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When the choice mattered, the consumer chose cars that weren't made here. American auto makers offered an inferior product. They lost their dominant position-- or hit a tipping point of diminishing returns.
Now, it does not matter, due to globalization, as someone pointed out. I don't think the glory days of the US auto industry will return. I hope they suprize us though.
I don't believe I have ever owned an American car, but I have own a good number of full sized American trucks as an old Chevy/Ford can still pull the devil out of hell on Sunday. America just never made stellar small cars and most had terrible resale value not to mention they lagged behind others in handling and fuel efficiency on average. America has generally seemed to prefer big fat cars with cushy rides, which they make pretty good, just can't say the same about their small boxes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Magnulus
German cars tend to cost more and not be as reliable. A huge part of owning a German car is snob appeal. What's worse with German cars is they tend to be alot more unfriendly to home mechanics. Many Mercedes and Audis don't even have oil dipsticks anymore.
The biggest flaw of American automakers is that they are usually ten years behind what people actually need or want. The engine technology in American cars also hasn't changed alot in decades, and for a given displacement, they typicly produced less power. With today's soaring gas prices, that puts American automakers at a disadantage.
There are more Mercedes automobiles with 1,000,000 + miles on them than any other car in the world, so I wouldn't say they were less reliable. I recall a Mercedes 220D that had a top speed of 85mph and its cruising speed was 85mph, this should tell us something. In fact, (at least in the past) German cars had the ability to rebuild most of their components such as the brake master cylinder, wheel cylinders, oil pumps, PS pumps, water pumps, etc... instead of having to buy a replacement. Biggest weakness I have found with German cars is their electronic systems and environmental systems. (as well as their inflated price)
Just about any car today is not "Shade tree mechanic" friendly as nearly every car has complex computer management systems in order to increase efficiency, smaller engine compartment to engine size ratio's, and parts that require a variety of specialty tools to repair or replace components.
Just a guess, but I would say that the Ford weighs a lot more and has a much larger engine.
Fleet
While that is true, I would love a lighter US van that could get comparable mileage. The Vito seats 9 and is sufficiently powered. The E350 makes a bunch of noise and is very heavy, but does not perform any better.
Don't get me wrong, I love them both. I would prefer a US made van, but the MPG has got to improve.
In my OP, I mentioned a secondary question; however, the respondents here have done too much to be blindsided with my second question. I apologize that I even thought it might be ok.
I don't care where a car is from. I want a well built, nice looking, car that is care free outside of routine maintenance, and that retains a strong resell value. That means Toyota or Honda.
I care more about my money than to give it to a company that's providing an inferior product.
The most reliable car I've owned, and the one I owned the longest, is the Ford Contour. I had that car for almost 10 years and put 160,000 miles on it, with the first 100k being very hard miles, without taking proper care of it. I had VERY few problems with it, and only had to replace two parts that failed outside the scope of normal wear and tear.
I am SOLD on American cars now. Besides, getting one used costs less than half the price of their foreign counterparts.
It was just reported that of the last 15 cars that drove past a certain place in California, 10 were non-American. My question is this: who is at fault? Is it the foreign car makers or the American car makers?
I have a second part to this question, but I want to see what forum members think about this first part.
American car makers are at fault for not keeping up with the trends and having over inflated prices, the unions are a large part of the price issue.
A few years ago, Pontiac came out with the new GTO. More or less, GM slapped GTO badges on an Aussie car and then imported it to the US as a GTO. A ton of people complained how the new GTO had nothing in common with the legendary GTO. GM's response more or less was to tell the GTO enthusiasts to go pound sand. GM was marketing this car to the 25-40 crowd, not to the older crowd who helped make the GTO a legend. Furthermore, they also touted the car as being on par with a BMW.
So more or less GM marketed the car wrong and royally upset the already built GTO enthusiast.
First year, the car is not as successful as what GM wants, so how do they react? They blame the GTO enthusiast for not buying the car even though a year earlier GM said that these people were not important.
Second example: Again with the GTO. GM outright said that they will not produce a retro themed car since retro was dead. GM want on and made a few insulting comments about retro and the people who buy them. Now, years later, guess what? The new Camaro has some retro clues.
Just about any car today is not "Shade tree mechanic" friendly as nearly every car has complex computer management systems in order to increase efficiency, smaller engine compartment to engine size ratio's, and parts that require a variety of specialty tools to repair or replace components.
Very true. Up until our move to MA, my husband owned a 72 VW Beetle, he could rebuild that whole car and very cheaply, too. I own a new Beetle and you can't fix much on them yourself. We also owned an old VW Golf years ago, I think they were called Rabbit here? He fixed everything on that car. I guess they found another way to make money, by making people go to the dealerships for repairs that they can now charge an arm and a leg for. The company my husband works for is now "Dumping" their entire Ford truck fleet, too many problems with the vehicles and the dealerships they take the trucks to for service or repair do a horrible job. Just yesterday he told me that the dealership failed to tighten up something after the repair and this ruined the engine.
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I just can't do it...
