8th Sep 2009, 09:00
I also had low mileage issues except my Honda got towed to the dealer with blown transmissions. It was warrantied, but still it's a hassle waiting for the AAA and waiting on the expressway.
8th Sep 2009, 10:34
First maybe you should know where the parts in your car are actually made.
If you think that your "domestic" car is actually manufactured using parts built here in the USA, think again.
Let's take the most "patriotic" of all domestic vehicles - the Jeep Wrangler for example - when the Wrangler was introduced for the 1987 model year the standard transmission was made by Peugeot. That transmission was proven to be very troublesome and it was replaced by a Japanese transmission, the same transmission used in some Toyota trucks.
I love my Jeep Wrangler. I am also proud of the fact that it was manufactured (or should I say assembled) in Toledo, Ohio. But it is not 100% domestic. Vehicles are global now, American car companies own percentages of non-American companies and vice versa.
Even GM & Toyota had a joint program where they assembled Toyotas & Geos in California a decade or so ago.
To dislike your neighbor or think that they are less of a "patriot" than you because they drive an "imported car" is just short-sighted.
Get over it, please.
8th Sep 2009, 19:16
"I guess their definition of patriotism is NOT the same as mine"
I really don't understand how destroying the jobs and lives of American workers can be defined as "patriotic" by any stretch of the imagination.
9th Sep 2009, 08:46
I really don't understand how supporting lame business practices by lame large corporations, just to save your little corner of the world for a little while longer, is patriotic. If we were all patriotic, we'd let these big businesses that are sandbagging our economy, using tax money to survive, go down the tubes so newer better companies could emerge and America can get back on track to being the super power it once was.
There is a tough change coming on the horizon for ALL of us, but dragging this out for months or years longer and avoiding the reality that is staring us down, is not going to help anything. To define patriotism as self preservation instead of doing what's best for future generations is the most unpatriotic thing there is. There is and always will be free trade, and imported goods have infiltrated every aspect of our lives. Why would you shun foreign cars and then go and buy your Sony flat panel TV like it is nothing? We need to get back into the game here, and we need to be a viable producing country again plain and simple...and not just in the auto business. Is it going to be easy and pain free? NO!! But living in a dream world where everything will go away if we just buy a Chevy doesn't make much sense, and it won't make anything any better.
Plus, like others have stated, every brand has partnered with a foreign company at one time or another. Chrysler wouldn't even exist if it weren't for Daimler...and now Fiat. Ford and Mazda have been in joint ventures for decades as have GM and Toyota. Plus GM and Ford have each owned different foreign brands, so not buying some brands means you are still not supporting the big three. It has become such a mixed bag these days; how do you really tell which car is completely domestic and which is completely foreign? It is tough to do.
9th Sep 2009, 20:16
"Why would you shun foreign cars and then go and buy your Sony flat panel TV like it is nothing"
Our last Sony TV lasted two years. That was just slightly less time than our one (and ONLY) Honda lasted before being sold to a junk dealer. We buy NOTHING that is not manufactured by an AMERICAN BASED company now. (yes, some of the stuff is ASSEMBLED elsewhere, but the taxes and profits go HERE, not to Japan). How any person can cheer the destruction of U.S. industry and dare to tell people they are an "American" is beyond me.
10th Sep 2009, 08:06
I am suggesting take the viewpoint to retain as much local industry and manufacturing jobs in each of our respective communities. It is more than just cars. In my own family none of us are in car related fields, but are affected by loss of business overseas. Maybe some on here are perhaps knowledgeable about the terms downsized, forced unpaid furloughs, loss of quality of life in communities. If I buy domestic made products, could be from a local bakery down the street vs. ordering imported sweets, it might keep the lights on and keep some of my neighbors working. The streets of my once great downtown district have many empty shops because of lack of business. Fortunately there is low crime and not drug related caused, but there are a lot of people I know out of work. Educated, having trouble finding a job and kids just out of college taking menial jobs. I cannot justify buying a couple new imports and putting them in my driveway. They may run OK and be cheap to get around, but there are too many people that makes that an alternative viable for us. Buy what you like, and that's not propaganda, only a viewpoint we have that we feel is worth mentioning.
10th Sep 2009, 13:52
First off, not buying a "import" car does not make someone un-American. It does make them a wise shopper to disperse their funds on things that will last long-term.
For the person who says their Sony TV and Honda vehicle lasted only a short period, I do not believe it. It is a deep determination on his/her part not to buy foreign products. Really, our companies, many of them anyway, have put themselves in the predicament they are in. Stop producing inferior products then boosting the price on them and then complain when consumers complain they are being ripped off. In the car market the reason the US fails is because they are constantly changing, confusing customers. They especially like to change a formula that is working just fine. Why change a best-selling Ford Taurus into the Five Hundred? What is a "Five Hundred?" The Escort sold many more models than most vehicle produced, why was it turned into the Focus and only few improvements made over the course of its production? Why bill a 2010 Ford Mustang as "all-new" when in fact, it is not "all-new?" Customers are familiar with not only brand name recognition, but specific model names.
I do not feel it is my duty to support an industry that is confused by what it is trying to do. Constant change to me sends the message the company is confused and does not know how to address customer needs. Until all US car companies make up their mind whether or not they want to produce a dependable, long-standing name-plate that earns recognition, I will continue to buy imported makes.
8th Sep 2009, 06:36
Sorry, I wanted to support American product and bought a Ford Focus. It is now sitting DEAD in my driveway with 8,000 miles on it as I wait for it to be dragged to the dealer for fixing. This is why I should have stuck with Honda or Toyota. There is no excuse for a dead car at 8,000 miles. I have NEVER had any issue with any import I have driven.
Yes, I know "these things happen", but it doesn't make me feel any better about my purchase right now. Since it won't take a jump, I am not sure what it could be, but being stranded is being stranded. This is more of a threat to my job than buying an import, since things are very tense there and taking unscheduled days off is an unfavorable thing these days. I will probably be switching back to imports, as I just need to get to work in the morning with no issues!