Do you consider Made in America when purchasing a car?

[KyCatFan]

Whatever catches my eye and is good on the wallet is what I buy these days. Currently drive a 2011 Kia Sportage.

Similar to the one I have.

Have not had a single problem in the 3+ years I've owned it and looks pretty sharp in my opinion. Only have 58k miles on it right now. I moved up from a 2011 Mazda 3 to this crossover due to back issues. Much easier to get in and out of. I do miss my 2005 Mustang GT I had before that, but it wasn't practical with 2 young kids at the time I had it. It really needed to be garage kept in the winter with the way the windows worked.

 

[Ron Mehico]

When my family first moved to the US we invested a huge chunk of our money and savings into a 1987 Ford Aerostar and a 1986 Pontiac Sunfire. We were proud to buy American cars. Those two cars were the absolute biggest pieces of shit they might as well have been made of cardboard. Me and my family have never bought American again, probably spans at least 15 cars between all of us. The only thing I might even one day think about are the new Lincoln Navigators which are extremely sharp.

American car makers spat in their customers faces in the 80s and 90s and it’s
going to take them a long time to recover if ever.

 

[ThroughBlue]

03 Ford F-150
05 Nissan Maxima
00 Ford F-150
08 Lincoln MKZ
16 Ford Edge for family 08 Civic for me

I’ve never been big on buying brand new vehicles or even having to have a car payment. I used to go with slightly used (>30k miles) and drive them until they wouldn’t drive anymore but once the kids came into the picture we thought we needed something new and safe so we got the edge.


Maxima was by far the best and most expensive but was also hard to find any of these local mechanics who wanted to mess with it.

I loved both of my f150 but they were old body style and not the big square looking trucks of new. If I were to get a new model truck it would be a Ford.

The Lincoln was purchased used and was a nice vehicle but it seemed like every little thing that happened with it was twice as expensive as it would have been with the Ford version of the vehicle.

The edge has been nice but once the kids get older and we need more room we will
Obviously have to go to a bigger suv (Tahoe explorer etc)

The civic is cool for a back and forth car. Hopefully it lasts me for a few more years.


I’ve never understood the want to have a super expensive car. I can think of a lot more super expensive things that I would rather have than what I drive to work and most of them go bang or boom

 

[420grover]

Wife - 2010 Mercedes c300
Son - 2008 VW Passat
Me - 99 Chevy Silveraydo and custom built bike(by me) powered by an 84 Honda shadow 700 engine. Soon to be C5 Corvette.

I don't buy new, I don't care about cars being old because I know how to work on them.

 

[JDHoss]

Currently I drive a 2015 RAM and my wife has a 2006 Daytona Charger that only has 80K on it. We like both vehicles. We've owned Dodge, Pontiac, Chevy, Nissan, Teeota and VW vehicles in the past, and the only one I'd never consider buying again (besides the Pontiac obviously) is a VW. We bought a new Jetta in 1985, and it was far and away the biggest piece of junk I've ever owned. I traded it for a Pontiac Grand Prix after 9 months and 3 fuel pump failures, the last of which left my wife and our 1 year old stranded a couple of miles from the nearest phone.

 

[BlueRaider22]

I do consider American, but I have limits. I first think of reliability (within reason), need vs want, feel, price.....then once my choices are narrowed I will consider manufacturing.

