Buying American Cars What Does It Mean?

7263 messages, Last post on May 27, 2009 at 4:31 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?

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#6917 of 7263 Re: Intersting reading [farout] by bpizzuti Jan 28, 2009 (3:45 am)
Replying to: farout (Jan 27, 2009 12:18 pm) Personally I am rather hacked off at those who gripe about "American" made vehicles, and those who have nothing good to say about anything but Asian made vehicles. Some people have had that much trouble with the "American" makes they've bought...I know several. Me I still hold lots of hope for Ford, but other than the Ram and the Voyager, Chrysler's lineup is pretty useless. Don't worry, I don't much care for Toyota either. On the upside, I'd LOVE to see some Fiats if the whole Chrysler deal comes through. Italian cars haven't been available to the masses in the USA for a LONG time now, and variety is good. Replies to this message: gearhead1977 (Jan 28, 2009 7:07 am) bpizzuti (Jan 28, 2009 7:08 am) gearhead1977 (Jan 28, 2009 11:08 am) circlew (Jan 28, 2009 7:11 am)
#6918 of 7263 Re: Intersting reading [bpizzuti] by gearhead1977 Jan 28, 2009 (7:07 am)
Replying to: bpizzuti (Jan 28, 2009 3:45 am) As long as a car appeals to me in some way and I truly enjoy the vehicle, I don't care who makes it or where it's made. I've given a lot more to the foreign companies, but that's because the domestics got so close to being "it" but then lost out at the last second for whatever reason. It's something I couldn't explain, but that's why we have an 06 Honda Accord in the driveway and not a Ford Fusion, Toyota Camry, Chevy Malibu or Hyundai Sonata. The Honda just felt better in many ways to the other cars. In six months, the lease will be up on the Honda. We'll see then what has the "it" factor and lives in our driveway. I don't rule any of the manufacturers out until I have first hand experience. Replies to this message: bpizzuti (Jan 28, 2009 7:08 am) gearhead1977 (Jan 28, 2009 11:08 am) circlew (Jan 28, 2009 7:11 am)
#6919 of 7263 Re: Intersting reading [gearhead1977] by bpizzuti Jan 28, 2009 (7:08 am)
Replying to: gearhead1977 (Jan 28, 2009 7:07 am) 6 months? Perfect timing for a 2010 Fusion. Replies to this message: gearhead1977 (Jan 28, 2009 11:08 am)
#6920 of 7263 Re: Intersting reading [gearhead1977] by circlew Jan 28, 2009 (7:11 am)
Replying to: gearhead1977 (Jan 28, 2009 7:07 am) I feel the same way. When I cross-shopped our CR-V last November, I used the Equinox as a sounding board. The lower quality and appeal and higher price (even with the RTS price) gave me all I needed to decide...that and the fact our 2003 Yukon has been plagued with many, many quality issues. Regards, OW
#6921 of 7263 Re: Intersting reading [berri] by captain2 Jan 28, 2009 (9:19 am)
Replying to: berri (Jan 26, 2009 8:47 am) I have to wonder that if Detroit really has vehicles that will hold up long term as well as Toyota or Honda, why don't they put a Hyundai type warranty on them? These 'trick' warranties are a necessity for those manufacturers that NEED to portray a quality that doesn't necesssarily exist, or as a means to live down past miscreations. If the Chryslers/GMs/Hyundais of the world didn't have problems with actual or perceived quality, you can be assured that wouldn't be offering the warranties that they do. It was after all, those Koreans that 'invented 'the 100k warranty, but only as a means to make the consumer forget about those disasters they foisted on us in the 80s and into the 90s. They all will do what they need to do to sell their products, nothing to do with 'quality' at all. Toyota and Honda don't offer long warranties because they don't need to and not necessarily because they are any better from a reliability perspective even though statistics would seem to indicate this is the case. Chrysler and GM have been exploring the depths of ludricrous warranties because they can't sell their products otherwise, Ford interestingly has avoided the long warranties BUT is doing better quality/reliability wise than the other two, and Hyundai is also improving to the point that they are at least on par with 'Detroit'. In any case a long warranty should be regarded as more of a warning to the consumer of suspect quality not the other way around. Replies to this message: dave8697 (Jan 28, 2009 7:40 pm) captain2 (Jan 29, 2009 7:16 am) grbeck (Jan 29, 2009 7:41 am) and 2 more... 62vetteefp (Jan 29, 2009 8:30 am) and 17 more...
