Hello everybody. I want to hear what you guys think about cars, trucks and SUVs. Do you guys like foreign brand or domestic brand? I have driven 3 cars: 2 foreign makers and one domestic maker. I had a '96 Mazda 626, '92 Olds Toronado and a '00 Toyota 4Runner I now drive. I have driven and been driven in other cars. I think the foreign makers have caught up to the domestic makers in recent years. Remember when Hyundai was a piece of junk more likely to get you killed than save you that extra gas money? No longer is this true, they now make very good quality cars and suvs. I liked my 626 though the engine bay was tight; the Olds had a huge 3.0L engine and my 4Runner can handle its own on paved and unpaved roadways.
Do wut? lol. If anything the foreign makers are slipping in reliability and domestic makers aren't building junk. The Hyundai and Yugo were made for broke people and foreign purchasing mindsets when they came out. The Hyundai Accent and The Yugo (uuh... Yugo) were brought out to just sell cheap-ass cars to people that couldn't afford to buy or want to buy anything more expensive. They were indeed junk. I don't see too many cars out there in my price range that I'd want to buy. The good looking ones aren't very reliable or have no bang-for-the-buck and the ones I want to buy seem like they got beaten with an ugly stick. I don't care if cars are "domestic" or "foreign" as long as they last and have value. By last, I mean relatively trouble-free for 120,000-130,000 miles, and then last at least for another 50-70,000 miles after that with relatively few problems. Honda/Acura will still be near the top of my list of manufacturers to buy. FYI, I'm 40 and here are the cars I've owned : 1988 Toyota Camry for around 130,000 miles 1997 Nissan Maxima for around 130,000 miles (that I got rid of too early like an idiot because I was bored with it) 2004 Acura TL with about 167,000 miles (current car that I'll be keeping for couple years hopefully or longer if it continues being trouble-free)
I like foreign cars, but would prefer that they were made here or at least in the Western side of the world. Currently I drive a Camry made in... you know what... I don't even know where it's made. I'll check. It has 166 thousand miles. I love this car. It has an extremely smooth ride and it's quiet, and its gas efficiency will rival most big sedans'. answer the question, you fool! Which one do you like?!?!
<< $40 to fill up my tank Although, I hate how small my Scion is, and it isn't exactly a manly car whatsoevver. But I like the gas mileage on it. Never owned an American car but I probably will one day
The line is so blurred. Many of GMs cars come from Canada, Mexico, Australia, etc. using both American made and import parts. Many Toyotas, Nissans, etc. are built here in the US using both American made and import parts. Domestics and imports have designers, engineers, management from other countries. In my opinion, there really isn't a lot to distinguish these days.
My only good cars have been Fords, though my Suzuki bike was awesome. My Hondas and Chevy's have sucked.
As DoD said, it's subjective. Cars- I'd probably go foreign. Trucks- I'd probably go USA. SUVs- It's a tossup. I own a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee that has never had an issue and is at around 120k miles. Something else to keep in mind is what year the vehicle came out. I don't trust any of the American-owned autos on the road that were made during the dark years of the bailouts. I can only imagine what corners were cut. Also...Kias. What pieces of junk. Lastly...can someone please explain a love affair with a vehicle? I honestly don't understand it. The way I see it- if I can get from A to B in relative comfort and safety, I'm happy with what I'm driving.
If anything, American cars look and perform better with fewer maintenance worries in the last 3 years versus their 'dark years' predecessors. Yet, I just cannot get over how domestic interior aesthetics and build quality remain subpar, including luxury brands like Cadillac. Because of this issue and my need for a superb driving experience, my last two cars have been German instead of Lexus which also makes beautiful interiors but which doesn't have the fun factor. German, Italian, British cars > Japanese > American > Korean in my book.
We literally spend years of our lives "stuck" in cars. Personally I want to make that time as enjoyable as possible - specifically in terms of how fun the car is to drive - so I factor that into my purchases. And I think anytime you spend an extended period of time doing something fun (a sport, sex, listening to music, etc.) you eventually develop a love for it. Some people just don't ever go down that road with a car (no pun intended).
Check the reliability and the costs to repair. From the standpoint of domestic vs foreign thats probably the most important two characteristics to weigh.