The following is experiences from my immediately family since the 80’s

1984 - Chevy Silverado. Old farm truck....couldn’t kill it. Probably still running around somewhere.
1990 - Plymouth Laser. Quick for its day, fun to drive.
1993 - Chevy Silverado. Great truck.
1995 - Dodge Dakota. Decent truck. Paint stunk....peeled right off. Was pretty reliable.
1997 - Pontiac Grand Am - slow but functional. It’s still running.
1997 - Toyota Tacoma - 2 of them. Couldn’t kill them. Boring as heck, but couldn’t kill them.
1998 - Dodge Dakota - was great for 50k. Then had to replace the right ball jet and water pump every 1-2 yrs. had to clean or replace the cat converter every 2-3 yrs. this got old real fast.
2003 - Chevy Tahoe - great truck.
2003 - Jeep Wrangler - absolute blast to drive and would go any wear a billy goat would. Consistent issues.
2004 - Dodge Intrepid - fell apart after 80k.
2005 - Ford Ranger - still running.
2005 - Ford F-150 - good truck....absolute terrible turning radius. Pain to drive.
2006 - Chevy Tahoe - slow and underpowered. But great truck.
2007 - Nissan Altima - just a fantastic car. No issues.
2008 - Ford F-150 - great truck, no issues
2009 - Toyota Camry - boring, but but Uber reliable....still running without issues.
2010 - BMW X3 - issue upon issue.
2013 - Honda Fit - functional. Great reliability. Still running.
2013 - Nissan Pathfinder - very functional. Very reliable. Still running.
2014 - Jeep Grand Cherokee - designed by Mercedes and you can tell. It’s fast and very fun to drive. Reliability is very disappointing thus far. I only have 82k on it and it has had multiple transmission issues among other things. I’m going to dump it soon.
2014 - Toyota 4Runner - compared to competition it’s slow, painful to drive, less comfortable....but perfect reliability.
2014 - Chevy Cruze - good car, no issues.


So, 7 family members with 30+ yrs of car experience. Have drawn a few conclusions:
-Foreign manufacturers like Honda and Toyota produce boring products but great reliability.
-What is now FCA has produced poor reliability again and again.....I might be done with them completely now. There’s a reason why Consumer Reports and JD Power always have them lower on reliability.
-have had quite a bit of luck with Chevy and Ford.

 

[Chuckinden]

I do consider American, but I have limits. I first think of reliability (within reason), need vs want, feel, price.....then once my choices are narrowed I will consider manufacturing.

The following is experiences from my immediately family since the 80’s

1984 - Chevy Silverado. Old farm truck....couldn’t kill it. Probably still running around somewhere.
1990 - Plymouth Laser. Quick for its day, fun to drive.
1993 - Chevy Silverado. Great truck.
1995 - Dodge Dakota. Decent truck. Paint stunk....peeled right off. Was pretty reliable.
1997 - Pontiac Grand Am - slow but functional. It’s still running.
1997 - Toyota Tacoma - 2 of them. Couldn’t kill them. Boring as heck, but couldn’t kill them.
1998 - Dodge Dakota - was great for 50k. Then had to replace the right ball jet and water pump every 1-2 yrs. had to clean or replace the cat converter every 2-3 yrs. this got old real fast.
2003 - Chevy Tahoe - great truck.
2003 - Jeep Wrangler - absolute blast to drive and would go any wear a billy goat would. Consistent issues.
2004 - Dodge Intrepid - fell apart after 80k.
2005 - Ford Ranger - still running.
2005 - Ford F-150 - good truck....absolute terrible turning radius. Pain to drive.
2006 - Chevy Tahoe - slow and underpowered. But great truck.
2007 - Nissan Altima - just a fantastic car. No issues.
2008 - Ford F-150 - great truck, no issues
2009 - Toyota Camry - boring, but but Uber reliable....still running without issues.
2010 - BMW X3 - issue upon issue.
2013 - Honda Fit - functional. Great reliability. Still running.
2013 - Nissan Pathfinder - very functional. Very reliable. Still running.
2014 - Jeep Grand Cherokee - designed by Mercedes and you can tell. It’s fast and very fun to drive. Reliability is very disappointing thus far. I only have 82k on it and it has had multiple transmission issues among other things. I’m going to dump it soon.
2014 - Toyota 4Runner - compared to competition it’s slow, painful to drive, less comfortable....but perfect reliability.
2014 - Chevy Cruze - good car, no issues.


So, 7 family members with 30+ yrs of car experience. Have drawn a few conclusions:
-Foreign manufacturers like Honda and Toyota produce boring products but great reliability.
-What is now FCA has produced poor reliability again and again.....I might be done with them completely now. There’s a reason why Consumer Reports and JD Power always have them lower on reliability.
-have had quite a bit of luck with Chevy and Ford.

