loj68

"GM, Ford Sales Fall; Asian Makers Set Records" Shock!!!!!!! When will America start making decent cars. They are still utter crap. I have to rent cars for business travel on occasion and when I get domestic junk it's like going back in time 10 years. Drive a Malibu back to back with an Accord/Camry/Altima and see for yourself. The domestics have a few decent cars but they are so few they are barely worth mentioning. America still makes insanely ugly underperforming junk for the most part and that's why they are losing sales.

loj68

crap...I could have just posted this in the "Other Cars" section. Mods feel free to move the thread if you deem appropriate.

PDXRalliArt

iTrader: (45)

Actually, most "domestic" cars are made in Mexico and Canada. Some of the "imports" are made in the USA.

Ironic, isn't it?

WestSideBilly

iTrader: (1)

Most people don't do this though - and many who do switch to the Japanese brands.

WestSideBilly

iTrader: (1)

With all due respect to our blue collar workforce, you can train a grunt to build a car just about anywhere and given sufficient incentive, they'll do a good job. Design/engineering - much the same (within the Japan/US/Europe block at least). So where a car was built or designed is to me nearly irrelevent. You really have to look at the mentality of the manufacturer to get to the core difference.

With the big 3, the mentality is "this is our desired price point, make the best part you can and still meet that cost".
With the Japanese mfrs (Honda and Toyota especially; Nissan seems to be similar, Mazda and Mitsu seem to suffer from their big 3 ties), the mentality is "this is our desired quality/tolerance/performance, meet this at the lowest price you can".

The net result is significant.

Corey

iTrader: (10)

Ford sold over 930,000 F-Series trucks and the sales were up 11% from last year. I work for Ford and build the F-250, 350, 450, 550, and Excursion. Ford has plans to introduce a good number of brand new platforms over the next few years. Ford's main moeny comes from truck and SUV sales and it shows. My plant alone makes over 50% of Fords money worldwide. We make about 800 units ina 10 hour shift. There are 2 shifts each day Mon-Fri and one shift on Sat. and Sun. In a weeks time we make over 9000 trucks and they don't sit on the dealers lot very long.

There are plenty of good domestic cars out there, they just don't fit your specific tastes and needs. There are plenty of ugly and ****ty imports out there as well. I personally think that pretty much every car that Mitsu makes is ugly and you know about their past with quality vehicles. I just laugh at how narrow minded people can be sometimes.

WestSideBilly

iTrader: (1)

Ford has done a good job with the latest F, but for the most part their car line is total crap. Even the Ford people I know won't argue that.

I challenge you to name three domestic cars which are clearly the cream of their respective class. Cars only - trucks are still big3 territory, though Nissan and Toyota are making leaps and bounds with each iteration of their pickups.

Corey

iTrader: (10)

I'm not going to get into a pissing match with you about this. Import companies make better cars hands down, but to say every domestic car is junk is plain stupid. The Taurus was a very good selling car for Ford. It had their problems, but what manufacturer doesn't?

My EVO has had 3 recalls on it and my 03' Escape has only had one. You guys are gonna see some big changes (I've already see them) coming from domestic manufacturers in the near future.

hueman

iTrader: (17)

all the ford guys i know, ford mechanics included, love the F-series. as with any truck or car, if you use it excessively then of course it'll break. isn't it the best selling truckline in america?


the taurus was a huge seller. the corvette comes to mind. the focus, hate it as you might, sold very well and was very well recieved by the media. the srt-4 has sold very very well and is the fastest fwd car ever produced. the engine was torn down by SCC and tagged as an overbuilt powerplant capable of holding a whole sh*tload of boost and will probably last well in the long run. if you've been to a ford dealership lately, you could tell that the mustang is selling incredibly well; i have yet to see a v8 in a showroom on my many trips to try to oogle one.

Eric Lyublinsky

iTrader: (5)

I have a jeep with 147K on it. Rock solid truck but nothing really apeals to me in the american offerings not even the new vette or the upcoming z06. I'm really impress with the jeep products and the new 300m for 30K you get a nice car with a huge V8 and rear wheel drive.

3000ways

taurus sales were inflated due to it being the number #1 rental car in the USA

WestSideBilly

iTrader: (1)

As do most of the engineers and designers I know. They did a very good job with the F-150, and the new super duty looks pretty good so far. My point was that the same level of effort is not being put into their car line.

Selling well and being the best car in the class are not one and the same. The Taurus was still handily outsold by the Camry and Accord; the current Taurus is on par with a mid 90s Accord/Camry. The Focus is good but is in need of a refresh (and has had some major lemon-law issues), the C6, SRT4 and Mustang are cars without real import competition. One could argue the 'Vette competes with a 911, but that to me is a stretch except if one is looking for a track car.

I specified 3 because there are a couple that stand out right now - the 300C (large sedan) first and foremost. Subcompact, compact, mid-size sedan, midsize coupe, entry luxury - the big 3 cars simply don't compare.

WestSideBilly

iTrader: (1)

And dealers giving them away - new '05 Taurus' are going for under $12000 here.