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

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

Messages Page 726 of 727: 1; ...; 721; 722; 723; 724; 725; 726; 727; Prev; Next; Last

#7250 of 7263 Re: Buy American. [lemko] by andre1969 Apr 17, 2009 (4:41 am)
Replying to: lemko (Apr 16, 2009 10:39 am) Which Olds 88 are we talking about? If we're talking about the gasoline-powered RWD B-body 1980-85 Olds 88, it was an excellent car I'd purchase in a New York second. One thing I find amusing about the RWD Delta 88, is that my 1985 Consumer Guide actually ripped it apart! They also tested a 1985 LeSabre coupe with the 307, a Caprice sedan with the 262 V-6, and a Parisienne sedan with the 305. Those three tested out better, and they gave a "Best Buy" rating to the Chevy and Pontiac. The main area where they ripped the Delta was stuff like build quality, fit/finish, paint quality, and interior workmanship. They did say it could have just been a bad sample, but was still inexcusable considering Olds has only been building this car for eight years! I wonder if the quality of the Delta 88 might have gone downhill some in the final year, as they rushed to finish building them and get them out the door, so they could shut down and re-tool for the downsized '86 model? That was also the LeSabre's last year, but the LeSabre wasn't nearly as strong of a seller as the Delta. So maybe with the high demand of the Delta, they were just throwing them together too quickly?
#7251 of 7263 Re: Buy American. [andre1969] by dieselone Apr 17, 2009 (4:55 am)
Replying to: andre1969 (Apr 17, 2009 4:32 am) I wouldn't mind having one of those RWD 80's 442's today, or even just a regular Cutlass Supreme with the 307. I always liked them better than the Monte Carlo SS. And even though the Grand National is faster, I just prefer the relative simplicity and rugged durability of the 307 to the more complex turbo V-6. Yeah, those were very cool cars back then.
#7252 of 7263 Re: Buy American. [lemko] by xrunner2 Apr 17, 2009 (7:52 am)
Replying to: lemko (Apr 16, 2009 10:50 am) There is a 1989 Cadillac Fleetwood Broham on Ebay, one day to go, bidding at $3700 now. It is white and nicely appointed with white padded top. whitewall tires, wire wheel hub caps, red leather interior and has CA license plate in photo. That could be a backup, so no walking. Miles at 70K+. Now, that was a real "American" car back in late 80's, probably 100 percent American content.
#7253 of 7263 Re: Buy American. [m1miata] by rockylee Apr 30, 2009 (9:13 am)
Replying to: m1miata (Apr 16, 2009 10:49 pm) Hows it going? I've been looking for you for months. Been a long time!!! -Rocky
#7254 of 7263 Re: Buy American. [m1miata] by rockylee Apr 30, 2009 (11:45 am)
Replying to: m1miata (Apr 16, 2009 10:49 pm) Do you still have the Accord? -Rocky
#7255 of 7263 GMC by m1miata May 12, 2009 (8:33 pm)
So, first is was GM as Government Motors, and now it will be GMC for General Motors of China. Oh well, we shall see. So sad, but other than a few bright spots, like the CTS, and Corvettes, it has been looking downhill, IMHO, for a long-long time. Slippery slope began when - was it post 1973 perhaps? Guess there were a couple to three other cars, perhaps even the Camaro since '73 which were OK. Oh yea, the last Eldorado looked pretty cool -- a bit large, but then again Caddy thinks large. Guess I just liked the older GM with say the '72 Cutlass as an example of the last great ones. And Hello to Rocky -- sorry to see your GM go generally down. Oh well, the USA still has FORD. -Loren
#7256 of 7263 Is this some sort of dream or did the.. by m1miata May 21, 2009 (10:10 am)
UAW, General Motors Reach Deal on Contract Concessions Yes, those are the headlines! How then, if not in bankruptcy, do you cancel dealership contracts? And the pensions to be fully paid? Rough road ahead, but amazing headlines, if the UAW did make MEANINGFUL concessions. Wow - what times these are! Replies to this message: mikefm58 (May 21, 2009 10:37 am) gagrice (May 21, 2009 12:50 pm)
#7257 of 7263 Re: Is this some sort of dream or did the.. [m1miata] by mikefm58 May 21, 2009 (10:37 am)
Replying to: m1miata (May 21, 2009 10:10 am) How then, if not in bankruptcy, do you cancel dealership contracts? I believe the dealership contracts are 5 year deals that are up in October of this year.
#7258 of 7263 Re: Is this some sort of dream or did the.. [m1miata] by gagrice May 21, 2009 (12:50 pm)
Replying to: m1miata (May 21, 2009 10:10 am) How then, if not in bankruptcy, do you cancel dealership contracts? I would say all contracts are in question during BK. It seems the judge should decide. According to some owners they were told their contract was canceled June 9th. I would think that should be the court's duty to decide who gets screwed and who gets paid. If I was left with $3million in inventory and a mortgage that was directly tied to Chrysler, I would not go down without a fight. I think the best and fastest way is both GM and C file for liquidation and let the law decide who gets what.
#7259 of 7263 GM by m1miata May 22, 2009 (9:02 pm)
So I guess GM is indeed still going into bankruptcy. Neat looking New Camaro, if it had thinner A pillars, more glass area, lower door window sills, I think I would go for it -- sadly it doesn't & it is a tad large too. Trim a couple-three inches off the width, and half a foot off the length, and I would consider buying one. Maybe a Mustang with a GM 3.6 V6 and transmission would be better Looks like Hyundai Genesis Coupe has the right stuff. Ford has put off the new engine and tranny for too long. And the gas mileage = not so good. Get with it, the car is good in other ways, and looks great. Replies to this message: circlew (May 23, 2009 5:25 am) cooterbfd (May 23, 2009 5:48 am) iwant12 (May 23, 2009 8:01 am) anythngbutgm (May 27, 2009 4:31 am)