what would you choose?

Choice 1: Ford, probably a Taurus

Choice 2: Staying with that theme, an actual horse.

Choice 3: Something custom-made from this company:

There is no Big 3 US Automakers. Chrysler is owned by Daimler-Chrysler, which is a German company (the word Chrysler in the name is for show only, it is definitely a German company). Yes, the foreign owned Daimler-Chrysler builds cars in the US, but so does the foreign owned Toyota/Honda/Nissan/etc build cars in the US.

Even for the US owned companies Ford and GM, what if their cars are made in Canada or Mexico (quite a few are).

What about "foreign" brands that are owned by Ford or GM, such as Saab, Jaguar, Volvo, Land Rover, Aston Martin, etc? What about brands such as Mazda where Ford is a major shareholder (Ford, the largest shareholder, owns

Things are not as simple as they seem. Personally, I would much rather buy a car from Japan than Canada.

You had better chose quick, because they won't be around much longer (thank goodness for rental car customers).

I don't accept your basic premise, that only the Big Three are American -- these days. This fake Old Glory gets hoisted time and again; and time and again kneejerk USian patriots are told to salute it, on the fallacious grounds that any company which is not 100% US-owned and whose manufacture isn't 100% US-based is just plain-ole yee-hah not-American.

What flag do you drape across Land Rover (Ford), Jaguar (Ford), Volvo (Ford), Vauxhall (GM), Opel (GM), Saab (GM) or Daimler (Daimler-Chrysler)? For example.

In the previous paragraph, ponder why you did or did not select "USA". All are owned by one of those Big Three, right?

FWIW I'd only buy a domestic-model Big Three (of those I've had dealings with or seen) if I was forced. The mindset at work in those models seems utterly delusional. The nicest thing anyone could do for the B3 is let them get into an even more desperate mess than they are in now, and let them recover unaided. Maybe they'd learn a lesson about making product their US public want to buy because it's good product, not because it's "American".

Keeping a bad company afloat for chauvinistic reasons is stupid and ultimately bad for the home country. We Brits learned that the hard way, back in the 1950s-60s-70s-80s. (ISTR.)

I think it was "mack" who stated:

A Buick was on our short list when we finally settled on an '05 Camry. I don't recall which model it was, and after driving it, it wound up behind the Camry and the Accord, but ahead of the Maxima and whatever Mazda we test drove. Decent car and less money than any of them, but not up to the standards of Toyota and Honda , , , ,

-Don

I'd choose to have a rip-roaring royal fit!

Cathy

All basically true, except for one thing: No matter which Euro influences are blended with those of the American car makers, it'll be 100 years before the pathetic engineering habits are finally flushed out of the big 3. So, interpret the OP's question to mean "Which of the 3 kinds of terminal cancer would you choose? Ford, Chevy or Chrysler?"

So what is your answer about leaving Iraq?

I would choose a make and model that had been designed in collabration with Toyota. That would probably be a Pontiac Vibe.

I think I might take a chance with a Chrysler Mini-Van. I have had three; one was two years old and the other two were about 15. They were laid out well, and for some reason, the ones I had had good transmissions.

I also had a '94 LHS that I am now very sorry I traded for $600 towards my Scion. It was comnfortable, handled nearly as well as my '85 Celica, and was pretty much trouble-free for the 3 years I drove it.

After that, would be a Focus Wagon (I know, I know, but I think they got the bugs worked out of it). Even though I HATE SUVs, I would have considered an Explorer; I used to sell a lot of them and they are pretty decent. Of course, there are a LOT of Mazda parts in them, so would that be excluded under your scenario?

GM? UGH! The interiors look and feel cheap, the HHR I tested was way underpowered, I just don't like them.

I'd be looking for Used Subarus (You didn't mention if used cars were banned...) and if they were, I'd look for an Escort Wagon. They were really decent cars, but then again, we're talking a lot of Mazda parts.

My brother used to own a 1966 MG Midget. Twasn't happy if it wasn't leaking oil. He got tired of it leaking oil, tightened it up to where it wouldn't leak and it wouldn't start. And of course the electricals were built by Lucas, Prince of Darkness. (And we all know why English drink warm beer: Lucas also makes refrigerators.)

