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American or Foreign

Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2004 9:48 am
by OtherHD
So what kind of car does everyone here prefer? Do you buy American-made cars (Ford, Chevy, Dodge, etc.) or foreign-made cars (Toyota, Honda, Nissan, etc.)?

My family used to own a 1994 Ford Taurus, and it served its purpose. It took us from point A to point B. But from the outset we had recalls, monthly repair visits, TWO A/C replacements in a 3 month period, and after 9.5 years and 200,000 miles (amazing for a Taurus, I'm told) we had had enough. So I made the switch to a Toyota Camry, and I have never looked back. I vote foreign-made.

Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2004 10:23 am
by Lindaloo
Anerican all the way!! CHEVY RULZ!! :)

Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2004 10:55 am
by GalvestonDuck
I'm not going to actually place a vote because I'm torn. My first couple of cars were both Toyota Tercels and my mom had a Camry. They were great cars and never gave us trouble. I had a 5-speed Civic that was a piece of crap. My Delta 88 survived three back-and-forth trips between KY and TX and helped move me here during Hurricane Georges. And by some miracle, it never died unless it was on the island. But when that happened, it was a doozy! From CV joints to valve problems to brake line problems to the radiator going out, I spent over $3000 on that beast. During the last trip to the mechanic, he looked at me and said, "Let it go." He showed me how rusted out it was getting underneath (old car) and said it'd be too expensive to get everything fixed.

Now I own a cool little Chevy Malibu, which I bought with hurricane evacuation and economy in mind. I wanted something with hauling room that didn't burn a lot of gas. So I didn't want an SUV for just little ole me. The Malibu has the fold-down seats in the back so there's room to carry larger items if I need to. And there's space to pack the few things I'm going to take with me in case I have to leave during a storm. It feels and runs like my Tercels and gets about the same mileage.

So that's why I'm torn. I simply like that "feel" of how the cars run.

My vote -- both. :)

Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2004 11:12 am
by Rainband
I agree with you on the "both" vote. I judge the car for the car and not the maker :) Recently the American car companies are making strides to compete with the foreign companies. The Foreign cars seem to have more safety features standard. I guess you get what you pay for. :wink:

Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2004 12:50 pm
by Guest
On my eighteenth birthday, I bought myself a Ford Explorer. I absolutely love it! I'm all about purchasing items made in the USA. Helping out my fellow American workers is a great feeling.
...Jennifer...

Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2004 1:16 pm
by Lindaloo
mrschad wrote:On my eighteenth birthday, I bought myself a Ford Explorer. I absolutely love it! I'm all about purchasing items made in the USA. Helping out my fellow American workers is a great feeling.
...Jennifer...


AMEN!!! :D

Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2004 1:17 pm
by JQ Public
My family has always bought foreign made for as long as i can remember. Never give us troubles. I think before i was born they always bought american made.

Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2004 2:41 pm
by GalvestonDuck
Forgot to mention -- the Toyota Camry was made in the good ole U.S.A. at the plant in Georgetown, KY, where several thousand Kentuckians are employed. :) And the Honda was used so the money didn't go to any Japanese automakers. As for the Tercels, I'm not sure.

Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2004 3:27 pm
by Amanzi
My Geo has a chevy body and an Isuzu engine :eek: so what does that make it????? :lol:

Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2004 6:16 pm
by Suzi Q
Ford. That's ALL I will drive. Have had two F150's in a row now, drove one into the ground (kinda literally) and am gonna do the same with this one. She's got 135K miles on her, 10 years old and runs like a top.

My daughter will only drive foreign. She's had a Mitsubishi Eclipse (with 2 blown engines), a Honda Accord (crap transmission) and recently bought a Volkswagen Jetta. Can't wait to see what falls off of that one.

Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2004 7:31 pm
by OtherHD
Suzi Q wrote:My daughter will only drive foreign. She's had a Mitsubishi Eclipse (with 2 blown engines), a Honda Accord (crap transmission) and recently bought a Volkswagen Jetta. Can't wait to see what falls off of that one.


Tell her to get a Toyota...

Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2004 7:47 pm
by coriolis
I've had mostly american-made, some good, some not. I did own an '85 Nissan Truck which would probably still be running if it hadn't rusted out at 120,000. I replaced the clutch in that only once, but it was expensive. Right now I have a Plymouth Sundance with 160,000 miles and still going strong.

Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2004 8:04 pm
by therock1811
We own a Chevy, a Ford and a Cougar...all American for us!

Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2004 8:24 am
by Stephanie
I've bought all foreign cars new except for my first new car, a Plymouth Horizon. My father always bought Chrysler/Plymouth and I don't remember them as being the most reliable. For my long trips to work, I need something reliable which is why I've been buying foreign, namely Honda.

Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2004 7:49 pm
by nystate
Tough call, but I'm leaning towards foreign.

I had an old Volvo sedan up until about 2 years ago, it was in two accidents (including one serious one), and the feeling of protection that I got when inside it was second to none. The engine finally gave out a couple of years ago, when the car had over 290,000 miles on it. Sure, it may have cost more than a cheaper American car when I bought it in 1990, but in the long run it saved me money. It lasted about twice as long than expected with very few problems.

Naturally, when it came time to replace the old Volvo with something new (finally!), we bought a Volvo...

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2004 8:13 am
by bfez1
American all the way----I drive a Yukon!!!

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2004 2:02 pm
by ColdFront77
Interesting results. American-made cars tend to fall apart sooner than foreign cars.