First of all GM screwed the poor with the incomparable POS Vega that would die and rust out by 30,000 miles. Then GM management, feeling contrite for what they had done to the poor, created an AA plan to compensate by screwing the rich. Thus came the glorious GM diesels, all of which failed with minimal mileage, and the infamous V 8,6,4 engines.
Ours was an 86 transam and we bought it new. We had all kinds of problems, serious life threatening problems, and we finally limped it into Chrysler dealership to trade it in after the 12K mile warranty had expired and GM given us the middle finger.
We tried to work with the dealership but with the warranty expired, so we were SOL. We could have probably sued the dealership and GM and after thousands of dollars in legal fees and months of life altering stress, they might have extended the warranty and tried to repair the car. It wasn’t worth it.
Bottom line: It was clear that GM management/engineering were in a cost cutting frenzy and quality being a casualty.
It wasn’t just the poor that got nailed by the Vega. People were feeling the effects of the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo and were wanting to try small, high fuel mileage vehicles. A friend’s dad bought two for the family, and they were solidly middle class (Army major).