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Are American Cars Coming Back In Favor? - READ ONLY

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#1 of 31 Are American Cars Coming Back In Favor? by hpmctorque

Apr 22, 2010 (5:08 am)

According to an article in the current Detroit Free Press, the answer is yes. The 2 page article begins as follows:
 
"WASHINGTON -- America's love affair with the automobile has a new spark -- a renewed affection for U.S.-made cars after a long dalliance with foreign automakers.
 
Slightly more Americans now say the U.S. makes better-quality vehicles than Asia does, with 38% saying U.S. cars are best and 33% naming autos made by Asian countries, according to an Associated Press-GfK Poll.
 
The survey suggests those numbers are largely fueled by a plunge in Toyota's reputation and an upsurge in Ford's. The poll was conducted in March, as Toyota was being roiled by nightmarish publicity over its recall of more than 8 million vehicles around the globe and allegations that it responded sluggishly to safety concerns..."
 
I happy to see that Ford, GM and, to a lesser extent, at least for now, Chrysler, are showing solid signs of turning around. I'd also strongly consider an American brand for my next car purchase, because I think the domestics are competitive now.
 
How do you feel about it? Would you buy domestic brand?

#2 of 31 Re: Are American Cars Coming Back In Favor? [hpmctorque] by lemko

Apr 22, 2010 (6:20 am)

Replying to: hpmctorque (Apr 22, 2010 5:08 am)
Absolutely, I would! American cars have never fell out of favor with me. I'd buy another Cadillac or Buick in a New York second!

#3 of 31 Re: Are American Cars Coming Back In Favor? [hpmctorque] by smarty666

Apr 22, 2010 (7:32 am)

Replying to: hpmctorque (Apr 22, 2010 5:08 am)
Not yet I wouldn't buy one because no one has proven their long term reliability yet, except for maybe the Ford Fusion which is approaching the 4-5 year mark now. So other than maybe that, which so far has proven to be really reliable and quality vehicle. All the rest have time to prove themselves to me at least.

#4 of 31 Re: Are American Cars Coming Back In Favor? [hpmctorque] by smarty666

Apr 22, 2010 (7:32 am)

Replying to: hpmctorque (Apr 22, 2010 5:08 am)
If you all exactly looked closely at the specific tables of information from that poll you would see that there was not exactly that much of an increase from the American automaker preference in Dec 06 and then again last month when they asked again.
  
If you look at CAR3a table you'll see that the ACTUAL car makers people reported being in their garage at that time actually went down for domestic automakers (60% down to 56%) between Dec 06 and Mar 10 while foreign automakers remained the same (37%). Ford had no increase or decrease between 2006 and 2010, while GM had a drop of 7 from 2006 to 2010, while Chrysler had a drop of 4 from 2006 to 2010. This is the most telling graph in the poll since it counts THE ACTUAL vehicles people had in their garages when polled! What I don't understand is, AP used the one poll that went by COUNTRY, not by automakers, to say that people perfer cars from the US over Asia, yet this table of actual automakers in the garage of consumers would prove otherwise? Nothing change from 2006 to 2010 except the fact that their was a total drop in domestic automakers in people's garage from 2006 to 2010 while foreign automakers had no change.
  
In table CAR9, between Dec 06 and Mar 10 the people who would prefer to buy American cars rose 1 point (WOW) from 39 to 40, while foreign makers dropped a few points. Though it interesting that a good majority answered that it didn't matter (45) which automakers they had so those people could have put foreign past domestic possibly, or it could have work the other way. Even if you discount the large number of it doesn't matter folks, saying that American car preference rose by 1 lousy point in almost 4 years is really insignificant. If it rose by maybe 6-8 pts I might be more willing to say that means something but I don't think so with just a 1 point change.
  
Then in table CAR14, when they asked which car company produces the best quality vehicles, foreign automakers were almost 9 points higher than domestic with GM actually having a drop from 06 to 10 of 3 with Ford being the only one who remained the same from 06 to 10.
  
So my whole point is, there were several parts of the poll that showed foreign automakers leading the domestics in certain areas or that there was no change from 2006 of foreign automakers in people's garage. AP picked and choose the specific information they wanted to post that showed that domestic automakers had passed foreign automakers but if you actually take the time to look at all the tables you'll see that in actuality, that is not the case. It did show that their was a drop across all poll questions in some confidence in foreign automakers from 2006 to 2010, which is understandable considering the events of Toyota in the last few months. I find it interesting that they chose to do this poll right in the middle of all this pomp and circumstance right now, with the media blasting Toyota every other day and is fresh in people's mind. They had to know, that the unusual events with Toyota of the last several months would bias the normal avg joe away from saying that foreign makes were better. I think the results would have been substantially different had it been repolled in Jan 2009 or June 2009 when there was a much different situation in this country in the automotive industry.
 