I've got people telling me if I want to impress girls then I ought to buy a Beemer. No thanks. I'll stick with my old reliable Corolla, the 4th Corolla and 5th Toyota I've personally owned. If I want to impress a girl, I'd get an MG-TC or a Model A. If I really wanted to impress a girl, I could show up in one of those pre-war Mercedes, maybe even one with the old plate IA-148485. Beemers are as common as Toyotas up here. If a Bimmer impressed a girl, I'm not sure I'd want a girl that was truly impressed by a Bimmer.

Charles of Schaumburg

What is it, Lacrosse, I think?

I believe he said foreign cars had all been confiscated.

"No Subie for you!"

-- the Subie-Nazi

lMHO, the best "domestic" brand right now is Ford. They have been shipping real hybrids for some time now and the Escape is well regarded by 5 and 6 year owners, the Fusion is well thought out and might even be reliable. I think the Five Hundred is attractive. I'd like the Focus except for the total unreliability of it. Ford puts DOHC engines in most of its cars, now.

I'd probably get a hybrid Escape. It'd hate to give Ford the business on account of our history but GM? No way. GM deserves to be punished for introducing the SSR (what a waste of metal), introducing the HHR (the ugliest retro vehicle ever), putting a heavy yet crappy V8 in a FWD car and calling it an "SS" (the 2007 Impala SS- gaaak - a real Chevy SS would drive itself off a bridge to avoid the embarassment of being associated with this POS), producing an economy car, the Cobalt, which gets worse fuel economy than the Camry, slapping a different and very ugly snout on the Venture and calling it a "CUV" and for continuing to ship 4-speed autos in their volume lines and calling it state-of-the-art. Chrysler? Never. Too many of my friends have Chrysler minivans and the interior of those just leap up and scream "CHEAP CRAP!" at you when you climb in. In fact, my DCX mini-van-owning friends agree that, yes, the interiors leap up and scream "CHEAP CRAP!" And it seems like all the DCX products I've ever looked at are like that. It might have been forgiveable on the K-cars back in 1982 (which we looked at but did not buy because the interior screamed "CHEAP CRAP!") but even GM's interiors are decent nowadays.

But, next to the imports, even Ford is still mostly also-rans, especially in terms of fuel economy. Banning imports, however, would fix the domestics' resale value woes and it would ensure full employment for America's mechanics.

I think it was Hachiroku ???? who stated:

Regal, I believe. It was the last year they made 'em.

As a stock joke, I suppose we can let that pass. Are Lucas still making car electricals? When I buy such stuff, Lucas' name never seems to be on any of it. Maybe they stick to OEM.

They do? (To both statements.)

UKians know about beer, that's all. Just as USians know quite a lot about fizzy drinks. Separate national skill-sets.

UKian beer is best served at a soothing temperature, such that it passes refreshingly down one's throat, seemingly slightly cooler than the body. I think our *.FR friends would say "bien chambre"

-- except they'd be on about some kind of wine. (FWIW, *.UK beer and *.DE-style lager are brewed in different ways, calling for a generally different temperature. IIRC, this affects the dates of the various autumnal beer-fests in *.DE: something about the laws setting a "not-before" date for brewing, to prevent illness.)

If Lucas make fridges, I'd be interested to hear more. A compact

The same thing one should do with what ever is on the market as well. Every manufacturer is building good reliable vehicle today. One should test drive them all to see which best suits their particular needs. Obtain a total drive home price, not just a selling price, from several dealers that sell that vehicle. Then buy the one that best suits ones budget. ;)

mike

Further research shows that I am admirably ideologically pure, in not recognising some positively _ancient_ Lucas gags.

The "Prince of Darkness" line: did that start with Lucas' friends or just its enemies? ISTR the classic "PoD" was, pre-Fall (ie in the Summer of his creation), called Lucifer ("Light Bearer"), not a bad tag for a company once known for its lighting products.

I suppose the Lucas fridge could be used to keep food warm. Just as the Lucas Oven would probably hit -40 regularly. So it sounds as if Lucas handed the baton over to MicroSoft before vanishing.

FYI My brother-in-law recently asked one of those emergency road service guys who drives a flat bed for hauling disabled cars about which cars he hauls the most. He immediately responded with BMW followed by Volvo and VW.

Now, if only the Big3 products were available in the US, then I'll try to ride my Harley as often as possible. By one of those goofy electric-only cars to haul people around and for driving in bad weather. For long extended trips, I'd rent a car and take my chances.