FCA ----- Fiat Chrysler?

 

[FusterCluck]

We bought a new Jetta in 1985, and it was far and away the biggest piece of junk I've ever owned. I traded it for a Pontiac Grand Prix after 9 months and 3 fuel pump failures, the last of which left my wife and our 1 year old stranded a couple of miles from the nearest phone.

Oh, man. I drove an 88 Jetta GL in school. Same thing: fuel pump failures, CPU failure, AC switch shorted and melted ($425 just for the AC control, in early 90s), interior integrity was absolute crap... But the one thing it did with regularity was break the clutch throw-out rod. My folks replaced it 3 times with factory part. The 4th time, dad had one machined from steel that was actually worth a shit... then the head gasket went on University Blvd on Dec 24th during rush hour. That was the last day I saw that car.

To this day I don't understand how VW sells cars.

 

[catsfanbgky]

a domestically produced imported product? wow. That's quite an achievement by both industry and . . . and faith? Seriously, dude. I know what you're saying, but the fact is . . there is no such dog.

Fact is the "Big 3" certainly appreciate your use of "import". Because they don't want that word tagged to all they vehicles they build in Mexico. Even Chevy Silverado and Dodge Ram trucks have been produced in Mexico in recent years. Imports.

You want to buy a full size "American" truck that isn't built in Mexico? Stick with Ford.

I agree 100%. Been in the Biz for 24 years now. My company at one time owned 3 different Ford stores.

 

[FusterCluck]

-What is now FCA has produced poor reliability again and again.....I might be done with them completely now. There’s a reason why Consumer Reports and JD Power always have them lower on reliability.

- Jeep is a teflon brand. Everybody knows they;re shit, yet they fall over themselves to over-pay for one. The chart that shows overall quality compared to customer satisfaction on the Jeep Wrangler makes exactly zero sense as it bears out what I just typed.

- As an avid off-roader, I wouldn't own one in stock format. I would take an older, well-built one, though. Yes, there is no other vehicle as capable off-road off the lot. No argument there. But all that off-road capability isn't worth a broken cock when it lives at the dealership.

Edit: forgot the point of this...
My neighbor across the street has a 2014 Rubicon in that blue-gray color. It's beautiful and it eats oil. Like, a lot of oil. He'd take it back, they'd claim to fix it, same thing next oil change. He called me over for a jump a couple days one week a couple summers ago. Some servo was stuck on and was draining his batt overnight. This was a lease vehicle. He bought the damned thing when the lease was up. Teflon.

 

[Bill Derington]

84 Hurst/Olds- lots of issues
83 Ford Bronco- lots of issues
88 GMC Sierra - solid truck
96 Chevy S-10- cheaply made, gas gauge stopped working, muffler broke down, couldn’t keep an A/C compressor running in it.
98 Dodge Ram- Awesome truck, let my Dad have it, still running strong with no issue.
93 Ford Ranger- Still going strong, drive it every day to work.
2000 Mustang GT- so much fun, and solidly built, first car I ever bought brand new. Had to get rid of it when babies came along.
2006 Dodge Ram- Never an issue, Hemi is the best engine in a half ton truck, just so strong and durable.
2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee- never any issue at all, granted we only had it a little over a year.
2011 Dodge Durango Citadel- it’s been a good vehicle, but not crazy about it.
2011 Ram 1500- Best all around vehicle I’ve ever owned, never an issue out of it at all.

 

[420grover]

The parts that all of these vehicles are assembled from are made in the same factories. I used to forge torsion bars and stabilizer bars for GM, Ford, Benz, Toyota, Nissan all under the same roof. If a part fails, the car manufacturer(assembler) had very little to do with it.

 

[Rebelfreedomeagle]

I don't necessarily favor domestics over imports but I've owned both and my results have been mixed. We had a Saturn Vue that was bulletproof for the 150k we owned it for and a Toyota truck that I sold because of constant repairs and the warranty was ending. I do avoid anything German because of the cost of maintenance and repairs here.

