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What Keeps You Loyal To A Brand?

628 messages,  Last post on Mar 13, 2013 at 9:32 AM

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Messages Page 59 of 63

#578 of 628 Japanese and Korean for me by mirde98

May 27, 2007 (10:26 am)

I've owned two 1985's Honda Civic's, one 94 Hyundai Excel, one 98 Mitsubishi Mirage and i just bought a new Mitsubishi Lancer. I've never had any major problems with any of my vehicles. I owned the Mirage 9yrs and i sold it in perfect conditions. As it for now my first choice is Mitsubishi. 2nd would be Hyundai and 3rd choice would be Honda.

#579 of 628 Re: Ahhhh, the Electra 225..... [andre1969] by ateixeira

May 30, 2007 (10:01 am)

Replying to: andre1969 (May 27, 2007 5:44 am)
My dad had an Electra, 1977 IIRC, and loved it so much he cried when he sold it.
 
For some reason, in the 80s he got an Olds instead, and then he switched to Fords for a while.
 
I think he left GM because he liked the Explorer better than the first 4 door Blazers, which were pieced together a bit much for his tastes.
 
He had a bad Taurus and now drives an Outback.
 
No loyalty from him!

#580 of 628 nissan in my garage for ever by rafa

Sep 09, 2007 (9:11 pm)

Well let me start bye saying that nissan are great cars for young people because they design cars that we want. I am 26 and my wife is 23 years old and right now in our garage there is a 2005 nissan maxima that she drives and a 2007 nissan titan that i drive we love our cars so much. We have had a 2001 nissan maxima,2004 nissan titan,2005 nissan armada, and now 2005 maxima titan. Will always own japan made. I know what you guys are thinking these cars are usa made which they are assemble here but all the parts come from japan all made in japan. Will never buy american cars from gm ford chrysler because they dont make any cars that we want they make cars for old people and piece of s...

#581 of 628 Re: nissan in my garage for ever [rafa] by qbrozen

Sep 10, 2007 (7:09 am)

Replying to: rafa (Sep 09, 2007 9:11 pm)
But what other brands have you owned? And for how long? At 26 years old with 6 nissans under your belt, it doesn't sound like you have formed much of a fair comparison.
 
PLUS, seeing as how all 6 have been in the past 6-7 years, you also have owned one long enough to make much of a reliability/longevity judgement.
 
I'm not knocking nissan. I think they are good. I'm just saying it seems a bit premature on your part to be so loyal. Kinda like marrying the first girl ya kiss, no? ;b

#582 of 628 Re: nissan in my garage for ever [rafa] by andre1969

Sep 10, 2007 (9:28 am)

Replying to: rafa (Sep 09, 2007 9:11 pm)
I know what you guys are thinking these cars are usa made which they are assemble here but all the parts come from japan all made in japan.
 
IIRC, the Nissan Altima is something like 65% domestic content. So in addition to being assembled in the United States, it's a safe bet that a lot of its components were sourced from the US as well.
 
The domestics and imports actually share a lot of parts nowadays. GM makes automatic transmissions for BMW. The a/c compressor in my Dodge Intrepid is supposedly the same component as what's in a Honda Accord. My a/c is failing, BTW, so who do I blame? The Japanese or the Americans? Or the Germans, maybe, since Chrysler was under their control by the time my car was made?
 
I've also heard varying opinions on Nissan quality. Not enough to scare me away from ever buying one, but I'm not going to blindly put them up on a pedestal, either. My Mom & stepdad had a 91 Stanza that was in need of some pretty steep repairs by the 90,000 mile mark. Among them, the tranny and exhaust system. I've personally known a few examples of the 2.4 4-cyl and the 3.0 V-6 from that era that had timing chains fail prematurely and reduce the engine to rubbish. The tranny in my Mom & stepdad's '99 Altima crapped out at 35,000 miles. But to that car's credit, tranny #2, which was put in under warranty, is doing fine and I'm sure that car has about 240,000 miles on it by now.
 
