Do you prefer to buy Foreign or Domestic?

[LexusNexus]

I prefer the Japanese and German models.

[outafocus]

Originally Posted by ColdAilment

A domestic car from 1990 when the domestic automakers were lagging behind, and from the WORST of the domestic automakers, Chrysler! No wonder you had issues.

However, using an experience that happened 23 years ago to justify how you feel about cars of today is just silly.

I drove Detroit crap for years, even when they were still considered good.! I am of the generation that equated "Made In Japan" to be synonymous with junk. I didn't even consider Japanese makes. I even read Consumer Reports in the 70s, and still didn't consider them. I figured anything mechanical had problems. That's true, but Detroit vehicles are plagued with problems. The most reliable Detroit 3 car I ever had was a 1983 Dodge Aries, and it was a POS compared with the Japanese make cars I have owned. I just didn't know better then. Detroit is better today, but the Asian makes have gotten even better, too. Detroit still lags behind. I still have nightmares about the service managers and zone managers copping out with "They all do that", and refusing to fix the many problems that cropped up with that final Detroit car. They usually ended up "fixing" the problem, but it took a fight each time.

The person that made me see the light was a sound engineer that fought the Japanese during WWII. He drove a Toyota, and had a Sony TV in the early 1970s. He told me that he admired the Japanese work ethic, and their dedication to quality. He predicted the end of the American electronics industry when most homes had Zenith, RCA, Admiral, and Magnavox TVs in their living rooms. It took me too long to heed his advice.

Just like I would not frequent a restaurant that gave me food poisoning again, even after the health department gave them a clean bill of health, and I would not rehire an employee that stole from me, even though he served time in jail for the crime, I will NEVER buy another Detroit 3 car. Consumer Reports bears out the fact that Detroit 3 cars STILL lag behind the Asian makes in reliability to this day.

I certainly will never buy another car built by the greedy, inept, and corrupt slugs in the UAW. I don't relish the fact that the government used our tax money to keep the companies afloat with all the bad management, corruption, and greed that caused their near demise. Any other badly run business that turns out substandard product is always left to fail.

I regret all the money I spent on Detroit crap, and the down time, and money I spent on getting something fixed on them so often. The Japanese makes have been outstanding in reliability and durability. Throw in the fact that most are made here by well paid, skilled craftsmen that answer to the company, and their philosophy, instead of a union is just icing on the cake.

[red4ce]

Ford and Cadillac are the only domestic marques I'd consider, but at best they are equal in standing with the Japanese and European brands.

[Merc63]

I usually don't care at all wheere a car comes from, and I've had cars from most major manufacturers worldwide. I've had American, British, French, Japanese, German, Italian, and Korean. I've had a couplethat were mutts, that used components from various regions (like a Japanese car with an American V8 engine, and an American car with a Japanese V8 engine...). I buy what I like and what suites me at the moment, and where it's from usually doesn't enter into it.

Right now, I have 2 domestics and a British car. And one of the domestics was something that buying American actually did matter to a degree. The Volt is American engineering advancement and technological superiority right now. I'd love to have bought a Tesla for the same reason, but it was out of my price range. And it's been an absolutely incredible car so far.

[ghostrider7811]

Originally Posted by outafocus

I drove Detroit crap for years, even when they were still considered good.! I am of the generation that equated "Made In Japan" to be synonymous with junk. I didn't even consider Japanese makes. I even read Consumer Reports in the 70s, and still didn't consider them. I figured anything mechanical had problems. That's true, but Detroit vehicles are plagued with problems. The most reliable Detroit 3 car I ever had was a 1983 Dodge Aries, and it was a POS compared with the Japanese make cars I have owned. I just didn't know better then. Detroit is better today, but the Asian makes have gotten even better, too. Detroit still lags behind. I still have nightmares about the service managers and zone managers copping out with "They all do that", and refusing to fix the many problems that cropped up with that final Detroit car. They usually ended up "fixing" the problem, but it took a fight each time.

The person that made me see the light was a sound engineer that fought the Japanese during WWII. He drove a Toyota, and had a Sony TV in the early 1970s. He told me that he admired the Japanese work ethic, and their dedication to quality. He predicted the end of the American electronics industry when most homes had Zenith, RCA, Admiral, and Magnavox TVs in their living rooms. It took me too long to heed his advice.

Just like I would not frequent a restaurant that gave me food poisoning again, even after the health department gave them a clean bill of health, and I would not rehire an employee that stole from me, even though he served time in jail for the crime, I will NEVER buy another Detroit 3 car. Consumer Reports bears out the fact that Detroit 3 cars STILL lag behind the Asian makes in reliability to this day.

I certainly will never buy another car built by the greedy, inept, and corrupt slugs in the UAW. I don't relish the fact that the government used our tax money to keep the companies afloat with all the bad management, corruption, and greed that caused their near demise. Any other badly run business that turns out substandard product is always left to fail.

