now that the automakers have gotten their bailout, will you buy an american car? (highway, border)

[cuebald]

Since 1973 I have owned two Toyota Corollas, three C10 pickups, two Chrysler minivans, a Jeep Wrangler, A Jeep Cherokee, an Accura Integra, a Saturn, a Dodge station wagon, a Chevy Impala, and a Nissan 510. I currently drive a Ford F150 and my wife drives a Toyota Sienna.

I sold cars for a few months in 1986. I saw a car hauler full of buicks come in one afternoon and watched the bumper fall off one of the cars as it was backed down the ramp into the parking lot. It was a rare occurrence that some type of adjustment didn't have to be made to get the new cars ready to put on the tarmac.

I have had good service out of the Toyotas I have owned, the Accura, and the F150. They are by far the best vehicles I owned.

The Jeeps both cost me a lot of money. I replaced the intake manifold on the Cherokee three times in 50,000 miles at @ $800 each (in the 80s) and the transmission in the Wrangler stripped a gear the fourth time I put it in 4 wheel drive. it was four years old and not under warranty. Another $3600 shot. The paint fell off the Nissan after five years in flakes the size of half dollars.

The rest of the cars were so-so. The Ford truck I have now is a better truck than were all the Chevys put together.

I will buy Toyota from here on out unless something changes radically about American cars. I will not buy another F150 because of the styling and the trim packages to appeal to the Sporting Crowd. The F150 is no longer thw outstanfding work truck that made it the backbone of the Ford lineup, and I don't intend to spend $40,000 for a tricked out party wagon. My next truck will be a 4 door Tundra.

I gave the American auto manufacturers a very real shot. They lost. Sorry, Big 3, but not very much.

[Irishtom29]

I've had no problems with any of my American cars since a 92 Taurus which was problematic.

I think many people drive foreign cars as a social statement, they're often driven by low level white-collar workers who resent well paid unionized blue-workers.

[floridasandy]

that is nuts! americans aren't going to drive a car that is unreliable no matter who makes it. (i think particularly women do not want to be broken down on the road as they feel more vulnerable). if you own a car that is unreliable you won't buy that car again. i had a bad pathfinder and would never buy a nissan, but i have a great honda civic and would definitely buy a honda.

[cuebald]

My two Toyota Corollas gave me almost a half million miles of good service. Outside tires, oil, and normal upkeep, I replaced the water pump on the first one at 164,000 miles and put two carburetors on the second one in 240,000 miles. That is all the work they ever required.

Our Sienna is two years old. Three of us went to New York in June with a ton of luggage and averaged 26 mpg SC-NY and back.

I'm a big Toyota fan.

[Who?Me?!]

Originally Posted by Irishtom29

I've had no problems with any of my American cars since a 92 Taurus which was problematic.

I think many people drive foreign cars as a social statement, they're often driven by low level white-collar workers who resent well paid unionized blue-workers.

good point!


Sad to see that so many have bought into the "all foreign cars are better than American cars so SCREW Americans" theme.....


There are good cars and lemons in every make and model.

But I look at the economy , OUR economy , OUR country and think, we better DO something and quickly! And that ISN'T supporting other countries by buying their cars....oh, and don't give me they're a "better investment" crap. NO car is a good investment, their value falls the minute they leave the plant, any plant!

Want to spend your money wisely...then don't buy a vehicle bigger than your needs and NO body needs 30,40, 50$$ + giant vehicles...but you'll be stupid enough to buy 'em and then whine about the cost of gas and upkeep!!!:sma ck:

But stay on message, "Screw American Workers for A Better Life"

[floridasandy]

The American Made Index

Rank --- Make/Model ----- U.S. Assembly Location(s) ---- Rank Last Dec.

Ford F-150 - --------- Claycomo, Mo.; Dearborn, Mich. --- 1
Toyota Camry -------- Georgetown, Ky.; Lafayette, Ind. -- 2
Chevy Silverado 1500 - Fort Wayne, Ind.; Pontiac, Mich. -- 3
Chevrolet Cobalt ----- Lordstown, Ohio ------------------ 4
Ford Focus ----------- Wayne, Mich. ------------------- NA
Toyota Sienna ------- Princeton, Ind. -------------------- 8
Chevy Malibu, Maxx --- Kansas City, Kan. ----------------- 6
Pontiac G6 ----------- Orion, Mich. ---------------------- 9
Ford Escape ---------- Claycomo, Mo. ------------------ 10
Toyota Tundra ------- Princeton, Ind.; San Antonio, Tx. - NA

here was the top 10 list of american made cars for 2007.

