Vehichle Delema

[beaucoup_fish 0]

Actually, aren't most Toyotas and Hondas being sold in North America actually built in the U.S.?  I'm pretty sure this is the case, and probably a few other Japanese car companies have followed the trend. 

How about buy and drive the car you want because you want it and for the reasons you want to?  If you want a big SUV, well there's only so many on the market, take your pick.  If you want a small reliable gas sipper, get that.  It's your money after all.  We'd all be driving Smartcars if nobody had a preference.

Personally I like the big American SUV and German sedans.  But there's no denying that a small reliable import that gets great gas mileage comes in handy, and there are some very well put together ones at that.  At the same time there's some bad ones, but there are bad German cars too.

Yes, many of them (Japanese cars - mostly the lower ends of the lineup) are made in the U.S. and Canada. I believe that in general though, vehicles coming out of their plants are superior in quality to those coming out of their GM and Ford counterparts.

Preference is huge - you're right, anyone can drive whatever it is that makes them happy.

Funny thing about German cars, I've found them to be the most unreliable of all (at least those from luxury marques), especially with little annoying problems that cost a fortune to fix. My Mexican made '03 Jetta has been the most reliable vehicle I've ever had ('cept for the stereo - don't even get me started), oddly enough.

My last BMW died on me while I was at school in Waterloo in addition to having friggin' tons of minor and not-so-minor mechanical problems (engine rebuilt twice!), and my dad's old Merc had problems everywhere...

Good job, VW, good job.

[roadrunner 12]

Increase sales of Japanese cars have created tons of Jobs in Ontario alone in the last decade. For ex. Honda plant in Alliston, Ontario which is building the best selling car in NA, The Civic. And how about Toyota's new plant announcement in Woodstock.

I'm basing my judgement on my father's experiances. He's owned 23 cars, most of which were GM, who dominated the market share in NA up until the maybe mid 80's or so. Since the 70's up until today he's only owned 3 Japanese cars a 76 Celica, 82 Corolla, and a 96 Accord. Never once has he had problems other than wear and tear on these vehicles. On the other hand, GM is the reason why he's owned so many vehicles...these things last 3yrs on average before completely unravelling. He now owns a 2001Grand AM(notorius for problems), first yr in, antifreeze is leaking into one of the chambers, electrical problems, he can't put Petro Canada because of some additives. Who the hell needs this shit. Yes some problems are expected, but come on in it's first year? And it's not just his, it's a manufacturers defect. Can't wait to see what lies ahead. However, the 96 Accord has gone thru my brother and now my sister has it. It's been in 2 accidents, one which involved the engine and still not a single headache.

The only reason he keeps going back to GM is b/c he can get a V6 for the price of a Japanese 4 cylinder. But he ends up making up the difference in repairs. So in the end its "You get what you pay for"

I've owned a 90 Integra, bought it w/125000 km's drove it until 200000, never a problem, this thing was 14yrs old when I traded it in.

I'm not saying that all Japanese/or German cars don't have problems. My 01 Celica just had the whole engine overhauled because of excessive oil consumption, which was a recall. A job worth $8000.00 which Toyota could and was only suppposed to replace the defective parts but they replaced the entire entire engine with the exception of some belts and hoses without any hesitation. This is service. I value it more important than anything else in a vehicle. When my dad goes in to Pontiac he gets different prices all the time. He gets a second opinion and rarely are the Pontiac techs correct. They just want his money. However this may be an individual dealer problem.

What I'm saying is I will never buy an American made vehicle unless they step it up and start building comparable vehicles of quality, service. I mean this is just not my bias, I've read magazines, Autoshop TV, and time and time again the top three recommended are Honda, Toyota, Mazda for long term vehicles and value. Subaru is always up there but they are quite expensive.