26th May 2011, 14:53

That is arguable, and the cars in question are often times made in Canada, Germany, Mexico, and the US with lots of parts from all of the above, plus China, Brazil, Hungary, and so on. I'll happily keep driving my superior, American-Made Toyota, thank you.

26th May 2011, 19:59

Gee a part falls apart at 145K miles and it is a big deal? Plus, $1,000?!?! You need a new mechanic!

26th May 2011, 20:01

Our government not only gave money to GM, they still own part of GM. Why does everyone keep forgetting that? GM paid off government "loans" with more government loans. In effect they paid themselves back! Great business model to be supporting there! I'll stick to imports thanks. At least they know how to run a business.

27th May 2011, 16:27

I never have understood why Americans want to destroy American jobs. It seems very counter-productive. Putting a million workers out of business would have caused a major depression in this country. That would have been a disaster for everyone.

As for GM, they are now making huge profits, outselling Toyota worldwide as of this year, and building a far better product. 22 MILLION recalls hardly speaks "quality" for Toyota. That is more cars than some car makers have built in their entire history!! And yes, GM has repaid the loans. Check the facts.

A test of the new Chevy Cruze Eco today stated that they got 48.5 mpg on the highway portion of the test. And that is in a non-hybrid car that doesn't cost a small fortune. GM is definitely a force to be reckoned with, second now only to Ford, and light years ahead of anything from Japan. Even Chrysler is now turning a profit, employing tens of thousands more Americans and building extremely high-quality vehicles such as the new 200, 300, Charger, Challenger and Durango. Blind allegiance to foreign companies due to ad hype does little to help our country. Buying American does.

28th May 2011, 11:34

I can't say the same for my Cobalt, I find new faults and defects in it every day. Sticker price was 24000, glad I didn't pay that much. I wish I had spent a few more pennies and got the Cruze or a Civic. My car has only 3600 km's, I've taken good care of her, and you'd swear it's at least 3 years old...

28th May 2011, 13:47

"I'll stick to imports thanks" good for you, nobody is asking you to change. Stick with your imports and let domestic buyers enjoy their vehicles instead of going back and forth with pointless arguments. Just because domestics failed you, doesn't mean they fail everybody else. Same goes for imports, they are no better these days either.

28th May 2011, 16:52

GM is like a communist company. Only communist companies can lose billions over the course of 25 years and still be in business because of government intervention. I thought the U.S. was a capitalist company where if you can't compete, you go out of business. I guess that's not true in the case of GM.

Like Toyota is the only company that has ever had problems. Why is it that GM's problems should all be forgotten, forgiven, and Toyota should be crucified? GM is far from perfect, and nowhere near where Ford is right now. Toyota still makes the number one selling car of all time, the Corolla, but I guess that doesn't matter because the Cruze is 100% perfect in its six month run. Toyota is a well run company, and they are still a force to be reckoned with in the business of GLOBAL car production, where parts, and assembly is all over the world from all car companies.

30th May 2011, 09:51

"GM is like a communist company"

We have come to a sad state of affairs indeed when ad hype from foreign companies has convinced our own citizens that providing jobs for American citizens is "communist"!!

30th May 2011, 11:00

I think you are going a little too far in calling GM a "Communist Company". Yes it is true they have made their mistakes, and yes it is true they took government money in the form of a loan and bailout, but they are not the only one's who have made mistakes. In their defense, at least they have not needed 2 bailouts like Chrysler...

30th May 2011, 12:15

Are you serious?

First of all, how American is Chrysler anyways? Ignore it all you want, BUT Chrysler is 50% Italian owned, therefore foreign.

Second of all, all the "high" quality vehicles you mentioned from Chrysler are ALL Canadian made, therefore foreign made.

30th May 2011, 14:04

Canadian made is not foreign, it's on the same continent the last I checked. I don't consider my U.S. built Cobalt foreign.

30th May 2011, 17:51

Anything non-US is considered foreign. If you need a passport to visit the factory your car was built at, it is a foreign plant.

31st May 2011, 10:35

No, we have really come to a sad state of affairs when people are willing to look the other way when it comes to completely incompetent companies that they continue to support, thinking they are saving the country!

I have supported GM enough. I have paid my taxes and they "borrowed" them in order to survive. When it comes to actually buying a car? Well, I would rather have something that is reliable that won't cost me yet more money to keep running. I'll stick with Ford and various imports for my vehicles. I don't make my major purchasing decisions based on saving or not saving someone else's job. When was the last time someone went out of their way to save your job? Yeah, that's never happened to me either!

31st May 2011, 15:09

People seem to have a lot of trouble understanding that government loans to auto companies are, and have been, some of the best investments the U.S. government has ever made with our tax dollars. Chrysler is a good example. In the early 80's many people were opposed to a "bailout" (loan) to Chrysler. The result of the loan was renewed economic growth, incredible new vehicles (such as the original mini-van) and tens of thousands of jobs saved and/or created in the U.S. auto industry. Every penny of government money was repaid WITH INTEREST. The benefit to the taxpayer was huge.

Now it's 2011 and Chrysler just repaid yet ANOTHER loan, while opening new U.S. plants and providing thousands of new jobs just when they are most needed. GM has repaid its loan, and has provided or saved hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs. In addition, most auto reviewers are in agreement that both GM and Chrysler are both building products on a par with anything in the world. GM's Buick has been swapping places as the world's best car with Lexus for over a decade, until Ford toppled both of them this year. In 2007 the Pontiac Grand Prix was rated best large sedan, ahead of the Toyota Avalon. GM has never had anything to apologize for, and certainly doesn't in today's market.

1st Jun 2011, 10:31

They would agree on INITIAL and short-term quality. Long term it's a totally different story. But long story short, if Buick were truly better than Lexus... how come I barely see any of them on the road, while I see tons and tons of Lexus cars? At least out here in California I barely see any new Buicks. I would agree that Buicks are better than they were 10 years ago. But they're still not up to speed with Lexus, Acura, or Audi. At the most they're adequate. They're still badge-engineering too, because the Buick Regal is simply a rebadged Opel imported from Germany. It's not even an American car.

In regards to Ford, well again - I'll believe it when I see it. So far I have yet to meet anyone with a Ford Fusion that has run for 250,000 miles and 10 years without a problem. Oh - and by the way, the Ford Fusion is imported too, and is built on a Mazda platform. Pontiac was discontinued. Comparing a Grand Prix to an Avalon is a joke anyway. Comparing a shoddily built, plasticy, squeaky Grand Prix to a superior built, well-made Avalon is a joke in of itself. My brother has a 14 year old Avalon that was 200% better than the brand-new Grand Prix I rented a few years back.