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Well, you win on the cars owned. 100 cars in that short amount of time is a LOT...and people I know make fun of me.
lol! Yeah, I know how that is. I used to hava shop building customs, hot rods, and sports cars, and a lot of my cars were things I bought, modded and drove for a month or two before moving on to the next project. But many of them were around for years (while I built other projects). I slowed down in the last decade, as I concentrated on a house and carreer, but have still built/owned a number of cars for myslef and friends (there is an MGB GT in the garage right now geting a full restoration for my buddy, and my own MGB will follow it up, as my wife wants to drive it)
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Just out of curiosity, you consider the $22k - $30k range with most coming in around $25k for decent options to be too pricey for a new car?
Yeah, for that kind of money I can build a LOT of car. Hell, I only paid $7500 for my 740iL 3 1/2 years ago. That's a lot of car for less than half the cost of a new basic economy car. Last new car I bought was $18k back in '02, and I thought that was too much. And with depreciation factored in, it's stupid.
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With a name like Merc63 (which I am assuming refers to a Mercedes 63 AMG) I would think that would be peanuts. Of course...it could also refer to Mercury 1963, in which case, I understand.
A lot of people think it means Mercedes, even though I've had this handle online since the mid '90s. It really stands for my current long term project, my custom 1963 Mercury Comet convertible, as seen in my photo album here.
Now, don't get me wrong, I have expensive tastes and all my favorite cars are stupid expensive (from Aston Martin DB9 to the '63 Ferrari 250 Berlinetta Lusso to the original Ford GT40 to Chip Foose's top stuff) but I can see paying good moeny for a classic or a highly desirable car, but I can't see spending good money for a transportation appliance or even a rapidly depreciating basic fun car. And I won't spend good money having someone build me something I can build myself.
Well, yeah, I am. I have been working on my own vehicles since the early 70's, still have every tool I have ever bought, I can count the times I have come home on a tow hook in the last 20 years anyway on one hand. So I think my confidence is well-founded.
Dealers can't consistently recruit and retain mechanics with IQ's in the 130's ~ 140's, and 30+ years of experience. And if one did, you wouldn't like their labor rate.
I think American cars got a bad reputation from their early not-so-good attempts to build compact cars in response to the Japanese, such as the Ford Pinto. They've pretty much caught up now, especially seeing the recent problems of Toyota.
So you'll buy an "American" vehicle made in Mexico or Canada before you'd buy a "Japanese" vehicle made in Ohio or "German" vehicle made in Alabama?
Oh, you're concerned with where the profits go? Glad to know that you're more concerned about the American executive's villa in the south of France instead of the Japanese executive's condo in Vail, Colorado... And the Ford or GM investment in plants outside the US vs the Japanese and Korean investments in new plants in the US employing American workers.
Here's the deal, you can't make ANY money selling the public what it doesn't want. Toyota managed to sell Priuses by selling them at a los and letting the profits from their 27 differnt SUV lines cover it. Why? becaeu SUVS and trucks are what America wants, and the sales figures show it. the ONLY reason manufactures are going to hybrids and EVs now is that they are getting governemtn funding for it, so now, instead of the company talking the losses on selling unwanted cars, the taxpayers are eating the cost of them.
GM didnt' go wrong in selling SUVs. GM went wrong in mismanaging their money and in making sub par products for so long.
Actually, the ONLY reason GM is becoming competetive in the market is Lutz's product push since he got there. He had to prove to management that they HAD to build better quality cars and cars that people wanted to buy. GM management, however, was deaf as usual and only followed through with Cadillac initiall, which is only now, due to Lutz, getting back to being competetive worldwide. the resto fo the divisions were startingt o get great cars. the Solstice/Sky outsold the Miata every year it was in production. the Volt is going to be an incredible product, and even the bread and butter cars, like the Malibu and Cruze are very competetive with the imports.
BTW, Lutz came from Europe. He was responsible for a lot of what made Ford and GM of Europoe competetive, and HE is responsible for BMW being what it is. he worked witha small advertising firm to come up with the "Ultimate Driving machine" slogan in the early '70s to get peopel to buy what at the time was a relatively lackluster product mix, with only the origina 1602 and 2002 to draw from (along wiht the tiny 700 economy car and the Neu Class Bavaria sedan). He then created the M Division before leaving to go to Ford of Europe.
Cars like the Viper brought new vigor to Chrysler, and cars like the PT cruiser could have saved the company (the PT had waiting lists for 2 years, required a third shift to help keep up with the demand, and was still selling at a very high rate right up into the economic meltdown with no advertising whatsoever...). Lutz was responsible for both. The Ram truck in the early '90s was Lutz's contribution, as well. Not only did they increase their market share with it by a HUGE amount, they caused every other pickup maker to play catch-up since then.
My truck was built in Kentucky and my Mustang was built in Michigan. No matter where your "foreign job" is made, it is still a foreign design and parts prices and availability reflect that. There isn't anything wrong with a import car but it isn't the only car that is worth a s***! The modern Kool-Aid drinking on that subject is outlandish and preposterous. If all that BS was true would there still be all the classics on the road and still around? Hell, the foreign car enthusiast people even want our classics and will pay exorbitant amounts to get them.
