What do you drive?
 

More and more bad news coming out from Detroit about the woes of the U.S. auto industry. Seems the Big 3 are heading for some bad times, as this one story from among many is talking about. My question is, knowing that many of the traditional 'foreign brands' have U.S. factories and employ Americans...what do you drive and does the brand of vehicle (company that makes it) make a big difference to you. I know that Toyota has an extremely loyal following of customers. http://www.detnews.com/2005/insiders...C01-122312.htm

Our own 'family car' is a Chevrolet Blazer. I'll add while its not a bad vehicle, Chevrolet dealers in general inhabit the bottom of the list in the J.D. Powers Customer Satisfaction surveys and my own experiences support that. Doubt if I would get another Chev.

After suffering through 4 GM products and 1 Chrysler, I switched to a Toyota Echo sub-compact. The lowest cost of ownership of any vehicle as rated by Consumer Reports. Haven't had one problem with it which is a nice change of pace from the GM and Chrysler products I've had. I would probably buy Toyota or (if my MBA generates more money for me) Lexus again. My satisfaction experience with Toyota is very high.

More bad news for the Big 3, given you happen to live in Michigan. I've noticed most living in Michigan do tend to drive Big 3 autos with a healthy mix of others being seen, but as you get out-of-state the drop-off in Big 3s seen is significant. Going into Columbus or Chicago may even see more Hondas, Toyotas and Hyundais than Big 3s.

I've seen the same trend. Detroit being a Union town, loyalty towards GM, Ford, and DaimlerChrysler (Can we stop calling this company USA based yet?) is strong.

They will have to increase their value and reliability for me to consider one of their products again. With Toyota catching fire and on pace to surpass GM as the #1 automaker, it is hard for them to compete. They have this huge albatross over their neck, health care of workers.

Most of my family on my mom's side have been in Big Three auto-related jobs since the beginning of time. And all are doing really, really poorly right now. My uncles worked in a car design company (one of them was part owner) that ended up closing shop, and one uncle had to let the other one go, then lost his company a couple of yerars later. Bad times. They always take it, even now, as a personal affront when we don't buy American cars.

My dad was in the same boat as they were, working for Ford, but after the recession in the early 80's, he got the hell out of that business and Detroit altogether. Even though we lost our shirt on the house we owned at the time, that was one of the best decisions my parents ever made.

1996 F150

Has worked great considering it's been on the minimum maintenance plan. I wish I'd taken better care of it.

After moving to Houston, next vehicle will be purchased with gas mileage considerations first and foremost. My commute has gone from 4 miles with no traffic to 13 miles with heavy traffic each way.

Taylor Made

I remember the early 80s, when the slogan around here was 'Last one out of Michigan turn off the lights." Starting to look pretty bleak for this state once again.

I drive a Toyota Corolla and my experiences with the car would drive me (pun intended) to get another Toyota Corolla or Toyota in general. I'm not a fan of SUVs or trucks, so I can't gather any feelings toward a particular brand in that manner, but I also owned a Chevy Nova at one point, which crapped out at around 60k and a Dodge Taurus, which might have been the worst car I've ever owned. Given my experiences with the "big 3" compared to that of Toyota, Nissan (wife owns one) and Subaru (dad's), my inclination will be to buy one of these every time.

A 1976 Chevy Impala.

me-2003-dodge intrepid

wife-2002- hyundai sonata

i used to have an outback sport and i liked that ride and would consider getting another one

I'll never put money into an American car ever again, not that anything is made in the country anymore anyways.

I drive a '94 Buick Regal. Not a bad car and it has one of the better engines, but it happened to have a lemon paint job like many GM cars in the 90s did. Had to repaint everything from the trim up (cost around $1500). The paint literally flew off in sheets while I was going to college at St. Cloud State. Not too appealing to chicks. The warranty had expired by then. What a warranty has to do with a fucking lemon paint job beats the hell out of me.

Fuck GM. Hello Honda/Nissan.

2002 Honda Civic SE

Honda all the way!

Me: 2000 Pontiac Firebird
Wife: 2002 Pontiac Montana

Not really satisified with the level of maintenance support at the dealerships with either of the cars. When we had Mitsubishis (Eclipse and Montero Sport), they were much better.

