Japanese vs American cars

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And when it comes out of Auto Stop mode it feels like a clutch drop. Awful design.

The best way I can describe the car is that it is almost like the Chevy engineers get a 5 year old Honda car and say "Alright, lets do our best to copy this car, then do something stupid to make it worse"
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Originally Posted By: tig1
My grandson's 2002 Toyota Camry was the worst car my family has ever had. My son had a 1996 Accord(bought it in 1998) when he went to college and it was likewise a lemon. My grandson now drives a Ford Focus and my son, for years drives American. At present he has a 2016 GMC Tahoe. I have driven Fords for 30 years and have never had a bad one.


A weird case of YMMV, I've had a 2002 Camry 4 cyl - 5 speed manual and it was fairly reliable. Nothing ever broke on it.

It's the fly-by-wire feature that really annoyed me.
 
Some American cars have come a long way IMO. It's a long time ago but I wasn't impressed with my 1988 Honda Civic, I bought it because it was a Honda; I liked my cheaper 1984 Ford Escort. Got rid of my Honda for a 2004 Hyundai Sonata and I've now have owned 3 Hyundais - they do impress me somewhat over more expensive Japanese care.

I have been driving American company cars for a while and I stopped liking Chrysler products - Whenever I get into one of their newish mini vans and I did drive a Journey for 120,000 miles - they just feel and look cheap. We bought my wife a 2007 Hyundai Entourage after my good experience with the Sonata went. Can't say it was bullet proof as i did have a problem with the battery when it was new and the car sat at the dealer a while because there were no batteries to be had - this was from 2 dealers. After the battery problem then YES it was bullet proof ... built like a tank, nice ride and great features.

As far as American cars, ,my car after the Journey was the Ford Escape - nice car, pretty peppy but it was kind of small interior wise, I think I had close to 100,000 miles on it when I picked up the Chevy Equinox - another nice american car. I don't drive as much as i used to so I don't have a real feel as to it's features and long drive comfort but it was considered as a replacement for the Entourage for my wife. We picked up the Ford Edge for replacement - nice car, has a lot of features that we have never owned and I guess we'll see how long it lasts. It is an "American" Car company but I believe the one we have was built in Canada and may have been originally given to a Canadian Driver ... I live in Jersey and it has an enginge block heater - never saw that on a gasoline engine before.

My $0.02 would be look at the Hyundais/Kias or if looking for a higher end - Genesis line. Hyundai is separating their lower end and higher end cars like all the others. When I bought the Entourage it was like $10,000 less than a similarly equipped Odyssey or Sienna. The Kia Sedona is/was it's sister car and when shopping on line I don't think they are that much cheaper anymore but they are a good value IMO for what you get.
 
Originally Posted By: dishdude
Originally Posted By: gregk24
Originally Posted By: dishdude
Originally Posted By: gregk24
When your talking 200K + miles, how the vehicle was maintained is far more important than the vehicles make. Having said that when you look at various sources Japanese makes still come out on top in the reliability department. It is true however, that other manufacturers are catching up. IMO GM still isn't doing so hot in the reliability department, they would be near the bottom of my list. The new 1.5 turbo is having some pretty serious teething issues.


10 years later and Honda is still having VTC actuator issues.


Yes, I don't understand why they can't get that part right. Having said that, how many engines have we seen fail as a result? The K24 has been affected now for 9 years, and newer 1.5's have been affected for a short while as well. Just think of the THOUSANDS upon thousands of engines with this issue, yet few if any have failed as a result. Honda still ranks among the top in reliability.


Meh, Honda is usually midpack, at best. Buick always beats them.


Hondas are for working class people who can't afford a German car.
 
When it comes to brand/country of origin, I am pretty much neutral. I think those two variables are actually way down on the list of things that really impact the reliability/longevity of a vehicle. There's much more variability when it comes to individual platforms, powertrains, major systems, etc. than brand/COO. And when dealing with used vehicles, much more variability in past maintenance and usage history. I have worked at an auto auction, a parts chain, and now a dealer parts dept, and brand really matters less than ever to me now. They all have their quirks, headaches, and bad apples. Every single brand.
 
Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
When it comes to brand/country of origin, I am pretty much neutral. I think those two variables are actually way down on the list of things that really impact the reliability/longevity of a vehicle. There's much more variability when it comes to individual platforms, powertrains, major systems, etc. than brand/COO. And when dealing with used vehicles, much more variability in past maintenance and usage history. I have worked at an auto auction, a parts chain, and now a dealer parts dept, and brand really matters less than ever to me now. They all have their quirks, headaches, and bad apples. Every single brand.


Yep, that's pretty much the conclusion I've come to. Lumping an entire continent of vehicles together seems the most absurd to me.
 
Link

This is what happens when you replace decent union jobs with "race to the bottom" jobs. As I have always said, Buy American! Support your own industries. But I know even with this knowledge, there still be people who just don't care about anyone but #1 and continue to buy this slapped-together foreign junk.
 
That article is an interesting read, I glanced over it but I wonder how other suppliers in other areas do. There is a big push in places that employ union workers to squash non union employment. Everyone is under production quotas who have jobs where they need to get a lot done - data entry, Amazon pickers, truck drivers and others. Even Surgeons sometimes push the OR schedule to get as many patients done in a single day.

I get yearly OSHA training on how to properly work on equipment called Lock Out/Tag out and I make it my choice to work safely based on my knowledge and experience.

It would be interesting to see how suppliers in other areas fairly with safety.
 
Originally Posted By: Silverado12
Link

This is what happens when you replace decent union jobs with "race to the bottom" jobs. As I have always said, Buy American! Support your own industries. But I know even with this knowledge, there still be people who just don't care about anyone but #1 and continue to buy this slapped-together foreign junk.


Seems people have died in union plants as well.

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2016/02/worker_killed_in_accident_at_g.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-generalmotors-plant-indiana-idUSKBN0F65KF20140701


http://www.detroitnews.com/story/busines...plant/26913999/
 
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Originally Posted By: dwcopple
Originally Posted By: Silverado12
Buy American! Support your own industries. But I know even with this knowledge, there still be people who just don't care about anyone but #1 and continue to buy this slapped-together foreign junk.
Where was your 2015 Cruze built? Ohio plant? Chevy shifting Cruze to Mexico to cut labor costs...
http://www.autonews.com/article/20150323...cruze-in-mexico


My Cruze was assembled in Lordstown (near Youngstown), Ohio. The sticker stated that the engine parts (1.4 turbo) and transmission parts (6 speed auto) were from the USA.
 
Originally Posted By: Silverado12
Originally Posted By: dwcopple
Originally Posted By: Silverado12
Buy American! Support your own industries. But I know even with this knowledge, there still be people who just don't care about anyone but #1 and continue to buy this slapped-together foreign junk.
Where was your 2015 Cruze built? Ohio plant? Chevy shifting Cruze to Mexico to cut labor costs...
http://www.autonews.com/article/20150323...cruze-in-mexico


My Cruze was assembled in Lordstown (near Youngstown), Ohio. The sticker stated that the engine parts (1.4 turbo) and transmission parts (6 speed auto) were from the USA.


As I mentioned previously-my good old American pickup truck (GMC Sierra) was assembled in Mexico. So is it slapped together foreign junk? You do know TATA in India owns Land Rover-and Volvo is owned by the Chinese? I would be curious if you thought they were "slapped together junk"? How about the motors in some GM models that are sourced from China?
http://www.autonews.com/article/20021104/ANA/211040751/gm-will-use-chinese-engines-in-equinox


It's been a world economy for sometime now...
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Silverado12
Link

This is what happens when you replace decent union jobs with "race to the bottom" jobs. As I have always said, Buy American! Support your own industries. But I know even with this knowledge, there still be people who just don't care about anyone but #1 and continue to buy this slapped-together foreign junk.

My father worked as an electrician in NYC during the 70s, and every electrician had to be part of the labor union. Regular guys would be paying union dues so that the head of the union could live a luxurious life and not be very productive. By making construction sites have extra laborers, business started building elsewhere.

My dad eventually went to Texas, and worked as a non-union electrician. Given the stories he has experienced and told me, he has no problem buying something that was made in the USA without labor unions.

In my family, the best cars we had were made in the USA...By Honda.
 
Originally Posted By: Silverado12
Link

This is what happens when you replace decent union jobs with "race to the bottom" jobs. As I have always said, Buy American! Support your own industries. But I know even with this knowledge, there still be people who just don't care about anyone but #1 and continue to buy this slapped-together foreign junk.