#6922 of 7263 Re: Intersting reading [andre1969] by lemko Jan 28, 2009 (9:31 am)
Replying to: andre1969 (Jan 27, 2009 12:31 pm) Too bad those warranties aren't retroactive. You can bring your 1957 DeSoto into the local Mopar dealer for free repairs!
#6923 of 7263 Chrysler T & C by dodgem78 Jan 28, 2009 (11:04 am)
I want to let people know that Chrysler STILL builds some great cars. I recently trded my Buick Lucerne for 2008 T & C Limited. I love the Chrysler. Great performance, excellent ride, comfortable seats, and built by UAW workers that get a decent wage and benefits. How about the Dodge trucks? I have a 2001 Dakota I purchased new and it has served flawlessly for 9 years and gets fron17 mpg local driving to 22mpg highway with a V-8 As for me, I am going to keep cheering the American Auto Industry as the best in the world Replies to this message: captain2 (Jan 28, 2009 12:16 pm) gearhead1977 (Jan 28, 2009 2:33 pm) captain2 (Jan 29, 2009 8:15 am) circlew (Jan 28, 2009 2:43 pm) captain2 (Jan 29, 2009 8:52 am) imidazol97 (Jan 28, 2009 3:12 pm) xrunner2 (Jan 28, 2009 3:35 pm) wvgasguy (Jan 28, 2009 4:00 pm) and 2 more... mikefm58 (Jan 29, 2009 6:19 am) and 8 more...
#6924 of 7263 Re: Intersting reading [bpizzuti] by gearhead1977 Jan 28, 2009 (11:08 am)
Replying to: bpizzuti (Jan 28, 2009 7:08 am) The update of the Fusion is very impressive and fixes a lot of things I didn't like about the first car. It will be on the shopping list as far as new cars are concerned.
#6925 of 7263 Re: Chrysler T & C [dodgem78] by captain2 Jan 28, 2009 (12:16 pm)
Replying to: dodgem78 (Jan 28, 2009 11:04 am) I am going to keep cheering the American Auto Industry as we all should - it will do this country no good at all if Chrysler or any of the D3 go under and/or become a load on our tax dollars. You didn't say, however, whether you T&C was one of those good American made ones or if it is instead a Canadian product. All of which just adds to our problems - how much money do we have to send to Canada, Mexico, or even to China before we realize that buying cars not made in ths country but with 'American' names is worse for this country than buying Japanese/Korean branded company's products that do happen to be made here Replies to this message: gearhead1977 (Jan 28, 2009 2:33 pm) captain2 (Jan 29, 2009 8:15 am) circlew (Jan 28, 2009 2:43 pm) captain2 (Jan 29, 2009 8:52 am) imidazol97 (Jan 28, 2009 3:12 pm) xrunner2 (Jan 28, 2009 3:35 pm) wvgasguy (Jan 28, 2009 4:00 pm) fezo (Jan 28, 2009 4:38 pm) 62vetteefp (Jan 29, 2009 5:20 am) mikefm58 (Jan 29, 2009 6:19 am) lemko (Jan 29, 2009 6:22 am) and 4 more... imidazol97 (Jan 29, 2009 7:01 am) steve_ (Jan 29, 2009 7:26 am) and 1 more...
#6926 of 7263 Re: Chrysler T & C [captain2] by gearhead1977 Jan 28, 2009 (2:33 pm)
Replying to: captain2 (Jan 28, 2009 12:16 pm) Detroit has been building cars in Canada and Mexico for a long,long time. It will not stop doing so. The question is, is it better to buy an "American Car" that was assembled in Canada or Mexico or anywhere else (Pontiacs new G8 Sedan is a Holden Commodore, a GM of Australia brand) because the profits go back to a US company? Or to buy a foreign brand built here because you are supporting someone who lives and works in the US? The foreign brands also have design studios and headquarters here, as well as employing marketing, truck drivers,and research/design,etc. There is no perfect scenario. The most "American" car according to a list I saw in my Autoweek is Fords Crown Victoria/Mercury Grand Marquis. 90% US content. They are ONLY produced now in Canada. Replies to this message: captain2 (Jan 29, 2009 8:15 am)