American vs. Foreign Cars?

Question

why buy american over foreign besides being patriotic and repair parts being cheaper???

Answer 1

Buying a foreign car does nothing except benefiting the country of origin's economy and hurting the US.
The common misconception is that foreign cars are superior in quality, fuel economy and workmanship to American cars has long been proven wrong.
The cars (and trucks) made by the US auto makers are every bit as well made and in most cases are better than the ones made by foreign auto makers. (Look at the recall list for Toyota in the last 2+ years.)
The knock on UAW workers is very unfair and misleading, if there wasn't a UAW the auto industry would be paying its workers so little that they would be making what they make in Japan, Korea, China (slave wages)....but they would still have to pay the same prices for goods and services.

I have owned both foreign and domestic vehicles (Honda Prelude, Chevy Camaro (2), Buick Le Sabre, Chevy K1500 P/U, and have driven about 30-40 different vehicles and I would say that the quality of the domestic's is every bit as good as the foreign cars.
In fact the Honda (I put 40,000 mi. on it) gave me the most problems (by far) of any that I have owned. I've put 107,000 mi. on my P/U and the only "problem" I've had is to tell people that it's not for sale (and that I won't help them move....I hate that).

If more American's bought American cars then the workers in the foreign plants in the US would be making cars and trucks in the American plants because the American companies would be making more vehicle's to keep up with demand, and they would have to build more plants.
Which, in turn, would help the economy and bring the US Dollar back to being a world power instead of it being relegated to secondary status in the world economy.

Look at what happened to the steel industry, Chinese steel manufacturers priced their product so low that it forced most US steel manufacturers to go out of business....same for consumer electronics (Japan), clothing (Taiwan, China, Mexico....), Furniture (China), and now the prices of these products are just as high, if not higher than they would be if there were some legitamate competition. . THINK.......WAL-MART !!!
And now all of the tech jobs are leaving for India because of MUCH lower wages, because their cost of living is so low compared to ours.

Answer 2

I agree with you. Parts are less expensive in American cars plus there more plentifull. As you know your NAPA's and Car Quest stores will not have rebuilt engines, transmissions, wiper motors, gasket sets, water pumps, starters, alternators, electrical switches, radiators, heater cores, ignition modules, wheel bearings, half shafts, electric fan motors or the solenoid switch that controls it.
On the other hand, do you "want" to take a chance on a car owned by off-shore company? Some have exceptionally high marks for dependability? Then you have the wanna - be company's. The ones who also who are foreign owned but go on rampages selling cheaper cars with squat for dependability.
Myself, there truly things about American cars that will always be better. Room for one thing. I'm 6' 4'' tall and skinny. The front seat of my wife's Camry doesn't get it! The console is in the way. The floor well has no room for my 13AA feet. The petals are made for seventh graders. With the seat nearly all the way back my 36 in arms are nearly straight out. Toyota hasn't heard of telescoping steering columns. Six inches would work! While driving, the open sun roof roars like a 747 leaving an airport. Poor aerodynamics somewhere.
There are a few pluses. The engine sounds like white noise, quiet as a perfectly tuned sewing machine. The little 4 cyl. nocks out 35 on the highway. Enough power to make you realize that the spedo. isn't kidding. Interior noise while crusing, dead silent. The only noise comes from the 215 x 60 x16 tires slapping the joints of the concrete or tar strips on blacktop. The LE version will not lose to the BS Ford add on telivision. Suspention on this model will suit your soule.
I'll settle in my old Sable with the 24 valve motor there's room enough to "be happy".

Answer 3

Some of the foreign cars are more expensive to have work done to them. Maintenance on a Honda or Toyota are actually about the same as a Chevy or Ford. I have notice that the new foreign cars run longer and require less maintenance than American cars. Even though Toyota is the only car that is actually made in America now. I personally would buy a Honda or Toyota, the Hyundai and Kai's are tin cans on wheel's they run great for the first year and then fall apart. (speaking from personal experience only) I also wouldn't worry to much about age of the vehicle pay more attention to how many miles are on the car and weather they are commuting or city miles.

Answer 4

Several foreign companies produce cars in the US, so the argument about jobs being lost is nonsense. As for quality being better in foreign cars, I agree when it comes to Ford and Chrysler, but not at all for GM, which I think generally puts out good cars. (I might also make an exception for Chryslers made in the last few years). The place I think American cars have been dreadful for most of the last 35 years is in styling (I find most American cars to be ugly and having no clear design concept) and in this ridiculous insistence on making cars big and blundering, rather than small and agile.

Answer 5

You should buy the best car you can afford. There's nothing patriotic about buying a low quality car just because it was made in the United States. You would be promoting mediocrity if you buy cars for any other reason than it was the best car for you.

I prefer BMW to any American cars. However, I actually drive a Ford F-150 most of the time. It was the best car I could afford at the time and is still running well. My wife drives an X-5, BMW is the ultimate driving machine. No doubt. But they don't offer a pick up.

Answer 6

the funny thing is all the opinions you get with a question like this. i assure you, very few of us have driven all the makes and models available, and my opinion of how well i like a vehicle may well be influenced by whether my butt fits the seat properly or not. personally i drive an old volkswagen bug that has 350,000 miles on it, and while it is not completely trouble-free, it runs pretty good for a car that is as old as i am!
for a factual answer, try consumer reports or some other source not sponsored by any particular manufacturer. maybe then you will have a better idea as to the actual, factual answer for your question!

Answer 7

There's a reason why Toyota's sales are climbing and why Ford is laying off its workers. And it has nothing to do with Japanese workers vs. American workers because foreign brands that manufacture cars here in the U.S. use union workers like the American brands. The focus is on quality, the management style is different, and foreign brands tend to give us what we want or need.

For example, Ford kept on building big trucks and SUVs when gasoline got expensive and many people switched to smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles, which were plentiful in Japanese brand showrooms. We're slow to change and retool. There's no reason why the United States cannot build vehicles with comparable quality to many foreign brands.

Answer 8

The Chairman of Toyota is Fujio Cho, Japanese citizen. Chairman of GM is Rick Wagoner, US citizen. Profits of Toyota go to Japan. Profits of GM go to Detroit. Stock prices of Toyota are traded in Yen. Stock prices of GM traded in dollars. Toyota's (corporate) family lives in Japan. GM's (corporate) family lives in the US. I like to keep the money I pay for products to stay in this country. Where they are built is secondary. You also have to consider manufactures that build totally in other countries that have zero US content like Kia, Hyundai, Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Acura, Land Rover, Jaguar, Volvo, Infiniti. I look for a car with close to 100% US content with a home base in the US. Why do we not want to help our own citizens and our own country? My 3 year old Buick has had no problems so far, so quality IS improving.

Answer 9

You answered the question - buying american keeps jobs in america, and usually the parts are cheaper (not always). Personally I buy General Motors

Answer 10

Availability of used parts is another factor. GM and Ford are the biggest manufacturers of "twin" cars or "cousin" cars that are vehicles that share 90% of the parts even though they are different models. I like being able to walk into my local Chevrolet dealership to get parts for my Pontiac.