I've begun limiting my purchases to cars made in South Korea and Alabama.
The big 3 musta sent some HUGH donations to the DimNC as the MSM is just raving over the Big 3!!!
We have a 2001 Dodge Caravan and Chrysler was already telling us in 2005 that certain very routine parts and manuals were Out Of Stock. Screw 'em.
They lost this war back in the early 80's.
Detroit is busy trying to figure out how to make a feminized girly man muscle car with a neutered engine.
THEN try and market it into success.
There are too many left wing politically correct brain deficient suits in the corporate tower for them to ever get out of the stupid box.
Unfortunately for them, American carmakers are now reaping what they sowed in the 1960s and 1970s by utilizing planned obsolescense as their chief design principle. Because of that, the image of most American cars---true or not---is "ugly and will break down and leave me stranded."
What a curious way to phrase that. So, there is only a 5% difference in satisfaction level, hence the story is not really that important.
That 5% difference is we old goats who remember the exploding Pintos and Fieros,the Corvair (Yes, I had one), the Ford 3.8 V6 with self-dissolving head gaskets, GM V-8's that had pressed-in rocker studs, and other tributes to cost-driven "engineering".
ATTENTION AMERICANS (remember us?)
Why Be A Traitor--be a patriot, buy an American car for a change!
America (remember America?) was the world leader in industry, military, etc., etc. Why help them continue to bury us!
Get up on yer hind legs and act like Americans even if it is no longer PC to do so, even if you are not!
If that makes me biased, so be it.
On another car thread yesterday, I saw an interesting response where the poster said the automakers could save themselves if they would bring the styles of vehicles they are producing in Australia and Europe over here.
The whole trouble with the American auto industry comes down to one thing: the UAW.
I rented an Impala a year or so ago for a few days. It felt light weight, unstable and tinny, I was glad it wasn't mine. My '96 Dodge diesel pickup is a very good vehicle, though.
As a high schooler with a date, riding in a NYC subway train circa early 60's, we were accosted by a drunken passenger who, in his tirade, repeatedly called us: "God dam*** electricians". Apparently electricians were on his mind since there had recently been a strike in the city.
The irrationality of some Freepers reminds me of that fellow.
The problem with cars, is you get 1 chance to make a first impression....
Ford has been very good to me over the years.
Chrysler ... eh.
VW .... Supurb
Mazda .... eh
GM .... crap on a stick
Toyota ... good.
The only thing I say for certain about my next car purchase, it is very very very unlikely it will be a GM, I don't think all the marketing in the world will get me past a POS GM I bought... left me stranded at 2am in the middle of nowhere with an 11 day old son when its transmission dropped at 60k, after being in and out of the shop nearly weekly for 6 months... And yes this was a model that was supposed to be reliable according to the reviews.
I prefer to buy an american vehicle if I can, but due to that costly experience, about the only way I'd ever drive a GM is if they gave it to me, literally. If it proves reliable, I might buy another one in the future, but to date, I've learned my lesson on that one.
"Auto industry analysts say many people have the perception that cars made overseas are built better than American cars. But the performance of American-made cars is now actually very close to those made in Japan and higher than many cars made in Europe, they said. Foreign cars do have an advantage in resale value, however."
Misleading. Most "foreign" cars are actually made in the US. OTOH, some "American" cars are manufactured abroad.
Happiest day of ownership was when it was stolen and partially stripped. Unhappiest day was when the insurance company would not total it! Second happiest day was when it was stolen a second time! You guessed it, insurance had it repaired! I immediately traded it on a Honda. Never looked at another American car.
Maybe if Olds would take care of some of their crappy assembly, I'd reconsider...oh yeah except for that little thing about the company's demise.
The big three only need to embrace three things.
QUALITY,VALUE, AND RELIABILITY.
QUALITY: Means just that, no rusting out, no mechanical problems,no "cheap" parts.
VALUE: People will pay for quality and reliability because it offrs good value.
RELIABILITY: Nothing is more bothersome than a mechaical malfunction in the first 10 years. Really well made cars should (and do) hold up for 10 years and 200,000 miles.