Yeah nowadays the lines between "foreign" and "domestic" get blurred more and more and more. Cars are made all over the place. A car could be designed in the U.S., built in Japan with parts sourced from Europe, U.S., Mexico, Japan, etc., then tested in Europe. Crazy thing, this globalization.

Really though, U.S. manufacturers have been putting out some damn good cars lately. The new Pontiac G8 is fire, and I've heard the new Chevrolet Malibu is comparable to Accords and Camrys. Anyone heard about the upcoming Cobalt SS? Set a lap record on the Nurburgring for a front wheel drive car. And the Cadillac CTS-V...awesome.

Ford has been slower getting with the program, but I have hopes for them bringing the Euro Fords over here.

Then you have Chrysler. Touche.

 

Prepare to be opinion inundated!

I would love to buy a domestic, really. I live in michigan, my family is in the big 3, etc. I do not like sending my money across the pacific.

But... there are a few problems that make me want to convince the big 3 to fix their errors by pointing my wallet to another company that does it better.

1) I want a fuel-efficient car, not EPA but real-world, and it has to be fun to drive.

I looked at the Focus, loved how it drove, but it would never consistently get over 30mpg.

The Aveo just underwhelmed me with its 103 hp engine and according to "some" reports (if you know which one I'm talking about) it tends to average a whopping 25 mpg. No thanks.

Cobalt/cavalier? well, worse mileage than aveo, but there was another reason.

Maybe a neon? Well that's all great but a friend of mine with one wanted to know how big a V6 my stock d16y8 civic had in it after lining up at a light. Uhhh not looking good since I wasn't even shifting above vtec engagement. Well, then the neon blew the headgasket at 63k miles and I thought, no. It did like to get 36-38 mpg though.

2) Must be reliable and cheap to own.

The chevy ones, meh on reliabililty. Am I referring to actual repair rates? No. I'm referring to the one thing that is based heavily on expected reliability, all other things being equal: resale value. I was turned off when I found multiple 2008 Cobalts for sale around here not even up to their first oil change selling for under $5000US with zero damage or defects. That's a bad sign if I ever saw one.

As for the Aveo... last one i saw made it 16 miles doing 85mph on the freeway until its motor went BAM. Freak construction error, probably. First one I've seen? No.

Ahh the Focus... I was seriously going to get it. Well, until I found a certain recall affecting Michigan owners. For more than one ford car including certain years of the focus the front coil springs rust badly enough in the road salt to snap, typically in 60-80k miles. This causes tire puncture unless the dealer installs a special collar that protects the tire. No, there isn't a new spring for you to buy to stop it from happening, it still rusts the same.

Add the problem with the ignition key on pre-'05. A small tab in the ignition cylinder has a tendency to break about once a year, preventing the cylinder from turning and stranding the motorist wherever he/she be. A new replacement from Ford will not fix the problem. Only permanent fix is a diy-get your hands dirty solution that works an '05-up cylinder into an '00-'04 assembly but most dealers refuse to do.

Ever seen the resale on a Neon? 'nuff said.

3) I prefer a company that stands behind its vehicles 100%.

Toyota wins here. Ever heard of the '95-'00 Tacoma frame TSB? The frames have rust problems. If your truck is affected, they buy the truck back at 150% KBB excellent retail REGARDLESS of condition up to 15 years from date of manufacture. In addition they give a free rental to use until you get your money to buy a new truck of your choice (and no, it doesn't have to be Toyota to get your money).

Honda can work on this. If you dealt with Honda on a design flaw outside of warranty, you know what I mean.

GM.... well I'll just ignore that in the late '70s some cars had an anti-rattle device that prevented the tranny bell housing from contacting the firewall. It was called a leather glove. Or, the 1996 3.1L engines that came from the factory with undersized wrist pins but never got recalled. If you ever heard one of these ticker motors, you know what I mean. Or the truck I personally witnessed them refuse to fix when it twisted and snapped both motor mounts, three times, before the second oil change was done. Nope, the crank was never balanced at the factory and GM said too bad.

Anyone with a recalled 2001 Ranger ever get their redesigned cruise control module in (the new one that's not supposed to catch on fire)? Nah didn't think so. Sorry, you have to drive with your disconnected cruise and the intermittent loss of ABS that goes with it, probably for the life of your $24k vehicle.


But what really set me off is how long GM has been putting off a REAL hybrid. They had the technology 13 years ago. The biggest chunk came to fruition in the EV1 with the A/C controller that controls phase, voltage, cycle duration and the like to enable smooth control of an A/C motor with regenerative braking capability. I was so pumped when I saw plans for the Volt, which is basically the same thing with a bigger electric motor (130KW instead of 100KW) and an onboard gasoline generator to recharge batteries on the go. Everything was in the works... well it seems I saw that concept at the 2005 auto show. I know a company that large is capable of concept to production of that product in less than 2 years considering Ford made the same trip with the GT sports car in what, less than 6 months?

