[earthworm]

I don't know..
10 years is not a good life span for a motor vehicle, IMO...
15 is more like it, this relies on a good quality of upkeep and maintenance...which is a sometimes thing.
I don't think that many manufacturers have "kept up". Many improvements of all sorts could have been made, but were they ???
Now our American companies are bankrupt, are the Euros far behind ?

 

[earthworm]

I have read here and elsewhere that if you have a 900 convertible, you are almost guaranteed to have tonneau motor trouble because of a poorly designed and undersized motor. Naturally, my car has the same problem - I was told "too bad" by SAABUsa, and quoted over $2000 to get it fixed by my dealer. Since this problem is so prevalent, has anyone thought about a class action suit against SAAB to resolve this problem due to defective engineering?

I believe that the "class action lawsuit" mindset in America is, at best, a minus, and at worst, a nation wrecker..
We do need much better communications; the executives must leave their Ivory Towers and pay attention to business...which is a whole lot more than reading bottom lines....
IMO, the problem is one of ingrained attitudes, more than "defective" engineering..