I think that the notion that some of the early built cars had great build quality comes from the fact that many of them were completely taken apart and rebuilt here in the US by the POGs. Even though my car isn't a super early build, it was used by the Troy, MI QAC as a parts car, and as such was largely rebuilt here in the US by parts POG Chris Duvall himself. My car has been extremely reliable under my ownership, and everything is fully operable on it.