OT Does anyone ever feel "guilty" about not buying an "American car"?

No. I buy what I need without regard for country of origin.

Nope. They brought it on themselves. I've been getting yelled at by rednecks for 30 years that I'm un-American for buying a 'ferrin' car. GM and Ford did not move forward after the '60s in automotive technology where it counted. But if GM or Ford wants me to buy something of theirs, they are going to have to do much better than my S-10 I bought new in 1995 which started rusting in spots before it was a year old. . . . They still are counting on planned obsolescence and 'fashion' to keep them current, i.e. 'no one keeps a car very long' in their world view. People like me that keep our cars for 12 years /224,000 miles irritate the crap out of them. They want us to still junk our cars before 90,000 and go into hock for a new hunk of junk.

Charles of Schaumburg

Actually the toyota sienna is about 93% american made and the ford mustand is about 60. This is from the Wall Street Journal.

Well, I looked a a 'pie wagon', or an HHR...what a disappointment!!! It reminded me of driving my old Corolla 1200...better be ready with the gas, or you'll get mowed over!

I expected that from a '74 1200cc Toyota, NOT from a 2006 Chevy!!!

No, I have never really felt guilty. I *almost* did in 1980 when I bought a new Corolla SR5 Coupe instead of a Citation X-11...need I tell you how long that feeling lasted?

Next car? Hoping for a Scion tC. Why?

Because it says on the sill plate: Made In Japan!!!

Some things we do extremely well. others are better left to others...

The WORST car by far that I ever bought was a brand spanking new Chevy Celebrity EuroSport 2.8L.

I had an '82 Honda Accord that went much (that's M-U-C-H) faster from 0-60.

I now own a '93 Mazda that runs like a top, a '94 BMW that runs even better, and a '95 Ford truck that gets the job done. I also have an '81 Jeep to play with, and lost of its bad traits are self induced, and the good traits are modifications that went well.

which

I have a Canon 5D Digital Single Lens Reflex Camera.

All my Canon stuff is made in Japan.

EXCELLENT!

Not in the least,

I'm going to buy the best quality that I can find or afford. American car manufactures put themselves in the position that they are in.

I don't feel the least bit bad.

I bought a new Dodge Caravan in 2000 because of the low price, 1.9% loan and a favorable rating by Consumer Reports.

It did not take long before I began feeling really really STUPID for buying American. At 1,000 miles, a number of things needed to be fixed, including the passenger slide electric window. That window has been fixed a number of times since then. Now I brag that I have "intermittent power windows."

At about 40,000 miles, the trans started leaking and the car was feeling old. At the time, I had more than twice the mileage on my '95 Camry and it was tighter and drove like a newer car than the van.

I now have 175,000 miles on the Camry. It has never leaked and still runs stronger, rides nicer and is more reliable than the van with its

That Dodge was my first new American car after buying new Toyotas, Hondas and a Subarus for nearly 25 years... and it will be my last one.

The car ads of old were meant to establish patriotic feelings. Then came truth in advertising. Everything from deodorant (goes on dry, stays dry) to paid actor's testimonials came under attack. As time went by we learned the truth about where parts came from, and how parts were being interchanged. Some people prefer to buy local produce when it's available hoping to keep the money locally. But if we get down to it, the truth is the taxes the vendor pays goes all over the place. The tide seems to be turning and retailers such as Wal-Mart are starting to feel the pinch because buyers are heading for more upscale stores although their products too are made overseas. At one point Japan tried to introduce Japanese modular homes at a drastic discount compared to American designed and built homes and were promptly run out of town. If it weren't for archaic regulations even insurance would be up for grabs. There's something else too we seem to forget. Many US corporations succeeded in establishing their base overseas to avoid US taxes.

Do what you have to do and don't worry about the fate of GM and Ford.

I think you should go ahead and buy and American car and get over your guilt. Nothing anyone says will make you feel better and you must learn by experience. If you actually do purchase an American car, buy it in the same condition you have bought Toyotas before. If you usually buy used cars get a used car. If you usually buy new cars buya new one. That way you will be able to compare apples to apples, etc.

Generally, when looking for a lot of items I look for Made In Japan; cameras (I have a Minolta and a Konica), the house is FULL of Panasonic and Sharp (got turned on to Panasonic at 12 years old, don't like their TVs or car stereos but clock radios and boom boxes are decent) and about a dozen Toyotas between me, my Mom and my stepfather. They started it with a '72 Corona. In '80 my stepfather felt guilty about owning a Jap car and bought a Mercury Zephyr. 2 years later they bought another Toyota, and they NEVER bought anything but after that! All the complaining about cars went away...

Sorry, I'm not rich, and if the Japanese make a better product for the price, I'm there!

BUT, I'll never own another Nissan!!! I also have given up on Sony after a half dozen bad products, but Sharp and Panasonic have a home as long as I'm around!

Agreed on Sony. They used to make excellent stuff, but I've had some bad experiences with them. I had an excellent small short wave radio that gave up the ghost.

Nissan? Didn't they change their name from Datsun....because of quality problems.

The American car is full of parts made in China and the big equipment used for assembly is often made overseas. Don't be a chump. Buy what is good for you. GM and Ford do the same.

Interesting, this is not the first time I've heard this opinion about recent Sony stuff. I've owned lots of Sony products (the last item I bought was a car stereo last year) and had very, very few problems with them.

I thought it was because of money problems, but I could be wrong.

So you want a USA branded car? Like a Chrysler? :-)

Ford and GM are also international companies, and the nameplate doesn't always tell you where a car is made.

Many Hondas are made right here in Ohio, and a lot of the parts come from Ohio companies.

I've got a Chevy right now. It's certainly USA branded. It was made in the same factory as the Corolla. It basically _is_ a Corolla.

I would actually prefer a US car from a US company, made by US workers.

However, I have to be realistic too. I need to get the best car for the money, and I need something that's going to hold up.

That has tended to mean I get a Toyota or a Honda. They're simply better cars.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I have no idea where your Dodge was built, but as you know, many "American" cars are built in Canada, Mexico etc. And as far back as 1981, when I unfortunately invested in a Chevette, the car had an English radiator cap, a jack from Venezuela, and a glove box door made abroad too...I forget where but perhaps Canada. If you want a real American car, you'll have to get a Toyota from Kentucky, a Honda from Ohio or a Nissan from Tennessee, I guess.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Every now and then I find something that tells me I did the right thing by buying Toyotas. I read a classified ad in the local paper for a four or five year old Cadillac with 87,000 miles that concluded....NEW TRANSMISSION.

I thought "under 100K miles and it needed a new transmission?" Our current older car, a Toyota Camry now has 135K miles and I'd feel betrayed if the transmission went south at under 200K miles!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Right! Why go and purposely buy a product which you know upfront is going to be faulty and second rate just so you can feel proud to have supported a domestic industry that is clearly not doing what it takes to succeed, namely manufacturing a quality product the best way they can. American cars have the unfortunate quality of planned obsolescence and doing most things on the cheap. If you want a good comparison of products, look at comparable cars by Japanese and American makers when they're six or eight years old. The quality of the Japanese products (although made here in the good old USA) is vastly superior to the American products, which have peeling phony chrome, rust, worn or sagging upholstery and many other flaws which reflect the quality of the original manufacturer. If people purchase foreign products over domestic ones long enough, the domestic manufacturers have a choice - either make better products or go out of business.