 

[WildcatfaninOhio]

I remember the good ole days, back in the late 70s and early 80s, when Americans proudly owned American-made cars. We had the Ford Pinto, the Chrysler K cars, and the Chevy Vega. Those cars were awesome! Hopefully we can find a way to lock out foreign competition and go back to those days.

Ahh...nostalgia!

 

[FusterCluck]

84 Hurst/Olds- lots of issues
98 Dodge Ram- Awesome truck, let my Dad have it, still running strong with no issue.
2006 Dodge Ram- Never an issue, Hemi is the best engine in a half ton truck, just so strong and durable.
2011 Ram 1500- Best all around vehicle I’ve ever owned, never an issue out of it at all.

I find this so odd.

My old man was a Cummins-trained diesel mechanic. Retired from the Evansville garage after 32 years. LOVED Cummins more than us kids.

Wouldn't touch a Dodge truck with a 10-foot pole. He always drove a Ford. When Cummins and Dodge first collaborated, Cummins wanted to put a 100k mile, bumper-to-bumper warranty on their engines. Dodge declined, citing their trucks would never last that long. Theres good reason you don't see hardly ANY late 80's early 90's (pre body change) Dodge trucks on the road. No matter how good Dodge has become, and I concede that they have come miles and miles from where they were... I can never get past that stigma. Dodge will always be less than in my eyes, even if I'm wrong.

 

[Bill Derington]

I find this so odd.

My old man was a Cummins-trained diesel mechanic. Retired from the Evansville garage after 32 years. LOVED Cummins more than us kids.

Wouldn't touch a Dodge truck with a 10-foot pole. He always drove a Ford. When Cummins and Dodge first collaborated, Cummins wanted to put a 100k mile, bumper-to-bumper warranty on their engines. Dodge declined, citing their trucks would never last that long. Theres good reason you don't see hardly ANY late 80's early 90's (pre body change) Dodge trucks on the road. No matter how good Dodge has become, and I concede that they have come miles and miles from where they were... I can never get past that stigma. Dodge will always be less than in my eyes, even if I'm wrong.

Why do you find it odd? The body change was in 93. Hell, my uncle is still driving an 89 Dodge with the Cummins engine.

I’ve had 3, never any trouble. The first one is still being driven by my Dad, I totaled the second one but I never had any trouble, I’m driving the 3rd one right now and it’s trouble free.

You’re holding something against a trick brand from over 30 years ago. They have the best engine, gas and diesel, best VVT SYSTEM, best looks, rock solid.

 

[420grover]

They have the best engine, gas and diesel, best VVT SYSTEM, best looks, rock solid.

That's your opinion, just like he stated his.

 

[FusterCluck]

Why do you find it odd? The body change was in 93. Hell, my uncle is still driving an 89 Dodge with the Cummins engine.

I’ve had 3, never any trouble. The first one is still being driven by my Dad, I totaled the second one but I never had any trouble, I’m driving the 3rd one right now and it’s trouble free.

You’re holding something against a trick brand from over 30 years ago. They have the best engine, gas and diesel, best VVT SYSTEM, best looks, rock solid.

Again, it's pure stigma. They may be awesome now, I'll likely never know b/c they once were not. I think we'd all agree on Dodge's new attention to quality in that time span as their quality reports and sales numbers indicate as much. In fact, I'd venture we'd all welcome such an improvement as Dodge made in quality for the remainder of the big3.

I'm not knocking your choice, just telling you why it's weird to me. Dodge has come a very LONG way, and good for them, but it's not for me.

EDIT: Best Dodge truck I've known in my life was a buddy's early 90's Dakota 4x4 with a 318. White on grey with red pinstripes. That was a good truck.

 

[KyCatFan]

That's your opinion, just like he stated his.

I've never owned a pickup (cost to much unless high mileage), but I like this

better than this.

