31st Dec 2008, 17:48

In the last 20 years our extended family has owned 12 imports and 16 domestics, all either bought new or with under 30,000 miles on them. Not a single import proved as reliable over time as any of the domestics. We'll stick with the proof. No more imports.

1st Jan 2009, 03:22

"It is totally unfair to compare "old faithful" cars from 15 - 21 years ago with more recent cars, because they are essentially different."

Not true, especially when all cars serve essentially the same purpose. As long as a car cranks each time, gives me few problems and performs satisfactorily I am okay no matter the vehicles age. That is why I kept the car so long, no need to trade a perfectly running vehicle.

"Even cars from the exact same brand will perform differently from three generations ago; they are far, far more complicated, but much safer and more efficient."

Once again this depends on the consumer. My gas costs were fairly low, along with repair and general maintenance bills. I don't purchase a car counting on having an accident and didn't have one for 21 years with this car. As far as I am concerned it was safe. Not a single time even after it was more than a decade old did it fail a state safety inspection, nothing else matters.

"Would you then buy a 20 year old car and keep it for life?"

I kept the car for 20+ years once again not counting on accidents but transporting me to my destinations when I needed it. If the same car was in production today I would not hesitate to buy it. In 2007, I spent $300 on tires and $46 on brakes. I cannot say this about ANY other car I have owned foreign or domestic.

"Not if you look up YouTube's clip of a UK "Fifth Gear" program that features an offset head-on between a '90 Volvo 7-series wagon with a tiny Renault Modus (smaller than a Toyota Echo) and find out that the Volvo driver would die, and the Modus driver would live, because of modern structural design."

Driving is a risk in any car, new or old. One can drive a brand new vehicle, have a tire blow out, flip a car, hit a tree, get hit or whatever else and die. I was t-boned in my 1987 car and walked away unscathed. One never knows what he may encounter when taking on the highway.

2nd Jan 2009, 07:28

I have owned Accords, Legends and TL models quite a few. The consensus in our family is to sell before the warranty is over. The economy can be lost if you get hit with many parts that need replaced. Especially Acuras not an economy model with 93 octane needs and even just routine wear items... price new headlight bulbs (should replace in pairs) for a real shocker and a brand new set of 4 tires alone for openers.

2nd Jan 2009, 12:52

Modern structural design doesn't always work either. A dear friend of ours died when her new Honda's "crumple zones" crumpled all the way back into the passenger compartment and killed her. The vehicle she hit (a domestic pickup truck) was driven home, the driver uninjured.

2nd Jan 2009, 22:50

No 20-year-old vehicle can be realistically compared to a new one. Japanese vehicles have plummeted like a rock in quality in the past decade (though my 80's imports were far from reliable). Newer domestics long ago surpassed the overall reliability and value per dollar of imports.

While driving home from a restaurant today (in our domestic car) we actually saw a mid 80's Toyota. My wife, who is also very much a car enthusiast, commented on how odd it was to see a 25+ year old Japanese car. That is really pretty rare here, while 30-year-old domestics (especially Ford and GM trucks) are present in huge numbers. My wife said "Well, I guess that says something about Japanese cars". I agree. Our 1984 and 1990 Japanese imports have been rusting in a junkyard for well over a decade now.

3rd Jan 2009, 11:27

"No 20-year-old vehicle can be realistically compared to a new one. Japanese vehicles have plummeted like a rock in quality in the past decade (though my 80's imports were far from reliable). Newer domestics long ago surpassed the overall reliability and value per dollar of imports."

Domestic vehicles are still for the large part sub-par in the quality department. I would be hard pressed spending my money on one. Any 20 year old vehicle that is running and on the road can compare to a new one. My mother's 2004 Accord has had not ONE problem other than tires, oil changes. Our 1995 Nissan pickup has 211K miles and still begging for more. Can't say the same about my dad's 2001 GMC Sierra pickup, which has been in the service department numerous times for weird and nagging problems.

I had my 20 year old car on the road as a daily driver until it was t-boned by a 16-year old driver. That car has been FAR more reliable than ANY American car I have owned. I'm almost terrified even to think of buying American again. I was given a top trim level Chevy Cobalt to drive. The hard, brittle plastic on the dash, cheap feeling leather, small seating capacity and not-so-great fuel economy left me more solid in my decision to not buy American and stick with something designed to provide long-term quality and dependability. Not to mention the resale value of domestics which plummets to nothing in only a couple of years.

The only Japanese vehicles falling in quality are those that are manufactured in the U.S. by people who are in it only for the pay. That is why the Big 3 has been hurting, they are paid too much and take too little pride in their work. If they stopped just "throwing something together" they would be in a far more competitive position to weather a crisis. Stop short-changing people, Ford, GM, Chrysler! Domestics still have many miles to go in the quality and reliability department. When they catch up, I MAY consider them. Until then, I'll stick with Nissan.

"While driving home from a restaurant today (in our domestic car) we actually saw a mid 80's Toyota. My wife, who is also very much a car enthusiast, commented on how odd it was to see a 25+ year old Japanese car."

They probably are more rare here because production and sales were really just taking off in the 1980's, people were skeptical. Not nearly as many Japanese cars were made then as there are today. Toyota probably sales nearly as many Camry's each year as there were models being sold altogether (Honda, Nissan, Toyota) in the U.S. then.

"That is really pretty rare here, while 30-year-old domestics (especially Ford and GM trucks) are present in huge numbers.'

Yes, they are still present, still gas guzzlers, still polluting our air and still being patched up to be put on the road when they should be retired. The trucks were probably the only reliable domestic vehicles made. My grandmother's 1985 Pontiac Bonneville actually used to die on the middle of the highway for no apparent reason, and she bought it brand new! Yes, she maintained and babied the vehicle then as she does with her cars today.

"My wife said "Well, I guess that says something about Japanese cars". I agree. Our 1984 and 1990 Japanese imports have been rusting in a junkyard for well over a decade now."

My 1987 car had not a single speck of rust on it, not a blemish, stain or spot anywhere in the interior and crank every time the key turned. My sister's 1988 Nissan Maxima was driven daily for 15 years until she gave it to her teenage driver who took it to college and put her all the way through. Now my sister has the car back and uses it primarily for trips around town, giving her no problems at all other than burning a little more oil than desired.

You and your wife obviously bought into the myth that "imports solve all your problems. You'll never have to do any maintenance at all on it." That is not true, sir. Like any car, if not maintained well, will end up in the junkyard like yours have. Imports are simple, you take care of them, they'll take care of you. That is not the case with domestics. No matter how well you try to take care of it, it soon will fall apart before your eyes. Take it from a skeptic to a now convinced believer that imports are far better cars than domestics. Our next car will be the new Nissan Maxima. We plan on buying it in the summer of 2010 or early 2011!