American Cars

[RoyTheHammer]

I owned an 02 Chevy Cavalier for 6 years. Bought it at 36,000 miles and took it to 89,000 miles. Never had a single problem with the car that required a major repair. Just change the oil every 3k miles and do the scheduled maitanence and they run good for a long time.

 

[MonsterD]

I'm moving to TX later this year and while looking at some cars online i can't help but notice how cheap American cars are there (obviously) and it looks like you get a lot more value for money when compared to say a Nissan or Toyota.

So i guess my question is are they any good?

I really like how the new Ford Fusion looks but Ford got a pretty bad reputation here for not being very reliable

I would go with Ford since 2008 they went from probably the worst cars in the early 2000s to the best American cars.

 

[5Stars]

Buy a Jeep and don't worry about it.



They are cost effective and last a long time and will take you where you need to go, rain or shine.

 

[CowboyMcCoy]

Two cars I would look at are the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. I'm also a big fan of the Subaru Imprezas. American cars blow, really. Don't waste your money on an American car unless it's a truck.

 

[rags747]

America taught the world how to build and style cars. Yes the American cars of the 70's - 90's were pretty bad overall for the most part. The American cars today are so so different and quite frankly it is great to see. I have an 11 Taurus SHO that is in the same league as BMW and Audi at $60k only the SHO was $15k less. I am about to pick up the new Chevy Impala for my wife which at $40k cannot be beat. Also have a 96 Corvette GrandSport and my Italian baby, a Maserati. Check out the new Corvette Stingray at $60k, she will compete with cars costing twice as much and more. Same with Cadilliac.

American cars are once again at the top imo. Ford, GM, Chrysler are all turning out heavy duty iron that can compete on any front.

Honda's to me will always be lawn mowers. Again, America taught the world what it's all about. WE DID IT OUR WAY BABY!!!

 

[9darter]

Also have a 96 Corvette GrandSport and my Italian baby, a Maserati.

Nice!!

 

[Sarge]

Two cars I would look at are the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. I'm also a big fan of the Subaru Imprezas. American cars blow, really. Don't waste your money on an American car unless it's a truck.

You're completely wrong about saying American cars "blow." You could have made that argument 15-20 years ago, (and been right to a degree) but no longer. We have totally caught up in the reliability department. There was a time when one had to consider a foreign vehicle if you anticipated going over 100,000 miles and wanted reliability. That is no longer the case. We've also caught up and equaled in the MPG department.

To suggest that American cars "blow" at this point.... I have to disagree with.

 

[Tusan_Homichi]

You're completely wrong about saying American cars "blow." You could have made that argument 15-20 years ago, (and been right to a degree) but no longer. We have totally caught up in the reliability department. There was a time when one had to consider a foreign vehicle if you anticipated going over 100,000 miles and wanted reliability. That is no longer the case. We've also caught up and equaled in the MPG department.

To suggest that American cars "blow" at this point.... I have to disagree with.

 

[Dodger12]

It took me years to even consider buying a foreign car and during that time I dumped good money into US made cars and the quality was very disappointing. I've got a Honda Accord with 220,000 miles and I haven't put a dime into it other than routine maintenance (oil change, tires, etc.). Every American car I've had either died or was on its last leg at half that mileage. What's even worse was the interior of the American cars I've owned were cheap and falling apart, where if I detailed my Honda today, it would look almost the same as the day I bought it. It's a no brainer for me; I'll buy another Honda when its time.

You've also got foreign cars that offer 100,000 mile warranties and are rated fairly well. I like when manufacturers put their money where their mouth is. If a US car maker was offering some kind of crazy deal on price and warranty, that's the ONLY way I'd consider giving a US manufacturer another chance.

 

[BringBackThatOleTimeBoys]

I helped run a fuel economy forum for years.

Detroit automakers have been also rans for years, but since 2008 they have really closed the gap with it's global competitors. Consumer Reports has ripped them many times, with Chrysler being the very worst, but even they have made strides.

Ford is what I'd buy (this is from a 4-time Honda guy), not just for improved quality but their foresight in anticipating a downturn and avoiding the need to ask for TARP help like GM and Chrysler.

I'm a green guy, but the whiz-bang display my 2000 Honda Insight has looks like MS-DOS 6.2 compared to a PowerMac on any new Ford dashboard from the C-Max hybrid to the F-250 pickup. GM seems to also be in the right track at last.

 

[BringBackThatOleTimeBoys]

I think the reputation that American cars break down easily is outdated or a stereotype. They may have earned it at one point and it is hard to shake off.

This is very true, but a car is one of the biggest investments you make.

Automakers will win or lose a generation on what they build.

In 1960, GM had 54% of the US market! They would have to work a lot harder to get 25% with today's competition. Anyway, they declined to 15% at the TARP deal. People remembered the Corvair, diesel Olds, Chevy Cavalier's with 30,000-mile transmissions, Vegas' with engines that didn't last, the pre-Volt EV-1 PR fiasco, thinking they could skip on making a decent Accord/Camry killer and telling sedan shoppers to just "buy a Suburban (because we can't make a profit on cars built by UAW.)" It caught up, and GM is on the right path but it will take years to overcome this image.

GM's story from 54% of the US market to 15% and TARP is soooo much like Jerry Jones' I can mismanage indefinitely and suckers will buy anyway. It will catchup one day and when it does I hope like GM he does have that business come to moment.

