I've been following some of the diaries on the subject of Detroit's demise over the last few days. A common thread I've seen is complaints about the unreliability of american cars. Well, American auto manufacturers can and have done better- Ever look at the odometer of a big american truck? Rarely will you see less than 100,000 miles, and even 200,000 miles is considered barely broken in. Heck, the warranty often doesn't run out 'til 500,000 miles and maybe around a million miles an engine rebuild might be needed. But even at a million miles this ain't a week long pull the engine out of the car and tear it all apart rebuild- the diesel engines in big american trucks are designed to be rebuilt "in frame", with new rings, pistons, and liners slipped in from the top and bearings from the bottom. The electrical systems are the best available, with brushless alternators, circuit breakers instead of fuses, and LED lighting that lasts forever and is brighter for safety. At ports around the country, old american trucks are loaded for shipment around the world to buyers who prefer a used american truck to a new european or japanese truck- our american trucks have that great a reputation as the worlds most durable. Why can't we build cars like that?
It wasn't always this way- back in the bad old days of trucking rigs often spent as much time in the garage as on the road. As the freeway system developed truck usage went up and it wasn't unusual for a truck to cover 100,000 miles a year- suddenly ignition points that needed replacement every 5000 miles didn't cut it. The trucking industry demanded better, and manufacturers responded by evolving the truck of today with it's million plus mile life. We can do the same with the american automobile.
No, I'm not advocating that you all go buy a new Mack or Peterbuilt and drive it around like the ultimate SUV. What I'm suggesting is mass scale technology transfer from the big rigs to the everyday automobile. First we need to set up a feedback loop- truckers did this with organizations like the Maintainence Council and working with SAE to evaluate what works and what doesn't. For example, The Maintainence Council set "recommended practices" based on user experience for everything ftom dashboard layout to electrical systems. Many of the truck manufacturers wisely follow those standards. SAE set standards for frame dimensions, trailer coupling systems, data links, etc. that allow for interchangability of components. The american auto industry can do similar by placing their vehicles in high mileage applications, running the wheels off them, then connecting the drivers, mechanics, and engineers in a blog where failures are quickly reported, addressed, and rectified. Imagine logging into a blog at chevy.com and seeing the same model you just bought is having radiators go at 200,000 miles in 24 hour a day courier use. You note a couple drivers and mechanics discussing the problem. A couple hours later a GM engineer notes the problem and says they're talking to the radiator supplier about it. Next day the supplier's engineer reports that the problem has been found and a fix is in the works. A couple weeks later you get an e-mail from Chevy that the radiator is being recalled and you'll get a free replacement.
You start to get the feeling that your new Chevy is going to be around a few hundred thousand miles. In fact, that should be the plan. The engines of big trucks are designed for a B-50 (mean mileage before overhaul) of around a million miles. That's probably more than most of us will drive in a lifetime, but a million kilometers (620,000 miles) before overhaul for a car engine is achievable. To accomplish that will probably require a diesel because diesel fuel lubricates the engine rather than acting as a solvent and washing away lubricating oil like gasoline does. A diesel will raise the price by 5 to 10 percent, but that initial cost will soon be more than repaid with hybrid like economy, longer engine life, and the ability to run on a variety of renewable fuels. Next comes the transmission- are you tired of $3000 automatic tranny rebuilds? Meet Allison transmissions, a little know division of GM that makes an automatic that can endure a half million miles or more of inner city driving in a Postal Service truck while matching a manual tranny's fuel mileage. GM has already scaled down the Allison technology to pickup truck size, so stretching it to the smallest car shouldn't be impossible.
About now someone will pop up and say "sounds great, but Allison is a GM exclusive and Chrysler and Ford will still be stuck with their old unreliable slushboxes". Well, Allison isn't a GM exclusive, and I suspect most of their transmissions end up in other than GM trucks. They can do that because the SAE set standards for big truck frame dimensions decades ago and data links more recently. Because all american big trucks share the same frame width and data link, that Allison doesn't care if it's in a Freightliner or an International. As you probably noticed, the big three seem to build vehicles in near identical size classes, but nothing much interchanges between them. Cue the SAE, and have them set standards so GM's Allison transmissions can fit in Chrysler cars powered by Ford's diesels, or a Chrysler electric powertrain in a Ford. This high degree of interchangability will allow Detroit to rapidly retool to build us the million kilometer car and allow shrunken dealer networks to better serve customers- even if the only dealer left in town sells Ford they'll be able to service the engine in your Chevy.
OK, so we've got you a powertrain that'll probably outlive you, providing the car doesn't fall apart around it. Freightliner's been building trucks since the late 1930s, but have you ever seen a rusted out one? Have you ever seen a rusted out Volvo truck? No, you haven't because they build their bodies with premium materials, aluminum in Freightliners and galvanized steel in Volvos. Detroit can do the same, giving you a car body with a 50 year life designed for easy replacement of crash damaged parts. And have you noticed how in a big truck no space is wasted- Detroit can do the same, with not a millimeter of length, width, or height added than neccessary. The electrical system is designed for long life too, with standardized data links, open source software, and LED lights that will probably outlast this long life vehicle. Same with the cooling system and climate control, with silicone hoses that never wear out. Heck, even the seats could have easily replacable seating surfaces for when you forget that screwdriver in your back pocket.
The cost of a million kilometer car? A bit more, probably $20,000 for a basic compact sedan. But the price premium is quickly repaid with lower fuel and repair costs and avoiding the need to buy a new car after a few years. Environmentally, a million kilometer car won't need to be replaced as soon conserving the energy needed to manufacture a new car when conventional cars prematurely wear out. For the american auto industry, the million kilometer long life car is one of the keys to a sustainable recovery by making american cars a premium product sought around the world just like our american big trucks.