That's ultra low McJob wages to work in a factory making parts.

The guy who lost hand got a multimillion dollar settlement from employer...
 
Originally Posted By: artificialist
Originally Posted By: Silverado12
Link

This is what happens when you replace decent union jobs with "race to the bottom" jobs. As I have always said, Buy American! Support your own industries. But I know even with this knowledge, there still be people who just don't care about anyone but #1 and continue to buy this slapped-together foreign junk.

My father worked as an electrician in NYC during the 70s, and every electrician had to be part of the labor union. Regular guys would be paying union dues so that the head of the union could live a luxurious life and not be very productive. By making construction sites have extra laborers, business started building elsewhere.

My dad eventually went to Texas, and worked as a non-union electrician. Given the stories he has experienced and told me, he has no problem buying something that was made in the USA without labor unions.

In my family, the best cars we had were made in the USA...By Honda.


Teamsters pension for some trucking companies are flat broke.
 
Originally Posted By: Silverado12
Originally Posted By: dwcopple
Originally Posted By: Silverado12
Buy American! Support your own industries. But I know even with this knowledge, there still be people who just don't care about anyone but #1 and continue to buy this slapped-together foreign junk.
Where was your 2015 Cruze built? Ohio plant? Chevy shifting Cruze to Mexico to cut labor costs...
http://www.autonews.com/article/20150323...cruze-in-mexico


My Cruze was assembled in Lordstown (near Youngstown), Ohio. The sticker stated that the engine parts (1.4 turbo) and transmission parts (6 speed auto) were from the USA.

Car completely developed by OPEL (which GM sold) and GM in South Korea (former Daewoo).
Foreign junk? I guess that si why taxpayers had to bail out GM. They made just too good of a cars
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As my sig implies, buy what YOU like- and simply disregard what anyone else thinks. I tend to prefer German cars and American Jeeps, but my choices don't invalidate yours. All I ask is that you don't badger me about what you think I should buy...
 
I never thought I would own a Japanese car, and I have owned three mazdas. I picked my first mazda in 2009 because I was looking for a small car and I remember my brother had a $450 beat up 1988 626 that took a beating a kept on keepin on. I became the Mazdas biggest fan and their biggest critic.
I cant comment on newer domestic cars as I have never owned one. My 1995 F150 came from my dad and it has been a terrific truck. My dad never maintained it and its got a lot of miles. It doesnt run right now do to an electrical issue but I dont blame ford for that. My parents had a well maintained tahoe they bought from my aunt. That truck was reliable as a whole but from a design stand point it was unbelievable why they would do certain things. Why on earth would you use battery side terminals and cram them in a tiny space when you have loads of room on top like any other car? Why would you make it super easy to drop the screws holding the tail lights in so that they fall into the body never to be seen again? Things like that require no tools on a lot of foreign cars made at the time. Just crazy.
I am an American and I buy what I feel like I want to buy. I dont feel I have to buy an American car, but I absolutely try and shop local and I want quality parts too. I hate the chain auto stores and I was disappointed to see things like Mazda get rid of the japanese oil filter for my car or the fact I cant buy a replacement Panasonic battery that came OE in my Mazda.
 
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I've always been a Honda fanboy. I've loved them, until we bought our 2009 Pilot. It was alright for about 4 years, then it started burning oil (VCM V6), and the interior started coming apart (seats, trim, rattles, etc). It never left us stranded or broke down on the side of the road, but for the amount of money we paid, and the Honda reputation, I expected more! We traded it in on the 2016 4Runner with just shy of 100,000 miles.

Funny thing, the 3.5L with VCM in the Honda got ~ 1.5 MPG worse than we are seeing in the Toyota 4Runner (4.0 V6 with no VCM).

It's really funny how it works, but I feel let down my Honda, and for that reason are done with them.
 
Originally Posted By: Silverado12
Link

This is what happens when you replace decent union jobs with "race to the bottom" jobs. As I have always said, Buy American! Support your own industries. But I know even with this knowledge, there still be people who just don't care about anyone but #1 and continue to buy this slapped-together foreign junk.


Interesting article. Supports my thoughts on why it's better for a third world country to manufacture these parts instead of doing it here hastily. Sad folks get duped into thinking manufacturing at low level is actually a paying career. Certain specialty and highly trained will remain in USA but this stuff can go.
 
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