8th Mar 2007, 08:18
Give me a break! Go peddle your that crap somewhere else. They want what everyone else wants. Go blame the foreigner. Good one. LOL.
8th Mar 2007, 15:21
By "blaming the innocent foreigner" I guess you mean the Japanese government does not actually support its domestic industries financially and politically, and did not lobby to reduce tariffs in the U.S. in order to flood them with cheap, below market value cars in order to undercut U.S. industry while restricting U.S. imports into Japan. Yup, they just want fair rules for free trade like everybody else. They are the Wal-Mart of the automotive industry, and the shops on Main Street are closing up.
8th Mar 2007, 17:59
No, the kids in the 1980's saw their parents going broke trying to pay for repairs for their American vehicles.
9th Mar 2007, 04:16
15:21
Welcome to How to get marketshare 101. You must work for a union. Life's unfair. Cry me river. The big 3 in the were caught flat footed with products that stunk and were gas pigs. The Japanese were at the right time and at the right place.
Yes I occasionally shop at Walmart and enjoy low prices. (like most of the USA)
9th Mar 2007, 05:25
Oh gee, that must have happened when your dad had his '75 Vega. When I was a kid in the 1980's, all I ever saw were my parents driving reliable Plymouth and Dodge station wagons and sedans, like our 1969 Dodge Coronet, 1975 Dodge Charger, 1976 Plymouth Volare, 1977 Dodge tradesman van, 1979 Plymouth Volare, 1980 Plymouth Volare, and 1984 Plymouth Reliant. They never saw the inside of a repair shop. The Volares all went to over 200,000 miles before we sold them, and we still have the Charger. Sorry to bust your myth.
9th Mar 2007, 08:51
Oh, yes, and the US government hasn't been 100% on the big three automakers' side. Let's see, why aren't there gas guzzler taxes on SUVs like there are on cars? Oh, that's right, most gas guzzling SUVs are made by American companies, and most gas guzzler cars are made by foreigners. Yet SUVs make up 60% of new cars bought. Gosh, that's an awful lot of missed taxes.
The list goes on and on.
9th Mar 2007, 11:39
15:21 has to be the most intelligent accurate comment I have ever read on Car Survey. You keep hoping people will wake up instead of blindly buying the import myth...
9th Mar 2007, 14:49
If midsize sedan buyers would do even a minimal amount of research, they would quickly realize that the Saturn Aura is getting all the rave reviews, awards and accolades by the automotive press, while the antiquated, underpowered and blandly styled Camry's are being dumped at deep discounts onto unwitting seniors and into rental car fleets. It is easy to understand why GM has outsold Toyota every year since Toyota's inception!
9th Mar 2007, 15:27
15:21, Your analogy doesn't translate. The 'shops on Main Street' in every little town that got driven out by Walmart didn't sell people junk, or they wouldn't have lasted.
The Big 3 (who DO sell people junk) deserve to be ousted. It's a fair game, and one by one, they're being outclassed by better companies (Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai).
Some people here need to go get their dictionary and look up the meaning of the word "myth", because Japanese automotive quality and reliability is no myth. None of my imports have ever broken down, while all but one of the domestics I've owned broke down at least 2 or 3 times.
That's not a myth, I'm quite sure it happened, same as it happens to almost everybody that switches to Toyota or Honda from Ford or Chevy. I won't say Dodge only because that was the one domestic that didn't fail me. But that's 1 for 6 (domestics) that didn't break down. My imports are 3 for 3 perfect. No myth.
9th Mar 2007, 18:55
It's also easy to see why, since Toyota's inception, that they have taken more and more business away from GM (by selling a far better product), every year, and will pass them right up before too much longer. Pretty embarrassing for GM if you ask me. How long has GM been around? How about Toyota? Toyota long since took the lead in the car market, and will soon do the same with trucks and SUV's. GM even has to tell people in their recent advertising that 'everyone at GM is concerned with quality'. Well, if that's true, it's about time; been building junk for the last 30 years. Could it be that's why their sales are in a freefall and Toyota just keeps building good cars that sell themselves.
9th Mar 2007, 20:44
The Saturn Aura was labled the best midsize car by JD powers @ the Detroit Auto Show along with the new Chevy Silverado as best truck.
10th Mar 2007, 03:13
Wrong. The Saturn took the award for best 'family sedan' (which many people couldn't understand). Honda swept the awards. The Fit was 'best of the year', 'best small car of the year', and the CRV took best sport utility.
10th Mar 2007, 07:23
14:49
Yes GM is still the worlds largest mfg of autos. Yet they still are losing market share. At one point they had around 60% of the market. They right now have around 26%. The Japanese car companies have around 29%. If GM can gain 1/10th% they would have something to celebrate.
10th Mar 2007, 08:10
Proof please. JD Power has nothing to do with auto journalists voting for Car/Truck of the Year.
10th Mar 2007, 10:28
The list goes on? You haven't even found a valid point to start a list. Yes, the Japanese government subsidizes Japanese industries to prevent the shame of business failure. Similarly, France supports Airbus, and did support the Concorde venture, which is why it lasted as long as it did. The Concorde never did earn a profit, it was all a matter of prestige to French industry.
The U.S. government does not support domestic business, although I wish it did. Unlike the Chrysler bailout, Ford was refused government help and had to put up its factories as loan collateral. This would be unthinkable in Japan; the government would never allow it because it would be a matter of national disgrace.
Where are you worried about missing out on taxes? Filling up a large vehicle costs more, and you pay more taxes. There is your tax. You will see no change because the government is ALREADY making money on gasoline taxes. In fact, you may see an additional tax on hybrid or very high-mpg vehicles simply because they are not paying sufficient taxes through gasoline purchase to offset their use of roads. You have to understand -- taxes are in place to generate revenue for the government, not as an incentive to make people go green. Don't you understand that gasoline is big business? Still want to clamor for more vehicle taxes?
7th Mar 2007, 21:46
What about that black box located in many GM cars that records your speed and braking and when the airbags deploy... sure it is nice to find out when some kid hits you and you can find out how fast they were going when they hit you, but it is kind of weird...
As for quality of American cars touching Japanese cars, people do not really realize that the domestic cars are just trying to catch up, and every time they get within hairs of the Toyota or (Honda especially) the Japanese car is already ready for its next generation body, and then it morphs into a much better vehicle.
I cannot believe that Ford has those commercials pressing the Honda Accord and saying the Fusion is better when it is not better (maybe better than the Camry). I guess Ford cannot wait till the much improved Accord comes out next year. Catch up time again, but it may take Ford until 2010-11 or if it goes the way of the old style Taurus 7 years.