You ask "Why do you buy foreign cars?"
Every single one of the U.S. made cars that I owned between 1958 and 1989 was defective, performed poorly from the get go, and caused me nothing but trouble. In 1989 I bought a Volkswagen Passat and finally understood what a difference fine engineering makes. I owned that car for 11 years, traded it for a new one that I kept for 10 years and traded that one last year just because I wanted a new car. Not one of the VWs was defective in any way.
Why would I ever take a gamble on American cars again?

This is an interesting topic
 

I owned a '63 Chevy before I was drafted and I loved that car. I was a Chevy guy through and through and didn't think I'd ever drive anything else although I did get my hands on a '67 Mustang for a while that I really liked. Unfortunately, my experience with American brands after that wasn't very good. After a series of unsatisfactory Fords and Chevys, I drove a couple of Fiats (don't ask) in Europe and finally bought a brand new Plymouth in the late 80's. I had nothing but trouble with that vehicle along with a really bad Ford and another bad Plymouth. My wife really wanted a Buick so we tried the brand in the late 90's. Again, lots of maintenance problems and we finally decided to try a foreign brand. She wanted a Toyota, I talked her into a Honda Accord. Our second car had to be a pickup and I stuck with American...A Chevy S-10 and later a Chevy Colorado. The pickups took up most of our maintenance dollars and the Honda just seemed to get better and better with every mile we drove. After my wife passed away, I had to decide which vehicle to keep so I finally decided to keep the Chevy and sell the Honda. Got $2500 over blue book and I wonder if I made the right decision. I miss the Honda but will drive my Chevy until I don't need a pickup anymore. Then I'll probably buy a Honda again. Reliable, minimal maintenance, and they keep their value. Nothing could be better than that. BTW - the Honda was built in Marysville, OH.

......A long-long time ago, we would buy one new GM product each year, and keep a total of 4 units in our driveway. The three+ year old would be replaced.
..........after 30 some years of "tolerating" poor build quality and self destructing motors..........a neighbor dropped off his wifes "foreign" car for us to drive....(Our GM product was once again in-the-shop for repairs ...and ...his wife was away for a while). She returned 3 weeks later.....and...the next day we were at the "foreign" car dealer picking out our NEW car. That was 1995. Have enjoyed the new found reliability and superior handling.... along with the comfortable high end looking (compared to GM) interiors ever since. Did stumble a couple of times and put a GM in the mix. In 2004 got a Chevy Equinox with the self-destructing (at 42,000 miles) engine. And again 3 years ago when an old neighbor offered ANY NEW GM product at a price that could not be ignored.
... Fool me once...shame on you......Fool me twice shame on me.

Sssshhhhh - please don't tell her I'm doing that!! :a20:

Bill :)

This is a very common story.

People who refuse to even try a foreign car are like the stuck-in-their-ways people who refuse to come and visit The Villages....when they finally see it and the light comes on, they ask "Why didn't we do this 10 years ago??"

Excellent comparison.:BigApplause:

Foreign made
 

A few years ago we had three vehicles.........a Pontiac GP made in Mexico, a Mustang GT conv. made in Canada ( owners manual was in French ?????) and a Honda motorcycle made in Marysville Ohio..............go figure.................

.... I asked those with "foreign"....WHY..."they" buy foreign....Respones...."Reliability, comfort, safety and resale value"

.... I asked those with USA brands ..Why the USA brands....."Peer Pressure"

.......Here are some "real-world" stats.....our kids...and some "grands"

.......Parents ..........of the..13 vehicles ....9 are foreign
.......Grandkids........of the....6 vehicles ....4 are foreign


FWIW all are VERY happy with their choices........NO ONE had a "foreign" brand 17 years ago.

Your all correct
 

:024:Love having a Car Show! I get to do this every weekend. There are some in TV who have heard me out of Syracuse. Herv & Dave- " The CarGuys"

So IMHO gang here's a new twist. 95 % of all of you buy what you want for your ride and then use foreign oils.

Yep that I love hanging out in the Legion listening to my peers chew on me!:rant-rave: ( Yes am I a Vet and member but still get beat up by the old school!) :oops:

Change your Oil every 3k miles of 3 months. :icon_bored:You have to do that. :icon_bored:Why?:icon_bored: I can't explain they say?

Dad said so cause Grandpa said so cause Great Grandpa said Great Great Grandpa did that who by the way before cars started out making horse shoes. :crap2:Honest first Auto Tech!

