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American for me. I have had all fords and one GMC. I currently have a 1995 Ford Explorer with 308,000 miles on it. I have had it since new and the most expensive repair has been replacing the fuel pump. I had a Ford Focus I sold last year with 189,000 miles and it still ran good.
We are currently a Honda/ Toyota household. I would buy american again if they offer the same reliability for a 10 year ownership period as the most reliable japanese brands. In fact, I would prefer to buy american if they could meet this benchmark. Right now I am not confident they can in the vehicle classes I am looking to own (Minivan and Mid-Sized sedans). I hope when I am back in buying mode in 4-5 years or so they can.
We are currently a Honda/ Toyota household. I would buy american again if they offer the same reliability for a 10 year ownership period as the most reliable japanese brands. In fact, I would prefer to buy american if they could meet this benchmark. Right now I am not confident they can in the vehicle classes I am looking to own (Minivan and Mid-Sized sedans). I hope when I am back in buying mode in 4-5 years or so they can.
The Chevy Malibu and the Ford Fusion and Taurus will be cars you will want to check on in 4-5 years to see if long term reliability has returned. Now that you mention it I am not familiar with any minivans that any of the (formerly) Big Three have that they've refreshed.
For me, I plan on getting a mid sized sedan too because my wife and I will start a family next year. So next year I will be checking out sedans and minivans myself. Personally, if I had to buy now, I'd get a Fusion or a Malibu as Toyota's quality and reliability have been going down the tubes, I'd only consider a Nissan Quest as the rest of the cars are ugly and cheap German design knockoffs, Hyundai's are made by men wearing leaves as shoes (exaggeration), Mitsubishi doesn't make anything I'd consider buying. I would consider a Honda Fit, but that's only because the wife had one in her native Japan and misses it.
we've owned cars from here and there over the years; and in most cases had little/no trouble with any of them. For us, it comes down to what we're looking for in a vehicle at that time, as our needs/wants change. And what ride gives the most of what we want, at the best overall price. I prefer to at least start the process with an open mind, then whittle the list down from there. What ever is the best option, gets our business. I would never pay more (or less) for a particular name "just because".....
I would love to but i would not! the American auto industry has just disappointed me with their begging for welfare handouts, letting Obama drag them through the mud adn kissing his rump.
and the products are just not as efficient, as wellbuilt and the industry as cowtowed to the unions
so NO WAY!--70% of cash for clunkers went to foreign jobs
I don't see anyone hear proudly proclaiming ownership of ANY Cadillac with a Northstar engine in it.
Boy...you sure got that one right! My dad had a 1985 Chevy S-10 4X4 with the V-6 in it. One day the starter motor went out. So, my brother tried to remove it for replacement, and after a couple of extremely frustrating and futile days trying to get it out, he finally yanked out the ENTIRE ENGINE......because there was so much junk in the way it was utterly impossible to remove the starter otherwise.... There should be some kind of LAW that design engineers have to own, and use, the products they design for at least a year. Maybe then we'd get some decent cars and trucks...
And....I once owned an Oldsmobile sedan, and BOTH interior door handles came loose off the doors, and were just hanging there "by a thread". Try as I might, the screws that held them in place would not tighten. So...I took the door panels off to see why. Want to know what the "genius" auto engineers thought would anchor the door handles in place? Fiberboard! That's it...nothing else...just fiberboard...about 1/8" thick. They had the screws anchored into this. How did they ever think that was gonna work? Really cheap... A grade-schooler could have done better...
There's no such thing as buying an "American" automobile: Although the automobile companies themselves are American, i.e., General Motors and Ford, the automotive parts are typically manufactured in foreign countries such as Mexico, China and Japan. Another illusion...
The Chevy Malibu and the Ford Fusion and Taurus will be cars you will want to check on in 4-5 years to see if long term reliability has returned. Now that you mention it I am not familiar with any minivans that any of the (formerly) Big Three have that they've refreshed.
For me, I plan on getting a mid sized sedan too because my wife and I will start a family next year. So next year I will be checking out sedans and minivans myself. Personally, if I had to buy now, I'd get a Fusion or a Malibu as Toyota's quality and reliability have been going down the tubes, I'd only consider a Nissan Quest as the rest of the cars are ugly and cheap German design knockoffs, Hyundai's are made by men wearing leaves as shoes (exaggeration), Mitsubishi doesn't make anything I'd consider buying. I would consider a Honda Fit, but that's only because the wife had one in her native Japan and misses it.
I saw my first new Taurus on the 5 freeway last week. Nice.
I hope they pan out reliability wise. I could see myself driving one of those in a few years. ( 2-3 year old CPO of course )
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There should be some kind of LAW that design engineers have to own, and use, the products they design for at least a year. Maybe then we'd get some decent cars and trucks...
A grade-schooler could have done better...
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