What AP should have done, is waited to Dec 2010, when it would have been exactly 4 years since the first poll, and that way, this stuff with Toyota and paying for their mistakes would have been over by then, and every one would have been on a unbias playing field when polled. It would have been interesting to see if many months after this stuff with Toyota ended if indeed the American public was affected by it back toward American automakers rather than doing it right in the middle of the Toyota pomp and circumstance.
  
http://www.ap-gfkpoll.com/pdf/AP-GfK%20Poll%20March%202010%20CAR%20Topline.pdf

#5 of 31 Re: Are American Cars Coming Back In Favor? [hpmctorque] by bumpy

Apr 22, 2010 (8:08 am)

Replying to: hpmctorque (Apr 22, 2010 5:08 am)
Would you buy domestic brand?
 
Nope. They don't offer anything I want.

#6 of 31 Re: Are American Cars Coming Back In Favor? [hpmctorque] by garv214

Apr 22, 2010 (1:03 pm)

Replying to: hpmctorque (Apr 22, 2010 5:08 am)
Yes, I would definitely consider purchasing an American car again. I have owned primarily Japanese cars over the past 25 years, but am getting seriously interested in Ford's offerings. I value the sporty nature, fuel efficiency, and reliability of the Japanese cars that I have owned. However, recently, the Japanese models that I would consider to replace my current car have adopted...er...interesting... styles (Acura TSX and the Mazda3).
 
I recently saw some articles on the Ford Focus (which I would have bought back in 2001 but the 4 door hatchback had not made it to the US then...), which got me excited about Ford. I will likely continue driving my Protege5 for another couple of years, so I have some time before the big day arrives.

#7 of 31 Re: Are American Cars Coming Back In Favor? [hpmctorque] by andre1969

Apr 22, 2010 (3:40 pm)

Replying to: hpmctorque (Apr 22, 2010 5:08 am)
American cars never really fell out of favor with me, since I tend to go for bigger cars, something that was traditionally a strong suit of the domestics.
 
However, I have found that as the Japanese cars got bigger and finally started offering what I'd call "true" midsized cars, I started considering them more and more. The first one that really caught my eye was the 2002 Nissan Altima.
 
One thing that I've found kind of odd is that, traditionally I liked the domestics because they were larger. But in midsized cars, these days, the Camry, Accord, and Altima feel to me like they're larger cars than the Fusion, Malibu, and Sebring!
 
Still, among the domestics I'd consider a Fusion, although I do like the Altima. If I wanted to go a bit bigger, I'd consider a Charger or 300, a Lucerne, or even a throwback like a Crown Vic or Grand Marquis. The new LaCrosse is nice too, but I think I'd just prefer the extra room in the Lucerne, if I was gonna go the Buick route.
 
I find that, in my old age, I'm turning into a bit of a tightwad, so it's probably going to be used cars from here on out, unless I hit the lottery.

#8 of 31 Re: Are American Cars Coming Back In Favor? [andre1969] by smarty666

Apr 22, 2010 (5:11 pm)

Replying to: andre1969 (Apr 22, 2010 3:40 pm)
I do have to say, of all the domestic auto mobiles I looked at and sat in at the auto show, the only one that peaked my interest and felt had comfortable seats was the Ford Fusion.
 
If its reliability keeps going the way it does, I might be considering it in a few years when I'm ready for another car! I can tell you if I was going to buy a hybrid sedan, the Fusion probably be it! I could not believe how much trunk room you got in the Fusion Hybrid. Usually you lose the trunk on hybrids and that is something you have to sacrifice but I didn't find that with the fusion.
 
I personally like the Fusion, Altima, and Sonata!

#9 of 31 saw a similar article by nippononly

Apr 22, 2010 (7:38 pm)

from AP:
 
AP-GfK Poll: Americans shifting to US cars
 
Buy American? That's suddenly a good idea again to more car buyers. Toyota's safety problems and a buffed-up lineup of offerings from Detroit's Big 3 are rubbing the tarnish off car buyers' perceptions of U.S. models. An Associated Press-GfK Poll shows that 38 percent favor U.S. vehicles while 33 percent prefer Asian brands, a significant improvement for U.S. automakers compared to four years ago.
 
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/04/21/national/w000531D81.- - DTL&type=autos
 
But then I noticed that everyone they quoted in the article was from the midwest! Kinda seemed like a sample designed to make it appear that domestics were on their way back.
 
As for me, I have noticed that we have pretty much reached the point where the Japanese are making only boring cars that are no more interesting or reliable than the domestics, for the most part. But would I buy one? Well, GM and Chrysler are out for life because of the bailouts.
 
But I just got signed up to be notified when my local Ford dealer gets Fiestas this summer, and I think in general Ford is so hot it's on fire. I am hoping against hope that the Fiesta and next-gen Focus are as good as they are supposed to be, and that they can eventually replace the Ranger with a proper compact truck. And maybe introduce a sport coupe more Miata-like than the Mustang....
 
I have a coworker that switched from Honda to Ford in '05 with an Escape purchase, and has just bought a new Fusion which she loves. She's certainly not looking back, and I think others will join her this year if the domestics really strike while the iron is hot.

#10 of 31 Re: saw a similar article [nippononly] by hpmctorque

Apr 23, 2010 (7:19 am)

Replying to: nippononly (Apr 22, 2010 7:38 pm)
"... GM and Chrysler are out for life because of the bailouts."
 
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't you in favor of the bailouts, at least somewhat?

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