Over the yrs we’ve had about 4 -5 Hondas, and same number of Toyotas, 1 Ford, and 2 Chyslers. Experience with Hondas and Toyotas are that they are incredibly, consistently reliable, never neededing more than maintenance and replacemt of basic items that are expected to wear out. Experience with Ford was just OK, as was experience with Dodge van; experience with Town & Country van has been a nightmare (and it only has under 35K!) It’s not only the cost of the repairs, it is the huge inconvenience of bringing the car to the dealer and repair shops, waiting for parts, bringing the car back in – a waste of our time and money. We’ll go back to Hondas and Toyotas - we tired of spending time and money on a substandard car.
For me it is not a matter of “quality”. Most manufacturers are building cars of sufficient durability these days. The things that they can’t fix, I can (usually). I have been shopping for a replacement for my commuter car, and I have held off because the American companies don’t offer what I want, the Japanese companies are a bit on the boring side, and the Germans raise their damn prices every time a car magazine gives them a glowing review. I want a high-performance car for grown-ups. GM is stuck on bling, high-school student dream cars, and push-rod engines. Ford went retro, and DAMN do I hate retro. I grew up in the 60’s and I remember how awful those cars were (leaf sprung live axles, shudder). I have no fond memories of econo-box chassis with huge V-8 stuffed in them. Chrysler seems to have an abundance of stylists and a paucity of engineers, same as always.
If an American company offered what I want, I would buy. I currently own an American car, an American truck (I do love my big block) and a Japanese fun car from the high-performance wars of the early 90’s. My other Japanese car was totaled by an inconsiderate driver (sniff, I miss my old Supra).
When my current commuter car give out, I will be looking at a BMW M3. The arrogant dealer will probably piss me off enough (again) to buy an American car (again). That is, if there are any still in production.
gerG
You are probably not looking at all Japanese models available on the market. A Mazda 3 Speed is more exciting (un-boring) to drive than any Volkswagen, and infinitely more economical for commuting thnan a BMW 3 Series. And Mazda dealers are not arrogant, Mazda service is excellent, and part are readily available and cheap.
There are other Japanese cars that are fun to drive, such as the Subaru WRX, and Mitsubishi has a long history of produing rally-ready cars.
When you are ready to trade, do some shopping around; you may be surprised!
Hi Doc. You are correct. I still have a 3rd gen RX-7, and I think pretty highly of Mazda. An RX-8 with an aftermarket turbo might get me to work on time. Nissan has a contender in the G37 coupe. It is certainly on my test drive list. Toyota has the FX, but it seems rather pricey for what it is. There is also the new Nissan 370z coming out in the near future. I will hold out long enough to try it out.
gerG
“A Mazda 3 Speed is more exciting…”
Gotta love those Fords.
Yeah, Ford is the best thing that happened to Mazda. Wait, is it the other way around?
Anyways, I was at the LA Autoshow the other day. Ford had a European Transit, with 5 speed stick, alloy wheels, roll cage, and 4 point harness. It was spartan and it meant business, but I don’t think we’ll ever see that exact one on American streets. They also showed off a couple of the much heavier and duller Flex SUV, with tint and oversized chrome wrapped with razor thin rubbers. This Ford’s Suburban is much more representative of the market perception on transportation. People were going all ga-ga over the Flex, while laughing at the Transit.
I can see this bling influence polluted Mazda’s virtue. They showed a preproduction 2010 3, with a power seat. For a company that favor zoom zoom over bling bling, I would expect them to ditch the power seat to keep the weight down.
If Ford can’t keep the Fiesta European, like they failed to do with the Focus over the years, looks like I’d have to get my fixes of tossable lightweights from Honda, Suzuki, or Hyundai
I tend to buy Japanese, but for a different reason.
Being generally poor I buy (very) used cars, usually around 100K.
I also insist on something that gets 30MPG or better.
Finding an American car that gets 30MPG and is still driveable at 100K+ is about as easy as finding unicorn poo.
An RX-8 with an aftermarket turbo might get me to work on time.
How about leaving 20 or 30 minutes earlier than you usually do?
Why are you going on about American car’s problems, I have a 1988 Ford F-150 with a 5 speed manual transmission; MADE BY MAZDA!!! Is it broke, MOST DEFINITELY! American Made vehicles are ASSEMBLED IN AMERICA, all the parts for that vehicle come from a foreign country.
Ins Institutes safety ratings are out for 2009 vehicles. Of the 72 models receiving highest safety ratings: all of hondas most popular models in eveery category (SUV, family sized car,etc) received highest safety rating; 0 of chyslers. 'nough said.
If I heard the news correctly this morning, I think Ford has more vehicles in this category than Honda.