I regret all the money I spent on Detroit crap, and the down time, and money I spent on getting something fixed on them so often. The Japanese makes have been outstanding in reliability and durability. Throw in the fact that most are made here by well paid, skilled craftsmen that answer to the company, and their philosophy, instead of a union is just icing on the cake.

I would be interested in your good car and bad car lists. I know the Asian Brands hold their parts suppliers accountable unlike the big 3 in the past. The have a much better process to follow when they start to, or have a problem. I worked at dealerships for years where we put on the same crappy parts over and over. Window motors and AC evap coils come to mind, it was common to perform the same repair 3 or 4 times on the same car. I am sure this chased away many owners like you.

[ragnarkar]

I don't care.. I want quality, low monthly maintenance costs, safety, longevity, and high fuel economy for the lowest price possible.

Based on this criteria, I'm better off keeping my 14 year old Honda Civic vs. buying a new car (or a newer used one.)

[goldengrain]

Originally Posted by outafocus

I drove Detroit crap for years, even when they were still considered good.! I am of the generation that equated "Made In Japan" to be synonymous with junk. I didn't even consider Japanese makes. I even read Consumer Reports in the 70s, and still didn't consider them. I figured anything mechanical had problems. That's true, but Detroit vehicles are plagued with problems. The most reliable Detroit 3 car I ever had was a 1983 Dodge Aries, and it was a POS compared with the Japanese make cars I have owned. I just didn't know better then. Detroit is better today, but the Asian makes have gotten even better, too. Detroit still lags behind. I still have nightmares about the service managers and zone managers copping out with "They all do that", and refusing to fix the many problems that cropped up with that final Detroit car. They usually ended up "fixing" the problem, but it took a fight each time.

The person that made me see the light was a sound engineer that fought the Japanese during WWII. He drove a Toyota, and had a Sony TV in the early 1970s. He told me that he admired the Japanese work ethic, and their dedication to quality. He predicted the end of the American electronics industry when most homes had Zenith, RCA, Admiral, and Magnavox TVs in their living rooms. It took me too long to heed his advice.

Just like I would not frequent a restaurant that gave me food poisoning again, even after the health department gave them a clean bill of health, and I would not rehire an employee that stole from me, even though he served time in jail for the crime, I will NEVER buy another Detroit 3 car. Consumer Reports bears out the fact that Detroit 3 cars STILL lag behind the Asian makes in reliability to this day.

I certainly will never buy another car built by the greedy, inept, and corrupt slugs in the UAW. I don't relish the fact that the government used our tax money to keep the companies afloat with all the bad management, corruption, and greed that caused their near demise. Any other badly run business that turns out substandard product is always left to fail.

I regret all the money I spent on Detroit crap, and the down time, and money I spent on getting something fixed on them so often. The Japanese makes have been outstanding in reliability and durability. Throw in the fact that most are made here by well paid, skilled craftsmen that answer to the company, and their philosophy, instead of a union is just icing on the cake.

While I agree with most of your assessment, I do believe that this country reached it's zenith as far as increased standard of living, because of unions. They got out of hand. There has to be a happy medium here, but I don't know what it is.

When corporations have their way, unchecked, horrible things can start to happen. This is the problem with workers in China. There is no representation for them. The 'boss' always gets his way - so much so that workers actually throw themselves off of building roofs to escape - and the government/company solution is to place nets under those areas to catch those desperate souls. There has to be a happy medium here.

In this country we had child labor, 7 day work weeks, 12 or more working hours per day. With the lack of jobs and the expense of college you can see where we could drift back to that once more.

I read DeLorean's book years back and although the unions did contribute substantially to the mess, the corporate leaders were also strongly to blame. They did not change with the times. They refused to build strong smaller cars with good mileage. Even when the VW's started giving them heavy competition they would not change. They were corporate heads who were just content to get their ever increasing compensation and to hell with the company. The mindsets of these megaliths read like horror stories.

Yes. There were actually times in which there were no foriegn competitors to speak of in the US auto market and the heads of US car manufacturer's made the deliberate choice to create cars that would start falling apart in three years. Most people either suffered horribly with constantly having their vehicles in repair shops or they traded in their cars for a new model every three years.

[LS Jaun]

I would never buy a new Chrysler or Mitsubishi. Worst of two countries.

I currently have a Camry, Mustang and Chevy truck. One boring, one fun and one work vehilce Only regular maintenance on all of them, other then a new thermostat housing on the Mustang-Cost $100.

[Linda Richards]

US automakers fall further behind foreign brands- MSN Money

[High Springs Gator]

I like my 2009 Honda Civic because of the resale value, dependability and gas mileage. I also have a 2004 Olds Alero with 60k miles. Love it. Car has been perfect so far. Just routine maint. 30 mpg.