Kingkrs

iTrader: (1)

I realize I am posting this in an forum about foreign cars, but what is your take on people that either approach you or you see talking about buying American?
I personally get tired of hearing it and it is annoying. I find it funny that the same people standing on the soap box preaching about buying American made cars are using just about everything else that is made elsewhere. IE tv's, appliances, clothing, cell phones, computers and just about any other electronic device you can think of.

I8ABMR

I think its a joke. I can't stand when people assume that you are less patriotic because you don't want to purchase an inferior car. Yes the Americans have been making better cars but there is nooooo way in hell I would buy one. I think I would be more likely to purchase a Korean car in my life time than an American car.
I know many will make the comment that even Japanese and German cars are being made in the US now but in my mind a Japanese car is one from a company that comes from Japan and German car comes from a company based in Germany. I know its a personal preference but I cant stand most American cars but I will admit they have improved more in the last 3 to 4 years they have in the previous 25 years. I hope they will continue on this path.

mmarshall

There are a number of respectable vehicles now, with American-nameplates, on the market....and even some Chrysler/Jeep products, previously unthinkable, have joined for 2011. I'd buy a new 2011 Chevy Malibu, Buick Lacrosse/Regal, Ford Fusion, Ford Escape, Dodge Charger, Chrysler 300, or Jeep Grand Cherokee, no-holds-barred, though none of these vehicles would necessarily be my first choice.

Also, keep in mind (and many car-shoppers seemingly are still not aware of this) that today's auto world is truly global. The days of the pure-American, German, Swedish, Italian, British, Japanese, or Korean vehicle are long-gone, decades ago. Many companies own shares of each other, and cars are often designed in one country, built/assembled in another, and sold in yet a third...or world-wide. Domestic parts-content laws, tariffs on some vehicles, "rebadged" twins or triplets, badge-engineering, etc...., of course, complicates the picture even further. And a number of today's best-selling "foreign" nameplates (Corolla, Camry, Civic, Accord, etc.....) are built here in the U.S., with American labor.

mmarshall

Have you been out lately to check out some new domestic-nameplate vehicles? There are some respectable ones on the market now with American-nameplates.....see my post just above. I find the Chevy Malibu, in particular, quite impressive, inside and out, though the rear-doors sound a little tinny.

RXSF

I have never owned an American car. In the past they never had anything I would even consider buying, though lately, I can see myself owning some of the ford products. Usually American cars have inferior quality, inferior features, inferior powertrains.

I mean the new Chrysler 200 which starts at ~20K has a 4 speed base. that is an outrage.

Its not a matter of being patriotic, its a matter of spending your money wisely.

ggravant

I personally like to give everyone a chance when I am shopping. My wife ended up with an RX-350 because she likes the cushy luxury, but I would have purchased an SRX. I think that we have some very talented engineers and designers here in the US who, when given the opportunity, can do a great job. It is usually decisions beyond their control that usually end up bad in the long run.

I recently have owned a Honda Odyssey, Ford Escape and Dodge Ram and the latter two have been 100% reliable, but the Odyssey was far from it. I also do believe that the gap is narrowing across the board.

Rolexus600

My take on them is....

Usually they aren't car people. Car people might know that the Toyota Camry was mentioned (I forget where) as the "most American" car in America. I drov my parent's Camry for a while and when I drove into Pennsylvania, I got 2 comments. One was a somewhat friendly acknowledgement of my purchase and "not keeping the money over here". The other was a "I guess no one in your family died in WWII" or some derivation thereof.

That being said, I own a 13 year-old American SUV. While it has its downfalls, it isn't the POS some may make it out to be. Newer Fords and GM cars are more competitive than they've been in years. I'd wait to see how they age just a few more years before I pulled the trigger on a newer model. There's 2 things that irritate me about most american cars. The engine note under at least moderate acceleration sounds so unrefined compared to it's respective foreign counterparts that it's almost painful (especially 4 cylinder engines). The second aspect is the weak stereo. I haven't tested the limits of Lincoln's THX sound system but I rented a 2005 Deville 6 years ago and it's stereo was ABSOLUTE garbage. I tried every adjustment I could but could get it to sound like anything in the neighborhood of my parent's Camry's stereo. German cars just don't appeal to me anymore.

