Man, has this gone off-topic. Thanks for the help, but remember to focus on the cursing to get it straightened out. And remember it's the weekend and won't be fixed for a week.

I am now of the opinion that the 1st gen Rodeos were alot more stout than the 2nd gen.
I'd like to put a perspective on this one. The 1st gens that are out there are the ones that "shook loose" all the problems. The remaining ones are the tougher ones. In 5 years, all the lemon 2nd gen will be shook out.

I've seen lemons of all makes and models out there.....and I've seen cherries under all makes and models.

JD Power isn't the best spot to go for quality, as it rates INITIAL quality and is contriversial in how it's rated. For example, there have been many articles on Mercedes (see Business 2.0 or Fortune) and their initial quality problems. In Europe, they're doing fine. In America, the same cars are doing worse every year. Mercedes says it's Americans being picky and jumping on the bandwagon......sort of like that "reviewers basing Isuzu" bandwagon where they get into an Isuzu with a bad frame of mind. (My opinion). Hate to say this, but the only spot I know is Consumer Reports for long-term repair costs.

I do have a friend who just came by with his 96 Rodeo he bought for a daily driver with the intent of getting rid of it when it blew up....and it's still going.

I will definitly second the comments on informed buyers. My opinion is that people IN GENERAL buy the biggest vehicle they can get for the money, car or SUV. I have a cousin couple that bought an XTerra because it was cute, and a sister in law who bought a Dodge Durango (the big, big version) to get something bigger than the XTerra (and get some of the attention she saw the Xterra bringing). Not exactly informed purchases. "Cute" and "Big as I can get." This is your average consumer.

Gas is now $2/gallon and our Mitsu Mirage (35 mpg), motorcycle (45 mpg) and Amgio (driven when I can't ride the bike) are all still cheap to fill up.