That is a personal choice though like you said. Both are nice though.

Edit

By the way, when I was in my late teens, I loved the look of the Nissan and Toyota small 4x4 trucks like the one in Back to the Future.

 

[420grover]

I've never owned a pickup (cost to much unless high mileage), but I like this

better than this.

That is a personal choice though like you said. Both are nice though.

Exactly. The only fact when it comes to trucks is that the 67-72 Chevys are the best looking trucks ever built.

 

[FusterCluck]

So, if you dropped the $70k on a Raptor, would you/could you huck it off some sweet dunes?

I don;t think I could.

- IMO, the Toyota trucks of the early 90's to 2000's (pre-taco and first gen) are solid gold. Some of the best vehicles ever. If they were big enough, they would be my only focus. And the T-100 and early Tundras just don't carry that same quality. They're good, but not the same.

 

[kyboy1998]

Exactly. The only fact when it comes to trucks is that the 67-72 Chevys are the best looking trucks ever built.

I agree. I plan to have one of them. Bigger fan of the mesh grill 70/73 versions. Those trucks were actually garbage and had the half tons had rear coil springs and couldn’t haul much, I just love the damn things and they have parts available for restoration.

 

[420grover]

I agree. I plan to have one of them. Bigger fan of the mesh grill 70/73 versions. Those trucks were actually garbage and had the half tons had rear coil springs and couldn’t haul much, I just love the damn things and they have parts available for restoration.

I've owned several of them over the last 30 years. One of these days, i'm gonna build one of these

 

[kyboy1998]

I've owned several of them over the last 30 years. One of these days, i'm gonna build one of these

Those trucks make perfect street rods.

If you could pull off a 4 door lowered street cruiser post the pics. That would be a really cool ride.

 

[KyCatFan]

Exactly. The only fact when it comes to trucks is that the 67-72 Chevys are the best looking trucks ever built.

I edited it to add something else you may not have seen. Not as old as your choices though.

 

[420grover]

Those trucks make perfect street rods.

If you could pull off a 4 door lowered street cruiser post the pics. That would be a really cool ride.

The fourth door construction is the real tricky part. You start off with a 3 door suburban. The guy that built the one I posted built it as a tow vehicle for his 72 blazer but now the truck has won more awards than the blazer.

 

[KyCatFan]

So, if you dropped the $70k on a Raptor, would you/could you huck it off some sweet dunes?

I don;t think I could.

I'd be afraid to take it out of the driveway.

 

[Deeeefense]

There's a difference between made in US and assembled in USA. I'm like the OP, in that all things being equal I favor transitional US brands, although I have had Japanese cars and trucks as well. But if you look at all the individual components of any car you will find that there are pieces made in many different countries regardless of where it is assembled.

The last car I bought was Lincoln assembled in the US. Great car and the dealership and Lincoln's concierge service is fantastic. I've had good luck with GM products but a few years back we needed an SUV, so I was interested in buying a GMC Acadia but the local dealer was just lousy to deal with, so I opted for a Toyota Highlander instead. Their dealership was fantastic and so was the vehicle. In both cases the dealership was a big factor.

 

[BigSexyCat]

As long as I can financially afford to do so I will never own a car built in another country. To hell with the brand. If it’s assembled here with majority American parts then I will buy it.

My favorite truck right now is the crew cab Chevy truck but I will never own one because it’s built in Mexico.

 

[CatGotMyTongue]

Porsche with cocaine dispenser, bar and hooker.

 

[Bill Derington]

I've never owned a pickup (cost to much unless high mileage), but I like this

better than this.

That is a personal choice though like you said. Both are nice though.

Edit

By the way, when I was in my late teens, I loved the look of the Nissan and Toyota small 4x4 trucks like the one in Back to the Future.

The Raptor is awesome, but it’s a from the factory off-road racing Truck. The Ram pictured is for hauling heavy loads. Both excel at what they were designed for.

I do have a soft spot for those old and new Toyota mid size trucks, they are sharp and bullet proof.

 

[MegaBlue05]

Nope.

