May I ask....Why all the foreign vehicles? (Denver: home, buying)

[mimomof2]

I guess coming from MI, the "automotive capital" is why I ask this question. I have been here a couple of months and love it. I just can not believe how many Toyota's, Honda's etc. I would say at least 8 out of 10. I know automotive is not the industry here, but I can see why MI economy is horrible. GM, Chrysler or Ford for me!

Just a little vent.

[I_Want_Snow]

I am originally from MI also, just south of Ann Arbor. I don't live in CO yet, going there next year, but in FL it was same thing. I am in the Atlanta GA area now and it seems a little better, but there is also a Ford Plant here so that may be why. My job I had in Tampa, FL there were 18 people in my consulting firm I worked at and out of those 18 only 2 of us had American cars, I have a Ford and another guy had a Cadillac. I used to argue with them all the time about why they were buying foreign cars.

With the economy being as bad as it is you would think now would be the best time to support our workers and buy American. But I am biased as my father retired from Ford after 35 years on the assembly line. I have 3 Uncles and 2 cousins that work at Fords also. I will never buy any foreign car!!

[COflower]

Toyotas and Hondas are some of the most reliable vehicles on the road. In addition, a Ford (insert make here) or a Pontiac (insert make here) of the same class will not have the resale or trade-in value, even if as reliable as a Honda or Toy.

For cars I go for Honda. Trucks I go for Chevy.

Besides that, some Japanese and Detroit vehicles are interchangable. Example: Mazda and Ford but the Mazda will have a resale value greater than that than the Ford. (I forget the models of each - a specific one that is - as it's been a while.)

[bullfish15]

Free minds and free markets for me! If the big 3 could deliver a fuel efficient inexpensive high quality automobile I would buy it in a heartbeat. But they can't... yet. I came from N.E. Ohio, home of the GM Lordstown plant and Chevy Cobalt, the dressed up Cavalier. I have known many workers at the car factory and the industry related supplier factories. The foreign companies have the right idea... Don't pay production workers $25 per hour and up with untouchable benefits. Toyota builds cars here in America for a more practical factory wage of $12ish. I know people who worked in the car factories that made over $90,000 a year for assembly line work. That is a slap in the face to a skilled worker like me who's job can't be done by a human robot.

I despise protectionism. Since the American car companies are not putting products on the market that sell, let them reap what they sow. The problem is complicated and there is plenty of blame to go around from the unions all the way up to the CEO's, but I will not overpay for a product of any kind to protect an industry from competition. I want my money to stay in this country too, but my money in my checking account is way too valuable for me to limit my choices to 3 manufacturers who are not offering the best product at the best price.

The industry will have to be turned upside down and ran profitably in order to stay alive. Denver has no car factories here, so the concept of paying much more for something to keep uncle Jim and aunt Betsy working is... somewhat foreign.

[jazzlover]

I can answer the question for you, but it probably isn't an answer you will like. In many cases, the foreign makes, especially Hondas, Subarus, and Toyotas, are flat-out better cars. I still drive American vehicles for the most part, but my Mother--about as dyed-in-the-wool "Buy American" as you can get--has a Toyota in her garage.

I got burned by a whole bunch of American "lemons" in the 1970's, like a lot of other people did. Many of them switched over to Japanese cars then, and have never come back. American vehicles are way better now, but that bitter taste has not left a lot of people. In the remote areas of the American West, where there is not a garage or car dealer every 10 miles, car reliability and longevity are very important. These qualities are the Japanese strong suit, and people in this region tend to recognize that. There would probably be more Japanese cars here than there are already were it not for the fact that the dealer network for those makes is not as extensive, as--say--for Ford and Chevy. That advantage is dwindling in rural areas, as more and more of the small independent American-make dealers go away.

I have posted extensively on what a tragedy it is in the US that we have abdicated our manufacturing capability to others. The fact remains, though, that in a world market we must produce competitive products at competitive prices. Until we can do that, Americans are going to continue to "defect" to foreign sources for goods. By the way, I have owned and driven vehicles from Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Ford, International Harvester, Plymouth, Dodge, Jeep, and Toyota. The most economical and reliable of all of them--you guessed it, the Toyota.

