Domestic vs. Japanese cars

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I love both Japanese and my domestics...

2004 Accord wife handed it to me at 105 now with 218 still runs and drives great ! i love it it has a v6 and runs! fast for what it is. We have had since new.

Old work truck 1995 GMC 4.3 was looking rough sold to a buddy for 1k it had 259k. Now with 313 I keep telling him that he is going to end up losing that truck over the next bump or pot hole... but I ran shcaeffers and he runs what ever is on sale OIL and it is still going..looking really rough no one will ride in it with him but its treats him well. Sad thing is it runs great !

1996 GMC 4x4 new work tuck. My favorite tuck it has 227k again shaeffers runs great just Fuel pumps and stupid stuff.

2004 Grand Prix 128k not as nice as Honda but good reliable car.
alternator went at 50k..

Thats my take ? I really like GM stuff and Honda but that is because of my luck i had...take it for what it's worth.
 
Originally Posted By: GenSan
Look at history for some answers.

After WWII Japan had absolutely no choice but to improve and change for the better in moving forward.

They even have a word for that: Kaizen


Which ironically was taught to them by an American, they just happened to listen to him.

Also, the beauty about Kaizen is that it can be made to improve pretty much every process under the sun.
So during 80's and early 90's Japanese used Kaizen to improve quality and significantly reduce defect rates, but that meant increased design and manufacturing costs. All this was fine though, as they were small players with little volume.
Fast forward to late 90's and today and we will find that Japanese are using Kaizen to improve profit margins and increase production. This of course in turn affects quality of their design and manufacturing processes.

In the end it's a balancing act, you may call it some fancy names or simply a balancing act, but in the end there is no magical solution that improves one thing without sacrificing something else.
 
I will buy: Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda

I won't ever again buy: GM, Mazda, Nissan.

All the rest are boring....except maybe a Subaru.

I pay no attention to the long gone foreign vs domestic debate since my current Toyota was made in Kentucky.
 
Give the American made American cars a try again. I think you will be impressed with the quality and driving fun many of the cars provide.
 
Originally Posted By: GenSan
Look at history for some answers.

After WWII Japan had absolutely no choice but to improve and change for the better in moving forward.

They even have a word for that: Kaizen


Does kaizen mean; "We can build better cars than the Americans because they just paid for all our new modern factories?" Or, " The American car companies can't afford to retool and their governmebt is giving us Billions in technology and equipment?"

Try not to forget how much the Japanese government subsidized those car companies so they were able to build better quality at cheaper prices.
 
The only trouble free vehicles I have owned in 42 years of driving have both been Toyota's, a 1991 and a 2008. Went through 6 Ford's(all junk), I truly know what fixed or repaired daily means. 2 GM's, one was OK, the other was a POC but was a blast to drive. One Honda, loved the engine and tranny, but the rest of it was a appliance, with the most numb steering on the planet. Now saving up for my next Toyota. Will buy it when I retire.
 
What was the purpose of this thread other than to troll? Nothing like painting an entire country of origins products with a broad brush. OP's comments were entirely ignorant and comparing entirely different generations of products. A 1991 and a Plymouth? That's about the equivalent of saying the crank handle used to start my Grandfather's LaSalle snapped off in his hand one day back in 1932 so a 2013 American car must not be a good car.

My family has had 2 cars I would consider to me lackluster in the reliability department - a 1990 Lumina and a 2000 Acura TL. The Lumina nickel and dimed, the Acura had major catastrophic powertrain failure that cost thousands to keep running. All other GM/Honda products we've owned have been just fine.

Frankly as an American I take offense to this "I'll never buy American and American products are junk" comments.
 
Yes I love Toyota SUV's and Hilux's, but I look forward to going back to Chevy when I end up retiring in the distant future and getting me a current model ZR1 if they are still made.

*** BLESS AMERICA!
 
My Step mom's HONDA is HORRIBLE. It is truly [censored] junk. Toyota is only SLIGHTLY better. The 08 Prius had a headlight seal go out and it shorted out a computer when is got a very very little bit of moisture in it. The rear hatch leaks water and axle seals replaced under warranty. NEVER EVER will I subject my self to that scrap. Japanese quality died in the late 90's and NOW they are just living of their names and OLD reputation. Dad bought into the [censored] quality hype and got bit twice. In 225K miles my ZX2 has needed LESS THAN $500 in things other than maintence, my Ranger needed NOTHING in 413k miles.
 