Yep Mobil Oil and the Others - Yes HARLEY OWNERS. So sorry, your American Made Iron Company wants you to use screaming EAGLE Syn which is CITGO! Yep Foreign Oil say's " Love you all! Thank you very much."

So here is a Made in America product by Americans that supports our economy environment and pocketbook!

The product has been around over 30 years, It has not one ounce of Dead Dinosaur Sludge Foreign oil!

Lets you drive 25k miles or once a year on a single Oil change, Decreases the pollution waste stream of used Oil filters and Waste Oil, Increases your fuel economy and extends engine life. And no I'm not out hugging a tree!

Your Jet engine would fall out of the Sky without it. Race Cars have used it for years. Best kept secret in America

You have to PM me for the product or open Car and Driver or Popular Mech. Admin had corrected me on handing out this answer, You real CarGuys will most likely guess the product. This Syn is In!

Well have to get some sleep the head of new product design for Powersports division is coming on.

Herv

Yes, when you add in the jobs created by the parts and component suppliers it adds up quickly.

Last I read, the car with the highest % of U.S. sourced parts was the Toyota Camry. The lowest were two Ford models. Murky indeed.

BobKat - Though the Car and Driver graphic noted above is from April 2011, it still is pretty current. Give the numbers noted a look-see!

Bill :)

Fiat
 

Our new Fiat 500 was assembled in Mexico but the engine and many other parts came from the US. Engine was made in Michigan.

Same here...have been burned by too many Chevy lemons throughout the years. Never have had a problem with my Camrys and now have moved up to lexus... '04 RX 330 for the wife and an '06 ES 330 for me. Bought them used with few miles and will run them forever.

Have you ever noticed where your fruits and veggies come from? How about fish and shrimp?

....
....
.... Welcome to TOTV " Growersmarket".....I am glad you have joined us..

Do you mean like GM and others made in Canada or Toyotas and Hondas made in the USA? Wake up. We are in a Global economy. Everything has foreign parts except simple items with only a few components. I worked in the Import/export industry and even Harley Davidson imports. Ford has their electronics made in Mexico and foreign car manufacturers make some of their cars in Foreign Trade Zones located mostly in our Southern States and employ a lot of US labor.

Also keep in mind that when you buy American you take income away from truckers, terminals, warehouses and many other industries who earn their profits from our imports. All you are doing is taking money away from one US worker to give to another. Most Americans are not even aware of our impotence/export industries or the types companies engaged in it. Do you know what a Cutoms Broker or Freight Forwarder is? Most do not or know of the many other professions that make their living from imports.

We should strive for a balance of trade rather than shutting out imports. Heck, even our military have been buying Italian pistols since the eighties.

Agree
 

I have to agree.

If you are like me we have seen the American Dream of 100% total parts and labor vanish like the Dinosaur.

Is it sad, Yes. Sorry folks engines, transmissions, electrical, software tires you name it! World made. May be assembled here but World made.

Many would not believe their transmissions are the same, manufactured by multiple companies. Companies are sharing technology to survive.

Twist the grip on that new Harley. It has no throttle cable! It is a drive by wire system. Manufactured by a Chinese owned company.

SIGH!

...did you check the date ( year ) those internet sites posted that info???

...It is fact that the current Hyundai SONATA and the Hyundai ELANTRA are made in Montgomery ALABAMA USA.

...Hyundai also owns KIA and makes the KIA SORENTO and the KIA OPTIMA ...AND... the HYUNDAI SANTA FE at the KIA plant in West Point GEORGIA USA.

...The cars currently SOLD IN the USA are MADE in the USA

... There are THOUSANDS of happy AMERICAN workers because these plants chose to come to the USA. ... PLUS..... they PAY their workers HIGHER WAGES THAN GENERAL MOTORS pays their NEW hires.

...a relative hired in at GENERAL MOTORS Lansing Michigan and makes LESS than $16 /hr after 16 months

...a relative hired in at KIA Georgia 22 months ago....STARTED at $20. /hr.

......BOTH work on the assembly lines....BOTH install windows in the cars.

amen :

I don't think buying an "American" car will accomplish anything regarding bringing back jobs from overseas. Buying an "American" car these days only reinforces the belief in the corporate world that the decision to outsource these parts/jobs is working, not that it is a mistake. Once these positions have been moved overseas, the only thing that will bring them back is when the costs of outsourcing exceed the costs of doing it here.

Ditto.