuilts on either 4x4 or 2x4 chassis also. I will post some photos later.
I also consider Winnebago to be one of, if not the leading US manufacturer of RVs. If they are happy to manufacture top range motorhomes which sell at hundreds of thousands of Austrailian dollars they must consider them to be reliable and of good quality.
I sent Swift an email at the time I started this thread asking them if they would consider using Japanese chassis on their vans.
Swift did not even have the courtesy to answer my email. Can't say I am surprised and unfortunately it once again reinforces my belief that British manufacturers offer a poor customer service, one of the reasons I decided that I would buy a German van.
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