[Lincolnian]

Originally Posted by mrbob

Probably because many of us bought those American pieces of crap during the 70's and 80's and were burned badly - and decided to give the Japanese cars a chance....

Once you've owned a Toyota or Honda, you'd have to have a gun to your head to go back to a GM, Ford or Chrysler - that is unless you like pain...

And I don't believe the US cars are up to the same quality as the Japanese. Maybe for the first year - maybe. But after that, the American cars are nothing but an endless stream of one problem after another....

My Toyota's and Honda's have been mechanically far superior to any American car I ever owned...

Guess that's why the Big-3 are in trouble. They screwed many of their customers over the years, and now those former customers are lost to the competition - forever.

I guess someone must be holding a gun to my head then. I've had Toyotas and Hondas and they were far from trouble-free and when they did need repairs the parts were more expensive. My friend had a 2004 Lexus with just 105,000 miles on it. His car had always been maintained well. He started experiencing problems with it a month ago and took it to the Lexus dealer. They identified a computer problem and a need to rebuild the transmission. The projected cost was $5400!!!!!

I've had a Ford Escort that other than a rear spring at 112,000 and an axle bearing at 130,000 needed nothing for 173,000 miles.

In many cases it is hard to justify the premium prices attached to some of the foreign brands seeing as they all wear down and eventually end up in the recycle center. I'd much rather buy a comparably equipped Dodge minivan for $8,000 to $10,000 less than a Toyota Sienna and spend a little more on preventive maintenance than shell out the extra cash. There are not many Toyotas being used for commercial use yet you see many businesses and tradesmen regularly using Dodge minivans.

Many of my friends have well over 200,000 on their minivans and have owned more than one.

As far as Consumer Reports goes the magazine is somewhat self-fulfilling, that is, people who read it tend to buy the recommended products and often fail to report product problems possibly to rationalize their own purchase decision. The CR junkies suffer from severe group-think mentality. I've heard it numerous times from co-workers, "I bought a Honda because Consumer Reports says it is the best car and American cars aren't any good." When asked if they've bought an American car in the past 10 years nearly all of them have not. When asked why they got rid of their old car (Honda, Toyota, etc.) they often cite that they were starting to have problems with it (75,000 to 100,000 miles) and they were expensive to repair.

No car manufacturer is going to get a free pass from me. Prove your vehicle is better, worth the extra cash, or going to make my life easier.

[Swampmonster]

Originally Posted by Irishtom29

I've had no problems with any of my American cars since a 92 Taurus which was problematic.

I think many people drive foreign cars as a social statement, they're often driven by low level white-collar workers who resent well paid unionized blue-workers.

Then they are being fooled,yet again.I'm a union tradesman and I've worked at three Toyota plants AND one Nissan plant plus dozens of other plants that manufacture/support both of these companies.So IF that's the reason they drive American vehicles rather than Toyotas or Nissan then once again an uninformed group gets nailed for being stupid.

BTW...I worked a conveyor job at the GM plant near Wentzville,Mo and their quality control sucked compared to the two asian companies.

[doubbltunman]

I got my first Monte Carlo in '87, in h.s. It was a '79 Monte Carlo and no problems, sold at 100k miles. My next was a '80 Plymouth Volare with the slant 6, 200k miles when I got it, about 280k when I was hit-totaled. In '93 I bought a '87 Monte Carlo SS (always wanted one)60k on the clock and I drove that until 120k? when I decided the 305 wasn't enough. I found a wrecked in the side '95 corvette with 2k miles on it, I snatched that '95 LT1 motor right out of it! I didn't get the 6 speed manual(didn't know my mechanic could put it in)went back and it was ggggooooone!-So we decide on a 700r4 auto from a corvette and I had it built, it would chirp 2nd and 3rd. If I nailed it from 1st, 2nd would hit so hard I could lay 10 feet of rubber! In '96 It was completed. All in all that was $6 grand of well spent money. That '87 Monte Carlo SS went from 180 h.p, to 3xx HP, at that time it was amazing! I took it to the track once (16 sec 1/4 mile from the factory) It ran a 13.7 @102. I was tickled to death. (this will be my all time favorite car, I guess because I built her) I put over 200k miles on that "junk yard" motor, loved every mile of it, and shocked thousands of people all over Md. when they saw that rocket take off, My #1 question in store parking lots was, "Ah that baby aint stock is she"-Nope"whatchya got in there"-ancient chineese secret! I went through 3 rears, the first two I put back 3.73's, the last rear was a 3.42 from a grand national. At 300,000 miles on the body, and 2xx,xxx on the LT1 and trans (trans rebuilt at 100,000) There was not a mile left in her, I was not willing to spend the dough to do it, In 2002 I pulled the engine trans and rear and had her crushed. That engine/trans/rear is now in a '32 ford, and he did nothing but change the seals when he put her in-It is my beliefe that the chevrolet LT-1 V8 is bulletproof-I could not kill that motor!