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Imo,American cars were luxury and muscle,and Japanese were technology and reliability.

Where American car companies screwed up BIG time was ending the V8 powered luxury cars,and original V8 powered muscle cars. When I think of American cars,I think of the Towncar,Delta 88/98 Regency,Cutlass Supreme,Buick Electra,Regal,carberated Trans Am,Camaro,Mustang,etc. GM discontinued what made them THE best :^(

There`s not a current car that I`d go near. If I were in the market for a *new* car,I`d buy a low mileage old one.

The auto industry sank,and will never be what it used to be.
 
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I don't really have a preference anymore, used to favour japanese cars after enjoying the anvil like reliability of an 85 corolla in high school. But then my 95 Neon was pretty much the same, so now I buy whatever I think suits us best and is reasonably simple. More technology is just more stuff to break and I don't need anything complicated to drive on public roads.
 
Originally Posted By: johnachak
Originally Posted By: GenSan
Look at history for some answers.

After WWII Japan had absolutely no choice but to improve and change for the better in moving forward.

They even have a word for that: Kaizen


Does kaizen mean; "We can build better cars than the Americans because they just paid for all our new modern factories?" Or, " The American car companies can't afford to retool and their governmebt is giving us Billions in technology and equipment?"

Try not to forget how much the Japanese government subsidized those car companies so they were able to build better quality at cheaper prices.


Japanese automakers had about 20 years of protectionism to perfect the car production processes when they became competitive enough to American cars. Europe also had some protectionism for their automakers.

America had always been mostly open to free trade (while these other countries were not) and the market suddenly changed and US automakers had to cut costs. Most of the issues American cars had in the past was parts supplier quality. Japan has special relationships with their main tier parts suppliers.

Nowadays, especially with GM, there's really no reliability difference. There's other qualities American cars have as well.
 
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Originally Posted By: DrDusty86
Japanese quality died in the late 90's


I agree


So does that mean American quality died in the 70's? Because the 80's, 90's and early 2000 ones I had were junk? Of course it doesn't. It just means that the cars I bought were junk.
 
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Originally Posted By: JavierG
So does that mean American quality died in the 70's? Because the 80's, 90's and early 2000 ones I had were junk? Of course it doesn't. It just means that the cars I bought were junk.

My take:

For example,compare an RX8 to an RX7 Twin Turbo. A 370Z to a 300ZX Twin Turbo. A Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4 to an Eclipse GT. No more Acura NSX. No more Toyota Supra.

The Japanese lost their flagship breakthroughs.
 
Originally Posted By: JavierG
So does that mean American quality died in the 70's? Because the 80's, 90's and early 2000 ones I had were junk? Of course it doesn't. It just means that the cars I bought were junk.

American cars had their junk in the mid 70s,believe me! Every mid 70s US car my family owned was a complete and total pos. Late 60s,early 70s,then mid 80s-late 90s imo US cars were some of the best cars on the road.
 
ALL cars these days seem to come from the same mold. They`re all cookie cutter cars. Cars nowadays have no soul and all look the same.
 
I miss the 80s models that were all identical mechanically but had slightly different bodies.
The Grand Prix,monte Carlo,cutlass supreme and some others.
They were easy to find parts for,you could do an engine swap in 5 hours(installed a 350 in my cutlass in 1 week worth of lunch breaks).
Everything was interchangeable,heck even the trucks had parts that would swap over like some brake callipers and rotors.
I know those may have have been the cars the generation older than me complains about but I loved those early 80s models.
That's where I learned to love turning wrenches.
 
The chicken tax doesn't count as protectionism?

Originally Posted By: mechanicx


Japanese automakers had about 20 years of protectionism to perfect the car production processes when they became competitive enough to American cars. Europe also had some protectionism for their automakers.

America had always been mostly open to free trade (while these other countries were not) and the market suddenly changed and US automakers had to cut costs. Most of the issues American cars had in the past was parts supplier quality. Japan has special relationships with their main tier parts suppliers.

Nowadays, especially with GM, there's really no reliability difference. There's other qualities American cars have as well.
 
No I don't think so not to the degree or as widespread as how Japan protects its domestic markets.
 
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