[I_Want_Snow]

As far as reliability goes, I have personally never had any problems with any American car I have owned. I have owned 1 Jeep, 1 Pontiac, and 8 Fords. I just traded in a Ford Focus that had 147,000 miles on it and it had the original clutch in it. The only thing I had to replace was brakes, and doing my basic tune up of plugs and wires. I had a Ford Tempo I put over 220,000 miles on without any major issues. My father drove a Bronco II for 14 years and put over 309,000 miles on it with out ever even having to rebuild the motor.

I know my experiences are FAR from the norm, but I would rather allow my hard earned money to be spent and stay in this country instead of going over to Japan. Plus...my dad would kick my @ss if I bought a foreign car!!! LOL

[Get out of my way]

Originally Posted by mimomof2

I guess coming from MI, the "automotive capital" is why I ask this question. I have been here a couple of months and love it. I just can not believe how many Toyota's, Honda's etc. I would say at least 8 out of 10. I know automotive is not the industry here, but I can see why MI economy is horrible. GM, Chrysler or Ford for me!

Just a little vent.

I can't believe you even have to ask that question. Welcome to the rest of the U.S.! Everybody knows that the Japanese build their cars better than the U.S. does, and with the economy the way it is, who can afford to take their car into the shop? And Detroit just doesn't have a clue about making fuel efficient cars. Honda gave us the Civic, Toyota gave us the Corrolla (both still going strong) and Ford gave us... the Fiesta?? The MI economy is horrible because the Big 3 is out of touch with the needs of everyday people. A new $40K Dodge Challenger that gets 13mpg? I don't think so. Stop making so many gas guzzlers, we don't need any more! So there's my vent.

I drive a Ford Explorer myself, love it, but would jump at the chance to buy a new Toyota if I made a little bit more money.

[Get out of my way]

Originally Posted by I_Want_Snow

I know my experiences are FAR from the norm, but I would rather allow my hard earned money to be spent and stay in this country instead of going over to Japan. Plus...my dad would kick my @ss if I bought a foreign car!!! LOL

Yeah, Ford is made in the USA... oh wait, what's this say? BBC NEWS | Americas | Ford to open new plant in Mexico

Oh well, we've still got GM... whoops, never mind, I just read this INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS; A 20-Year G.M. Parts Migration To Mexico - New York Times (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D04E5DD103CF937A15755C0A96E9582 60 - broken link)

Mopar is still All-American... sorta Chrysler to build engine plant south of the border - Autoblog

Don't worry, i won't tell your Dad that Mexican auto workers are getting rich off of your money...

But buying a Toyota is un-American, isn't it?

"At a time when the traditional Big Three are struggling, Toyota is thriving. Just this year, Ford and GM have terminated 46,000 North American employees. Together, they have announced the closing of 26 North American factories over the next five years. Toyota has never closed a North American factory; it will open a new one in Texas this fall and another in Ontario in 2008. Detroit isn't being bested by imports: 60% of the cars Toyota sells in North America are made here."

No Satisfaction at Toyota | Fast Company

[I_Want_Snow]

Ahh... the new Ford Focus gets 35 mpg. My 2004 Focus I am driving now is averaging about 29mpg with half city half highway driving.

As far as the Dodge goes, you can't compare a 425 hp muscle car with a 370 Cubic inch V8 motor to a 121 cubic inch 4 cylinder economy car. The 2 V6 models of the Charger gets right around the same mileage as your Explorer does.

Taken from site fueleconomy.gov for 2008 models:

Toy Cor
26 city
35 Hwy

Honda civic
22-25 city
29-36 hwy

Chevy Cobalt
24 city
30-36 hwy

Ford Focus
24 city
35 hwy

I don't too much difference there.

[COflower]

Originally Posted by I_Want_Snow

I don't too much difference there.

What you don't see is the resale/trade-in value. The Ford Focus may have comparable fuel economy but a Honda or Toy will have an overall better value in the end. It's one of the reasons they are the most looked up vehicles on Kelly Blue Book's website. It's one of the reasons they have stayed in the top three (Accord and Camry) for over a decade for the most stolen vehicles. They are probably the most reliable vehicles on the market.

Heck, despite I need new CV boots, my 93 Honda Accord just barely ran over 90,000 but is worth a more than a 93 Pontiac Grand Prix. People almost worship Hondas and Toyotas.

If I were to get another truck though, I would most certainly get another Chevy. Not much of a Ford person as we had a 76 Thunderbird that was the biggest POS so I have a sour taste from that. I did drive my brother's F-150 to Denver though, pretty smooth ride but I liked my Chevys much better.