At the end of the day American cars and Foreign cars speak to me differently. There's a verile sensation driving Ford tough and there's a well-accomplished feeling of crusing the passionate pursuit of perfection.


Michael

Kingkrs

iTrader: (1)

all of the cars I have owned have been american up until recently. starting with my first car: (Chevy)Geo Metro (which had a Suzuki engine) Ford Probe, Dodge Dakota, Chrysler 300M, Dodge Neon, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Dodge SRT4, Audi A4, Toyota Tundra and today a Lexus ISF. All of those cars that were domestic had significant issues. The only ones that didn't were the Geo which I drove for 238,000 miles without issue. Mainly because of the Suzuki engine. The Dakota was brand new and I had zero issues with it. the 300M and Jeep were absolute nightmares. The GC was new in 05 and everything went wrong with it. After being so fed up with it we unloaded it for the Audi. The Audi service was top notch. The Neons and SRT were good solid cars without issues. But the Tundra and Lexus have been rock solid. I have only had the Lexus a few months though.

The point being is that I am fed up with the crap that I have been putting up with in the domestic cars. I never really considered any foreign cars before and now I think I will have a hard time going back to domestic. I owned only one Ford and I will not be buying another. I am just not feeling their vibe.

Domestic cars I might consider:

Shelby GT 500
and Saleen Mustang
Corvette
Cadillac CTS-V
Dodge Challenger (Maybe)

As you can see my list is not long and I am forgetting some cars. But my confidence in the domestic makers is very low. I will not rule out future domestic purchases but it is unlikely.

mmarshall

The Geo Metro had not only a Suzuki engine, but was, an fact, a rebadged Suzuki Swift. The three-cylinder Metro XFi versions could get astounding gas mileage, especially on the highway. I know people who, like with the 48 HP Honda CRX XF, got 60 MPG or better with the Metro XFi.

IS-SV

I'm fortunate and don't have to deal on a regular basis with misinformed and ignorant people as you described.

dunnojack

i haven't seen a single american brand car that i especially like.

on the same note, there are tons of foreign cars i don't like either.

I'd consider a mustang though. I think that's the only mainstream model I'd buy.

every other american car, I will only drive as a rental.
I would never buy a chrysler.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

if any of the american brands actually make a good car that i like, i will consider. but the problem is throughout the years, i have seen none. simple as that.

and on top of that ever since government decided to use my money to bail out a few of these companies, i feel i have bought more than a few already

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

Funny thing is, I buy foreign cars, but when it comes to everything else (appliances, furniture, etc), I try to buy made in US. In fact, most of the major things I own are US made.

<VENOM>

After moving to the south for school I have even less respect for Ford/GM & Chrysler, it just blows my mind how American orientated the South is, and the American car companies turned out crap to their diehard customers who either bought the crap or turned to the fullsize American trucks, who then are the ones getting slammed with high gas prices.

How the American AutoMakers missed this is beyond me, cause it 2011 and despite all those new American cars with better builds, here in GA the roads are littered with American garbage that is falling apart and the owners continue to fix what they can how they can.

The school I go to has a lot of Michigan students, the buy American gets old, they all drive American crap, but have iPads, Smart Phones, designer clothes, etc, the **** that makes me laugh is when they complain about gas prices, several girls drive the newer 4door Jeep Wranglers

To end this, for me it's not the Car Company so much, cause I don't really like any of them, but I like the individual cars give me an LS460 cause that is the only Lexus I would want to drive, or an SRT8, any of them

spwolf

In recent earnings call (2011), Toyota Exec said that Toyota keeps most of their NA earnings in NA, by investing the money back into the market because it makes financial sense.

so you have Japanese company that invests, builds and sells cars in NA, trades on stock exchange here and I dont see what the difference is anymore.