9th Jan 2013, 00:58
The meaning of "foreign" still is "located outside one's own country". That is hardly a "stone age" definition. I just pulled it off the Internet on my less-than-stone age iPhone. The last time I looked the U.S. had not annexed Japan. Therefore Honda and Toyota (among others) are very definitely owned by a "foreign" country.
9th Jan 2013, 09:02
You're not alone at all. We had a 2003 Pontiac Vibe (Toyota Matrix) and the engine sludged at 48k.
9th Jan 2013, 11:12
And I had a RAV-4 with transmission failure under 50,000 miles. As far as Toyota fans getting offended, well, that goes without saying.
9th Jan 2013, 12:01
So what if the company is "foreign"? Like as previously mentioned, most of the foreign branded cars are made in the USA, and often from parts from American companies. There's no case here at all.
10th Jan 2013, 11:56
Sure there's a case. The corporate or owner gets the biggest share of each vehicle sold. Much more, even if there's overseas plants.
10th Jan 2013, 20:25
I thought the Pontiac Vibe was one of the neatest and most useful small vehicles to come down the pike. I was given one to drive for a day by a local Pontiac dealer. Other than being slightly wimpy in the power department, it was a great vehicle. I opted for a Ford product, however, because I was concerned about the reliability of the Vibe's Toyota drive train. Looking back, I think I made the right choice.
24th Jul 2013, 09:03
I live in Michigan, and if you think buying a Ford or GM is helping America, then you need to come see how well Michigan is doing. Detroit is filing for bankruptcy, and Saginaw, Flint, Jackson, Pontiac, and several other cities all have emergency managers because they are going broke too.
GM and Ford are not here to help America, they are here to help themselves. They do not care for the American worker, and would lay-off all of them if they could.
As far as the subsidies for import cars, GM has had more tax breaks for the land they use for the buildings than all the import car companies combined. If GM and Fords money stayed in America, then Michigan would be one of the richest states in the U.S., but it is just the opposite, we have one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, and the whole state is going broke. You are very mistaken if you think buying GM or Ford is helping the U.S.
25th Jul 2013, 08:14
I agree on Detroit. Ever hear of Dearborn? My domestics are from there... also Kansas City and Louisville Ky. There is more than one state that manufactures domestics. I feel your pain though, as I lost a GM and a Chrysler Plant in De. Our state gave a lot of money away to woo Fiskar into the former GM plant. Sorry to say that was a waste of taxpayer dollars.
27th Jul 2013, 06:48
http://www.mlive.com/business/index.ssf/2013/03/state_again_riding_auto_upswin.html
Some good news for the Michigan guy.
27th Jul 2013, 14:40
I have been very pleased and excited to read lately that more and more Americans are switching to American cars. Even more gullible younger buyers are buying American. I was also happy to see that the ever-biased Consumer Reports actually just announced that the new Chevy Impala is the best sedan in the world, beating out Japanese and German competitors. For many months now GM and Ford have outsold now-disgraced Toyota. The times they are a-Changan'... and definitely for the better.
29th Jul 2013, 12:28
I love it!! A headline in today's paper says GM outsold Toyota in JAPAN last month. It just gets better and better!!
30th Jul 2013, 09:34
I bought imports starting in the 70s. My favorite new Toyota was the Ceica GT styled like the Mustang. I later bought Datsun-Nissan Z cars. These cars were low production and made in Japan. I think the low volume had 2 benefits. More care with slower assembly, and true cachet owning an import vs a domestic. As time progressed, we owned higher end imports. The downside was the notable slip in quality after 2000. I just don't see the quality there today. I had some true made in Japan years that had zero warranty returns. Zero. Now with recalls of all types, what has happened? I know companies have to keep prices in line or low to retain people with same car repeat buys. But Toyota has had constant major recalls. You rarely heard of an issue decades ago. It's poor.
8th Jan 2013, 18:13
I'm sorry that some people are offended if we don't all happen to think that Toyota is the greatest thing since sliced bread, but my experience with imports has been far from stellar. The title of this review seems to indicate that I am not alone in that experience.