American cars aren't bad are they?

It used to be very common some time back for American autos to be predictably more unreliable than imports from Japan, Germany, etc. The companies that were known to be considerably more reliable are still among the top ranks of reliability, but the margin has slimmed a bunch in the past. Consumer Reports has more info than I can provide. Mind the yellow highlights, though; they’re paid-members-only doodads.

I had a buick century in college, turned it in at 250k. Never had a problem with it, other then the bearings. That problem was because I was a jack ass.

I had an ‘87 Honda CRX and a ‘97 Pontiac Trans-Am. I didn’t have much problems with either of them.

I wish I still had the T/A.

American car makers made some bad marketing decisions, and were locked into costly pensions and benefits packages. They made good enough cars, but Toyota and Honda made better cars for less money. After their Come-to Jesus Moment, perhaps the American makers will start to concentrate on quality and style, and will start manufacturing great cars, not just good enough cars.

Fords aren’t bad, especially the Fusion. I wouldn’t buy anything else American. My opinion is based on the 2009 Consumer Reports reviews and prior year reviews.

It is difficult to tell because the reliability data for today’s cars doesn’t even really exist yet! If you read the blogs, there are a lot of opinions that the quality of american cars have improved, but as consumer reports pointed out in their review of the Cadillac CTS, there is no way to tell if the quality will hold up until you have a bunch of old used ones to sample!

I wouldn’t rule out American cars, but I would look at the history of particular models.

Broadly, Japanese makes have the best records. Consumer Reports polls its readers every year, asking specifics – make, model, year, repairs. Honda, Subaru, and Toyota consistently top the list in reliability.

I guess i should point out that the Trans-Am was actually a Canadian car.

What’s an American car? Could you show me one, please? I’ll make it easy for you. Show me a car where only 70% of the thing was built in the US.

There is no more nationalism in cars. What we are talking about are companies, not company/nations. You want a good American car? Go look at Toyota. They make good American cars down in Texas or over in Indiana.

@wundayatta I was wondering about that also. What makes them so different if they are made here as well?

They are designed by American engineers who are steeped in the traditions of American car making. That’s the difference, not the assembly. Everyone knows how to build cars now. Design is the key.

Drive a Dodge Neon and put your curiosity to rest once and for all. Foreign cars have better handling, better fuel economy, and are better looking. It has been this way for a long time. American cars have major blind spots, whereas foreign cars do not.

When you are making a product like this, there are two major phases: design and manufacturing. These phases often occur in different countries. Just because they are manufactured in the U.S. doesn’t mean they are designed here. I think the U.S. is becoming less and less competitive when it comes to engineering because we are just not producing local talent like other major world players are.

I am a long time fan of Toyota and Honda, but currently am restoring and driving a classic VW beetle.

I have always had better reliability from the Japanese cars I have owned than from the American cars, with one exception: our 2003 2500-HD Chevy Silverado Crew Cab Truck with 120k miles on it has been essentially maintenance-free other than oil changes, and a new battery every three years or so.

OTOH, the gas mileage is really, really bad.

Recently, we divested ourselves of a money pit that passed as a car: a 2001 Volkswagen New Beetle, that needed 5 starters in 18 months, and on which all sorts of little things kept breaking all the time – window motors, window motor switches, gas cap release, hood release, cup-holders, and on and on.

My dad loved foreign cars. At one time or another we owned a VW, MG, Mercedes, Borgward, even a 3-wheel Messerschmitt (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8f6Bo57WsQ)—and this was back when, in Texas, you were considered a little odd if your drove anything but an American car, and also before they were very reliable—Dad’s cars were ALWAYS in the shop. I inherited my love of foreigns from him. The first car I ever bought with my own money was a VW bug. I’ve owned a few Americans over the years but never one I liked as much as my MG, BMW or Nissan. And wundayatta is right: these days, even the logo plates are probably made overseas.

@Austinlad – My Dad drove an elderly Humber Hawk VI for several years, and at another time a Morris Minor. Before that he drove a maroon 1949 Ford Prefect that still had a crank in the boot to use in emergencies as the starter wasn’t reliable.

My brother had a 1966 through 1972 VW Microbus name Louise. She was put together from scraps of several Microbuses. It was always breaking, but it was always easy to fix, except for the heater and the horn. We never could get those to work. Alas, Louise is no more, having run head on into a drunken driver on the wrong side of the road somewhere in West Virginia.

I used to have a Nissan. It was fifteen years old and I never had to replace a part. I even had close to 200,000 miles on the thing before someone else totaled it that jerk, and it was still running great.

Of course, now I have a Chevy (ugh). It’s only half the age of the Nissan and I’ve already had to do some part replacing. I hate the way it drives. The only reason it keeps driving is because I keep the oil clean, but I still have to dump a whole thing of coolant into it every month because it’s leaking from somewhere that no mechanic can seem to locate.

Of course, I don’t know what my opinion’s worth, since I’ve only owned these two cars m entire life, but so far, I’ve decided that my foreign experience was better than the domestic one, and I definitely plan to buy foreign the next time around.

Ummm, I don’t want to be mean to American cars, as they do tend to be crammed with goodies & character, but yes, they are terrible. Basically the fit & finish is well below what we expect in Europe, cheap plastics, panel gaps etc etc. & then you can add the terrible handling to the mix…. I mean, some American cars still use leaf-spring suspension for crying-out-loud, that’s practically horse & cart technology.

On average in terms of fuel efficiency they are not as good as Asian or European cars.

Most of the parts come from oversea’s anyway… Dang what differance does it make???

A fuel-efficient car is more than the sum of its parts.

Japanese vehicles aren’t bad are they? It’s not like Toyota just announced a multi-million vehicle recall and halt of vehicle sales due to sticky gas pedals or something, is it?

@Fred931 Lol, I understand, but that just happened though.

American or Import.. 99% of all american parts are made oversea’s… So are American cars American??? When it comes down to it… no one manufactures ANYTHING like they used to.

My American car was Canadian.

@mrentropy Was it a car purchased in Canada and made by Americans or purhased in America and made in Canada?

@Fred931 I bought it in the US, but it was made in Canada. A Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am. I guess they were all being made up there before they got the axe.

I miss that car

@mrentropy you trying to say I had something to do with it? ;P

no they are really good infact i have a mustang

@Axemusica If you did I would shake your hand. I loved that car.