Now so many people have vehicles that average less than 20 mpg and in many cases 10-15 (*ahemi* hummer) that when gas prices took a jump that reminds all of us of 1973 people just couldn't drive far anymore. Spending went way down, costs went up and now there's layoffs (partly due to those same vehicles in the assembly lines), foreclosures, and a general sense of uh-oh in the Michigan economy that was driven by tourism and GM/Ford. It's even worse up north where just getting to town to buy groceries is often 45-60 miles.

Way to look ahead GM, sales of trucks and SUVs had to essentially die for you to see what's going on and start thinkings cars as daily drivers. Shame on Chrysler and Ford for really not taking a serious look and using GM's stagnation as an excuse for not making advances in economy and reliability a top priority.

Still it doesn't matter that much, Toyota keeps building stuff in Canada when Honda has pumped cars out of Ohio for decades and GM outsources to Mexico and Ford can't resist either. Only the profits go to the big building with the carmaker's name on it.

So I bought an import because they did it better. Honda has always looked at fuel economy as top dog (with the element as notable exception). Toyota has built its entire company around making reliable vehicles and all else to the chickens, although their fuel economy has improved markedly in recent years so kudos for that. Who would have known the 1.8L in the '09 corolla could be capable of 50 mpg at 55 mph, or 45 mpg at 70 mph with the A/C on in an AUTOMATIC-equipped sedan. I know, I drove the cotton pickin thing over 700 miles on $34 when gas was over $4/per.

I pointed my wallet. If the domestic 3 want my business when this machine comes to its end like all machines do, they better take a look at what they need to do and snap to it.

So, that's why i ignore anyone who accuses me of destroying the economy. Sorry, I don't forgive laziness because of location. That is for sheep to do.

 

That guy sounds like one of those guys who is short sighted, and is an asshole all the time. I hate those guys. GM makes ugly, boring, terrible made plastic crap. Their cars are only about performance, and their economy cars are binge drinkers. Ford has nice european cars if they would bring all of them over. I will never again own a domestic unless its a european ford import. I love my GD3 and won't go back.

 

Ugly


Boring


Ford's only good cars are European:

 

Please help support a mechanics family




buy domestic

 

helping our economy by buying domestic is all well and good, and if it would actually work then that would be one thing. the sad part is, only time will tell, and as soon as gas prices soared everyone wanted an instant fix. now that all the big companies are seeing the problem and that their CEOs won't be able to pocket as much cash, they're finally realizing they need to reconfigure things.

the other sad part is that, sure we can buy domestic all we want to help our economy. too bad that other countries are in economic turmoil as well. the example i'll give is how starbucks is closing the majority of it's stores in australia because of how poorly they are doing. now, it's very late at night so i don't feel like researching more specifics, but i know america and australia aren't the only countries in jeopardy.

in conclusion, it's not just about buying domestics, it's a much more intricate issue than that that won't be fixed as quickly as everyone wants it to be.

 

i don't even see why people care enough to say something
fit owners don't just go around talking shit to SUV drivers, shit.. my best friend drives an h2!
and i LOVE it!

 

The other thing, is that when public companies are concerned, there is really no such thing as domestic or foreign anymore.

The stockholders in Ford, GM etc. are from all over the world. Only the headquarters buildings are in the US.

I don't think there's a drastic quality difference between GM/Ford and the imports anymore. It's mostly perception. As I mentioned, the only reason I didn't buy a Ford is they have nothing left in the small wagon/hatch class. If I was going to buy a sedan, the Fusion would be tops on my list.

GM has the Vibe (I drove a Matrix and hated it) and the HHR (which is buttugly), so those were out.

The Caliber looks cool, but after our last experience with a Chrysler (2001 Intrepid), it's going to be a long time before I look at any of their products again.

 

Too many times Domestic's claim high oil prices caused the decline in their sales. Its not only that, its their cars are built crappy, get aweful mileage, and are poorly designed. Their all ugly and cheap. Like Jeremy Clarkson said American cars are cheap, and will all understeer into a tree. They are terrible, I want a EUROPEAN FORD, not a domestic piece of ****

 

buying an import is not as bad as everyone who thinks is wrong says it is.

in the end, your money still goes towards a big corporation, and all of said corporations employ american workers period.

sure, buying from some of them helps our economy more (in a miniscule level though, think of how many cars gm, ford and dodge would have to sell for people on wall street to proclaim the amazing growth of the economy because of the automotive industry.), but in the same way that gas guzzling SUV driver has a 'right' to drive what he wants to, why do I have to be chastisized for my choice to drive a reliable, rewarding, fuel efficient import?

especially when its AMERICAN automotive journalists who have proclaimed it worlds better than anything that the big three have available in its price range?

sure, the fiesta will be a worthy competitor, but even then, i still have a choice. and as good as the fiesta will be, it will lack the 'honda-ness' that i'm accustomed to and have grown to love.

