Foreign cars

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So who besides RiceNuker had their coffee this morning? A Citation? Really? Dude.....

OK, I keep hearing about build quality of our beloved Mopars. Are we really being honest about that? The fabled A body door post tearing out. Anyone own a Dodge van with good door hinges? (On the doors that actually get opened). How about that fit and finish? I'm sure our memories will play it out a lot better than it was. God knows that when I worked at a Dodge dealer, I never had to do any warranty work.....

Oh, and about that morning coffee. Where was that coffee maker made?
 
So i guess, after all of this debate, the real question boils down to...

American cars arent 'garbage' compared to those importing cars. So if you can spend the money and keep it in the USA (and right the sinking ship), why dont you?

Those that feel the imports are that much higher quality, do you not care that your 4 is deflating the economy?
 
I was more gonna say that I always buy US when I can, but I'm not cutting off my nose to spite my face. I am doing things the American way by voting against and keeping an eye on the a$$hats that put us into this mess and want to put us further in the hole.
 
Ford of Australia are looking at dropping the locally made Falcon and going to the Fusion or Taurus.......they had sold the Taurus here before in the mid 90's....they were a huge flop.....we only got the V6 automatic model with a choice of leather interior or cloth....thats it.
I don't know what they are going to do with the locally made Ford Territory.....but they have finally woken up that they needed a turbo diesel engine for them.
I see that GM has killed of the Pontiac...so they won't be buying the Monaro/Commodore off us now......as they were sold under the Pontiac banner.
 
Those that feel the imports are that much higher quality, do you not care that your 4 is deflating the economy?


i have two yotas in the driveway and will continue to buy yotas until they do me wrong. i'm doing what is right for me and my family. if one of the american manufactures ( and really american cars aren't so american)want my business back they are gonna have to revamp their entire way of doing business. hell they forced me to go to toyota in the first place. last i checked toyota is putting food on american workers table. when i goto the dealer its all americans that are working there. sales men, service men dealtailers the finance guys..etc.. etc... all american workers.. and don't forget the line workers at the american plants... so tell me who the hell are the big three helping by closing american plants and building in mexico and canada?? it sure isn't americans..
 
I can''t belive that ya have''t changed the name yet. To foryotas only is much is ya love em. I bet that ya are the kind of people that belive that ford,chevy, and dodge don't come with floormats either, Over a hundred confirmed deaths yet ya still let your love ones ride in em and drive em ???
 
I can''t belive that ya have''t changed the name yet. To foryotas only is much is ya love em. I bet that ya are the kind of people that belive that ford,chevy, and dodge don't come with floormats either, Over a hundred confirmed deaths yet ya still let your love ones ride in em and drive em ???

guess you never heard of the pinto? how about the chevy trucks that had an un protected gas tank out side the frame that would explode when hit there ford and the tire problem? and seriously was it really floor mats? the biggest story of that entire thing was a trooper that had time to call 911 instead of slapping the car into neutral. that dope should have been highly trained on how to think in those different situations.. after that the copy cats were out faking the stories.. quite a few of them were caught.
 
I say it has to happen from the top to the bottom. Politics and such to the end consumers. The movement has to be strong and unyielding. Lets all make it happen. Anyone want to pester politicians with emails? I mean how do we take some action? What action needs to be taken? I am sure that last question has a book of answers.

I look at labels when shopping,...for anything,....I emailed alot of suppliers this last winter while doing my homework for the Spacer and asked them directly where their parts were from,....When I buy a car, I look at the origin of manufacture,...salesman hate me,...but hey, I make my money here, I spend It here (whenever possible)...Walmart is out of the question (Walmart,...your best source for plastic crap cheap)...maybe not much, but Its a good start for the unknowing, uncaring, and indifferent masses...
 
What a ridiculous thread. Just another foreign bashing rant. Buying an American car over a foreign one won't change anything. What needs to change is the mentality of the average American.

Hemitheus, by saying that you buy your imported computer products and iPhone while buying an American car over a foreign one is just a plain cop out. You don't need to buy a computer. You can always go to the library and use one. OR...you can go to an internet cafe or rent-a-center here in the US and give your money to someone in the U.S. But this would be too much of an inconvenience for you and your family, so you need to use this as an excuse to buy a computer with imported parts.