In '97 I couldn't pass up a deal to buy a new Mustang Cobra, I enjoyed that car as well, @56,xxx miles the engine started some weird stuff at high rpm's so I got rid of it in 2001-yes I had the '87 Monte and "97 Cobra at the same time, half the time I couldn't decide which one I wanted to drive to work I got a 2000 mistubishi eclipse gs when I dumped the '97 Cobra, I also got a good deal on a '94 Cobra and drove that for a while till I almost doubled what I paid for it when I sold it. I didn't know what to do with all the money I saved in gas! I dislicked that car, probably because it wasn't performance oriented, but I saved alot of money in gas and in 80,000 miles was never in the shop once. In Sept. 2004 I read an article about Mustang Cobra's Ford cash rebate. I went to a Midnight Madness Sale and absolutely crushed the desk. The sticker was $38,000 -4,000 rebate so 34,xxx. I walked out of there at 2:30 a.m. paying $29,000+tax,title,tags! You couldn't get a used 2004 cobra for $29,000 until 2007! On top of that it was competition orange 1 of 281 coupes in that color! The best deal to date! A stolen car in P.G. county, Md took that car away from me in 2005. Ran a red light and hit the side-totaled. S.O.B. got out and ran before I could get him. Kinda glad, I might had killed him. I bought an old Bmw to get back and forth to work, drove that for a while, some guy in a parking lot siad it was a something engine in there, and it would run forever-ok-He offered me $600 more than I paid-sold. Good ole dad bought my sister a '93 Honda Accord SE coupe new for H.S.,when she got her BMW in 2002, he got it back, drove it awhile then it sat for one year. Brakes gone, exhaust gone, I laid $1,000 on the hood, he took it. I put $3 grand in it, $4 grand total, since 2006 started at 140k miles and now at 192k miles on oil changes-25-27 mpg highway. The A/C is ice cold and has NEVER been recharged! A 15 year old car still full of freon! This A/c will blow you out in 15 minutes on a 100 deg. day! I fully expect to see 300k without any major repairs. I drive this back and forth from Annapolis to Baltimore everyday! I bought a '06 GTO new and never liked it (it's no Cobra!) Sold after 4k miles and 6 mos.>$2k loss In '06 I got a '87 Grand National for a hell of a deal (Iguess I missed Monte so much?) She ran good with 8x,xxx miles on her. I was late for work one morning and nailed her on a straight off ramp with no one around, I was probably around 130 mph? when the engine blew to pieces. Sold on ebay for an amazing $500 loss, blown engine and all. In '06 I bought a Tundra new, loved it, In '07 the new red. tundra came out and I traded the '06. I've been waiting since '05 to buy another Cobra, was waiting for the '07 shelby's, but the price is %%$#@**(!, so I went and found another '04 cobra with 8k miles on her and I'm definately pleased. I started work at a Toyota dealership in '05 first as a salesman and then used car manager until '07, including appraising trade-ins. I've driven alot of trades. Honda stands out. Period. those 4 bangers will last 300k MOST of the time with no problems. Toyota is #2 Personally I'm not gonna spend $50+k for a sport car, $20-40,000 for some American Muscle is where I'm at, and with my '04 Cobra I can blow most $50-70k$ sports cars away. On occasion

The Chevrolet Volt is coming!
I do hear good things about this Chevrolet Cobalt SS????????
So that's where I'm at-Honda or Toyota for daily drivers (4cyl)
Prius is the only game right now in gas/electric
Honda or Toyota for minivans
Toyota Tacoma for small pick-up
Toyota rav-4
pilot or highlander
I think Suv's/large pick-ups don't matter domestic or foreign what's your taste
I made a mistake buying the '07 Tundra, I should have kept the ' 06 Tundra, or I should have waited and gotten a Escalade EXT for about 10 G's more Live and learn
American Muscle for performance, If you got $250K for a Lambergini well...

Cars in the driveway now:
'93 Honda Accord Se-192k miles Daily Driver
'07 Toyota Tundra Double Cab Limited-9k miles
'04 Ford Mustang Cobra Lightly Modded Mystichrome-8k miles

[AnUnidentifiedMale]

I bought a Hummer H3 a few months ago and I love it.

It definitely feels good to have a vehicle designed and produced by Americans.