the point being if they did a 360 they never changed :P

 

Another problem is they are reactive not preventive. They make variable valve timing after they realize it's worth it. They make hybrids AFTER gas got expensive or global warming got realized. They work on quality after their cars fell apart. they make small cars only after big cars lost appeal to younger generation. They're always 10 steps behind.

The concept cars known as Chevy "triplets" are so hip (Beat, Trax, & Groove). GM does not want to make them and keep them concept cars. This definitely would get the youth market back, esp to compete against the scion. And they claim there's no market for small cars.

 

Chrysler recalls nearly 600,000 Dodge trucks, vans - Dec. 7, 2007
Ford recalling diesel trucks for engine stalling - Dec. 6, 2007

Both these occurred within two days!!!

I don't know which is dumber. The chrysler bug mentioned above, or ford's cruise control catching on fire wen the car is off. HOW CAN A CAR CAUSE ACCIDENTS WHEN IT'S OFF!!! Only in America.

 

I thought after 5 years of use most domestics shift out of park without the key in the ignition? :rolleyes:

Now that I remember you used to be able to pull the key out of the ignition while driving in my parents 6 year old dodge. Oh and then you could actually open the door by shoving a ball point pen lid into the lock. Hmmmm..... Then the stupid power windows all failed around the same time and the air conditioning never really worked from the start so summers were tough after that. Ahh the good old days.

 

my boyfriends' 5-year-old saturn does this too :D

 

I too hate Domestic cars, they are all ugly, they have this cheap look to them, like the designs were made without care, and the quality all over is terrible, look at consumer reports ratings hardly any domestic is ever top or mid pack. They better get their act together fast lol. My first car was a 92 ford thunderbird 5.0 and its actually one of the few domestics that I like, never any troubles with it, 132k not one issue, it is amazing, I am keeping it because two drunk drivers hit it, and so it despite the minor damage it is isn't worth it to sell. But wow its fast, and cheap insurance. I clocked it with a friends g tech pro and 0-60 was 6.7 seconds. But oh well 12 mpg isn't good enough for a daily driver :) So I have my fit, and I love it, 1 year + strong, and can't wait for the warranty to expire so I can put a new ecu, and some engine goodies in it.

 

Strange reading for a European car owner...

Here in my country I have another view of the American cars:
"Expensive, big, heavy, made of real and good metal, and last for years".
But then again, there is not many American made cars in my country, and the one that came from "over there" are large old cars with huge engines. It is probably another case with smaller and medium sized cars from America

And my personal view of the European made car is: "cheap, light, made of poor recycled metal, much trouble early in the cars life"

And the japanese cars: "Cheap, light, made of thin metal sheets, relaiable, no trouble ever, last for ever"...

And that is why I bought a Honda Jazz :)

 

I think that's always the case. Clever marketing does this.

Mercedes makes crappy cars including busses and commercial vehicles. But other countries interpret their cars as high quality luxury cars, despite hte fact their consumer reports are the worse of any company including hyundai.

I have a filipino friend and she got a fusion for xmas, which is considered a great high quality car. I told her ford's suck and fall apart, and she was confused cuz said she thought fords were good. Turns out she wasn't the only one. Most non-americans think US companies make good cars.

 

I finally found a link that says what I said earlier

Videos: Bob Lutz says Toyota will have egg on its face come Easter - AutoblogGreen

Look at 17:30

This is a video of some journalism thing honoring Bob Lutz, who I follow not bcuase he co-designed the Viper but he designing the Volt.

That time shows Buick tied with Lexus. In 2007 J.D. Power Veicle Dependebility Study, the ranking of the top 5 from best to worst was Honda, Mercury, Cadillac, Lexus, Buick

I know Lexus is "the same" as Toyota, but Lutz confidently says "Where is toyota". Despite that discrepency, the point was a car with a Toyota logo will not be as good as you expect. And yes I"m aware "GM" isn't up there, but at least two of their car lines (buick and Cadillac) are up there.

 

I think Domestic automakers are back on the rise, personally... especially GM.

It's an undeniable fact. The new Malibu is winning praise everywhere, the new CTS just won the MT CoTY contest, the new Saturns (Aura, Vue, and upcoming Astra hatchback) are really looking good, and the new Lambda SUV's (Enclave, Outlook, Acadia) are also earning plenty of praise. They've finally figured out it's about quality, not quantity.

However, I'm still drawn towards import compacts because they have character and quality that current domestic compacts do not. I mean, look at the Focus, Cobalt, G5, Caliber... there just remains a lot to be desired.

 

The only thing a domestic is good for, is to be crushed, recycled and turned into a HONDA.

 

I think the GM is the ONLY one on the rise. The focus sucks if yoiu compare it to the european focus. The euro division also almost fell, and had to lay off a lot of people, just like the us one. They made a great focus, powerful enough to even beat suburu in ralley competitions. Yet the US ford refuses to bring that car over, and we use the crappy two wheel drive ford.

Caliber isn't that great...it's xler's smallest car and it's 158 horsepower. And due to a loophole, the non-convertible PT cruiser is a light truck. This is why chrystler has the worst gas guzzling trucks yet meet the legal mileage standards.

 

I think Chrysler will make a turnaround with Cerberus at the helm. They've got Jim Press from Toyota now, and I know he wouldn't make a move like that unless he saw some sort of light at the end of the tunnel.

Granted, that light could be a train, but I think Chrysler will pull through. The PT Cruiser, Pacifica, Sebring, and Magnum are all under consideration, or are being dropped at the end of their model run. They've got hybrid systems under development, they've been rather innovative lately (MyGig), and they've got a plan for turnaround.

As for Ford, well... sometimes it seems as if Ford's middling around making crappy Foci (which they are), but they're coming around as well. The Edge, new Taurus, and Fusion really are STRIDES ahead of what Ford vehicles used to be.

 

So it's ok in this example for GM to have 2 of it's "car lines" but Toyota's Lexus "car line" is...

It's basically like saying hey I'm a GM fanboy so look at Cadi and Buick but forget about Lexus:P

I personally believe that people who drive buicks don't drive them very hard or as often as some other makes as they are geared more towards elderly people so fewer break down.

I have only owned Hondas and Toyotas and have never been left stranded. No matter how appealing the big 3 will make their cars, I will never buy from them.

Let's hope the new Fit treats me right! 2 more weeks of waiting :(

 

Though I agree these should be better products, we say this every generation when they come out with new names and new models.

The focus was supposed to be so much better than the zx2 and escort, the new taurus is a 500 rebadged and has not been selling well at all. The taurus had the magic number 10-15 years ago but I don't believe the new Fusion has what it takes to compete in today's market.

The great thing about Honda and Toyota is that they have a loyal fanbase for the Accord and Camry. Ford boycotts this everytime they change models and names so they have to rebuild everytime. I just don't see them building multiple generations of the Fusion and that is the only thing that will save them in the long run.

 

My bro explained why Lexus is not the same as Toyota. Lexus is still japanese and a lot of parts are japanese. toyotas are built in US. Something like that. And no one is doubting a japanese Toyota.

 

Many of the RX330's, which is now the RX350, are built in Canada.

Check those VINs... if it begins with a 2T2, it's a Canadian car.

 

Reality is some models are built in japan some in Canada some in the US. At the end of the day Lexus is Toyota just like Acura is Honda and just like Infiniti is Nissan.