andy_meng1024

I am doing a research on how to improve American automobile industry. Give your choice and explain why you choose it over American cars.

jturkel

Japanese - High quality vehicles with a history of low amounts of problems when compared to other vehicles. Able to compete with other vehicles in their class while being generally less expensive and frequently better on gas. Dependable, generally offer nice warranty options. High-tech.

German - High tech and high quality, despite still cars having problems. More luxurious than comparable american cars. Safety ratings. I personally feel that the metal alloys or whatever the frames are made of used to design the BMWs and the MBs feels and seems to be significantly stronger feeling than in American or Japanese vehicles.

American? didn't vote for.....vehicle generally costs more than it should b/c car companies suffering from unions. quality is not as high with lots of problems. I'd take GM over Ford any day though. They are improving though. I think big steps have been taken with the new corvettes, G8 GXP (despite they are no longer being made), and the new Cadillac CTS/CTS-V

TemjinX2

They would if they put as much time and effort in there cars as they did in there trucks then they would do much better.

Ford is heading in the right direction..gm and chrysler seems too much like business as usual.

For example ford is bringing over there more stylish european models. The SHO taurus has received a lack luster response, so ford is tweaking the exterior a bit.

The big 3 Just needs to make a decent premium small car and try to shake the image of cheap.

They should just ask hyundai how they did it. They have been pretty successful at shaking the image of the hyundai excel of the 80's to a good bang for you buck image. They pretty much project to consumers, that there as good as a toyota but cheaper.

If you look at the auto sales numbers from cash for clunkers hyundai has been using the recession to gain market share every month. The biggest gains in terms of percentage over last yr was hyundai and kia last month.

W203E35

CTS-V is the only GM car I would get. That thing handles like a beast and the power i'm not even going to say anything. It competes with the M5 and i know i'm going to get bashed but I think it's a little better than the M5 (in performance).
But here is the reason they designed/Tested it in Germany

TemjinX2

Also to add contrary to popular belief, Japanese cars are not cheaper then american cars. If you go by market value and add the incentives, American cars are actually a lot cheaper then there Japanese counter parts.

Japanese cars usually offers more standard features, has the reputation of reliability and high resale values so people are willing to pay more of a premium.

LILBENZ230

I'd never own an American car. They just don't appeal to me. Sorry if that offends anyone but it is my money and a car is a significant purchase.

Japanese for their tech and reliability. German for the like-no-other feel.

skittles

japanese = resale value
german = durability
american = FAIL! + trying to hard to catch up with DTM and JDM technology...

hahahaha!

they were even the first to fall down on this recession...

i think only good thing with american cars since we are in the US is parts are cheaper. lol!

back home american cars are hailed upon! lmao! if they only knew the defects and mileage they get..

mdncn2762

Japanese= Lots of cheap dependables with good fuel economy and plenty of inexpensive parts.

German= Road handling and rarity factor...not so good fuel economy unless you get a diesel and parts and labor are.

American= Owned bunches and never had problems with any. Resale sucks. They dont look good either. Except for the Viper and Vette.

other: I would like to have a Lambo

Glyn M Ruck

Japanese & German - Excellent engineering - beautifully executed & built - quality materials - reliable - good value - maintain good resale as a result - German more solid & safe. Watch out for the Koreans as well.

American - poor engineering - shocking fit & finish - poor handling & roadholding - Shocking materials quality & finish (even the Chinese do it better building the same vehicles) - shocking styling with a very few minor exceptions - wrong product at the wrong time - most un green crap on the planet - poor reliability - low resale - shockingly poor management - labour force lacks pride in what they are doing & are expensive for what they do - deserve to fail in a global context. Please don't export the crap. ROW don't want it. And who the hell needs a Chevy Suburban.

iatacs19

what about Korean cars?

Karlson

I voted for other, because want to buy a Ferrari

HellsAngel

I AGREE with every word..
if your most exclusive & expensive car the Ford GT keep breaking down, what should i expect from less expensive cars ?

JoelE55

I would NEVER buy an American made vehicle...I had an opportunity to rent one on the weekend...Man, that was a crappy car they gave me...interior is awful, seem like a 5 years old child put this car
together..Japanese and German all the way...you know what they say about Ford...Found On Road Dead!!

krisv420

This is a website for German cars.. Of course people are going to pick German... Because we own a Mercedes Benz.. ( I will never buy a piece of **** ford ) Or any other car that is made out of plastic

andy_meng1024

Others?

