Automotive Forums

Everyday that I log on to this site, I'm amazed at just how many problems that are posted for foreign cars and trucks. I've seen all the people debate these vehicles against American brands but you know what, It just doesn't hold up! Even if you think they last a little longer just look at what you pay to fix them! Parts are often 2 to 3 times more expensive, partially from more of them being a "dealer item" only. Did I mention the "rust and corrosion" problems too, far more than any American cars or trucks that I've seen. The unfortunate thing is, most people never check out a particular model before they buy it and buy on emotion, how it looks, the color and a lot of other worthless items that don't mean a thing on how long it will run. You can find just as many so called "lemons " with both. However, with all things being equal oterwise, I will always select an American brand, built here. I can tell you far more true stories of American cars running with unbeliveable high milage than any foreign car I ever worked on. Trust me on this, I'm  a retired car and truck mechanic with over 40 years experiance and still repair family vehicles, both foreign and american. I'll take an American one every time because I picked them carefully. I also remember the fact that I live here,I worked here, I got payed here and the fact that I'm a United States citzen, doing the best I can to support all the rest of you who don't think so highly of our country anymore! Hey, Your Job Could Be The Next One Cut, WATCH OUT !  

Nissan, Toyota, Mazda, Mercedes, etc... all have plants here in the U.S.  Ford, GM & Chrysler are all partnered with japanese manufacturers and provide everything from relays to drivetrains.  Picking a 'domestic' auto over a 'foreign' one just means most of your parts will have 'made in <latin american country>' stamped on everything instead of 'made in <asian country>'.  

I own a mazda 626...its the same engine as a ford probe....the new ford fusion? based on the mazda 6 platform. Ford Focus? uses mazda's 2.3 liter engine from the mazda 3. thats just mazda's as an example. If American cars are so much better, how come they loose their value so quickly, steal and outsource ideas and parts from foreign cars? I must admit though GM has not impressed me in recent years, but ford seems to be getting back on track with what the consumer wants in america and seem to be improving their engineering and quality. Dodge what ever you call it...have great engines but their bodies suck. GM engineers their cars so you have to take them to a dealer..try changing the spark plug wires on an f body....it took me an hour.  

I understand what you guys are saying and I do belive that you are right, to a certain extent. With all the buyouts and mergers that have happened with all the American and Foreign makes, you are now buying a little of each in most models and that will likely to continue.

 HERES WHERE IT ALL STARTED !

  Heres an example on what I said earlier. Can you show me anywhere, anywhere in the world for that matters, some 1955 to 1970 Foreign cars? Most are gone, because of rust! You certainly will find next to none running the streets of the U.S. with the exception of a few topshelf, expensive models. I can't tell you how many American cars that are out here and yes, many overseas! In Cuba you will see tons of 50's to 70,s American cars still running around and hardly a Foreign car or truck.

  Someone on this site once said, its the American workers lousy quality but yet these are the same workers building Foreign cars here, so that doesn't hold up. So you think its the engineering then, well I can tell you just as many "horror stories" of that so called "better engineering" that would make your head spin! Talk about ease to sevice, well if you run a "4-Banger" in anything it should be easy to service, put a V-6 Or a V-8 in it and thats another story, especially with the Foreign makes. Don't get me wrong, we got some tough ones in American cars to. So the service ability may seem easier in a Foreign car because you got tons more of '4-Bangers there. Not much more to say on that issue!

  So it all comes down to the overall duribilty. So if your foreign car rusts out faster, is that not part of the durabilty issue? Fact is, Foreign cars and trucks do not survive as well as American cars do. Go crawl under a 6 to 10 years anything American and foriegn built and see for yourself, the American car will win hands down! With that said, then explain to me this, as I stated earlier. Does the Foreign car and truck last, overall, lets say, 50 percent longer? If you think so thats fine but justify why parts cost 2 to 3 times more on most of them.

  So, wheres the advantage to all of this, if so many times there isn't a "dollar advantage" to that. Just like I said, there are good and bad models to both, carefully picking them is your job, hey, it's your money!

  So with so many "self educated" customers out there making probably the second largest purchase they will make, why are so many stupid in spending their hard earned money foolishly?

  Lets face it, when Foreign cars and trucks first came here they were cheaper, just what the average American wanted, "Cheap"! They didn't ask what it cost to fix them, they wanted "Cheap"! They took them in to get fixed and payed more to fix them than American makes but some how they still felt ahead of the game. All along, they were just "cutting of their nose in spite of their face" because they were just doing a little more to do away with their on jobs. That was "OK" with them because all they thought about was "cheap" for them and didn't care at all about anyone else, just themselves, and they never gave it another thought about what they were buying, quality or otherwise! Didn't really investigate any models, just wanted "Cheap" So with about 30% of the U.S. economy revolving around the American trasportation business, they help to do away with a lot of good paying U.S. jobs, but they wanted "Cheap" So now when you or your wife and kids look for jobs you find more "Wal-mart" type low paying jobs, because you wanted "cheap" and "cheap" wages is what you get!. But now, your "foreign" cars, whether buit here or over seas, are no longer "Cheap". Go check what you can buy and compare it to American car with similar feature, guess what. American prices are now "cheap" compared to most Foreign! So now you want "Cheaper", and now your going to get cars from China,"Cheaper"!
and do away with some more American jobs, get lower wages again, so now you will have to buy "Cheaper"

  Most of you will "Bitch" about, "I can't get a good paying job", Gee, I wonder why!  

so a chevy cavalier or a ford taurus will put on just as many miles as say a honda accord or a toyota corolla or a mazda 626? I don't think so man...that is just stupid to say that all american cars are better than everyone elses autos in the whole world. I am a part of serval mazda boards...members commonly get upwards of 350k using synthetic oils on these cars. I have never seen or heard of a cavilar or taurus with more than say 200k. America is better at bigger engines such as v-8's because that is what we have the most experience with. However, our 4's and 6's are blown away in performance and reliability by the japanese and germans...sorry its true. Not saying american automobiles suck...just american cars in general...trucks, suv's different story...but hey you asked about cars.  

