Has anyone here owned just American vehicles or foreign vehicles?
- Thread starter ZZman
- Start date
I am not brand friendly. I have a Civic, F150, Jeep GC, and a Corvette. All fairly reliable but not perfect except for the Civic which never disappoints.
The only domestic car I've ever bought was a '96 Corvette, which I only owned a couple years.
Since the mid 80's I've bought eight Mazda's, three Toyotas, one Nissan, and one Fiat which in reality is a Mazda with a Fiat engine.
The only domestic I would consider would be GM, the rentals I've had in the last few years have all been far better than I thought they would be. Dodge has literally nothing that interests me and Ford's engineering just scares me.
Since the mid 80's I've bought eight Mazda's, three Toyotas, one Nissan, and one Fiat which in reality is a Mazda with a Fiat engine.
The only domestic I would consider would be GM, the rentals I've had in the last few years have all been far better than I thought they would be. Dodge has literally nothing that interests me and Ford's engineering just scares me.
That sounds like a definition from the UAW or something ! "American" automakers move more and more production OUT of the US (thanks to NAFTA) while foreign automakers build more and more vehicles in the US.
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2022
- Messages
- 1,011
I have 1 German made and 2 American made German cars. I will never again buy American build ones, only if made in Germany. I've had Japanese made and American made Japanese cars and there was a big difference in quality of the build. I've also had American made American brands.
The bottom line of this experience has been that we don't really know how to properly build cars in this country. It's quite sad knowing that we have had, what I would call, a glorious history of car making in this country. It's really sad.
The bottom line of this experience has been that we don't really know how to properly build cars in this country. It's quite sad knowing that we have had, what I would call, a glorious history of car making in this country. It's really sad.
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2014
- Messages
- 1,187
This^^^^ The emblem on the front of the vehicle is meaningless. Go to any dealership selling anything and READ the window sticker. You'll find a "percentage" of parts made in a paragraph of countries. I have been a maintenance contractor in a number of car plants around the country and I've spoken similar words to UAW and other workers. Let's go down to the end of the assembly line and YOU pick the vehicle.
Railroad box cars full of parts are unloaded all day long by fork truck drivers. No labels, tags, stickers, printing on boxes of parts. The men and women unloading the cars and assembling the cars have no idea where/what country the parts are from. The American Automobile Industry is dead. PLEASE, prove me wrong.
Which is better?
(1) A Ford Fiesta that was assembled in Mexico with wages paid to Mexican employees, but the profit goes to American executives.
(2) A Nissan Titan that was assembled in Mississippi with wages paid to American employees, but the profit goes to Japanese executives.
I’ve owned both. I felt better about my money going to American blue collars than going to American white ones.
One Canadian GM and then one Ford from Edison, NJ and another Ford from Wayne, MI. Current vehicle was made in Lansing, MI.
Bull's Eye Elkins45!!!
My Corvette was made in Kentucky. BMW in South Carolina, and Lexus in Ontario, Canada
I have owned Mexican Volkswagens, German Mercedes, and Japanese made Mitsubishis and Infinitis.
I have reservations about Korean cars, and would not buy Chinese.
I have owned Mexican Volkswagens, German Mercedes, and Japanese made Mitsubishis and Infinitis.
I have reservations about Korean cars, and would not buy Chinese.
Yeah for new cars, GM had little interest in keeping us as a customer when we bought the Tracker in 2003 as there were a few design defects that I had to research the fix for on the Suzuki forums and buy parts from Suzuki, but I guess GM did extend the front subframe warranty due to rust. The dealership wasn't really interested in us as future customers either even though they are a smaller local dealer and we live 5 miles away. Guess what, we didn't even look at GM vehicles in 2018.
The Outback has had a few design defects too, but they send notices and fix them for free, give loaner cars, and even extend the warranty out on parts that fail only after the bumper to bumper warranty is done. Both Subaru Canada and the dealer are pretty serious about keeping us as future customers, and its assembled in the USA which was a plus to me over Mexico or overseas.
All minr have been American vehicles until the latest: A VW made in Mexico.
What is a German car built in Brazil with a 5-speed transmission made in Argentina?
I’ve had a mix of foreign and domestic.
My 2003 GMC Yukon was one of the best. I also had a 1997 Ford Explorer V8 that was super reliable. My current 2014 Tundra has been great. We’ve had 5 Honda’s that have been a mixed bag. Our first Odyssey has trans issues but our 13 Honda Pilot was a rock and one my favorite vehicles. Our Hyundai/Kia experience has been ok, other than the Theta II fiasco. Now we have a Mazda CX9 that I hope will be a favorite - 40k miles and no real issues.
According to some, it doesn't matter where it's built or where components come from, only where the corporate HQ is
Why would anyone limit themselves to one or the other?
There are (or at least were) so many choices from so many different makers that you'd have to be a fool to limit yourself to a binary choice.
We've had American, Brit, German and Japanese brand cars.
All were at least decent and all filled a purpose when we bought them.
Any buyer should shop based upon what he needs and what provides value and not the badge on the car or truck.
Oh, and the profits go to the shareholders who are located worldwide, not to some notional corporate headquarters.
There are (or at least were) so many choices from so many different makers that you'd have to be a fool to limit yourself to a binary choice.
We've had American, Brit, German and Japanese brand cars.
All were at least decent and all filled a purpose when we bought them.
Any buyer should shop based upon what he needs and what provides value and not the badge on the car or truck.
Oh, and the profits go to the shareholders who are located worldwide, not to some notional corporate headquarters.
This. I don’t care who owns who, or where their headquarters are. I will however lean towards purchasing a vehicle assembled by my fellow blue collar workers here in the States if possible (like my Ram, albeit with its Mexican made engine and German made transmission), but that’s not a dealbreaker either.
We've bought three new Accords over the past twenty four years and all were built right here in Ohio and all were great
cars with the '12 and the '18 in current use while the '99 is long since gone.
I'd just as soon support local workers where I can.
