xyunya- Profits are going overseas. Yeah, helps our economy better than if they were made in Japan, but not much.

HemiRoadRunner- If you are in the “engineering business” with cars, I’m sure you’ll be glad to give me your department and vehicles you’ve worked on. I’m not sure about you, but I have and do business around that area of vehicle design and consumer to vehicle testing.

But remember, this is LLN. What do you have to prove?

And yes, I hate the idea that the domestics outsource parts as well, but it isn’t as bad as that.

It is a dangerous idea that foreign companies start to be considered domestic simply because they open a factory here. The fact is until the cash stays here, it’s bad for our economy – no matter who’s doing it!

BTW, military is not always a last resort. I have several friends who have made their living with a career in the armed services. They could have done anything they wanted. What they wanted was to serve. I salute them!

First of all, I slam American cars all the time, and truth be told I have NEVER owned a foreign car. My cars in order: Buick Century 2-door, then Cavalier Z24, then TJ x 2, now Wrangler 4-door. Each and every time I had the choice to buy something foreign, never did. I love American cars (especially Jeeps, Cadillacs), but I openly admit the fit/finish and build quality are leagues behind Japanese cars. It’s only now that I finished my residency and am making a real paycheck that I can afford to look at more upscale metal like the Cayenne or E-class.

This business about being a coward and joining the Air Force sounds contrived. In Canada and the US, joining the military is widely regarded as a way out when you’ve got little or no options left. There’s nothing badass about some trigger-happy teen from Wichita who shits his pants the first time a raghead squeezes off a few rounds in his direction. Testament to the American military’s idiocy can be found on Youtube – tanks chasing kids on bikes into alleys and getting ambushed. Idiots.

Finally, just because you’re a mechanical engineer (well done, BTW) it doesn’t mean you’re an automotive engineer. Anyways, fit/finish and quality assessment years into ownership don’t require a degree to appreciate. Thanks for listening. Next post will be insanely profane.

I’m the farthest thing from an import humper, but check the used car classifieds. What price does a 5 year old import command compared the equivalent 5 year old domestic? You already know the answer. Whether that reputation is deserved or not, it’s still fact. And it’s a big part of the reason why buyers in a tight economy are betting their after tax dollars on what they perceive as a proven commodity.

Whatever domestic is out there the Japanese have one better
G8 (shitty anyway ) the new TL or the Maxima is the answer
The CTS (Gms best effort to date) but…. The G or the TL trump that
The Malibu (please) the ACCORD or even the Mazda 6 at this point

Also if GM think that they can sell the Volt for 40k then they are insane No one will pay 40 k for a GM unless it has a Caddy badge on it and even then its questionable

Honda gets ripped apart for not having a 8 cyl but who is laughing now. I find it interesting that Honda will get through the crunch yet some people claim they are being traded in for Pontiac’s every day lol

There are hybrids, 4 cylinder family sedans, fuel efficient small cars, larger cars with more power, and on and on. We’ve been over this in other threads that domestic fuel economy is on par with import numbers, and any quality gap is perception only.

What am I missing?

I can see GM really promoting the Volt and it’s new mid-size cars in the near future even more intently then their currently diligently at, but I don’t see the same for their small vehicles. The Aveo and Cobalt are still far behind the current offerings by Toyota, Ford, Nissan and Honda. They just don’t have a place to really sell these vehicles as they’d like to, with Chevrolet having so many large vehicles. I really think it’s somewhat awkward for Chevrolet employees to sell small vehicles like the Aveo.

I can see Chrysler really promoting their SUV’s trucks. Once again, I don’t really see a good place for Chrysler to sell small cars, and I don’t see them at work with their small cars. Seeing the Nitro, Liberty, Sebring and Avenger such HUGE disappointments in terms of quality and sales doesn’t quite close the book for me with Chrysler and smaller cars, but I haven’t seen much of anything in the past 10 years that’s really there to agitate the competition. The last generation Liberty, Pacifica, in some respects their “forward positioned” sedans were good, but all of them suffered from the same thing; poor quality. I’m really curious when Chrysler is going to realize this, as Daimler was unable to come to an agreement on the problem, and the problem still remains with Cerberus.

Ford I think is in the best position. Although their small cars were never anything to brag about up until now, they have their act together in Europe and Latin American markets, neither of which Chrysler or GM have. I’m also more familiar with their small cars, and like I said their nothing to brag about, dealers are a bit more familiar with them. The Focus, Edge, Escape, Ranger (despite arguments that it’s old) and Fusion all have their game together. The new Cyclone/Eco-boost really sound like they’ll blow away a lot of the current competition. And the rest of Ford’s department, Volvo and Mazda specifically, seem to really have their game together. I can’t say the same for Lincoln or Mercury because they still remain in about the same shoes they had 10 years ago, although the new MKS sounds really good. We’ll just have to see.