10th Jul 2009, 16:43
My first car a 1950 Plymouth struck a telephone pole. No one was hurt and the engine was unscathed. My Hondas air bag triangle warning light came on from leaning on the door panel on corners. Hood dented just from sitting on our new Accord.
10th Jul 2009, 21:37
In the July 10, 2009 edition of USA Today, Pete De Lorenzo, editor of AutoExtremist.com stated of GM "They have some outstanding products, some of the best products in the industry. People JUST DON'T KNOW." (emphasis mine). This is SO TRUE. People refuse to bother themselves with learning the FACTS about modern automobiles. They blindly accept ad hype and blatantly biased magazine reviews rather than expending any real effort to TRULY "inform" themselves (as one obviously uninformed commenter put it).
11th Jul 2009, 02:55
12:59, I respect your opinion and am glad you feel that it's never too late but I do not share that sentiment. To date I have not had an import model that has let me down, starting with my Nissan bought new in 1987 and was driven the next two decades. My next Nissan was even less trouble, although build-quality had declined the second time around. Cars that have let me down (stranded, have had numerous issues) have been domestics.
11th Jul 2009, 13:52
I had a Datsun 280ZX 2 2+2 bought new. Had air conditioning failures, premature rust issues in short order. Expensive new, as was the insurance. The back seat helped somewhat on insurance. That was my last Nissan, then Datsun.
12th Jul 2009, 13:22
"Cars that have let me down (stranded, have had numerous issues) have been domestics."
In the past 30 years my wife and I have been stranded on the road only two times. Each time it was in a friend's late-model, nearly new Toyota (2 different times in 2 different Toyotas). Not one of our domestics has ever, in all those years left us stranded even once. For that reason we drive only American cars. We have also owned imports. They never left us stranded either, but the repair cost were outrageous and they did not hold up nearly as well as our domestics. We've driven several domestics well over 200,000 miles with no engine or transmission problems at all.
13th Jul 2009, 01:30
"That is why I have trouble understanding the claims that Japanese imports are built better."
Toyota Tundra is not an import. They are manufactured at the plant in San Antonio, TX. Besides, Mercedes-Benz is safer than all above mentioned vehicles. Also, Accord outscored Fusion in a recent road test looking for build quality, ownership cost and dependability. The Accord was cheaper to maintain over the long haul than was the Fusion. Fusion is not as great as some people make it out to be. It's nothing more than a wanna-be Mazda 6.
13th Jul 2009, 15:21
The Tundra is an import. Read Hondas issues on consumeraffairs.com and Consumer Reports. Also compare Crown Vics when discussing Fords.
14th Jul 2009, 12:37
Tundra is domestic. Domestic Toyotas VIN starts ususally with a "4". Honda has issues, all cars do but domestics are far more unpredicatable when it comes to this. Imports also were ranked as being more reasonably priced than domestics. Of all "overpriced" models, notice that none were imports. They also (imports) score higher in consumer reports.
14th Jul 2009, 13:03
What year Consumer Reports, as I have seen recommendations to the contrary. Toyota is a foreign import based mfr - I have seen more options and better warranty on our domestics. Price a new Tacoma and a new Ranger equivalent, and see what costs less for example.
14th Jul 2009, 13:42
Who owns Toyota...Japan or USA. there lies the insistence that any of their models are domestic. If a crown vic was made in canada does that. mean fords are imports?
14th Jul 2009, 19:29
"Also, Accord outscored Fusion in a recent road test looking for build quality, ownership cost and dependability"
When making such statements the citing of a SOURCE would be helpful. I suspect this "road test" was conducted by Honda. Consumer Reports (which is VERY Japanese-biased) even ranks Fusion higher in reliability than Accord.
Also, NO, the Tundra is not a DOMESTIC. It is a Japanese vehicle made in The U.S. by a tiny handful of Americans. Toyota is Japanese-owned and employs only about 3-4% of the people in the U.S. who work for auto-related industries. Again (as has been REPEATEDLY stated) buying anything other than a TRUE domestic (a vehicle built by an AMERICAN company) hurts 91% of the citizens of the U.S. who work in auto-related jobs. There is no way around this. Buy Japanese or German, help 9% of our people in the industry. Buy American help 91%. You're free to choose to hurt your fellow Americans, just admit it and not try to make up excuses.
15th Jul 2009, 08:27
Again, Toyota is an import, and read consumeraffairs.com.
16th Jul 2009, 11:55
Ford Ranger is a much, MUCH older and less technologically advanced vehicle than the Toyota Tacoma. The Ranger dates from 1993 while the much better Tacoma dates from the 2000's. You get what you pay for, and if I was looking for cheap, I'd buy a Ford Ranger, but for quality and a newer, better performing vehicle, I'd buy Tacoma.
Also, the Ranger is such a poor vehicle it doesn't make Recommended Buy lists and is rarely ranked, rated against similar vehicles in the class. Don't try as much as you like American, to make Ranger more than it is.
17th Jul 2009, 21:24
"I would like to see any Tacomas in the million mile club"
Me too. There is at least one Ford and one Cadillac I am aware of, but NO Japanese brands. The Million Mile Club requires that a vehicle go 1,000,000 miles with the original engine and transmission with NO rebuilds. No Japanese car or truck can do that. A Ford Ranger featured in Consumer Reports (October 2007) was well on its way to a million trouble-free miles. It was right at 500,000 miles with no problems.
18th Jul 2009, 00:53
Million mile club is nothing when patch-work is constantly being done on it just to keep it on the road. Sorry!
18th Jul 2009, 10:32
Look at the warranty to see if the mfr has confidence long term. I do not plan on any more issues with new Hondas.
18th Jul 2009, 11:31
READ THE COMMENTS. The Million Mile Club consists of vehicles having the ORIGINAL engine and transmission. NO major repairs. The Fords and Cadillacs in the Million Mile Club had only routine maintenance. No engines, no transmissions and no body work. The current late-model contender for Ford is a Ranger with over half a million miles and no repairs beyond routine maintenance. Not even the frame components on Japanese vehicles can last that long. No Honda, Toyota or Nissan will EVER make 1000,000 miles. They are DESIGNED to be disposable. The VERY FEW that actually make over 200,000 miles are flukes.
10th Jul 2009, 16:25
Check the reliability of used Mercedes versus Ford, and you may change your tune about the perceived superiority of German cars.