The electrical and electronic features tend to be problematic, so they could be causing a leveling off of reliability even though the rest of the car is getting more reliable.

I think they've lost their competitive edge in terms of reliability.

We should aim rather at leveling down our desires than leveling up our means

This is a normal diesel engine in this Jetta. What we've done is in the rear of the vehicle we've put a separate fuel tank that holds the french fry oil. That is transported to the front through these heated lines that use the actual engine heat to heat it. It comes through the filter which is also heated into the valve.

Domestic vehicles have made substantial advances, Ford is doing better than GM and Chrysler, but new model launches are not as good. We are seeing many more electronic features, and that's the biggest trouble area readers tell us about.

Rust has virtually gone away.