Yeah I know this is a German car forum so it'd be a little more biased toward German cars. However, many people on board also own(d) other car(s) from other country. I also have this survey on other forums and in the end I will combine all the data to get a more neutral result for my research.

LILBENZ230

I had a 2009 Pontiac G6 GT as a rental while my Benz was having a bumper repair done back in May. It had the distinct feeling of being assembled at gunpoint. There are a lot of back roads on the way to my house and I drove it home one night, it was raining, and briefly I forgot I was not in the C230.. what a harrowing experience.

Anytime I get into a domestic vehicle, I feel they have insulted me. Like the CEO of Ford or GM or Chrysler descended from the sky and slapped me in the face. The cars seem like very bad jokes that are more sad than funny. I have a relative with a 2004 Malibu.. the car received general praise at debut (but quickly became queen of the rental fleet). Despite proper care and maintenance it is disintegrating at 85k miles. All sorts of stuff inside is peeling, the steering knocks and clunks, it has hard start issues, SRS issues. Sure, it runs.. if that's your ONLY definition of quality/reliability fine. For me, I want more. I want a car that looks good, ages well, and doesn't let me down. Simply "running" and "transporting" is not enough.

I could write a book on my passionate hatred for domestic *****. Sure, they might have improved lately and might still be improving. But anyone who thinks 20 years of insulting garbage thrust on us by FoMoCo, GM, and Chrysler is all going to be forgiven once they put out a few decent cars needs to get a grip. They'll NEVER have my business because I'll never see them as legitimate.

Summary: Dear Domestic Automakers: Too Little, Too Late

W211 BEAST

For me... German.

The Japanese make good cars, if you're retired or on a budget. (Lexus-retired, Toyota- budget) Personally I HATE the drive of Japanese cars (except for my girlfriend's old FX35, but still not enough to get it), though I do like the comfort when I'm a passenger.

American cars... They're just built like **** IMHO. Everytime I get in one I just look at all the things that were probably rushed. It looks like they were engineered by a 12 year old. When you're in a German or Japanese car, you get the feeling that the car is wrapped around you, that it's sole purpose is to make you happy, I have never felt that feeling in an American car, and I had one for 2 years.

The only reason I'd ever buy an American car is if I needed it to tow/lug stuff around, and then I'd probably go all out and either get an F-250 or a Dodge Ram SRT-10.

W211 BEAST

He said what I wanted to say better than I did.

Props.

LILBENZ230

The W211 E55 is not a car, it is a god. Unfortunately, the maintenance makes me fear hellfire and damnation so I've not been brave enough to buy one... yet.

Twenty4Play

You do realize you're going to get a fairly biased opinion here right? You should go to a Ford Mustang board and ask the same question then compare (if you haven't already).

Japanese - Track record for quality and innovation. Reasonably priced. Attractive vehicles.

German - Bulletproof quality record, high-tech (and equally highly priced), beautiful cars, know how to take care of their customers.

American - Bleh. Sub-par quality, not very attractive vehicles, over priced, too late to follow automotive trends (i.e. fuel efficient compacts). And I hate to say it.. being American and all... but they are after all... American cars.

Glyn M Ruck

Have you ever looked at how badly built a Ford F250 is??? How it sells so well I will never understand. It's a fuel guzzling, unsafe, piece of crap!!!!!! I'll have a Toyota thanks!

timdf

In the UK Ford and Vauxhall (GM brand) are actually quite well designed and manufactured - imho.

For instance the Ford Focus in the US really is cr@p when compared to the European version of the same vehicle.

For whatever reason, at least in the case of the Focus, the quality of the materials, fit and finish in general is light years ahead of that in the US.

So I'd be a little hesitant to slam all Ford and GM vehicles on the basis of their US offerings.

Of course I actually prefer real German vehicles over even European Ford / Vauxhall.

Glyn M Ruck

[QUOTE=Twenty4Play;3732558]You do realize you're going to get a fairly biased opinion here right? You should go to a Ford Mustang board and ask the same question then compare (if you haven't already).

QUOTE]

We have to tolerate the stupid with low standards. Andy has already said he will balance the input.

Glyn M Ruck

Agree on European Focus & new Fiesta. My comments only apply to American designed/built crap.

TemjinX2

Its because in the past ford would sell US fords on the basis of price via fleet sales and incentives. Generally you can charge more for cars in europe so they can build those cars at a greater premium and finish since they are able to charge more.

Like i said, i think Ford is heading in the right direction. GM and chrysler needs help.