Shh
he’s trying to bash non-Honda/asian models
I only know what I know from my personal experience. My new 1957 Chevrolet’s driver’s door completely rusted out (Other doors were OK). I had to get rid of it after 3 years at 19,000 miles because I was ashamed to be seen driving it. The next new car I bought was a VW beetle. I was pleasantly shocked to find that I got 40 mpg using it to drive to Washington, D.C. I and my family like it so well that we bought 5 more beetles and 2 Rabbits. Then I broke down and bought a 1977 Mercury Monarch with a stick shift. Stick shift never did work right. Gas line was located in place that it froze up when it got cold or snowed. I remember well sitting along I-90 at 10:00 in December with wife and baby in car with frozen gas line. After about an hour sitting in a snowstorm storm, in the dark and cold, Highway Patrol came along and had it towed to a garage where we sat while they thawed out the gas line so we could continue home. Result: sold for $50 as junk after rear springs brokewith about 50,000 miles on it. Still had two VW’s luckily. Them along came a came a 1988 Olds 98 Revere, purchased new (see. I still hadn’t learned. Three years later on an Easter Sunday stepped on brake pedal and guess what? No brakes. Got tow to AAA garage, next day found that all brake fluid had leaked out from rusted brake line. Had that line fixed but was told all other lines were rusty and was only time until they would all need to be replaced. Six months later found that fuel line had a leak that spurted gasoline when engine was on. No wonder I was getting lousy mileage. Car looked beautifulbut couldn’t be driven. Sold for $300 to auto mechanic who was going to replace brake lines and gas line. Mileage 55,000. Since then have bought 7 Toyota Corollas. I traded in my 1995 Corolla and got $3,000 trade in value when it was 12 years old! Mileage 155,000. But it got 43 mph on turnpike driving. My wife has a 2003 Corolla, I have a 2007 Corolla. And you know, they look identical! Same body, same fenders, same dashboard,same headlights and taillights. If you park them side by side after washing and polishing no one but an expert could know which was the 2003 and which was the 2007. My guess is that Toyota saves a bundle by not needing to retool each year just so their cars “look new and improved.” (and different!) And by the way each of these cars get 43 mpg on turnpike driving and 33 mpg in city driving. So, after I feel I’ve been burned three times with GM and Ford cars, all I know is what I know and I’ll continue buying Toyota and my daughter will continue buying Honda Civics.
Yep, I heard correctly. Ford has more models receiving the highest safety rating than Honda. See for yourself at http://www.iihs.org/news/rss/pr112508.html .
I think both companies were winners. Mazda got a needed financial bailout by Ford, and Mazda engineering soon made its way into Ford. The Escort and Mercury Tracer (Mzda designs)were light years better than the previous Escort, and Mazda engineering also helped the Ranger pickup, a vastly better machine than the Chevy S-10. The Ford Probe was also a Mazda under the skin.
The new Ford Fusion is mostly Mazda 6 under the skin. It’s the best car Ford makes.
Madam Or Sir, You Are Perpetuating One Of Those Pathetic Myths! …
“Finding an American car that gets 30MPG and is still driveable at 100K+ is about as easy as finding unicorn poo.”
If you can’t do this, then what can you do?
Bscar, Don’t Forget That They Plant Incendiary Devices In U.S. Vehicles And Detonate Them To Illustrate How Dangerous They Are!
They have to do their part to keep the myth alive or in this case, create a myth, using explosive rockets (or any means necessary)!
http://whatreallyhappened.com/RANCHO/LIE/nbc.html
This is influencing some of our “I get my news from TV!” friends.
Not really sure how a '57 Chevy (or the either two, really) is relevant to the OP. I heard those Hupmobiles were junk, too. I mean, an '88? Pirates have had a winning season more recently than THAT!
I think a lot of reliability is due to the residual value of the car–a self-fulfilling prophesy. Well-used foreign cars sell at a premium to domestics, which almost become “throw-away” in value after a certain point. Thus, domestic drivers are either loath to put much money into a $1300 car (or, based on the purchase price, simply can’t afford to.) Thus, ratty cars, and buying a used domestic is buying a car that’s repeatedly been “rode hard and put up wet.”
Can you afford a 2009 CTS-V? I know it’s a mere pushrod V-8, but it will bow any of the sedans you mentioned off the road. That seems to be the type of car you want.
GM makes some decent cars. The 3.8 liter, even if the technology was a little dated, paired with a 4T-80E trans. was pretty durable and got 30 mpg hwy, not bad for the large cars they were usually mated with. This motor has been discontinued but had a long run and was longevity +. Dodges are pretty but break a lot. Ford sucks IMO.
I’ve owned a lot of toyota/ honda, and in the 90s they were far more reliable than most other offerings for people of moderate income (who didn’t want a huge LeSabre). These days plastic prevails, and even if Toyota is still built to tighter engineering tolerances than any other brand, their materials just aren’t as good as some other manufacturers. I still drive a last-gen Corolla, but mostly because of the 40+mpg. The seats suck and have no lumbar adjustment. Great commuter car, terrible for long trips.
Benz/ BMW? Great drivetrain longevity, but super expensive to fix any problems that go wrong with any other part of the car. If you can afford these cars you probably don’t care if you have a $2000 repair bill once every 2-4 years. Performance and comfort levels are drastically higher.
The trade off is still: american car-cheap, cheap parts, easy to find someone to work on them. Jap cars (and there is different levels of quality from say toyota to suzuki, this is a broad generalization), more reliable, more expensive, more expensive to fix. European cars-good for your ego if your wallet can stand it.