[Coldjensens]

Originally Posted by MIBlows12

If they do so what? I hate American cars that blow up before 50,000 miles so......

Out of about 20 cars, mostly American brands in the last 10 years, we had one that did not make it past 150,000. Most of any brand made it over 200,000. New cars do even better. Nothing blows up in 50,000 miles. At least not since the 1970s.

[NOLA101]

This is a class issue. You may still get such comments in UAW-heavy, working class areas, especially in Macomb and Downriver. The one time I got such a comment was from a retired GM guy living in Sterling Heights.

You will never hear such comments in Bloomfield, Birmingham, Northville, Rochester and the like.

[michigan lizard]

Here on the west side of the state, no one cares. If I had to venture a guess, I'd say 35% of the cars driven are foreign makes, mostly Honda and Toyota (plus their up-models), which is what my household drives. I see many different makes of car here, though, including a Lamborghini and Lotus that I think our home-grown RedWing drives when he comes back into town.

[Coldjensens]

Originally Posted by iNviNciBL3

Most american cities you notice ALOT of Toyota's on the road but in Detroit i notice that there's a very few Toyota owners. Driving around i saw alot of Ford and Chevy's and i came to think dang where are the foreign cars. So i tried to keep an eye out for foreign but didnt notice alot of Toyota's just Mazda's. Can anyone back me up on this? or am i just crazy?

Just crazy.

Definitely fewer than you typically see in some other states, but they are here. There are Toyotas here and in significant numbers. Yes you will see a lot more Ford, GM and FCA cars. Mazda was pretty common when they were basically Fords made at the Flat Rock plant. I see less of them lately, but they are still somewhat common. You will also see most other foreign brands as much or more than Toyota. Kia, Subaru, Honda,in particular are fairly common. You see some every day if you are out much (I acan see a few of each just looking out my window in Downtown Detroit right now). I do see those three more often than Toyota (I cannot see any Toyotas right now, at least nothing I recognize - Edit: a 4Runner just went by). Kia in particular seems to be making a big push to grab some market share here. They advertise like mad. Some of their prices are hard to believe (super low). Mercedes and BMW are pretty common and Audi, but Adui's are often viewed as DB cars.

Where I live I see a number of Italian and British sports cars and Rolls/Bently from time to time, but people with money for a toy car seem to tend more to classics rather than new super-cars. Corvette's and Ford GT are definitely more common than Lamborghini, Ferrari or Lotus, but you see them from time to time. I even see a McLaren P1 running around Detroit. VW used to be pretty common, but I see them a lot less often since the recession. Maybe they pulled back. Not sure.

Toyota dealerships seem pretty rare. The only one I know of is in Ann Arbor. I am sure there are more around, but I cannot remember seeing them.

[scorpio516]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

There are Toyotas here and in significant numbers. Yes you will see a lot more Ford, GM and FCA cars. Mazda was pretty common when they were basically Fords made at the Flat Rock plant. I see less of them lately, but they are still somewhat common. You will also see most other foreign brands as much or more than Toyota.

Subaru R&D is in Ann Arbor
M-B R&D is 4 doors down from Subaru R&D
Honda's North America emissions lab is next door to M-B
Mitsubishi is the next street over
Toyota Tech center & R&D is in Saline
Nissan Tech Center is in Farmington Hills

[Jomz]

Adding to the list VW tech center in Auburn hills
& Hyundai KIA tech center close to AnnArbor

[VietInKC]

Definitely noticed a lot of domestic brand cars in Detroit but cant imagine people actually caring. This thread was started in 2011 so things might have changed.

https://magicvalley.com/lifestyles/a...d5b3c5.html#22

Not surprising to see which states have which cars. Asian people love German and Japanese brand cars. Rural areas really only have dealerships that are domestic brands so they don't really have a choice. Personally, I like the foreign brands because they are more reliable. Car purchases should not be made on origin alone. That actually in itself is kind of unamerican as if a car deemed inferior by testing on all parameters but get a pass since it's "American" unless there's financial reasons you can't get another car equivalent.

[313 TUxedo]

A few years ago, I saw a bumper sticker on the back of a Ford Fusion reading: Out of a job yet? Keep buying foreign.

I was tempted to write !Como Yo! * on his bumper sticker.

* "Like myself". The fusion is imported from México.

[leroythelion]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

Just crazy.



Toyota dealerships seem pretty rare. The only one I know of is in Ann Arbor. I am sure there are more around, but I cannot remember seeing them.

There is one in Canton. Knowing the demographics of Canton and the propensity in the group to drive Toyotas, that should not be surprising. I do own a Toyota and was in the service area waiting room a few months ago with a guy wearing his FCA badge. When I mentioned it to my service guy, he said they also have quite a few customers that also work at the Ford Wayne plant. Intriguing. I also heard anecdotally that the "no foreign cars in the parking lot" at Ford's Flat Rock assembly plant has been waived because so many employees are driving BMWs and Mercedes, but I don't know how true that is.

[Ivory Lee Spurlock]

Originally Posted by 313 TUxedo

A few years ago, I saw a bumper sticker on the back of a Ford Fusion reading: Out of a job yet? Keep buying foreign.

I was tempted to write !Como Yo! * on his bumper sticker.

* "Like myself". The fusion is imported from México.

Most of those "foreign" automobile companies have factories in the United States, making them "Made in America". Only the location of the company headquarters is "foreign". It wasn't all that many years ago when there were no "foreign" automobile manufacturing plants in the United States. Not even Volkswagon had an America factory until maybe the 80's or 90's, despite the fact that the VW Bug was very popular all across the United States. It wasn't all that many years ago that things made in Japan or Korea or Hong Kong was considered "junk" and the early Toyota's in the early 70's was among the ugliest looking vehicles ever made. It was at least a decade before the Toyota's began to reach US respectablity for their looks and high quality well built automobiles.