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American made, or American made and American branded? The former, yes; the latter, no. That's just one answer, though.
IMO, to really gauge the long term quality and reliability of a vehicle, you have to drill down a lot farther than just where it was made. One make/model can vary greatly from a different make/model, or even a different model from the same automaker. On top of that, some products are made here but branded overseas, so the lines become even more blurred.
Location: San Ramon, Seattle, Anchorage, Reykjavik
2,254 posts, read 2,738,942 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eddie1278
Well if foreign cars are better why haven't they ever been used in these services? Surely tax payers would want better reliable vehicles to cut expenses on repairing the fleet.
And it's funny i was going to say the only contractors who really buy toyota pickups are landscapers. Landscapers don't usually haul heavy loads and work in rough construction sites. For the most part they haul employees and tow a box trailer with lawn equipment in it. So a Toyota tundra or whatever can handle the light to medium duty work.
Now construction companies are hauling lumber, bricks, concrete, towing heavy equipment etc. and driving in harsh contruction sites. So they usually go with gmc, chevy ford and dodge.
In the US? Yes. Canada? Sometimes. Central America? Occasionally. Everywhere else, the world over? Toyota Hi-Lux and Land Cruiser 70 Series. Bar none. Heavy duty mine work? Toyota. Drive from Point A to Point B hauling a load way above the vehicle's posted limit on the worst roads imaginable, where 4WD is basically locked in for the life of the vehicle? Toyota. Drive it under those same conditions where fuel is hard to come by and parts are even harder? Toyota.
The big 3 have the US locked down for very good reason. Toyota's best products aren't sold here.
When I was young I had an Olds Delta 88 (this was probably a '72 or so). It had about 130K miles and was still going when I got rid of it (the body had serious rust issues). I bought an '86 Chevy S10 new. Put in a clutch at about 75K miles and another about 50K miles later. At about 175K miles the engine head cracked and that was that. I bought a new1996 Nissan 200SX that had over 200K miles on it and was still going strong when I donated it and bought a new car (another Nissan). I have a cousin who works for Ford and tried to talk me into buying one - but no dice.
I got to 220,000 on a Chevy Lumina before I had major issues. Two months later, the faulty part was recalled. I had already gotten rid of the car.
My mom's 1999 Pontiac Sunfire is still running strong with 240,000. It is on it's third family member and while my mom took good care of it, the second and third drivers did not. Yet everything still works.
My dad's Chevy Cobalt is up to 160,000. They just had to put shocks and struts on it. Other than brakes, tires, oil changes, and a battery, it hasn't had any problems.
208k on an '85 Caprice. It was still running fine when I gave it away. Replaced the alternator myself at 100K+ miles.
Sold my '03 F250 with 183K miles. Still had the original clutch. Rust was the reason I finally sold it. It ran great. Again, had to replace the alternator and a coil pack. Both were cheap and easy to do myself.
208k on an '85 Caprice. It was still running fine when I gave it away. Replaced the alternator myself at 100K+ miles.
Sold my '03 F250 with 183K miles. Still had the original clutch. Rust was the reason I finally sold it. It ran great. Again, had to replace the alternator and a coil pack. Both were cheap and easy to do myself.
Man, I completely forgot about the 1996 F150 truck we had (V8 engine)! We sold it several years ago because we had zero need for a truck any more and it mostly sat in the driveway, costing us $$$ in NJ-priced car insurance. It had 212K miles on it and was still running great. It sold very quickly. I still see it around town every once in a while.
I have never owned an American car that was close to the quality of foreign cars. I have owned only European and Asian since 1990. At least the Korean cars give a 100K/10 year warranty. American car manufacturers are not as confident. Anything made in American by a union company will likely not be purchased by me. It will likely be inferior and expensive. I would like to support the American economy in that manner, but money and quality is more important. I believe that ehe new Tarns Ams are really great looking cars, but as long as they are made in the U.S., I'll just look at them.
Who makes Tarns Ams? Do you mean Trans Am? No one makes those either since Pontiac was disestablished several years ago.
1990?
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