Buying American Cars What Does It Mean?

6677 messages, Last post on Dec 04, 2008 at 10:12 AM

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What is this discussion about? Car Buying

With parts coming from everywhere, does "Buying American" have much meaning anymore? Is quality and price the bottom line?

Outline

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#6238 of 6677 Re: The Slide continues... [grbeck] by steve_ HOST Sep 26, 2008 (7:37 am)
Replying to: grbeck (Sep 26, 2008 7:18 am) And anyone who thinks that other countries really liked us prior to the Bush president is kidding himself. The French loved us then and they still love America. Maybe not the so called elite, but American movies, food and other US cultural aspects are huge there. Lance is going to stomp them again however. This Forbes commentator thinks the best way to create jobs here is to push foreign automakers to build more cars in the US. Welfare Kings In Cadillacs Replies to this message: m1miata (Sep 26, 2008 7:41 am) grbeck (Sep 26, 2008 7:48 am)
#6239 of 6677 Re: The Slide continues... [steve_] by m1miata Sep 26, 2008 (7:41 am)
Replying to: steve_ (Sep 26, 2008 7:37 am) And a bike race actually means something to the French, would be my guess. :-/
#6240 of 6677 Re: The Slide continues... [steve_] by grbeck Sep 26, 2008 (7:48 am)
Replying to: steve_ (Sep 26, 2008 7:37 am) Somehow, no matter what the French say, I can't wrap my mind around the idea of Jerry Lewis as a showbiz genius...
#6241 of 6677 Re: One other note [lilengineerboy] by m1miata Sep 26, 2008 (7:56 am)
Replying to: lilengineerboy (Sep 26, 2008 6:27 am) Not true! The Celica was around 2,500# and handled as good as sports car. I would not place it in terms of being something like a BMW Z4, but for the price range and being FWD, the car had awesome handling. Drive one! As for the Honda Accord, it too is pretty good. Of course a heavier car is not gonna dance like a Miata on the curves, but nonetheless in the weight class it has good moves - nicely weighted steering. Perhaps the lower profile tires make a bit of a difference here -- you have a base model? I will say the Michelin tires wear well, but squeal with ease, so perhaps a more sticky, softer rubber tire tread would help a Honda stick more. I see little tire wear at 20K miles. Is an Accord perfect - no not really. Powerful engine, which makes nice sounds at full throttle and good handling, I think are Honda's best traits. Interior is better than domestics. The belt line / door sill height is a bit lower, thank goodness, on the '07. ALL car seem to be going with some yesteryears slab sided, too tall door - too small window, look nowadays. So Ford is going to skip '09 cars? I swear I drove an '09 Stang. Replies to this message: grbeck (Sep 26, 2008 8:04 am) andre1969 (Sep 26, 2008 8:06 am) lilengineerboy (Sep 26, 2008 9:31 am)
#6242 of 6677 Re: One other note [m1miata] by grbeck Sep 26, 2008 (8:04 am)
Replying to: m1miata (Sep 26, 2008 7:56 am) m1miata: So Ford is going to skip '09 cars? I swear I drove an '09 Stang. The 2009 Mustang and Fusion will have abbreviated model years, from what I've read. The revamped 2010 models are supposed to debut early next year. Judging by the spy photos, they both look good. If Ford can refine the Fusion and upgrade its drivetrains, it should have a strong contender in this segment. Replies to this message: andre1969 (Sep 26, 2008 8:06 am)
#6243 of 6677 Re: One other note [grbeck] by andre1969 Sep 26, 2008 (8:06 am)
Replying to: grbeck (Sep 26, 2008 8:04 am) The 2009 Mustang and Fusion will have abbreviated model years, from what I've read. It's kinda wild to think that theoretically, 2010 model year cars could start popping up as early as January 1, 2009! I, for one, would like to see the 4-cyl version of the Fusion get an upgrade in power and economy.
#6244 of 6677 Re: The Slide continues... [lilengineerboy] by imidazol97 Sep 26, 2008 (8:07 am)
Replying to: lilengineerboy (Sep 26, 2008 6:40 am) .Can you pull out where it said that, I just saw where it said it went up by 500 billion every year since 2003
#6245 of 6677 Re: One other note [grbeck] by m1miata Sep 26, 2008 (8:19 am)
Replying to: grbeck (Sep 26, 2008 7:23 am) Perhaps Ford should have taken the Fusion/Milan RWD? I know - I know, too expensive to go the extra mile there. The new Mazda6 is pretty good looking. The Milan, IMHO, is still one of the better shapes, even with the big butt syndrome of today's auto. Anyone seen an article with a comparison between Fusion/Milan and Malibu/Epsilon Gang? From the earlier photos of the interior on the Malibu, I thought it was gonna be something really special - very cool. In reality, it is pleasing enough, but nothing so great as to make the car a winner over car XXX. The back end of the New Malibu looks similar to the old Verona Suzuki, and thus uninspiring. I would rate the New Malibu as a good effort to be in the same league as the rest. Too bad it did not have an original look. The Ford Fusion/Milan is a better effort in this respect. Would be fun to be in the style wars between domestic and the rest, but alas a more blended look seems to be accepted. We are living in the age of mediocrity. Just look at the big four TV programming efforts. Do you see any shows like the Ed Sullivan hour which had the best of the best talent? No Dean Martin Show. And look at local to national choices when we vote. And the products of crap from China, oh my! Recall a time when a lamp switch worked for a couple decades instead of a couple months? I go back enough years to recall as a kid the days when an American car was a work of art. Those be the 60's. People laughed at this funny VW bug thing. Now the big three laugh no more. Those ugly little cars, like a VW or an egg shaped little Subaru, were easily dismissed by GM and Ford. Ford & GM imitation cars date way back. The Corvair, second gen. would be kinda a neat car, if it had survived. Well maybe??? Replies to this message: andre1969 (Sep 26, 2008 8:21 am) m1miata (Sep 26, 2008 8:29 am) lilengineerboy (Sep 26, 2008 9:36 am)
#6246 of 6677 Re: One other note [m1miata] by andre1969 Sep 26, 2008 (8:21 am)
Replying to: m1miata (Sep 26, 2008 8:19 am) Perhaps Ford should have taken the Fusion/Milan RWD? I know - I know, too expensive to go the extra mile there. Well they make an AWD version of the Fusion/Milan, in addition to the FWD. So I guess a dedicated RWD shouldn't be too hard to do. Replies to this message: m1miata (Sep 26, 2008 8:29 am)
#6247 of 6677 Re: 630 billion spending bill presented to congress contains... [mcdawgg] by m1miata Sep 26, 2008 (8:25 am)
Replying to: mcdawgg (Sep 26, 2008 3:37 am) Well yes and no. I looked under the hood of my Honda and it has parts labels of say Honda USA, but those companies are owned by Honda, Japan, no doubt. Lots of components are built here, while some may be made in Japan and assembled here. It provides jobs. Still seems to be a lot of production going on here in the States. Even a BMW may be built in US of A. Of course a Mazda MX-5 is only built abroad.