I just bought a foreign car

[gollygee]

I grew up in Michigan during a time where virtually no one drove a foreign car, except the occasional VW Beetle. To drive a foreign car was looked upon with disdain.

That is no longer the case. My town's GM plant closed in the mid 80s. In the time since then, it has become harder and harder to even tell what a foreign car is. My Toyota was assembled in Indiana.

I never thought I'd buy a foreign car. What's even weirder is that my parents think it's a good idea to buy foreign cars. If my generation thought they'd never buy one, theirs KNEW it. But the reason we wanted to buy American cars wasn't to help American CEOs or major stockholders of American corporations. It was to support American workers. American union workers.

Buying an car made by an American-owned corporation no longer means buying a car made by American workers.

[MercutioATC]

1. Me, too. Just bought a 2001 Audi S8.

If there was a comparable U.S.-made car, I'd have bought it. There isn't.

[acmejack]

4. Nice

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

2. I love my '94 Toyota, and my wife loves her '91 Toyota.

I gave up on American cars after I bought my first Japanese car. A '72 Mazda.

They're the closest thing to indestructible on the road.

[boolean]

3. Not to mention that American cars SUCK

Ford = Falling Off: Rusty Door

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

5. Ford = Fix Or Repair Daily

[Mythsaje]

13. Found On Road Dead

[Clark2008]

22. Never owned a Ford, have ya?

I've never had a days trouble out of any of mine - and my Mom still has a 1987 Ford Escort that still runs just fine.

Oh- and when you DO need a repair - it's so much cheaper than a foreign shop.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

31. Several Fords. All were pieces of crap.

[Tesha]

38. The *SECOND* $2700 Taurus Transmission was the last straw.

The *SECOND* time our Taurus ate a $2700 transmission, it didn't
get repaired. Instead, it got pushed out to pasture in favor of a nice
Audi A8.

No more Fords. No more Chrysler/Dodges. No more GMs.

Tesha

[gollygee]

11. My last car was a Ford

a '98 Ford Tempo. In those eight years it's actually held up quite well. Before that, I had a Ford Escort that also held up well. I haven't personally had any bad experiences with American cars, although I've certainly heard stories. My first car was a Chevy Malibu.

[cosmik debris]

6. Look for the Union Label n/t

[Warren DeMontague]

7. Toyotas last for fucking EVER.

I love my Corolla.

[boolean]

9. Hondas too

A Honda is a fucking cockroach. You can smash it up and it won't die. My civic has been through abuse like you can't imagine and it just won't quit.

[The Straight Story]

20. That's cause they build em well - used to work for a subsidiary of Honda

They took quality darned serious. Every single part, from windshield wiper guides to brake lines.

[Booster]

24. I totally agree. You can also add in that they know how to treat

their customers. They can't do enough for you and you are always right in their book. My first foreign car was an Acura and I have never been treated so well at a dealership when it comes to service. In 1998 I bought a Ford Explorer - hated everything about it. It got recalled twice in the first year, for what I consider very serious problems, and when I took it to the dealer to fix it they said "We don't really make any money on fixing cars that are recalled. Why don't you take it to another dealer." I almost fell on the floor - NEVER AGAIN.

[MercutioATC]

25. Agreed. My son gets his license in February and he's inheriting my 1996 Accord.

...and I'm completely comfortable with him driving a 10-year-old, 176,000+ mile car thanks to Honda's reliability.

[orpupilofnature57]

8. I bought a KIA ,and thought my dad was a young man in Kempo S.Korea

And thought, my brother or sister could of built this car.My KIA contrary to most of my Friends experience ,is a piece of shit ,because when you occupy a country and don't openly go to War with a people like Japan ,Germany and Britain, you can't depend on their forgiveness for stealing their ownership.

[Red Right and BLUE]

10. I LOVE my new Toyota Matrix. LOVE. That is all. nt

[Mythsaje]

12. I drive a 97 Plymouth Neon...

It's a plastic piece o crap. Mechanically reliable, sure, but the rest of it's falling apart.

My wife drives an 04 Hyundai Tiberon. It's a solid car. No complaints. Years and years before the warranty runs out.

In all the years I've been driving, I've had more problems with American cars than the foreign jobs. I'm not particularly mechanical. If given the choice, I'm going to buy something I don't have to tinker with all the time.

[orpupilofnature57]

15. I live in upstate n.y Neon are all around and seem to hold up great

[Mythsaje]

19. It might be the model...

The paint is peeling, the driver's door/window is broken (I can't lock it), and the rear struts are toast.

Not to mention that they have a resale value that absolutely stinks.

[Iris]

14. I'm driving a 12 year old car with no heater right not b/c if I do what you

did, my dad (retired GM) would be so disappointed.

Incidentally, my car IS a toyota - a GM Prism, which is why it's still running after nearly 200,000 miles.

[orpupilofnature57]

17. I lOVE IT! see thats the difference between us and them , Cars to us

are a vehicle of transportation ,Cars to them are a mode of expression ,a means of intimidation and a symbol of Success.