Price.
Fuel economy.
Past results.

I buy mostly Kentucky-made cars from a Japanese company. You couldn't pay me to drive another Ford or GM car. Been burned too damn many times.

 

[Kaizer Sosay]

Nah. First of all, I never did care for that movie very much. Secondly, I'm not really sure why I would consider it when purchasing a vehicle. Odd question to ask, OP.

 

[BlueRaider22]

FCA ----- Fiat Chrysler?

Yep. But it goes beyond that. Dodge, Jeep, and associated brands have a long history of lesser reliability. While historically they’re not Land Rover, they are generally well behind the other big American brands as a general rule.

 

[BlueRaider22]

- Jeep is a teflon brand. Everybody knows they;re shit, yet they fall over themselves to over-pay for one. The chart that shows overall quality compared to customer satisfaction on the Jeep Wrangler makes exactly zero sense as it bears out what I just typed.

- As an avid off-roader, I wouldn't own one in stock format. I would take an older, well-built one, though. Yes, there is no other vehicle as capable off-road off the lot. No argument there. But all that off-road capability isn't worth a broken cock when it lives at the dealership.

Edit: forgot the point of this...
My neighbor across the street has a 2014 Rubicon in that blue-gray color. It's beautiful and it eats oil. Like, a lot of oil. He'd take it back, they'd claim to fix it, same thing next oil change. He called me over for a jump a couple days one week a couple summers ago. Some servo was stuck on and was draining his batt overnight. This was a lease vehicle. He bought the damned thing when the lease was up. Teflon.

Agreed. The Wrangler we had was nothing but pure fun. We bought a used one and jacked it up. Man that thing would go anywhere. And it was uber fun to pull the top and the doors off and putz around town. But they’re just not reliable. And modern Wranglers are an enigma. Jeeps used to be inexpensive....but now you have to pay through the nose for them. But the brand in general is not very reliable.

 

[KyCatFan]

I always wanted a Wrangler, but every single time I went looking for a different vehicle, there were never any used Wranglers to look at. The salesman said that owners of them tend to keep them. The newer ones were pricey (I think $30k+ range). I've liked them ever since I saw them on the show MacGyver.

Of course they are only really cool looking raised up with the big off road tires on them. Sort of like this.

 

[JDHoss]

Oh, man. I drove an 88 Jetta GL in school. Same thing: fuel pump failures, CPU failure, AC switch shorted and melted ($425 just for the AC control, in early 90s), interior integrity was absolute crap... But the one thing it did with regularity was break the clutch throw-out rod. My folks replaced it 3 times with factory part. The 4th time, dad had one machined from steel that was actually worth a shit... then the head gasket went on University Blvd on Dec 24th during rush hour. That was the last day I saw that car.

To this day I don't understand how VW sells cars.

The reason I considered and bought one to start was because the old guy I car pooled with swore by them. He was driving a Golf that had over 400K on it and it ticked right along. The Jetta was a lemon. The last time the fuel pump tore up, they loaned us a Golf GTI, which was actually a fun vehicle to drive. When I went back to the dealer to turn it in and get the Jetta, the salesman told me I should just trade for that GTI. I told him the only way I'd take the GTI was if they gave the ****ing thing to me free and clear, and then I'd go somewhere else and trade it.

 

[warrior-cat]

If you buy a car for any other reason than safety, quality and price, I got no time for you.

Pinko

 

[warrior-cat]

Two reasonable vehicles. One American and one international. They take me from one place to another.

Be more specific please.

 

[warrior-cat]

68 Ford Fairlane
Ford Econoline Van (don't remember year)
80 Ford Mustang
87 Ford Bronco 4X4 8cyl
91 Ford Ranger (Best truck I ever owned)
97 Ford F150 (Son Still drives and runs like a charm)
07 Ford F150 (Will drive until dead me or Truck)
Wife has driven three foreign since we have been together
Nissan Sentra, (don't remember year), Kia Sportage 2005 and now 2018 Nissan Rogue