 

Corrodesthefilm:

you make a very valid point with your post, the corvette is classic, its like the american porsche;timeless. and the camaro is drop dead gorgeous and it will have the handling to back up the muscle, something that only the G8 gt has been able to do, all which has been very recent in the history of muscle cars.(i belive the camaro is based of of the g8.)

but all these pictures bring up a valid point, especially the ones of the ford gt's:

are any of these cars affordable for everyday joes such as myself and a lot of the other posters here? no. and it doesn't do a car company an ounce of good to only be good at one thing.

 

Hey man i feel your "pain"

i got enough crap from everyone about my old 2000 toyota echo... but i just told em i bought it from a FORD dealership, and they shut up...

but now with my 07 Fit all i have to say is, i dont feel like blowing my paycheck on gas, and would like to have this car for awhile... once domestic makes good cars, ill buy one, but odds are the world will end before that...

plus im addicted to good MPG's
my toyota echo got 36-42
and so far with my fit i get 42-47
=D



so as that f150 slows down to turn into a gas station ill pop my fit into 3rd and whiz right past him laughing =X =D



ohh p.s. the reason i feel your pain is i live like 20 miles from detroit, and go to school there...
love that city and the people in it

 

Yes, I know reviving a long dormant thread, but I found an interesting article on why the Japanese companies aren't jumping for joy that the Big 3 are not in good shape.
Big 3 woes don?t give Japan?s automakers joy - Autos- msnbc.com

Not sure if I've mentioned this before, but I'm impartial to different auto manufacturers. I will admit that I used to be more of a GM person, but now I'm open to all. I mean, I now own a Honda and was at one point was considering a Ford Fusion, which is a really nice car that drives well. The Big 3 just can't shake the mistakes of the past that haunt them now. Plus, the UAW isn't budging very much at the negotiation table, but I digress. Just remember, not many people are buying cars at all, no matter who is selling them.

 

Domestic cars are just too damn ugly to me. I take one look at the Focus and figuratively puke.

 

The UAW is killing the big 3

nuff said

 

i agree with some of the posts above about GM putting out some
nice cars lately. but it comes too late. later is better than never,
but hey, timing is very important. like bringing your wife flowers a
day after valentines day. LOL

me not being much of an american car fan still think the below cars
are pretty cool and worth a serious look if GM doesnt go under...
(i politically hate Ford so i have nothing good to say about them.
i have no idea about Chrysler).

1. Vette (definitely nice).
2. Malibu (hey i like the shape waaay better than some new toyota)
3. G8 (very cool, nice look, "Pontiac" sounds too rural for me)
4. CTS (hey if they sold this as a SAAB or something more unique and not
some grandaddy's car brand, i would consider it!!!)

i think it has to do with marketing and timing.... if they would've done
that correctly people can probably stay and have their requests answered.
you have to be good and worthwhile on the inside if you want the good to
come with it. too many times people want the good first... and then not
deliver their part.

business is very simple. you have to deliver wat you said you'd will. that's all.

 

I'll buy who ever makes a better car. I do like the new Ford Fiesta but it won't be out until later next year.

 

But there's a good point... the Ford Fiesta and the new Saturn Astra appear to be great cars (that rival the Imports) but they're both made in Europe whereas the Civic is made in Ohio and Canada, the Accord, Camry and Legacy are made in the US and the Corolla/Matrix are made in Canada (as well as the new Challenger, Camaro, Charger, Malibu, 300C....) Wanna buy a good old "Domestic" Cavalier/Sunfire it was made in Mexico!

 

And when the government bails them out we will all be "buying American" whether we want to or not. Consider that the "bail-out" is coming out of all of our pockets one way or another. The fact that I don't get to choose makes me 100 times less likely to ever voluntarily give a domestic automaker my money ever again. If they could make a car that is half what the Fit is for the same money I would have BOUGHT ONE. And the Aveo ain't even close (nevermind the fact that its a Daewoo)

 

I saw a guy in a Smart today at the auto parts place, showing it off to the gal who worked there. She was all "ooh" and "ahh" over it. He was pleased as punch. I thought about how much he spent for what he got, and how "smart" he was came into serious doubt.