These anti-foreign threads epitomize ignorance..and this type of displayed ignorance is very un-American.
 
then what happened to the big three from the during the 70's to the late 80's??? the big three was trying to shove what they wanted down our throats. toyota and honda gave the public what they wanted. the big three didn't start improving their garbage till the late 80's early 90's. the only reason the big three cars are improved is because they saw their sale slip because of the competition...

+1. I totally agree with Joe on this topic.

American car makers got complacent in the 70's, and didn't recover until the 90's. Up until recent years, they were still suffering from mismanagement, inferior product and poor service.

It was the Americans that taught the Japanese the philosophy of Continuous Improvement in the 1950's. If Americans would have stuck to our own teachings in the 70's and 80's, we probably wouldn't be in this position today. It was Americans that got greedy and the rest of us are paying for it today.
 
I say it has to happen from the top to the bottom. Politics and such to the end consumers. The movement has to be strong and unyielding. Lets all make it happen. Anyone want to pester politicians with emails? I mean how do we take some action? What action needs to be taken? I am sure that last question has a book of answers.

Google says:

http://americanmanufacturing.org/

http://americanmanufacturing.org/in-your-state/CA

http://americanmanufacturing.org/china-job-loss/keyfacts

It's not about pestering politicians. It never was. It's about what personal choices YOU make. Not just in cars, but in everything you do.
 
I look at labels when shopping,...for anything,....I emailed alot of suppliers this last winter while doing my homework for the Spacer and asked them directly where their parts were from,....When I buy a car, I look at the origin of manufacture,...salesman hate me,...but hey, I make my money here, I spend It here (whenever possible)...Walmart is out of the question (Walmart,...your best source for plastic crap cheap)...maybe not much, but Its a good start for the unknowing, uncaring, and indifferent masses...

I bought an American made cast iron skillet at Wal-Mart. Just so you know...
 
Funny how we ever made it to the 70s. I guess until all those quality foreign products flooded our markets, we just had junk US products and life was just terrible. I mean I hate how an Electrolux vacuum cleaner lasted 35 years and now those dirt devils made in china last 4.

Now we are at the pinnacle of our existence. Because of foreign auto influence, American cars last way longer than they ever did. Right?

Now US cars last 20 years rather than 10. Or do they still last the same duration (10) years but just have 10 fold the complexity and 10x price? How have we benefited from foreign autos again? How long is one of them Nissan Titans going to last? Oh they are going to out last us all.

The only thing that has happened is the population is ten times higher, cars cost ten times more, and people drive twice as far as they used to. Nothing else changed. Everything that has changed is simply relative to population increase. Oh except US factories are mostly overseas now and foreigners own half our country. Everyone I know who worked in a factory, lost their job at every factory across the country. Most companies went bankrupt and couldn't pay the retirement they had accrued for 20 years. Great. Progress is really good.

The mentality that we need all this foreign influence is the same mental platform encouraging us to lose dedication to our countries' productivity.


The concept of buy American has volumes of meaning pointing towards bringing this country to a higher level of achievement, productivity, sustenance and continuity.

So, buy American.

Nissan got into the full size truck market late. It's not their strength. They are fighting against what American automakers do best. American automakers got into the small car game late. It wasn't their strength. Now they have to fight against the competition at what the competition does best.

The Japanese were the underdogs when they brought small cars to the market. The big 3 dominated car sales. It was only within the last 10 years that Toyota and VW moved to the top of the list doing the things that they do well...building small, economical cars. The American automakers had the same opportunities, but underestimated their competition...a sign of arrogance and not adapting to the competition. Now the American automakers need to do what the import automakers had to do 40 years ago and win the business. Nothing will be handed to them. You have to work in this country to receive.
 
Just for the record...I have a Mustang daily driver, so I don't currently own a foreign car. But that's not my point. It's not about the car, it's the mindset.

I've had my 1995 Dakota since it was new. Here are the list of problems...

