thrash;299825 wrote:
Ford is the only US car maker I would consider buying new from, as only they are not owned by the Obama administration.

I buy the car that fits my needs best, irrespective of where it comes from.

Just out of curiosity, if/when GM pays off their bill in June (as projected) and gets the Fed out of the board room, will your opinion change to buy them? I'm not trying to start a flame/political thread, because I actually agree with you on your reasoning.

In my mind, no I still won't because I just don't see GM making any vehicles that I'd want to own other than a corvette (well, maybe a 3/4 ton turbo diesel, but other than that none...)

I buy the car that fits my needs best, irrespective of where it comes from.

Jim;299568 wrote:
My parents have sunk more money (like double) in to thier Durango then they have thier BMW for sure with equal amounts of miles on both. If you talk to them, they won't own another American made car for the trouble.

Its a Dodge, whattya expect?

Eurofan;299536 wrote:
Is it honestly "right" to support something American that is, in all actuality, inferior to products that other countries have to offer (Japan, Germany, Korea... ect ect)? IMHO

I haven't read the rest of the thread, but i will comment on this initial post.

Since the US is founded on the basis of Capitalism, buying something for any reason other than quality vs price would be fairly backwards. In a capitalistic society, those who succeed, make money and those who dont, fall apart. Now there are interwoven problems with letting an American institution fail in lieu of buying foreign products where our money is traveling overseas never to return; however, many of the 'foreign' companies like Toyota and Honda have become global businesses with branches in the US as well as overseas. Its a long, conveluded discussion, but i still stand behind buying the best product for the least money. My whole family has adopted that mindset as well. I have an Acura, my father has a newer Accord, my brother has a Civic and my mother has a Mazda 6. They're debatably foreign cars, but i think, better than the majority of their competition.

Parker;299575 wrote:
Yeah.... not so much......

Broken link!

bubba;299573 wrote:
I think it's making Japanese cars into big boats, that are getting worse mileage than the past (which is completely unappealing), and american cars into even bigger boats...
Yeah.... not so much......

They just don't appeal to me.

Jim;299568 wrote:
Competition in the market SHOULD make both products better... right? hhaha.

I think it's making Japanese cars into big boats, that are getting worse mileage than the past (which is completely unappealing), and american cars into even bigger boats...

StangerBanger96;299565 wrote:
Yeah if you think German/European cars are so superior, then I guess one must consider how much money must be sunk into the average BMW/Benz vs the average Ford/Chevy to get the car 200,000+ miles. I'd wager a good amount of money that if you treated both equally, the BMW/Benz would take a LOT more money to maintain vs the Ford/Chevy. I'm sure Jim knows that, while the build quality of a BMW is VERY nice, it also requires some decent dough to maintain it.

Ehhh... a car is a car. Replacement parts are expensive for whatever.

It really just depends... I'd agree on the Benz front, that shit is stupid expensive. BMW's... not so much. My parents have sunk more money (like double) in to thier Durango then they have thier BMW for sure with equal amounts of miles on both. If you talk to them, they won't own another American made car for the trouble.

I've got like 160k on my sedan, still going strong. The coupe has like 120k without any major problems.

Honestly though, who cares where a car was made, the money gets spread all over the place, especially in today's globalized world, half the shit was outsourced to be made out of the country anyway. It's not like 80% of the shit we use everyday wasn't made in China, so I don't really get the hangup over where cars were made. Buy what appeals to you, and what can get you the best deal for your money, if American companies want your money they will appeal to consumers by building a better product. Competition in the market SHOULD make both products better... right? hhaha.

PSiedTSi;299553 wrote:
You mean the "Toyota Way" ECU without a safety signal that cuts off the throttle signal as soon as the brake is pressed like on every other drive-by-wire car?

lol touche

zbrown;299552 wrote:
anyone have a sticky throttle of death?

My wife's Rav has a throttle that is extremely hard to push down soft, if it had more than 50whp I'd worry about it though.
When you let off the pedal the r's go right down, so Toyota wouldn't do anything about it.

I try to buy American if all things are equal, like evreyone said not many goods are made in America, just like beer is made here in the states but most profits go overseas. But to the op just stirring the pot, if American stuff is so junky, graduate high school and move to Germany.

treimche;299548 wrote:
2 things here. First, are "american" cars actually made and assembled in America? I've seen a lot of new Chevy and Ford stuff that is made in Mexico. Personally, I'd rather buy from Japan than Mexico any day.

Second, where do you think all your tvs, cell phones, computers, appliances, clothes, shoes, etc are made? I haven't taken the time to research this, but I'm going to guess the answer is not in our country.

Exactly.

Everything is globalized nowadays. Even products that say MADE IN AMERICA were probably made from parts that were shipped from China, Mexico, Japan, etc. Most things are "cheaper" to manufacture overseas and assemble here.

zbrown;299552 wrote:
anyone have a sticky throttle of death?

You mean the "Toyota Way" ECU without a safety signal that cuts off the throttle signal as soon as the brake is pressed like on every other drive-by-wire car?

Second, where do you think all your tvs, cell phones, computers, appliances, clothes, shoes, etc are made? I haven't taken the time to research this, but I'm going to guess the answer is not in our country.