5 ms·

Where / when was this? Living in Scandinavia, this was not my experience at all - as a kid we went through a number of used cars - Lada, Mazda, even a VW Beetle

Where / when was this? Living in Scandinavia, this was not my experience at all - as a kid we went through a number of used cars - Lada, Mazda, even a VW Beetle - and while the Beetle was definitely more of a summer car (heating would have been nice!), I never heard of a car being terribly worse off because of snow.

ghaff 4y ago
70s in the US--typically European cars. Even in the last 20 years I had a Ford Explorer that I ultimately got rid of because everything underneath in the vehicle was rusting out at about 100,000 miles.
kube-system 4y ago
US states with snow typically salt their roads in the winter, in an attempt to melt it down to the bare road, and it is very corrosive. Not sure about where you lived, but some other places use other strategies, often: requiring vehicles to have snow tires.
- rebuilder 4y ago
  Salt is used here as well. Maybe they use less, because while it definitely causes corrosion, 50 k miles seems incredibly short-lived.
  - kube-system 4y ago
    Well, before galvanization (and more modern coatings), cars were pretty junky. https://www.hagerty.com/media/automotive-history/galvanization-sensation-how-automakers-fought-off-the-scourge-of-rust/ https://www.hagerty.com/media/automotive-history/galvanizati... My first car, built in 1987, was partially galvanized (I know because the sales brochure was proud of this fact), but had rust streaks down the doors at 50k miles and the frame rusted completely through at 80k miles. The improvements in automotive coatings in the 90s and 00s have been immense.
  - ghaff 4y ago
    Yes, today 50K miles would be very short-lived. In my more recent experience, getting to 100K miles and ten years or more is pretty easy. Cars have gotten a lot more reliable both in terms of not rusting out and mechanical reliability generally.
wil421 4y ago
It’s not the snow it’s the salt that’s sprayed on the roads in the colder states. I’m down South and only see small amounts of snow every couple years or so. Our cars do not have this problem. I think the 70s were more notorious for cars rusting out. It’s still a slight concern for older cars coming from colder states. I watch two people on YouTube who specialize in 90s and 00s Mercedes and BMWs. Many times they are looking in specific spots for rust on older cars.

ghaff 4y ago

70s in the US--typically European cars. Even in the last 20 years I had a Ford Explorer that I ultimately got rid of because everything underneath in the vehicle was rusting out at about 100,000 miles.

kube-system 4y ago

US states with snow typically salt their roads in the winter, in an attempt to melt it down to the bare road, and it is very corrosive. Not sure about where you lived, but some other places use other strategies, often: requiring vehicles to have snow tires.

rebuilder 4y ago
Salt is used here as well. Maybe they use less, because while it definitely causes corrosion, 50 k miles seems incredibly short-lived.
- kube-system 4y ago
  Well, before galvanization (and more modern coatings), cars were pretty junky. https://www.hagerty.com/media/automotive-history/galvanization-sensation-how-automakers-fought-off-the-scourge-of-rust/ https://www.hagerty.com/media/automotive-history/galvanizati... My first car, built in 1987, was partially galvanized (I know because the sales brochure was proud of this fact), but had rust streaks down the doors at 50k miles and the frame rusted completely through at 80k miles. The improvements in automotive coatings in the 90s and 00s have been immense.
- ghaff 4y ago
  Yes, today 50K miles would be very short-lived. In my more recent experience, getting to 100K miles and ten years or more is pretty easy. Cars have gotten a lot more reliable both in terms of not rusting out and mechanical reliability generally.

wil421 4y ago

It’s not the snow it’s the salt that’s sprayed on the roads in the colder states. I’m down South and only see small amounts of snow every couple years or so. Our cars do not have this problem. I think the 70s were more notorious for cars rusting out. It’s still a slight concern for older cars coming from colder states. I watch two people on YouTube who specialize in 90s and 00s Mercedes and BMWs. Many times they are looking in specific spots for rust on older cars.