4th Oct 2011, 13:26

12:54 disagree with you there. I have had many new full size domestics from the 60's to the present, and they performed very well. Our best experiences were new full sizes with 350 V8 automatics with air conditioning. Today some of the styling may appear dated, but there are still very many on the road with very high mileage and great ride. In comparison I know of many 70-80s imports rusted out, high oil consumption, and disappeared to the junkyards. The full size sedans today can achieve 30 MPG plus with respectable HP as well with a nice ride. In the past I had no issue paying a bit more for fuel vs. repairs. Now the same sedans achieve over 30 MPG on the highway, and you aren't beat to death with the bouncy lane skipping rides.

5th Oct 2011, 14:00

I just love all the old wives tales on here. Story after story about how as if by magic, all the crappy old chunks of Detroit iron were these immaculate, squeaky-clean, perfect products that lasted for millions of miles without an oil change, and somehow, even though makes like Toyota and Honda have been on top of the quality list for years, and everyone knows it, they all went to the crusher as soon as they were driven off the lot.

I am not at all a believer in old wives tales. I believe in reality. Hence why I buy Toyotas.

6th Oct 2011, 01:01

Our 70's and 80's Fords and Chryslers were far more reliable and better built than our Japanese imports. The idea that older domestics were less reliable is an urban legend created by Japanese car manufacturers.

Also, no one can now claim that imports are better. J.D. Powers just ranked Ford as the most reliable car. In addition, Toyota sales continued to plummet in September and Ford and GM outsold them easily again. GM sales in the U.S. this year are running 50% higher than Toyota. Of course I can just hear the excuses now: "The Titanic was carrying Toyota parts and they are still having shortages"... yeah. SURE!!

6th Oct 2011, 08:29

The best indicator is drive a lot and see what's on the interstates. I see absolutely no sign of any of my 70's Toyotas, and you may see some late 80's about. I am a baby boomer and literally see many older people with domestics they bought new and have today. I have a 1970 Chevrolet myself at home. The full size V8s are everywhere.

It's not magic, it's right in front of your eyes. When is the last time you saw any 70's Toyotas at rush hour? How many Caprices, Delta 88s for example do you drive by daily? My parents and their friends are still driving theirs. Some are mint kept under carports and garages. Where are the garage kept Toyotas from the 70's?

6th Oct 2011, 11:01

When was the last time I saw a 70's Toyota/Datsun/Honda during rush hour traffic? Every day. I live in California where they have been sold longer and were more generally accepted quicker than the rest of the country.

Oh - and I know that all of my "Imports" were superior to all the "domestic" cars we owned, because we never owned any domestic cars, but since I said it online, it must be true.

6th Oct 2011, 12:26

There are many older so-called domestics being driven in small rural towns all over America. Go to any big city in America and you will see so-called imports are being driven by business class individuals. In almost all business districts and commercial area in the U.S.A. you will see many BMW's, Audi's, Porsche's, Lexus', Infinity's, Acuras, Honda's, Toyota's and Nissan's. They outnumber GM, Ford and Chrysler.

If you like driving imported domestics, why are you reading a review about a Camry, which is by the way, made in the U.S.A.

6th Oct 2011, 14:08

We just got rid of our 2007 Prius with 83000 miles and got a 9k trade in on a new Mazda 6. We now have 5 of them throughout our family. We also have a new Ford Edge SEL. Toyota sales dropped 18 percent last month on one article I read.

6th Oct 2011, 15:06

"The best indicator is drive a lot and see what's on the interstates... "Where are the garage kept Toyotas from the 70's?"

Your point would be valid if the number of units sold was about the same for both imports and domestics during that time period. However, that is not the case. I notice quite a disproportionate number of Hondas and Toyotas from the early 90's on the road (approaching 20 years+) compared to anything from the Big Three from the early 90's. Does this mean Japanese vehicles from this time period are better than the domestics. Maybe. Maybe not. Do the research, crunch the numbers and support your statement with more accurate empirical data if you can.

7th Oct 2011, 14:41

In the mid 70s there were gas shortages and odd even days to buy fuel. In Philadelphia, Toyota Celica ST and GTs were plentiful and popular. I liked the Mustang styling. My last was a 77 GT. Afterwards the. styling was lost. I bought a new 82 Datsun pre Nissan 280ZX. But where did all these 70s Toyotas go? They were not cheap, so where are they? Empirical data is not as indicative as a visual. I don't even see one or two in our large city. I see more 80-90s domestics than imports, likely due to the salt. My Z car started rusting badly in its 5th year of ownership. Another expensive car to buy new and insure as well.

7th Oct 2011, 17:03

It is not a matter of foreign versus domestic in many cases. It's better car versus worse car. Yes, the Camry is assembled in the U.S. but it is a far worse vehicle that Ford's Mexican-assembled Fusion. J.D. Powers just ranked Fusion the most reliable mid-sized car on the planet. Camry is rated "average". Honda's Accord is also assembled in the U.S., but is still ranked well below the Fusion. I got a chuckle out of a recent Honda review. It said the Accord's best feature was that it was not quite as boring as a Camry.

10th Oct 2011, 00:54

Yes, I agree that cars like the Delta 88 were great cars, but the Delta wasn't the only car being made in Detroit back in the days. So what about cars like the Citation X? Or the Pinto? Or what about the first generation Taurus that sold in millions during the eighties and early nineties? Where are all those millions? Or even 2.7L Intrepids sold not much more than 10 years ago? All these cars were crap, and were put of the road on an early stage. Stop dreaming about 30 year old 88's, and wake up to the real world reality where, yes, Detroit has made a lot of very poor cars since the seventies.