GM, Ford reputations take a hit

Toyota and Honda do build better cars.

I'm not a mechanic, just a consumer. Maybe in the 70's the Toyotas and Hondas were not so great. But I believe that present day automobiles built by Toyota and Honda have much more quality than GM/Ford/Chrysler.

Look at the problems Ford has had; Crown Vic gas tanks, blend door problems, etc. Those are just the ones that come to mind. My Ford (purchased new) has had a new engine, plus numerous other problems.

mike

According to one poster, almost half of all parts in Hondas and Toyotas are made in the US.

And Toyota and Honda sales have been going up while those at Ford and GM have gone down.

Auto sales at both GM and Ford were down about 20%. Sales for Ford dropped from about 206,000 to about 166,000, or about 20%. GM sales went down from about 293,000 to about 245,000, about 20%, too. Chrysler sales went up about

900, to 156,308.

Meanwhile, sales at Honda were up about 2% and Honda was up about 9%, to

175,000.

That means the GM was #1, Toyota, #2, Chrysler #3, and Ford #4.

I guess most Americans think that foriegn car makers make better cars than the American car makers.

Jeff

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All car makers have problems. However, the question is, "Do Toyota and Honda, on average, have fewer problems than Ford and GM and DC?"

Unfortunately, unless you have good statistical information comparing Ford and GM to Toyota and Honda, there really is not way to tell.

I don't think there is a good source for this sort of long-term information.

Jeff

You mean, the Crown Victoria, the car with one of the best Injury Loss Rating of any sedan sold in America? The Crown Victoria that is far safer than any Toyota sedan ever sold in this country? How come you highlight the over blown crap about CV Police Cars that are crashed into by vehicles doing 70's mph or more, but don't remember that Toyota Siennas were recalled for leaking gas tanks. How come you make a big deal out of Explorer blend air doors and don't mention that virtually every Toyota truck sold in this country in a decade had to be recalled for defective ball joints. I suppose having a broken blend door is a big problem, and having your front wheel fall off is unimportant. How about the thousands of Toyota owners that suffered from excessive oil sludge? Or how about the Corollas that were recalled for failure prone rear suspension? Why is it that you can recall any problem anyone has mentioned about a Ford, but can't seem to remember that Toyota recalled more vehicles in 2005 than they sold in 2005? Why is it that everyone thinks Explorers had a high rollover rate when Toyota

4Runners from the same era had a much higher accident and death rate? Why do you nit pick Ford and excuse a company that has pumped some of the most over hyped, over price crap ever sold?

Ed

That person was obviously referring to what is on the 'North American Parts Label.' The is not really a true definition of the content therein. Commerce Department standards includes far more than the sum of the parts.

80% NA parts could in fact not include a single part made in the US, but rather parts made Canada or Mexico. Even a Camry made in Japan, with a "J" as the first VIN digit, that has not a single US part, carries a NAP Label the indicates a high percentage of NA parts when obviously it has none

The Honda Accord, Nissan Altima and Titan as well as the Toyotas made in the GM/Toyota plant in California ARE made in the US and have a US contest of at least 70% and exhibit a '1' as the first number of the VIN. All of the other Toyotas sold in the US are either made in Japan (J) or Canada (2), the balance are only assembled in the US, of less than 70% US content

I.E. the Tundra exhibits a '5' which indicates a US content of less than 40% and the Camry and Siena exhibit a '4' which indicates a total US content of more than 40%, but less than 70%. If you listen to current Toyota TV ads, they no longer say their vehicles are made in America because Honda filed false advertising complaint with the FTC. Toyota now says assemble in the US of world sourced parts.

mike

Sure there is, corporate fleets. They buy most every band you can name and generally keep them in service for five years or 300K WOF, because of federal corporate deprecation tax laws. To a corporate fleet their vehicles are simply just one more tool used in their business. They are extremely cognizant of total cost of ownership and keep meticulous cost records. Except for Luxury vehicles and Korean cars, used by the courier fleets, few of them buy many imports. Ford is the by far the choice of corporate and government fleets.

mike

In addition Ford is the ONLY manufacturer that builds their vehicles to withstand all crash forces 5 MPH above the NHTSA standards

mike

If I am not mistaken, NA parts means US or Canada. This has something to do with a treaty the US signed with Canada, not Mexico.

Even a Camry made in Japan, with a "J"

The first digit of the VIN has absolutely nothing to do with content. The first digit only indicates the country in which the vehicle was made. There are 3 possible ones in the US (1, 4 & 5) because the VINs are on many different products, like cars, trucks, fire trucks, ambulances, buses, cranes, motorcylces, off-road vehicles (although off-road vehicles have their own serial-number system and no longer use VINs) and construction equipment, that there were too many vehicles that needed different world manufacturer IDs (WMI; the first three characters of a VIN).

You have yet to rationally explain why nearly identical vehicles built on the same assembly line have very different VINs, some starting with 1 and others starting with 5.

If I am incorrect, please post the website that shows this.

I know I have asked you before, and you were unable to back your claim.

Nowhere in the federal code that requires the VIN and describe its content does it say anything about the first digit having anything to do with US content. Further, the Toyota Sienna and Toyota Camry have cars that have some of the highest domestic (i.e., Canada and US) content. Unfortunately, I have not found any sites that show their US content.

What lawsuit? The only lawsuit that I saw that involved Honda and the FTC over this had to do with lawn mowers. Please don't tell us from memory. Real sources, please.

I learned something when I was searching the internet to find content. A vehicle maker can claim that its cars and trucks are "Made in the USA" if

75% or more of the content is made in the US and Canada. So the Ford Mustang is not Made in the USA. But the Toyota Sienna and Toyota Camry are. And Toyota can call some of it vehicles (but not all) American made if it wants to.

I have pointed out to all interested parties that you are full of doo-doo when it comes to the first digit of VINs. Unless you can say something intelligent in the matter, I will not waste my time or bandwidth replying to you.

Jeff

But these records are not open to the public.

Perhaps you have access, but considering your analytic skills, what you would have to say about these is useless.

Jeff

id like to know how the hell that survey was filled out

Check out this ranking

Interesting.

Just 10 or so years ago, Google was a research project in CA. Now, they are #24.And the Coke brand is worth 5 times what the Pepsi brand is worth.

I am surprised Pfizer made the list. I know it is a huge drug maker, but I usually think of its brands as the brand name drugs rather than the company name.

Only three US vehicle brands made the list; one was a motorcycle company and another makes construction equipment. It should be noted that of the big 3, I think only Ford was well known around the world. Chrysler didn't have many operations outside North America. Likewise, GM owns Opel and Vauxhall. But its US names (Pontiac, Caddy, Chevy, Olds and Buick) were not sold much outside North America.To even be on the list, a brand must get at 1/3 of its earning outside its home country, which may explain why so many American car makers didn't make it.

And Smirnoff is British, not Russian. Who would have thought that?

JEff

Good idea. You do not even understand 'bandwidth' as it applies to a NG. If you knew anything about how VINs apply to the various vehicles made in the US and other countries you would know how they differ naturally when applied to the various manufactures and vehicles How does your lack of knowledge on a subject make what you believe correct? Do your own research to educate yourself, WBMA. ;)

mike