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Automotive News & Views Buying American Cars What Does It Mean?
7263 messages, Last post on May 27, 2009 at 4:31 AM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
With parts coming from everywhere, does "Buying American" have much meaning anymore? Is quality and price the bottom line?
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It amazes me how many people miss the point. When considering Japanese vs. American, consider these two rules I live by. #1. Don't finance cars!! (pay a note to yourself until you can pay cash.) #2. If you and I can buy two similar cars, but I can pay 5 grand less up front, I will always pick the lower cost car. Take the 5 grand and invest it to appreciate, not depreciate. So now someone please tell me how you paying more for a car up front is a better deal than me paying less and investing the difference in something that grows. Even something with low growth like a savings account is better than a depreciating car. I don't care if it's American, Japanese, Korean, or Mexican made. It's your money, spend it how you want. But saying you're making the smart choice by buying Japanese due to resale value or reliability is not reality. It's one way of justifying your purchase decision. Reality is that all cars are VERY BAD investments. The more you invest in one, the less cash you have to put into a "good" investment. Tada. It's quite simple.
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Replying to: parkman50 (Nov 04, 2008 11:18 am) to even more pain if you choose unwisely. 1. Bad Investment 2. Car is unreliable 3. Car costs more to run over time. Choose wisely, grasshopper. Regards, OW |
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Replying to: captain2 (Nov 04, 2008 7:28 am) |
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Replying to: parkman50 (Nov 04, 2008 11:18 am) But as far as cheaper being better I think you need to look over CRs reliability ratings in this Dec issue - they rate 47 cars as being 'most reliable' (based on their surveys, of course) and 40 of them are 'Japanese' primarily Hondas and Toyotas. The only American iron that even makes the list are the FoMoCo Fusion triplets made in Mexico. You can choose not to believe any of this, and then go out and buy the cheapest piece of Americana you can find - betting, of course, that the thing will run long enough for you to recover some of that investment you talk about before you have to spend it on repairs  This is what 'buying an American car' really means, even discounting the fact that fewer and fewer of them are made in this country anymore anyway..
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Replying to: captain2 (Nov 05, 2008 9:51 am) Do you really believe this? Most all big 3 are still built in the USA with a few in Canada and Mexico. Hardly any are imported anymore (Aveo at GM soon to be built here and G8 also to be built in Canada with next version).
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Well, my "investments" are doing pretty well. My 1988 Buick Park Avenue is 21 years-old and my 1989 Cadillac Brougham is 20 years-old. My 2007 Cadillac DTS Performance and her 2005 Buick LaCrosse are also doing well. Sheesh! A car is never an investment. It's just another thing you buy.
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Replying to: 62vetteefp (Nov 05, 2008 10:27 am) |
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Replying to: 62vetteefp (Nov 05, 2008 10:27 am) More and more of that production is moving out as UAW contracts allow for even more plant closings. Hell, Ford is actually using a good portion of the money ($23 billion) they borrowed on their 'junk' bonds largely to buy out employee contracts so they can close even more plants (14 last year) and put some more folks on the unemployment lines. In the meanwhile it is Toyota (and Honda and Nissan and even Hyundai) that are spending billions to build new plants here, thereby employing, even more Americans. Of course, not all 'American' cars are built overseas, but things have changed, are getting worse. The real reason why those Aveos you talk about can't be imported anymore is simply because the dollar is so weak., the same reason why the 'Japan 3' build plants here. The current and forseeable financial woes of GM/Ford/Chrysler will force even more of this as those manufacturers search for some way to actually make money. If the 'Big' 3' survive, it will be because of a government intervention/bailout in the case of GM and Chrysler and possibly only as a result of Ford's rather Draconian policies in recent years. Until the point that the 'Americans' get things straightened out, the carbuyer is putting more money in more American's pockets by buying a Camry or the like. For my part, I'd much rather be sending my money into Georgetown, Kentucky for example than I would be sending it into Mexico - or even Canada.
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Replying to: captain2 (Nov 05, 2008 12:05 pm) The transformation will be far faster. Probably 50-60% of both companies products will go away either way. In the meantime, the "Asians Built Here" should be at the top of the sales numbers in 2009 vs. the Old Big Three. Regards, OW
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Replying to: lemko (Nov 05, 2008 10:42 am) Try telling that to all the rich A$$H  &*S who've ruined the old car hobby
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