17th Jul 2012, 13:14
My choice as a baby boomer, aging towards the grandpappy stage, is the new Cadillac LS motors with the 6 speed manual trans. Many of us grew up on great American cars and performance. Respectable MPG as well. Coming from the coolest generation ever, why settle for what the last older generation had?
18th Jul 2012, 07:25
High mileage is not always a testimonial. I had some expensive repairs performed starting at 100,000 miles up on imports. Timing belts, heater cores, alternators, batteries, cat, front end work, O2 and other sensors lighting up and going in and out for repairs. Spending $900 on the last sensor just to make it through inspection.
In the interim, the higher the mileage, the less the car is worth. Dropping a lot of money in a used 4-6k value car is false economy. Buying small, the idea is to save on fuel vs comfort. Driving a 200,000 mile vehicle is a crap shoot in my opinion. You may likely be sitting on the side of the road. And we have.
18th Jul 2012, 13:42
Dropping money on a 4k-6k valued car isn't really a false economy idea. My Tacoma is now almost 17 years old. Most recently I had to replace one of the wheel bearings and also the clutch. I did this myself, so it wasn't that much. But even if I had had someone do the work, the cost would be a tiny fraction of buying something new.
And again - define "Import", because saying an "Import" needed work before 100k doesn't mean anything to me. What was it? An American car made in Mexico? A Camry made in the USA? A car made in another country? A specific brand or model?
18th Jul 2012, 16:45
Y'all can agree all you want about the whole global manufacturing process.
Bottom line is if it is a GM, Ford or Chrysler, it is in fact a domestic, if it is Nissan, Honda or Yota, it is fact an import.
I don't care if they were built in the North Pole; Domestic brands are built, designed and manufactured by domestic companies. Import brands are built, designed and manufactured by import companies.
This is the oldest, pointless argument on this website.
19th Jul 2012, 12:05
But then what is the argument about then? The word "Import" signifies that something is actually IMPORTED into another country. Also - both domestic and foreign brand cars and trucks are designed, engineered, built, tested, and marketed in the USA and vice-versa. For example, if you buy a Toyota that so happened to be designed, engineered, tested, and manufactured in the US, using parts from American-owned companies staffed by American workers, who in turn pay taxes and buy things... then what exactly is the argument here?
This is why those who go on and on about imports don't have a case or an argument to present, because that notion is old-fashioned and not practical any more...
20th Jul 2012, 06:54
It's where the corporate headquarters are located. The largest bulk of the profits from each vehicle go to the parent company to reinvest in their respective country. I think the other poster was quite clear in their explanation as well.
20th Jul 2012, 13:05
Toyota for example is an import car COMPANY.
Ford for example is a domestic car COMPANY.
Like the other comment above states, it really doesn't matter where the vehicle is made, it could be anywhere around the world. The vehicle is still built by whatever manufacturer it is, import or domestic.
20th Jul 2012, 19:49
Now I'm really confused? So then what do you consider the Ford Fusion? A vehicle originally based on the Mazda 6 and built in Mexico?
And what are my Chrysler Sebring & Jeep Liberty? Both were built by Chrysler when Chrysler was owned by Daimler-Benz (that was NOT a marriage of equals), yet both were built here in the USA.
In your book, are some domestics more domestic than others?
If you ask me, the entire argument is not only pointless, it is a huge waste of time.
20th Jul 2012, 20:18
16:45 is exactly right, although no one ever seems to understand. Ford and GM are U.S. owned companies headquartered in the U.S. Their profits stay in the U.S. Failure to grasp such simple concepts is one reason our country is in such a mess. Every Toyota or Honda you buy goes to enrich the economy of Japan. It's very simple really. Japan is another country.
20th Jul 2012, 22:51
There shouldn't be any argument at all, it really doesn't matter were an import brand is built. Any Toyota or Honda made in the US is still built the same as they are in Japan, which is also where these import brand cars are based out of.
And who really cares where it is built, when someone is loyal to one brand.
21st Jul 2012, 09:30
Why is there so much time and energy expended on this pointless, mindless & useless argument.
And YES by wasting about 45 seconds writing this, I am guilty too.
I just wish this ridiculous argument would stop and people would just accept that we all have a right to drive whatever we choose - "Y'all"?
17th Jul 2012, 11:20
THANK YOU!! I couldn't agree more!
It's exactly like you say. Most cars today are on global platforms, and many of the cars we think of as "imports" are actually built in the U.S. (the Toyota Camry is the "most American" vehicle based on assembly and parts content). And a lot of vehicles we think of as "domestic" are built outside the U.S. (the Ford Fusion, which is also a very good car, is built in Mexico). These are just two examples, but the list goes on and on.
Like you, our family has had the best luck with Toyota products. Right now we have a '96 Corolla with 208,000 miles, a 2006 Corolla with 70,000 miles, and a 2009 Camry with 80,000 miles. None of them have ever given us any serious issues.
We've owned other brands too, of course. Currently, we also own a 2006 Honda CR-V with 92,000 miles and it's been great. We also have a '99 Chrysler Cirrus with 95,000 miles, and we've never had an issue with it. Used to own an '04 Ford Focus, 140,000 miles and no serious issues. Also had an '06 Hyundai Elantra, 118,000 miles and no issues. The list goes on.
We've also owned cars that did in fact give us big problems. We had an '01 Ford Windstar and an '03 Ford Windstar. Neither made even 80,000 miles (the '01 threw a rod at 57,000 miles and the '03 had a transmission failure at 77,000 miles) and they were both very problematic throughout our ownership. We even had an '08 Honda Civic that had a complete transmission failure at 37,000 miles. Again, the list goes on.
We aren't particularly brand loyal, and simply buy what we want to buy.
We have many friends who drive both "imports" and "domestics". They've all had their ups and downs as well. Right now a good friend of ours is having transmission problems with her '02 Toyota Sequoia at 165,000 miles. Another friend of ours owns an '03 Jeep Liberty that is also having transmission issues at 145,000 miles. Doesn't make either car poorly built or unreliable, it just makes them exactly what they are: machines that break down on occasion. Every car is going to need some maintenance and repairs at some point.