-Erratic idle (intermittent) - under warranty - was told it was timing, think it's BS because it's computer controlled timing and non-adjustable. Local dealership and not the one I bought the truck at. All the remaining issues under warranty below were brought to the dealership where I purchased the truck about 30 miles from where I live.
-TPS sensor - under warranty - I think this is the actual cause of said idle issues above. It was this dealer that told me the timing was non-adjustable.
-Rear window seal leak - under warranty
-Driver's side V8 badge started spotting - under warranty
-Fuel tank pickup or sending unit - under warranty

Now here's what happened out of warranty

-Radiator - Happened right before the 50k mile mark. For those of you that don't know, these Dakotas and RAMs use composite plastic and metal radiators. This one split where the plastic meets the metal. Dealer wants $495 for OEM POS. I purchased an all steel radiator from a radiator shop for $295. Still not fun on a college budget.
-Rear window seal leak - again...no longer covered under warranty.
-Fuel tank pickup or sending unit - again...no longer covered under warranty.

I also owned a 1998 Infiniti I-30. The only problem was an alternator at 85k miles. This car was purchased used (2years old when I got it).

The Mustang GT mentioned above was purchased used as well.
 
..anyone remember the chevette, fire-enza, the recycled metal fords that rusted immediately...

My RAM has had more repairs than our subarue with 3X miles on it and two years newer..and my truck does mostly highway. Stoopid stuff. And it leaked water from the factory.

I think the big three invented planned obsolescence ..my dad always felt the pressure to trade to newer when the models changed... and past due date..ever try to sell a Big Three with over 100K Kms (60K miles)...dealers, in a trade, wholesale off immediately because they do not want them on the lot. We got 3kon a subaru with 375Kms and that was after we settled on a cash price.

I always said that the big three could build a car equal or better than the imports but didn't have to because people would buy them anyway...and now is the result..I also har that is quite a surcharge on each car to pay for the employee's med plans..

I live in a middle class subsivision about an hour out of the city. 42 houses. There were over 80 kids awhile back but they are growing up. Parents are involved with their kids sports and the games take all over the thre maritime provinces and into the new england states so it is fair to say we are on the road a lot. We are high millage drivers. I counted cars last night when waling the beagles . All houses have at least 2 cars..The vast majority have 3, and a couple have 6/7 and one has 10 I think..the number keeps changing.

I have a Ram and my toys..Mustand and duster

My neighbour has a brother that sells chevies so he has a truck and a sport utility..he also has a bmw and 2 mazdas.

Another neighbour has a 50's Merc, '64 Olds, and a 70 GTX However, he has an acrua sports ute, and audi and a mazda to normal running around.

So three daily driven "big three" trucks in a large middle class subdivision.

People wtch what other folks drive and ask about maintenance.. and nother can be angryier than someone paying big bucks - american cars are not cheap..39.9K base for a ford flex a year ago ...that is a lemon..read the lemon aid book..

And I agree Audis/BMWs/MBs are appearing everywhere even with this economy..
 
Said It before, and I'll say It again,..."Earn the American Dollar, Speak the American Language, Buy American Products",...And while your at It, Thank a Vet for preserving your right to make bad decicions about what you buy while not supporting the country that lets you have the freedom to do so. Charity starts at home, especially in todays economy
READ your labels, I DO,...On the average Only 25% of the money you spend on your Mazduzu or Hondota stay's here. If you can't at least try to support American business and manufacturing, Don't ***** about this country going to hell in a handbasket. If you habitually put foreign stuff in your house or your driveway, your basically telling your kids that Its ok trash America,....
All of my vehicles run 250k miles or better,(it helps to open the hood once a year)...And my Caliber was built in USA, 83%, costs me 15 grand and gets 35 mpg 50k miles young and running strong...so the argument that foreign cars are better doesn't hold water with me, It just means you didn't do your homework as well as you should have,....
Any American veteran who buys a new foreign car should be ashamed,(did you serve to keep America great or was It just a job you did?). Your a hypocrite when you put the stars and stripes on that vehicle,that goes for Union decals and plates as well,...
Now If the UAW would pull Its collective head out of ITs *** and stop letting our cars get built in Mexico and Canada,(no offence to the CAW, but like I said, charity starts at home), we would be alot better off,(with decent wages comes more money spent here,Thats the economy in action)...But I'm sure the guy in Indiana making 15 an hour puttin your Subaru (spelled backwards is Urabus pron:you rob us) together doesn't care about that or that his bosses can barely speak the queens english.

USA,...The new third world county, thanks to corporate greed and American indifference.

In this day and age I feel its closed minded to think that we can buy "only American" products.