40 years ago, a car was mostly used up at 100k miles. 50 years ago, getting a car to 150 or 200 k miles was cause for national recognition.. Now, 150-200k is NORMAL. Even my ultra complex BMW has 180k on it, is a daily driver, and should last me well past 250k miles. My 1962 Falcon was tired and worn out at 120k miles and people marvelled that it was still on the road. MOST early '60s Falcons (an economy car that sold in Accord numbers) are already recycled into other things and are no longer on the road.
40 years ago was 1970. How many 1970 economy cars are on the road right now? Hell, how many mid size sedans are on the road right now from 1970? So much for "built to last forever."
Well you obviously missed the point.
40 years ago people didn't drive nearly as much as they do now, hence why not many cars made it over 100k.
Also most of the cars that were around back then were wrecked, stripped down for parts, etc. Back then nobody thought anything from the late 60's/early 70's would be worth anything past 10 years.
Most 40 year old cars now come out on the weekends or they're at a race somewhere. From time to time you'll see an older early 70's sedan on the road. An economy car from 1970? Depends on what you want to call an economy car....a Vega or a Pinto comes to my mind, IIRC neither was released until 1971....and neither lasted long, but not because quality didn't exist, but because they were built poor and cheap for the poor and cheap person that couldn't afford a new car but wanted one, or for someone who wanted a gas saver.
Now there were other cars that were considered economy cars...like the Novas and Falcons...most of them that weren't wrecked by some kid stuffing a big block into one for a cheap hot rod are now racing at a race track. You do still see old 1970 Ford and Chevy trucks often on the road in full service today.
Not anymore. Unfortunately, your co worker is in the age bracket of people who probably got burned several times on American cars of the 80s and 90s. He probably bought a few of them, even though he knew they were lesser cars at the time, because his dad fought in WWII and wouldn't touch a Japanese car, or his dad told him never to buy any foreign products, or some such reason.
Then he probably realized that Toyota and Honda were gaining market segment. In the automotive world, market segment is hard won, and hard lost. Cars last for many years, whereas most people seem to remember things for three years, then carry that thought forward for decades. If Toyota can get recalls buttoned up and quality on track, they won't suffer badly in the long term. The damage that GM, Ford, and Chrysler did to themselves, took decades. As a result, it is taking years to get buyers to come back, particularly those of the age group hit worst by the garbage made in Detroit during the 80s and 90s. Those people jumped ship to Japanese and European brands, and a lot of them haven't looked at anything else ever since that time. They are still of the mindset that American cars are not good, and break out in a cold sweat any time they think of buying another one.
I would gladly buy a Ford today. Of the surviving GM brands, I would buy a Buick or Chevy trucks, or a Caddy. I would steer clear of Chrysler.
I'd take them over any import today. Same cannot be said of the Big Three only seven years ago.
I think your coworker is stuck in the past. American cars are finally getting better. In fact, my next car is going to be a Fusion hybrid. If I could, I would get a Cadillac CTS or STS, or a Buick LaCrosse.
With all the issues with Toyota's software problems, and none of the other Japanese cars really striking my fancy, American cars are the only ones left (or German cars, I really like Volkswagens and their diesels are more efficient than any hybrid out there, and their engines are legendarily reliable).
I hate to go off subject but my Ford dealer just took delivery of it's first SVT Raptor.
Talk about a beast, it's a great looking truck. I'm not into offroading as much as I used to be but I'd still love to have one. The one they got was black with a sticker $42,000.
No matter where your "foreign job" is made, it is still a foreign design and parts prices and availability reflect that.
Not always a foreign design. Honda, Mercedes, Nissan, and Toyota all have design and engieering offices in the US, and most of the cars on sale in the US were also designed here by Americans. BMW's design department is actually Designworks USA, started by Check Pelly in California decades ago (Chuck designed Lance Reventlowe's Scarab race cars in the '50s) and brought under teh BMW umbrella in the '80s (Chris Bangle worked under Chuck before BMW bought them, went over to Fiat for a while, then came back to BMW as head of design in 1992, out of California).
Kias are designed by a German who studied at the Royal College of Art in London, but worked out of California since 199i, under J Mays for the VW group doing the TT. J came over from the VW group to run Ford design. And the 2005 Mustang that he a was head of the project on was actually designed by a Vietnamese, Hau Thai-Tang, who's family escaped Saigon in '75. The current Viper was designed by Osamu Shikado, who came over from Toyota.
Bob Hall and Mark Jordan designed the original Miata in California. Honda accord coupes and wagons, and Civic coupes, were designed and manufactured in the US and exported back to Japan.
Sorry, you simply cannot make the blanket statement that a "foreign job" was designed outside the US, or that a US car was designed by Americans.
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No matter where your "foreign job" is made, it is still a foreign design and parts prices and availability reflect that. There isn't anything wrong with a import car but it isn't the only car that is worth a s***! The modern Kool-Aid drinking on that subject is outlandish and preposterous. If all that BS was true would there still be all the classics on the road and still around? Hell, the foreign car enthusiast people even want our classics and will pay exorbitant amounts to get them.