A 1985 Mercury Marquis gas pig (6+- mpg)

1995 Nissian, my fiance beat the shit out of it in college though so I'll probably be in the market in a year or so

2001 Nissan Maxima

2003 Toyota Celica

I'm all about helping out American Businesses, but there comes a line when quality overpowers loyalty...

'97 Toyota Corolla

It's either Japanese or German for me from here on out. You couldn't pay me enough to drive an American car...

I also drive a Toyota Echo and I'm very happy with it. I'll be buying some form of Toyota when this car dies in 5-10 years.

Wife: 2000 Pontiac Grand Am (Great Car, Love it)

Me: 1991 Honda CRX (Looks like a POS, runs well, and gets good gas mileage)

I am looking to purchase a new vehicle within the next 5 months as the addition of a little one in August will force me to ditch the CRX. I am looking American made first, as I have had nothing but issues with the 2 Toyota's and 2 Nissans we have owned.

yet you have a 91 Honda that you said runs good lol

American businesses? Sure, they are "headquartered" here, but the foreign cars are more "American-made" then the Big 3.

My car is a 1999 Mitsubishi Mirage. I don't know a damn thing about cars. I just know that this one was fucking cheap when I bought it used in 2002.

2003 Dodge Viper GT - 950 hp of ground burning heaven. But that's only in GT4. :(

In real life, I drive a '99 Ford Ranger and my wife drives a '93 Isuzu Trooper.

Maybe if they didn't make really ugly cars with plastic interiors, they'd sell more.

I drive a Toyota Landcruiser, but I don't feel any particular loyalty to Toyota, having driven too many rental cars. Although I do feel loyalty to the Landcruiser.

Yeah...but I haven't included the fact that my Sis in laws Honda has given her nothing but grief.

I have a heard a lot of pro's on the Honda's, mine has verified it. BUT, they are just not big enough for the family growth.

me = Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo

GF = 97 toyota Corrola

Our Mechanic said her car is the best car ever made. Should run for upwards of 300K miles.

Wow....I desperately want the new Cadillac CTSV wow. but probably cant. oh well.

delorean

99 Altima

RIP :(

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...ow/1058221.cms

I drive a 1992 Dodge Daytona. http://www.cardomain.com/id/itsvanilla

I've had no problems with it other than what was caused by me or what comes with 12 years of wear. Car has 91,000 miles on it. It has the same engine used in the earlier minivans. They have been known to get well over 250,000 miles.

Dad drives a 1992 Dodge Dakota. Only problem he's had is with the paint wearing off. Used to drive an 86 S10, which was a pile, and a 1979 Trans Am. Still has a 1970 Plymouth 'Cuda 440.

Mom has a 2001 Chrysler Town and Country. That thing is indestructable. Visibility is a bit hampered by the large D pillars, but we've had no problems with it at all. Before that she had a 1991 Plymouth Voyager and a 1987 Dodge Caravan.

2005 Tundra and 2003 Camry. I used to be all into the buying American, that is until it started costing me money. This is key for most IMO. The last American made vehicle I had was an S10. They put the damn plugs under the engine block. I'm sure they had their reasons but I had to change them out every 4-6 months due to rust. It was either that or don't drive in the rain. As is, I love Toyota now and will never buy anything else unless their quality/service drops dramatically. We are very happy with what we've seen so far and encourage all of our friends to go the same route as we did.

2003 Intepid. The nice thing about the Intrepids is that they are way undervalued on the used market because of some known issues, mainly transmissions. The price for a used Interpid is cheaper by about double the cost of a full transmission replacement than a comparable import car. Even if you have the transmission problem, you still come out ahead. My 94 Intrepid was the best car I've ever owned.

I will acknowledge though, that noone builds a tougher small engine than Toyota. Once the rest of a Tercel gives up the ghost, you can drop the engine in a newer chassis and get lots more miles out of it.

1998 Subaru Forester, which is a good, solid car/SUV.

2003 Subaru WRX, which is friggin' awesome to drive.

As for American cars, many foreign cars are built - in part or in their entirety - in the USA. I'd go for American-owned, but I'm not paying more to get less just to have an American car.

damnit- beat me to it.. :D

1994 Honda Accord -- runs like a champ even though it has 160,000 miles on it now.

I love Toyota -- my dad worked for Toyota dealerships for 18 years, and I've owned Toyotas before this Honda, and I think they have a phenomenal product.