And I've heard some people say that these older Nissans were the durable ones, and that the new ones aren't as good! The Titan/Armada was pretty unreliable when it first came out, although they may be improved by now. Still, if you didn't have any problems with those earlier models, count yourself lucky.
 
Nissan does have a sort of youth appeal to it, though. A friend of mine bought an Xterra last year. He was also considering a Chevy Equinox. The "cool" factor of the Xterra is what won out, though. And I'll admit I like the 2002-06 Altima a lot, along with the new one.

#583 of 628 Re: nissan in my garage for ever [andre1969] by steve_ HOST

Sep 10, 2007 (10:12 am)

Replying to: andre1969 (Sep 10, 2007 9:28 am)
My '99 Quest (assembled by Ford in Ohio) seems pretty good, especially considering my maintenance habits. The stuff coming out of the newish Canton MS factory has had a lot of growing pains. Pf_Flyer has had several Nissans over the last couple of decades and he likes to put a couple hundred thousand miles on them. Hopefully he'll have similar luck with his new Versa.
 
While I think the (Japanese) drivetrain on my Quest is good (touching wood at 119,500 miles), my next car will be based on the most bang for the buck. Just like the Quest was, and the Voyager before it, and the good old '82 Toyota too. The other car here now is a Subaru, so I guess I'm most loyal to my bank account.

#584 of 628 Re: nissan in my garage for ever [steve_] by andre1969

Sep 10, 2007 (10:19 am)

Replying to: steve_ (Sep 10, 2007 10:12 am)
Pf_Flyer has had several Nissans over the last couple of decades and he likes to put a couple hundred thousand miles on them. Hopefully he'll have similar luck with his new Versa.
 
While I'm not really a fan of little cars, I've thought about trying to force myself into something smaller and more fuel-effient the next time I buy a new/new-ish car. I checked out the Versa when it first came out. Not a bad little car, although the driving position was a bit tight for me, with respect to legroom.

#585 of 628 Re: nissan in my garage for ever [andre1969] by steve_ HOST

Sep 10, 2007 (10:44 am)

Replying to: andre1969 (Sep 10, 2007 10:19 am)
He seems to manage ok.
 
Move-In-Day
 

#586 of 628 dusting off a topic by steve_ HOST

Jul 18, 2011 (12:39 pm)

"Kelly says Korean car maker Hyundai took over the top spot on its brand-loyalty list for the second quarter, moving ahead of Honda and Toyota, two mainstays at the top of the list.
 
The change could indicate Hyundai is finally leaving behind the upstart status it has been unable to completely shake since arriving in the U.S. in the mid-1980s."
 
Hyundai Tops Toyota, Honda in Loyalty Study (Wall St. Journal)
 
The "loyalty" may just be a reflection of gas prices:
 
Hyundai MPG Focus Nets U.S. Sales Boost (AutoObserver)
 
"Hyundai said last week that it's selling more U.S. vehicles that get at least 40 miles per gallon highway than the rest of the auto industry combined, indicating that the South Korean automaker is using its emphasis on fuel economy to overcome past questions of reliability and close the gap with better known imports such as Toyota and Honda."
 
And the earthquake and recalls before that haven't helped Japanese automakers.
 
"It remains to be seen if Toyota’s brand has fully shaken the safety-recall catastrophe of 2010. Significant new products will remain spare except for Camry. Even the newly expanded Prius lineup, starved out of production by parts shortages for most of the second quarter, may find a less-than-fevered reception among American consumers as gas prices level off. Honda still must find ways to regenerate enthusiasm for its brand in a market where many rivals now equal its quality and functionality. Nissan has fared best of the three in recovering from the disaster and was able to report an 11-percent increase in June sales while its two big rivals declined."
 
12 Factors To Watch In Industry's Second Half

#587 of 628 Re: dusting off a topic [steve_] by ateixeira

Jul 18, 2011 (12:37 pm)

Replying to: steve_ (Jul 18, 2011 12:39 pm)
Sign of the times, perhaps, but let's remember the Japanese brands had a serious handicap on the supply side for all cars from the quake-affected island.

Messages Page 59 of 63

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