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This rant would have been perfect about 10 years ago! American cars have come a long way and actually there are some nice American brands out there... Personally, I really dig the new Cadillacs, Ford Focus, Ford Fusion, Dodge Dart just to name a few.... And, NO I don't currently own an American car.
Not totally but I would love the option! they are more durable and more efficient than gasoline. My market right now is for another mid-sized pickup, preferably a 4cyl...what do I have to choose from?
None of which are built as well as the Yota...So I guess Tacoma it is. All I am saying is...it doesn't have to be this way!
-Oh and another note, Toyota makes the Prerunner....6-lug hubs with 4wd suspension but the truck is 2wd... what other company offers that in a mid-size?
Unfortunately you're at the whim of the American marketplace. Automakers will always make what is in demand. If there's not a big demand, your options are going to be more limited.
If you were looking for a sedan of any size, American made would be a great choice. Because it's the largest market of vehicle in America.
Perhaps in the future American companies will put more work into mid-size trucks but it's not a primary concern at the moment.
I agree with you there Engineer_guy and Archguy, they have gotten better because they HAD to in order to sell against the opposition. I guess my main gripe is now that I am in the market for a new vehicle....when I look at my options of what quality I personally want...I find nothing in the domestic market worth my money. There are so many foreign vehicles we simply can not get here that I would love to own... I guess my point is we are just not as diverse as I personally want us to be. Ford of Europe is still FORD! but guess what? they have completely different engineers who make completely different vehicles. For instance look at the Ford Ken Block drives....where the hell can I get one of those?! oh wait its a European ford....Same with the Audi A3 and the Audi S3. Why cant I have something like the S3 that is more badass than the A3? things like this... we are so behind. (sure we are catching up) but cmon America we gotta re-engineer.
dont blame the automakers for this, blame the government and their anti automobile regulations. we have stricter emission standards than europe does, and we have stricter safety standards than europe does. we also have stricter driving laws than europe, and the drivers in this country are crap compared to european drivers. not to mention our roads are complete crap compared to european roads.
Quote:
Originally Posted by StaticMedia
You sir....sound like a 3 year old.. I'm no expert but I have an A.S. in mechanical engineering with a few classes in metallurgy. I dont feel the need to explain to you how casting works because you are not paying me to do so. I am simply stating that the quality of the completed piece is often more substantial in the imported vehicle. I dont own a rockwell hardness tester or a super powered microscope....so I cant really section pieces of the vehicle and show you what I mean from a structure level. Not that I would know anyways. And shouldint you get back to work?
i will see your A.S. in mechanical engineering with my A.A.S. in automotive technology, and trump you with five years experience as a crew chief on a few different race cars. you look at things from a materials engineers view point, where as i look at what works best to make the best power, and lightest race car i can, all the while making the stiffest chassis i can given the rules i have to work with.
Quote:
Originally Posted by southernnaturelover
Hopefully GM and Ford have improved the gasket material in their engines. Those faulty head gaskets and intake manifold gaskets upset LOTS of people.
Off topic, but I've noticed quite a few newer model Caddy DTS's with blue smoke exiting their tail pipes.
it wasnt just the gasket material that was the problem, for instance with the GM intake gaskets, it was also the acid based coolant they were using that ate away at the gasket material. as for ford, they made the mistake of putting aluminum heads on a cast iron block not taking into account the different expansion rates of the two materials. it can be, and has been done, but you most control the rate of expansion of the aluminum otherwise the gaskets get abraded by the movement of the two materials as they expand and contract.
Good point, and I should. I really just need to make a video of what I am talking about and youtube it. Obviously as before my current Ranger VS a Tacoma, Toyota Xrunner vs Dodge Dakota R/t, Vette vs various imported V8's etc.. to explain what I mean there you really have to be looking at the car itself. All of the other data is out there in places like Car&Driver, Top Gear, etc... performance wise. And also this rant has nothing to do with the fact that these cars happen to be imports....if America made vehicles that were equivalent to many of the imports I like, you bet I would buy them for sure. Its just that many of these imports do not HAVE an American equivalent...that is part of what frustrates me.
The American marketplace is much different than the European marketplace. American's generally prefer larger vehicles with larger displacement engines while European's generally want a smaller vehicle with more efficient and lighter engines. If there was a large market of buyers for some European vehicles, I have no doubt that GM and Ford wouldn't import them to the US. The market dictates everything and if there isn't a large enough market, it isn't worthwhile for a manufacturer to bring European vehicles up to US safety and emissions standards.
If you can't find anything you currently like in the lineup of a domestic automaker, you're not truly looking.
Just a few great examples of what is available from the domestic automakers:
Cadillac CTS (Sedan/Coupe/Wagon/V)
'13 Cadillac ATS
'13 Ford Fusion
Chevy Camaro
Dodge Charger
Not to mention perennial favorites such as the Ford Mustang, Chevy Corvette, and any domestic, full-sized pickup truck.
i will see your A.S. in mechanical engineering with my A.A.S. in automotive technology, and trump you with five years experience as a crew chief on a few different race cars. you look at things from a materials engineers view point, where as i look at what works best to make the best power, and lightest race car i can, all the while making the stiffest chassis i can given the rules i have to work with.
Exactly. A good engineer will design a part to stand up to the structural demands required using the least amount of material possible. You can't just look at two pieces of metal and assume one is stronger that the other because it's thicker. Besides, if the domestic makes really have a problem with their parts not being heavy enough shouldn't they be collapsing under their own weight as they drive down the road?
Why dont we have more Turbocharged 4cyl cars? why dont we have more small diesels? Why cant I buy a quality mid-sized truck other than a Tacoma? Why are there no mid-sized Diesel trucks?? Why is everything so damn inefficient? Why are we still making production High-liter V8 cars that are not EVEN that fast???? Why is everything made of crappy plastic?
Yup, you are basing your views on 13 year old technology.
I have a 2008 1/2 ton Ford 4x4 with a V8 and I am getting 27 mpg. Better mileage than I got on my Volvos of years past.
You want to know about turbo motors, most of Fords are now offered with ecoboost motors with great power and mileage.
Yes, there are small diesel motors available but the USA is dead set against our owning them. Ford is still selling the small Ranger with a small diesel, just not available in USA.
US cars have come a long way. Chevy and especially Ford now are making quite reliable, nice cars. Chrysler I still wouldn't touch with a 50 foot pole, however. (Not including Chargers, or Challengers =p)
That being said, I still say that overall Japanese have the edge in reliability and quality for your money.
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