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In general, I agree with the criticisms of American cars. I also feel that American cars are not only worse looking but also have poor reliability, are poorly constructed and use cheaper materials compared to it's foreign counterparts. There is a reason GM and Ford needed government bailouts. They were just putting out crap and Americans decided to stop buying it. Now you have all of this propaganda that they have completely made a turn around. Not really, I still see many of the same problems. They have made great strides but many of those same problems still exist.
If you want an American car that isn't an "American car" meaning it defies the stereotypes, then check out Tesla. Teslas look amazing, use quality materials, are well built and designed. They also offer great customer service and don't use third party dealerships that resort to haggling and shady deal making.
In essence, Tesla is an American car that you can actually be proud of.
In general, I agree with the criticisms of American cars. I also feel that American cars are not only worse looking but also have poor reliability, are poorly constructed and use cheaper materials compared to it's foreign counterparts. There is a reason GM and Ford needed government bailouts. They were just putting out crap and Americans decided to stop buying it. Now you have all of this propaganda that they have completely made a turn around. Not really, I still see many of the same problems. They have made great strides but many of those same problems still exist.
If you want an American car that isn't an "American car" meaning it defies the stereotypes, then check out Tesla. Teslas look amazing, use quality materials, are well built and designed. They also offer great customer service and don't use third party dealerships that resort to haggling and shady deal making.
In essence, Tesla is an American car that you can actually be proud of.
very ironic post. you know, since Tesla was created to take advantage of government subsidies.
I can tell you this, on the Ford side, the current plan right now is to eliminate all V8's in North America. That is subject to change, though, as it's really the Mustang folks fighting this and there is definitely debate inside the company about it.
People may ask why the truck guys aren't fighting it but the reason is everyone knows you don't need a V8 to power a commercial truck. All the motors in the big trucks (Freightliner, Kenworth, etc) are all inline-6's...and ironically, enough, some new commercial 4-cylinders are on the way including the Detroit DD5 which was introduced this year.
The smoothness you speak of will be a little better once Ford's 9 and 10 speed transmissions come out. Right now the 6-speeds in most of their cars are not quite as good handling sudden bursts of power. I have a car with a turbo 2.0L and 6-speed trans and my other car is a twin-turbo V6 with an 8-speed automatic. That 2nd one is a rocket and I couldn't be happier with the speed and smoothness of it. It can be done.
They're not selling well in my area. If you go to a Ford dealer here the majority of F-150s will have the Coyote V8 since that's what people want.
They're not selling well in my area. If you go to a Ford dealer here the majority of F-150s will have the Coyote V8 since that's what people want.
Can't speak for your area but in the F-150 overall the EcoBoost V6 sells far more than the V8 does.
It's not uncommon for people to initially ask for the V8 but after driving and owning the Turbo-6 people change their opinions on it.
If the heavy truck industry doesn't need V8's than why do "little" pickups need them? You don't hear those freight haulers bellyaching for V8's...they moved on from that years ago...
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,585 posts, read 81,186,228 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by azriverfan.
In general, I agree with the criticisms of American cars. I also feel that American cars are not only worse looking but also have poor reliability, are poorly constructed and use cheaper materials compared to it's foreign counterparts. There is a reason GM and Ford needed government bailouts. They were just putting out crap and Americans decided to stop buying it. Now you have all of this propaganda that they have completely made a turn around. Not really, I still see many of the same problems. They have made great strides but many of those same problems still exist.
If you want an American car that isn't an "American car" meaning it defies the stereotypes, then check out Tesla. Teslas look amazing, use quality materials, are well built and designed. They also offer great customer service and don't use third party dealerships that resort to haggling and shady deal making.
In essence, Tesla is an American car that you can actually be proud of.
I agree it's probably one of the most American of cars sold here, but the Tesla batteries are made in Japan by Panasonic, until the Nevada factory is up and running. Other parts are made in Europe and Asia.
There is a reason GM and Ford needed government bailouts. They were just putting out crap and Americans decided to stop buying it.
Actually they were affected by the BANKING crisis that caused this. The BANKS stopped up credit for ALL manufacturing and the big 3 were then left without funding to manufacture. That's what the bailouts were for, to stem the tide of a ripple effect that would have shut down MANY industries, not just the automotive ones. Those just got the most press.
Your hatred of domestic manufacturers can't change the facts of the case: the bailouts had nothing to do with WHAT they made.
Can't speak for your area but in the F-150 overall the EcoBoost V6 sells far more than the V8 does.
It's not uncommon for people to initially ask for the V8 but after driving and owning the Turbo-6 people change their opinions on it.
If the heavy truck industry doesn't need V8's than why do "little" pickups need them? You don't hear those freight haulers bellyaching for V8's...they moved on from that years ago...
You're ignoring one huge comparison here - those freight haulers have diesels. Lots of torque, which is what the gas V8 is giving those little pickups. You can get that out of a TT V6, but you still have to wind it up more.
With that though comes the fact that consumer diesels don't do well in the US market. Ford and GM don't put them in pickups, only Nissan and RAM, and I don't remember them being "big" sellers. Part of that is emissions requirements, part of that is customer view and higher upfront cost.
I was shopping for a light truck years ago. Tried out the Chevy Colorado and mentioned to the salesman that I was off to test out the Tacoma next. He said if I bought the Colorado it would save 7 american jobs. Isaid if the only thing you have to sell me on is pity I think we're done here.
But yeah reliability ratings are much in flux in recent years. Just a few years ago it was laughable to consider Audi and Kia near the top of reliability. But now that's where they are.
Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
11,974 posts, read 25,480,204 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by iamweasel
Can't speak for your area but in the F-150 overall the EcoBoost V6 sells far more than the V8 does.
It's not uncommon for people to initially ask for the V8 but after driving and owning the Turbo-6 people change their opinions on it.
If the heavy truck industry doesn't need V8's than why do "little" pickups need them? You don't hear those freight haulers bellyaching for V8's...they moved on from that years ago...
I watch Jay Leno's Garage and he has said that Americans prefer V8 to V6 historically because even if horse power is the same you feel like you get more with a V8. Most independent auto makers went under because by the time they offered something to compete with GM's V8 it was too late.
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