2002 Hyundai Elantra 5 door hatchback. love it. it could fit a small family of Mexicans, that's how much room it has in there. it's deceptively big.

1999 VW Passat - an extraordinarily luxurious car for the price. We've had some problems with it that were (mostly) covered under warranty, but overall it has been a solid car. I don't know that I'd buy it again though.

2004 Honda CRV - lovely vehicle. We haven't had it long enough to comment on its durability, but it is thoughtfully designed and very refined for a small SUV.

We used to own a 1995 Toyota Corolla, and only sold it because we were making a cross-country move and didn't want to transport two cars. Now that was a fine vehicle - never any problems worse than replacing a starter motor or alternator in nine years of ownership, and it got excellent mileage. I'd buy a Toyota again in a heartbeat, and almost did before deciding on the CRV over the RAV4 last fall.

I am sure I am not the only one. Where do you get your parts?

Growing up not too far from a plant, the reason behind that is that you used to stand a pretty good chance of having your car vandalized if you drove an import. Today, that's pretty much limited to those who work for an auto company and drive their import on to the parking lot. Brand loyalty is hard to break, though.

So, those of us from Michigan who drive quality small cars today owe that to the brave pioneers of the '70s and '80s who were among the first to embrace the Toyotas and the Hondas.

Of course, the lesson here is that the union folk would rather resort to minor forms of terrorism than take any kind of pride in their work. I've had friends acutally shot at for working a non-union job in a field where union is the norm - at least in Michigan.

Realizing that, today, the "foreign" designation on a car doesn't mean a whole lot, I'd still never buy a big-three car. I'll hold to that bias at least until they catch up and produce a quality competitor. But never a Ford, even though they're probably the closest to competing.

Dr. Brown :D

That's really interesting Jim- thanks. I realized that unions treated non union members or "scabs" differently - didnt realize that you could have your car vandalized.

My wife and I have a 1993 Accord with 238,000 miles on it. We've had to get the timing belts done once and needed the right half-shaft replaced, but that's the only major repair needed. Pretty impressive given the amount of miles we've put on it. We're looking at getting a Civic or a Corolla in the next few months though. The Accord has given us solid use.

We have a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 Van (ful size van) Nice little 5.9 liter V8 in it, needless to say we are thinking it may be time to get something atleast a little better on gas.

I think I may go Dodge again, I have had a good experience with this van, and my mom has done well with her Durango.

We also have a '93 Chevy Blazer, that is kind of crappy. It is my "Drive it to the yard to get on the truck and leave it there all week" vehicle.

When International Harvester starts making Scouts again, someone let me know.

97 Dodge Dakota - Piece of shit. 2 bad catalytic converters, bad power steering pump, two bad water pumps, blown freeze plugs, etc., etc., etc. I will never buy another Dodge small pickup again (I hear the large Ram diesels are OK).

99 Dodge Neon - Piece of shit. Rattles at high speeds. Noisy on the freeway. But, actually no major mechanical problems... just generally a shitty little car. Wish I had a bigger sedan.

2005 Chevy Equinox that we bought last week.

1995 Dodge Caravan that looks like crap but runs great.

96 honda accord

Well, there is a nice post to counter my like of Dodge's right before it. :D

Don't own a vehicle. Every one that I ever did own was an American car though. I would never own an import. There should be a tarrif on all imported cars, including those that wear Chevy bowties and Ford emblems. You want to own a Honda that badly? Pay $35,000 for a Civic.

Out of the remaining two U.S. automakers, Ford is the only one that has even a hint of a clue. GM is too big and spends too much time and effort into every single aspect of the company other than designing and building good cars. What they do build they concentrate too much on building a car that can be sold as 3 different Pontiacs, 4 Buicks, 7 Chevys, and a Cadillac. Where the foreign companies do it right is by making relativly few models. Then they can concentrate more on quality than quantity.

If I had to buy a vehicle today, it would be a Ford Escape Hybrid. I hate SUV's, but I have difficulty getting in and out of cars with my back. A friend has a Jeep Liberty and it's a nice little vehicle. Easy to get in and out. But it sucks too much gas. At least it's built here by a company that still pretends to be American.

Yup. I'm one of those commie-liberals who is into conserving energy. Or is it conservatives who conserve, and liberals who use a liberal amount of energy?