 

[StarMan2112]

You're completely wrong about saying American cars "blow." You could have made that argument 15-20 years ago, (and been right to a degree) but no longer. We have totally caught up in the reliability department. There was a time when one had to consider a foreign vehicle if you anticipated going over 100,000 miles and wanted reliability. That is no longer the case. We've also caught up and equaled in the MPG department.

To suggest that American cars "blow" at this point.... I have to disagree with.

While American cars have certainly narrowed the gap, they're still not as good as Honda and Toyota. The Japanese still make the most dependable cars and trucks according to Consumer Reports.

http://money.cnn.com/gallery/autos/2012/10/29/consumer-reports-most-reliable-cars/index.html

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

I have several Vehicles. I have 6 trucks, 1 SUV and 2 cars. Now, to be fair, the SUV is my Wife's, 1 of the trucks is my youngest Son's and the two cars are my two Daughter's Cars but they are under my name.

I have 2 Chevy Trucks, 1 GMC Truck, 1 Dodge Truck, 1 Ford Truck, 1 GMC SUV, 1 Ford Car and 1 VW Car.

I have owned foreign cars and I actually prefer them but I have had good and bad cars, both import and domestic. I have never owned an import truck so I can't comment on those. Any decent vehicle will last for you if taken care of, in general. If you don't take care of them, they are probably not going to hold up. At least that is my opinion.

 

[CowboyMcCoy]

I think the reputation that American cars break down easily is outdated or a stereotype. They may have earned it at one point and it is hard to shake off.

They also over exaggerate the supposed quality of foreign cars when selling to Americans to justify the extra cost.

I'm very loyal to Ford and don't ever have any problems out of the ordinary.

Get a Ford F-150 when you move to Texas and you will fit right in.(I'm slightly kidding we don't all drive trucks).

It's not that they break down a lot per se, but you don't see them come in with 250k or 350k on them like you do Japanese cars. Sure, every once in a while you'll see a rare case with an American car getting that many miles. But on average, Japanese make them to last much better than we do. And that's still the case today.

 

[WPBCowboysFan]

It's not that they break down a lot per se, but you don't see them come in with 250k or 350k on them like you do Japanese cars. Sure, every once in a while you'll see a rare case with an American car getting that many miles. But on average, Japanese make them to last much better than we do. And that's still the case today.

Whats sad about the whole scenario is that the American car makers can make the best product and sell it for the best price - IF, they wanted to do so. They skated by on reputation for years and produced a whole lotta crap. In skating and crapping they lost a lot of customers that they will never get back. They lost a couple of generations and numerous other people that never would have dreamed of buying imports.

Its a whole lot easier to keep customers than it is to win them back. Actually, winning them back is impossible for the most part. They go to another product they are happy with and they aint going back.

 

[StarMan2112]

Whats sad about the whole scenario is that the American car makers can make the best product and sell it for the best price - IF, they wanted to do so. They skated by on reputation for years and produced a whole lotta crap. In skating and crapping they lost a lot of customers that they will never get back. They lost a couple of generations and numerous other people that never would have dreamed of buying imports.

Its a whole lot easier to keep customers than it is to win them back. Actually, winning them back is impossible for the most part. They go to another product they are happy with and they aint going back.

Well said. I grew up in a Ford family and for years I drove them too. But now I'm a Toyota guy because they made vastly superior cars compared to the American made. I don't think they're "vastly" superior anymore but they are still better. Don't see myself going back anytime soon.

 

[rags747]

Consumer Reports is great for vacuum cleaners and washers and dryers. A car imo is not an appliance although CR would have you believe that it is. If A to B is your gig than I guess Honda and Toyota will satisfy that need. The Japs are great copiers and are great at nailing down the assembly line process for quality control. Outside of that they could never come up with an original idea amongst the lot of them.

 

[WPBCowboysFan]

Well said. I grew up in a Ford family and for years I drove them too. But now I'm a Toyota guy because they made vastly superior cars compared to the American made. I don't think they're "vastly" superior anymore but they are still better. Don't see myself going back anytime soon.

If its just a grocery getter you want then the Jap stuff is good. For a lot of people a car is no different than a lawn mower or some other necessary piece of equipment. All they want is something to get them there and w/o worrying about it. Buy it. Drive it. If its reliable thats all that matters.

 

[WPBCowboysFan]

Consumer Reports is great for vacuum cleaners and washers and dryers. A car imo is not an appliance although CR would have you believe that it is. If A to B is your gig than I guess Honda and Toyota will satisfy that need. The Japs are great copiers and are great at nailing down the assembly line process for quality control. Outside of that they could never come up with an original idea amongst the lot of them.

I hear ya. Growing up at the tail end of the muscle car era makes it hard for me to adpat to the concept of a 4 door Accord or Camry, no matter how maintenance free they are.

Even thru the lean years for the Big 3 you still had Z-28's and Trans Am's, IROC's, Mustangs, Vettes, and then in the mid 90's the SS Impala.

American cars are still the way to go!

 

[StarMan2112]

If its just a grocery getter you want then the Jap stuff is good. For a lot of people a car is no different than a lawn mower or some other necessary piece of equipment. All they want is something to get them there and w/o worrying about it. Buy it. Drive it. If its reliable thats all that matters.

Sure, it's different for everyone as far as what's important to them in a car. For me, it's reliability and safety rating. Performance matters, but it's not a priority. I'm not gonna be racing anyone.