Its not just the car purchases that only matter...its all the small stuff......your TV, your radio, your cell phone, your clothing.....I will bet you have waaaaaay more "foreign" stuff in your house than US Made. Betcha you are wearing socks made in India and a shirt made in Sri Lanka. The computer you are using is likely made in china, as is the wrist watch you are wearing.

The list goes on and on.

America has given away its manufacturing edge to the rest of the world because of greed on the American worker and consumer side more than anything.

We bought our 2006 Hyundai Sonata brand new. We wanted a Chevy Malibu at the time, but the lack of safety features (like rear wheel disk brakes, side curtain airbags to name a couple) we standard on the Sonata and non existent on the Malibu. And the Malibu was more money. Easy choice there....Chevy gave that sale to Hyundai. Ok, so am I wrong for wanting the most safety for the same money? By your definition of "patriotic" I should have forsaken my wife and kids safety in order to "keep america working", aside from the money hit I would have taken.

We recently bought a brand new base model v62011 Mustang.....and the damn thing doesnt even come with a spare tire or key-locks in th doors or trunk....Ford claims it is for 'weight savings"....LOL......we know better.....its cheaper for them to give us a "tire mobility kit" (a cheap airpump that has a built in can of tire sealant that you have to get refills for at the dealer by the way) than to give the new owner a proper spare tire , jack and tools. "Who needs door locks when you have keyless entry?" Yeah, until the battery is dead and you cant get into the car at all. We bought the car because of its 300 hp V6 and the fact that my wife has wanted a Stang for many years. THAT is why Ford made the sale. And the after-care we have recieved from Ford SUCKS. Pre-written boiler plate answers to our questions/complaints.

Value wise, we would have got more car with an import.

So whose fault is that?

Funny that no one is mentioning the other critical key issue here....the greedy american worker/consumer.

People love to demonize the big faceless corporations for wanting to make maximum profit for their investment.

But what about the typical American worker who wants to make the most money and benefits for the least amount of work? Ya know, the folks who want to be "middle class" with a house in the burbs, 2.5 cars in the driveway and a comfy nest egg while doing labor or grunt jobs 37 hours a week.

You cannot make an "American product" that the thrifty American consumer will buy as long as the American worker is looking for maximum money for least work.

Illegal immigrants can find work so easily because no American wants to do the real grunt work for the low pay it can afford. Again, we are giving away work.

As Americans, we all want the MOST/BEST product for our money and want to spend less and less to get that. But we want the MOST money and BEST benefits for the least amount of work.

If its OK to tell corporations that they should make less profit then it should be Ok to tell the American worker to stop expecting to make $60k/yr with full benefits for grunt work.

$15/hr plus full benefits isn't a bad wage for inserting part A onto part B and attaching bolts 1,2,3,4 and 5 and sending it down the line.

Back in the day, assembly line work made sense to companies like Ford because it was CHEAP.

Unions have taken that benefit away.

Christ almighty....the local grocery store here had the BAGGERS trying to unionize! Who the hell ever heard of someone making a CAREER outr of baggiung groceries? That is supposed to be a kid's job or a job one takes to make extra money or as a stop gap when they find themselves out of a real job. But these baggers want full benefits!

SERIOUSLY!?!?

We will ALL have to bite the bullet some.....corporations as well as the consumer and employee...if we are to ever reverse the mess we are in.

American workers will have to give up some pay and/or benefits, the American consumer will have to pay a little more for everything and American comopanies will have to make a little less profit.....in that way, there will be more of everything to go around.

Until then, foreign companies and workers will be glad to do the work for the low pay that we wont accept and sell us products for less money and American companies will continue to find ways to stay in business while using other countries as production hubs for their products.
 
Walmart,...your best source for plastic crap cheap)...maybe not much, but Its a good start for the unknowing, uncaring, and indifferent masses...

NEWSFLASH -- The products sold in Walmart are the same as they sell anywhere else.

I have seen the same products sold in "high end" stores sold in Walmart for half the price.

They just work deals to sell them cheaper than anyone else in the market, which the American consumer LOVES.

And that LAST part (the consumer) is the problem. Not Walmart.
 
really? when the smallest margin of profit goes to manufacturing. But its OK its just the US economy amidst one of the largest recessions in history. For our economy to thrive the flow of cash must stay in the hands of americans.

when you buy a foreign car the majority of that money goes overseas even when the care is "made in the USA"

Sorry, I am just WAY too patriotic for that.

and to be honest i dont care which foreign people buy what cars.


dude... No, just no. barely any US cars are made in the US anymore. Exporting is where its at. Up here, the weather is crap and harsh during winters almost EVERYBODY wants a subaru cause they think AWD = impervious to sliding and losing control. This is about 10% true.... studded tires and you'll be fine.

