24th Feb 2009, 09:28
"Rarely do foreign makers sell the same product under different names."
Guess you haven't heard about Acura, Lexus and Infiniti eh? They are mostly re-badged cars under a premium name just like Cadillac is to Chevy. I know there are differences between Nissan and Infiniti, etc... but it is the same idea as Chevy to Cadillac... My Honda Accord is built on the Acura RL platform as most of the other cars share the same parts as well.
I do agree that the car companies in the U.S. made their bed mostly in the 70's and 80's with absolute junk that you could basically watch rusting in your driveway. Honda and Toyota came along and built much better cars back then, causing the major following they still have today. The big three did nothing to counter this movement, and concentrated on SUV's in the later 80's and 90's as their "cash cows" because the profits are so unbelievably high on them. So instead of competing with a better product, they created a new one that was just meant to fatten their wallets.
Then the foreign car companies got on the SUV bandwagon with better products once again... history repeats itself. The difference is, the foreign cars have good products to fall back on when things change. The US had a strong following in the SUV market because they were the first to sell them in a vast amount, but now that SUV's aren't the thing to buy, they are out of luck. Poor management and poor planning for decades has led to this... not the past year's decline in the economy. Now they need tax money to get bailed out, so I guess we are all buying that Chevy we don't really want, whether we like it or not, and we don't even get to take it home!
As for me, I don't have any loyalties to foreign or domestics, and I have had both with good luck and bad. My best car to date was a Cavalier Z-24, and the worst was a tie between a Nissan Maxima and an Olds Cutlass. The Cutlass was used, however, so the Maxima really wins as the worst due to it being brand new when I bought it.
24th Feb 2009, 10:45
"I'm still tapping my foot, unconvinced of the reasons I should buy from a U.S.-based company. I will buy what seems to me to be the better car. The two Nissans I have owned have been far more reliable than my domestics have. I am going to list some reasons the American auto industry has failed itself."
You'll have plenty of foot-tapping time when the entire U.S. economy folds because of people who "see no reason to buy from a U.S. based company". With 85% of U.S. jobs (probably including YOURS) tied in some way to the U.S. auto industry the entire country will go bankrupt if even ONE of the "Big Three" fold. Maybe you can find a job in Japan.
24th Feb 2009, 16:27
My worst resale ever was Acura TL, but that was due to the Carfax reporting all the transmissions I went through, and I am sure others know what Car Fax means... you get beat down when they see all the repairs reported.
25th Feb 2009, 01:29
I agree with the previous commenter on most points, however, there are a few I must refute.
"Guess you haven't heard about Acura, Lexus and Infiniti eh? They are mostly re-badged cars under a premium name just like Cadillac is to Chevy. I know there are differences between Nissan and Infiniti, etc... but it is the same idea as Chevy to Cadillac... My Honda Accord is built on the Acura RL platform as most of the other cars share the same parts as well."
By looking at an Acura RL and a Honda Accord, one does not immediately see similarities. They are similar mostly in engine choices and chassis. The only rebadged offering Infiniti has that is the same as a Nissan is the QX45 SUV. The G37 and 370Z are similar but they are tweaked differently, besides, the base prices are running nearly neck and neck. Lexus has the LX470, Toyota, the Land Cruiser but they are both extremely expensive in the first place.
"Poor management and poor planning for decades has led to this... not the past year's decline in the economy. Now they need tax money to get bailed out, so I guess we are all buying that Chevy we don't really want, whether we like it or not, and we don't even get to take it home!"
Good point! So in essence, I AM supporting the domestic auto market though I prefer foreign names!
"As for me, I don't have any loyalties to foreign or domestics, and I have had both with good luck and bad. My best car to date was a Cavalier Z-24, and the worst was a tie between a Nissan Maxima and an Olds Cutlass. The Cutlass was used, however, so the Maxima really wins as the worst due to it being brand new when I bought it."
I'm sorry for your experience with Nissan Maxima. Mine that I had brand new and drove 21 years was BY FAR the best car I have ever owned and helped my decision to stay with imports. It was totaled last year and in fact, I will buy another one next year, the 2010. I have a 2004 Nissan Sentra with over 110K miles, NOT A SINGLE issue. I also own a '99 Chevy S-10 pickup that has not had any issues yet (knock on wood), I had a '96 though that had a problem virtually every week and was a hunk of junk.
24th Feb 2009, 01:29
I'm still tapping my foot, unconvinced of the reasons I should buy from a U.S.-based company. I will buy what seems to me to be the better car. The two Nissans I have owned have been far more reliable than my domestics have. I am going to list some reasons the American auto industry has failed itself.
1. Badge engineering: everyone knows what this is and sane-thinking people wonder why they should spend fifteen-thousand more dollars for a Lincoln Navigator or Cadillac Escalade when they can buy practically the same vehicle in the form of a Ford Expedition/Chevy Tahoe. Rarely do foreign makers sell the same product under different names.
2. Selling an inferior product for so many years, then when they realize they are losing a majority of the market share to foreign auto makers, try to improve. The big three are a day late and a dollar short. It's only a matter of time before Chrysler phases out production.
3. Poor resale value. Why purchase a Cadillac DTS when in two years it will be worth roughly half of the original purchase price?
4. Product recognition. Notice that Honda and Toyota have stuck with names such as "Camry" and "Accord" names which people are familiar with and associate with quality, dependability and durability. Ford has trashed successful nameplates like "Taurus" in favor of Five Hundred. Where the heck did Ford come up with such a name. Not only that, the models are blandly styled, do not stand out at all and are rarely sought when shopping. Ford Escort was popular for many years, why change the name. Why change minivan names from Aerostar to Windstar to Freestar (which basically was a Windstar with a name change.)
5. Redesigns. Why have Ford Crown Vic, Lincoln Town Car, Mercury Grand Marquis, Lincoln Navigator, Ford Expedition not seen redesigns other than "freshenings" in the past decade? They think it saves money, but it costs them when they continuously sell the same product year after year with fairly minimal changes. Whey would I buy a 2009 Navigator when it looks much the same as a 1998? What's sad is that GMC/Chevy made their Safari/Astro vans from 1985-2005 with almost NO changes. Mid-cycle, 1995 brought a face lift and interior tweaking. Ford's Ranger pickup has not had a true redesign since the 1993 season.
6. Lack of uniqueness. GM back in the early 1990's made a half-hearted attempt to capture minivan sales with the introduction of the Lumina van, Trans Sport and Silhouette. First off, the vans were ugly, hence the nickname "dustbuster." This clumsy lurch into the market haunted them the entire production run of nearly two decades despite name changes and redesigns.
These are just a few reasons our auto industry is needing OUR tax dollars to keep their heads above the water a while longer. In my opinion it's just a waste. Six months from now they'll be back in the same boat. I see no reason in buying from U.S. automakers. Until these companies become more competitive with foreign automakers, I think I'll stick with Nissan.