Do you notice foreign car drivers more? (tailgating, Japanese, automaker)

[theboysmom]

Dh and I both drive foreign cars. I've got a Honda and he's got a VW. Often times, Dh swears that people at the gas station give him dirty looks when he's done nothing to deserve it. He's most certainly not a uber sensitive person so it's funny that he would comment on this.

So do you think it's possible he's being shot sideways glances because he doesn't drive "American"? And I put that in quotes because to be honest, I don't buy that crap. I looked at a Ford before I bought my Honda three months ago and the salesman touted that one good thing is that I would be buying "American" (I told him I was also looking at Hondas too). I looked right at him and was like, buddy, let's be real here. I saw the sticker on that car out there and it was made in MEXICO.

Mods-- Oops, I meant to post this in the main MI threads, not the city forum. Please move when you get a chance. Thanks!!

[Timm]

Originally Posted by theboysmom

So do you think it's possible he's being shot sideways glances because he doesn't drive "American"?

Oh, sure, it's possible ... but I suspect he's mainly imagining it. Personally, I buy Ford. And I'd prefer it if people in Detroit would support their neighbors by buying products made by local companies/employers. But I'm well aware that many people think some foreign cars are better for them. I'm certainly not going to be giving someone dirty looks for doing what they think is best.

As for the "do you notice foreign car drivers more?" question that titles the thread... nah, not really. When I first starting taking some road trips away from Michigan, I thought that perhaps there were more folks driving foreign cars than I was used to seeing, but that was about all. And nowadays, I don't think I'd even notice that -- there's no shortage of foreign cars being driven around Detroit as far as I can tell.

[cardwellave]

Depends which county you're in. Wayne is still mostly American, as that's where loooots of the Blue Collar workers are. I would be a little iffy about driving something foreign around here. However Oakland County is a menagerie of foreign auto, especially the ritzier ones. Macomb County is similar to that. Depends on the neighborhood you're in though.

[nycjefftrain]

I've actually done a count of cars on the road in the Detroit area vs. the NYC metro(New Jersey). In Detroit, for every 15 cars that pass me, only 1 is foreign. Around here, its 7 out of 15.

While I appreciate the thread, the part where the boysmom mentioned "crap" as in all american cars that is truly subjective. Many different make and models are of high quality and many are not whether it be Ford, Toyota, Buick, Chevy, Honda, etc. Lumping every single american car or to be fair every single foreign car in one category is quite unfair. If I had to choose any foriegn car, I'd buy a Honda. But I'd buy a door with wheels before I would buy a Kia.

[4WDGreg]

...it's like eating Florida oranges in California. It's like smoking Cuban cigars in North Carolina, going to New York and cheering for the Red Sox. It's just bad form, and it's very insulting.
Personally, when I see foreign cars on the road, I don't extend courtesies to them that I do for others, such as moving over when they want to pass, letting them merge into my lane etc. You'll recognize me on the highway, because I'm the one who points towards the other lane when you're tailgating me, waiting for me to pull over so you can pass.

[theboysmom]

Yes! That's it Timm. When I first started to travel I was like, everybody in the world drives a Honda,haha. It is funny to see all the other brands. I chalk it up to the majority of auto workers are in MI and so they're gonna drive a car that they get on cheap because of all the "friends and family" and employee discounts. Not much of that going on in FL or CO or some other state.

No, no. I didn't mean that American made cars are crap. I meant that the idea that I should buy a car only because it's "American Made" is just silly. Espeically when stickers are on these cars that say they were mostly built in other countries (like the ford I saw with the Mexico sticker).

Ahaha! We do live in Wayne County cardwellave. Interesting....

Like I said, it's very funny that my husband would notice such a thing. He's from a very large city on the east coast and didn't grow up in a very nice part of it (meaning he's not a super sensitive oohh you hurt my feelings kinda guy, he's tuff, lol). He's not one to normally notice or care what other people are doing.

Oh I think it's downright silly to be insulted or to think it's bad form when a person drives the car they want. For people to actually alter the way they drive to "mess" with foreign cars is more than dumb, it's probably dangerous. When I'm driving I'm watching the CARS. Foreign or domestic dosen't matter as much as whether or not they're staying in their lane, not trying to cut you off, etc..

I mean really, how ridiculous are some people? My husband has served in the military, been overseas, done all these things and he would be considered somehow unAmerican for driving a Jetta? Bwahahhaa

[nycjefftrain]

In regards to VW and Audi, I know their North American HQ is now in Virginia but they do still have significant NA sales and marketing operations based in Auburn Hills. So to see VWs and Audis driving around is technically helping the local economy.

In regards to my least fav companies Toyota, Hyundai, and Kia, they all have research and development operations in SE MI. So you never know...they may be driving a company car..even if it is a Toyota and they live and pay taxes in Michigan.

With all that being said...I'm just acting as the devils advocate. I'm a Ford man all the way!!!!!!!!!!

[Coldjensens]

In 1982 I had a Honda CVCC and I was occaisionally run off the road by people who would yell "buy american A**hole". In fact, my car was finally wrecked whan I was pushed off the road and into a tree. I replaced it with a Pontiac.

I do nto see anyhting like that now, but I was considering buying a Toyota Prius and I was told that was a bad idea. A big part of my work includes marketing and you never know when driving a non-Detroit car will cost you a deal. As another poster indicated is it simply considered bad form and although you may not have problems like I did int he 1980s, for some people, it is kind of akin to picking your nose in public.

[Paddington]

My family's in the medical field in Toledo, and most doctors drive American cars, the most popular one being of course Jeep.

[Frank the Tank]

This is a fascinating thread for me as an outsider. I can understand that there's probably "peer pressure" in the Detroit area to buy the "local product". Yet, for the vast majority of the rest of the country, this is a completely foreign concept (no pun intended) - they buy the car that fits their needs best within their price range - plain and simple. I think that the Detroit automakers lost sight of that - they thought for years that people would simply buy cars just because they were supposedly "American" but now have only recently figured out that they have to compete on quality as opposed to patriotism to draw customers. It will take a long time for the Detroit automakers to overcome the negative perception that they have in many parts of the country (and it's hard to say that it will ever be overcome). Even in a place such as the Chicago area (where I live) that has strong historical ties to the Detroit automakers, in pretty much every area where people have middle class incomes or higher (meaning the people that have enough income to make real choices as to which car they want to buy), you might find some American SUVs or trucks, but the Japanese and European carmakers completely dominate in terms of sedans (which is what the vast majority of people drive). The nicer the neighborhood or suburb, the more pronounced that this trend becomes.