Folks tend to ignore that many foreign models are made in Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Texas and South Carolina (read link). If the consumer wishes to purchase a UAW made vehicle, they will have to go to the Big Three. Like it or not, we're living in a Wal-Mart world.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20051123/news_1b23gm.html  

I Don't think you payed much attention on what I wrote. I didn't say ALL American cars were better! I didn't even mention ANY particular model, So how are you getting Cavalier, Taurus, mazda, honda out of what I said? You have failed at reading exactly what I said in both post above.

 I said "pick and choose" what you buy, do a little research, don't make a "blanket *** if its foreign its better!

 I did say that if you thought a foreign car or truck lasted, lets say 50% more as far as running, is that worth it if parts still cost you 2-3 times more because so many are "Dealer Item " only! Wheres the value of that? I did say most are "Rust Buckets" and American cars beat them hands down there.  

AMEN TO THAT.  My last 2 cars have been GMC and I have done nothing but put in gas and oil changes for five years. (Envoy and a Safari)  

Foriegn cars that are actually made somewhere other than america are always going to be better than american cars ... the simple truth is that americans stink at building cars, and i'm not saying that because i'm some kind of pinko america-hater, it's just the truth. Subarus, Volvos, BMW's, and older non-american Toyotas and Hondas are always going to be better than american cars. I had a '91 Subaru Legacy a while back that had 270,000 miles on it and was rusted all to heck, and ran like a dream. It finally became so rusted it was no longer safe, but it ran great right to the end and required almost no maintenance or repair. The only exception to this rule would be Hyundai and KIA cars, which are the worst cars on the planet, which is why they're so cheap. Mazda, by the way, is made in america just like the rest of 'em, they're owned by Ford and run Ford engines and use Ford parts, so to the guy on the Mazda board; they're not any more foriegn that Ford is. Some american cars are better than others, Dodges and Jeeps tend to be good. I drive a Dodge because I don't have the money for a more expensive foriegn car, and it's a pretty solid car, I haven't had many problems.  

Good arguments from both parties. From the foreign vehicle viewpoint, they do last longer on average than a domestic. I live in the south where everyone drives domestic trucks, and Ill tell you what most of them are now selling their domestic trucks and buying foreign. Nissan and Toyota make some of the best trucks out there. Hands down. However I did have a Chevy Monte Carlo and I ran that thing up to 288,000 miles. So domestics CAN last long, but this is not the norm. Also, foreign trucks get much better fuel economy on average. The thing about the dealer only thing. Thats not necessarily true. As a "Parts Pro" at Advance Auto Parts, I've sent just as many people to the dealer for a Chevy as I have for a Toyota. So take it for what it's worth but I would much rather have a Ford body with a Toyota motor.  

I have had two Toyota motors blow head gaskets on me. I have never had a problem with an American motor. I also dont know where you got your info on Nissan and Toyota getting better gas mileage than American trucks. Last time I checked, the Chevy Silverado beat the Tundra and Titan by 1mpg. I know 1mpg isnt much but it tells me that they are pretty even.  

I think American cars have made a lot of progress in the last 10 years or so.  I have driven a Ford Ranger, Toyota Truck, Isuzu Rodeo, Nissan Pathfinder and now a Toyota 4Runner. The Toyota truck was a '91 and was a great truck except it needed brakes every 12 months since all the weight was in the front of the truck and wore out all the time. Once it hit 100,000 miles I had issues with the A-arms, steering, water pump went out, seals started to crack, I had already had the head gasket replaced due to a long term recall when I got it and it was now costing me $500 every time I brought it into the shop for a repair.  I liked that truck but the repairs ended up driving me to lease cars so I always had a warranty. My Rodeo never stayed in alignment, no matter what, but other than that it was great. The Pathfinder I had the seat replaced since it burned up the electric motor, the car made whining noises in the transmission and the dealer told me it was normal, not quite but it was a lease so I didn't care much, but the best part is every month or so the truck would not start on the first one or tow cranks, just cranked and cranked.  I would wait 5 minutes, then it would start.  Embarrasing yes, but not my idea of reliability, especially being brand new! My 4runner already has a major squeak in the back seat, vibrations in the brake pedal (I guess this is from the engine and can't be fixed) and you can't see the controls on the A/C in the day since the lights are so faint.  Sorry guys but Toyota is starting to take thier reputation for granted. I am looking forward to getting another American car next time.  

I HOPE NO-ONE FALLS 4 THE FOREINERS STORY ABOUT THE BANK ACCOUNT AND MONEY .THIS IS a scam!watch out!  

watch out 4 colifer  sounds fishy