[LeftyMom]

21. Well, you could always do that again when the time comes.

A Pontiac Vibe is a Toyota Matrix, so you'd be getting another rebadged Corolla, only a sporty little hatchback instead. The big difference between the two is that the Vibe is made in California and the Toyota is made in Canada.

[Iris]

29. ah! Thanks for the tip!

I've got a little collection going here - someone else mentioned the Mazda wagon -made in Detroit by teamsters.

[WhiteTara]

16. I quit buying American cars in the 70's

the last time the "Big 3" stuck their collective heads up their asses and ignored the desires of the driving public...cars that were fuel efficient and easy to manuever. Somehow, they never got me back...I guess cause they never did get the concept. I'm waiting for the Honda hydrogen car to come out in 2 years. I'll make this car last until there is something out there that makes real fuel cents (I couldn't stop myself, sorry).

[Bjornsdotter]

18. Volvo '89 and '95

...in this house. Both run great....should get another 250,000 out of the '95.

Cheers

[MercutioATC]

26. My father's owned Volvos for 10+ years and he swears by them.

I'd love to own one...if Volvo could make a car with serious balls. I'm sold on the reliability and safety...Volvo just doesn't make a reasonable high-performance sedan.

[fizzgig]

28. we're a volvo family too

my folks and sister all have 740s, all three either an 88 or 89 and i have an 82 240 wagon. i'm convinced these cars are never going to die.

i am going to cry a lot when i have to give my girl up.

[Bjornsdotter]

30. 240

That's a great car, you are right it will never die.

A friend of mine just had an accident in hers and she was so upset they told her it couldn't be fixed.

Cheers

[karlrschneider]

23. The last "American" car I bought was a 1970 Dodge Challenger.

It was a cool car but I wouldn't want another one like it again. :-)

[Mr_Spock]

27. I'll not be buying a foreign car again

I like to work on my cars & I don't like being ripped off for parts. I found it was more expensive & frustrating maintaining my Toyota & Subaru vehicles. I end up paying a lot less for maintenance than people who own foreign models but who don't do their own work.

Apparently it's now sheik to boast about buying a foreign car - the world certainly has changed for many. This is the best way to wake up the American car companies. You can't blame people for wanting to buy more practical & reliable vehicles. The American companies became content to sell big barges to the dumb-dumbs - as if they hadn't already been bitten by this sort of thing back in the 70's. I wonder if they'll learn this time?

[GoneOffShore]

33. I haven't been able to work on ANY car

since the late 80's.

There's too many 'modules' where there used to be parts.

About the only thing for a modest home mechanic to do now IMHO is change the oil and top up the fluids. And maybe change a bulb.

[Catherine Vincent]

32. I have a Toyota Camry on order!

:hi:

[WinkyDink]

34. I'm picking up my 2007 Toyota Camry tomorrow, made in Japan.

The safety features, including driver's knee air-bag, impressed me very much, today's news notwithstanding.
Giving up my husband's 1989 Corolla.

[ContraBass Black]

40. I thought those were all made over here.

[ContraBass Black]

35. That's not a foreign car.

But a Ford, GM, or Chysler built in Mexico is.

[Conan_The_Barbarian]

36. Always buy the best you can get for your money

You worked for it, why settle for anything sub par?

[Xenotime]

37. There's really nothing good about American cars anymore...

They have no ideas about how to innovate.

[geniph]

39. You can't really define what is or is not an "American" car anymore

Which is more American - a Nissan built in Tennessee, or a Ford built in Mexico? Is it American if the labor to assemble it is American, but the parts are mostly from China? Is it American if the global multinational whose badge it wears has their corporate offices in the U.S., even if they're anti-union and maintain plants in 14 countries?

The Saturn used to be the most American car you could buy - 100% American-made out of 97% American parts, but that's not true any longer since GM pulled Saturn back under their corporate hierarchy. The cars suck now, too. I had a '94 Saturn SL1 that I loved, until it was totaled in an accident.

The car I owned for 22 years - a 1980 Chevy LUV pickup which I bought new - had an Isuzu engine. Most trouble-free car I've ever seen. Was that an American car? In the days of the '80s when people with Japanese cars were getting them vandalized, the Chevrolet name on it was a safety feature, but the Isuzu engine is the reason that thing ran so long and with so little maintenance. I was sad to sell it, but it didn't make sense to keep it any longer.

I own a Subaru Forester now. Not because I have any great love for the Japanese corporate model, or any great hatred for the American cars, but because the Subaru was the best-built, best-equipped, and most-reliable car I could afford. If there were a comparable American car - comparable in terms of equipment, reliability, mileage, features, handling, cost, etc. - I'd happily buy it. Damned if I can find one. My Subie gets decent mileage, handles like a rally car, and ticks along like a trouper in all conditions. It's the only car I've ever come back from a long road trip liking BETTER than when I started.

I briefly owned a Chevy Cavalier, assembled in Mexico, I think. Colossal piece of crap. Worst car I've ever had. The steering was already going out, and the transmission was having problems before the car was past 30,000 miles. It handled like a tank, but was cramped even for me (at 5'2" and 120 lbs.). It didn't even get good gas mileage.