I've drove in pretty HORRIBLE conditions with a 92 neon and always had amazing traction even with stock all weather tires.

Anyways... Go google it. **** barely is made in the US anyways. We can thank nixon for that.
 
so tell me who the hell are the big three helping by closing american plants and building in mexico and canada?? it sure isn't americans..

Don't pick on us Canadians.. we are in the same boat as you. In fact, our local economies are being taken over by the same large greedy American corporations that promote the sale of cheap, crappy imported goods. At least when your companies such as Walmart decide to crush OUR companies, do it by bringing in quality products, not the same cheap Chinese crap that we get enough of..

Of course, I'm tongue in cheek. I (and many here) look at our economy as contingent on the success of yours. Our standard of living certainly is not providing cheap labour like the country to your south.

And for all of you owning 70 Swinger 340s, please send them back to us. We will gladly refund your original purchase price (less depreciation of course).

:)

Grant
 
Those that feel the imports are that much higher quality, do you not care that your 4 is deflating the economy?


Sorry dude. Money is tighter these days, the economy is in the toilet and I need to be responsible.

I can't afford to buy a hunk of crap American car. I don't want to maintain a hunk of crap American car. I don't want to deal with the depreciation of a hunk of crap american car.

Why, being the greatest country in the world........... can't we build a good car? Ford is getting their quality up there but Chevy and Dodge are pure garbage.
 
1968formulas340 -- you, me, outside. rap battle now!

Joking asides, I wouldn't go as far as claiming a whole line up is garbage. This thing is getting a bit heated, and some folks are very opinionated without knowing all the facts and are repeating whatever they heard from a friend, the media or whatever.

Yes the economy is in the toilet, and who's fault is that? Voting and being informed obviously never was important, especially when it's us who voted morons into the office, and let laws pass that allow companies to ... dun dun dun, fleece the poor and give to the rich, why? Its lucrative and you can make a buck off the average joe.

Surly everyone can *****, push opinions, whine, complain -- how come nobody can do stuff where it counts, WHEN it counts? A democracy only works when the people put effort into it to make it work.

Things don't just happen on whim, there's a system; but the people are doing nothing so... the politicians can grease the cogs to turn any way they want.
 
I personally have not bought a new car and never will. I have a 2002 Ford ranger, I bought used, it has been a good truck. I have always strived to buy american products or recycle american made junk that others throw away. What I am finding is it is getting harder and harder to but just american products, with the infiltration of foreign products. It seems no matter what I buy these days it is made some place else, and that causes me to ponder, who was hurt by this product. What factory shut down, what happens to those people and all the busineses that supported that factory. We as Americans have allowed to politians make the decsions that affect our economy, why do we let them get away with this. What happened to pride in our manufacturing, education and community. It has all been replaced with fakeness and the nightly news shoving FEAR down our throats. When will we as a nation stand together and put our differences aside fight the fight and not let this great nation become a third world country. It is no wonder that youger generation are buying foreign cars, look at their Hollywood idols and the life they lead, the role models they are.... When we started cut chopping down the trees of the middle class, we create a economic erosion....
 
1968formulas340 -- you, me, outside. rap battle now!

Joking asides, I wouldn't go as far as claiming a whole line up is garbage. This thing is getting a bit heated, and some folks are very opinionated without knowing all the facts and are repeating whatever they heard from a friend, the media or whatever.

Yes the economy is in the toilet, and who's fault is that? Voting and being informed obviously never was important, especially when it's us who voted morons into the office, and let laws pass that allow companies to ... dun dun dun, fleece the poor and give to the rich, why? Its lucrative and you can make a buck off the average joe.

Surly everyone can *****, push opinions, whine, complain -- how come nobody can do stuff where it counts, WHEN it counts? A democracy only works when the people put effort into it to make it work.

Things don't just happen on whim, there's a system; but the people are doing nothing so... the politicians can grease the cogs to turn any way they want.

I thought I said that......
Oh well, time to throw on my 501s and go work on my Roadrunner......
Crap, Levis are made in Mexico.
 
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