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Originally Posted by FRPLG
So to get an American car that is as good as a Japanese car we should simply just pay more?
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I never said that. What I'm saying is don't buy a $17,000 dodge neon and then bitch about it not lasting as long as a $23,000 camry. Dollar for dollar I disagree with the statement that American cars are somehow inferior. I don't know where everyone gets the impression that foreign cars are so cheap, but they're not. I'll grant you the Japanese have the market on compact cars. It's hard to argue against the Civic in terms of reliability for the price. But I challenge anyone to get more for their money than I got last year when I bought my 2005 Denali.
Another example: in 2001 I bought a Dodge Stratus R/T coupe with a 3.0L V6 (200 HP), 4 disc CD in the dash, premium Infinity sound system, sun roof, leather seats, 8-way power adjustable driver seat, 17" aluminum alloy wheels, 4 wheel anti-lock disc brakes, integrated fog lamps, etc. I got all that in 2001 for $21,000 with 3.9% financing. A week or two ago I just traded it in. 5 years, 46k miles and I NEVER had a single problem with it. Nothing, in 5 years. I changed the breaks once, tires once, and the oil every 7,500 miles (because that's all it called for). What equivalent foreign car could I have gotten in terms of features, reliability, and performance for that kind of money in 2001?
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When American companies can figure out how to make the same class vehicles at the same quality for the same value then people will buy them more. Plain and simple. I own one "American" car and one "foreign" car. My Tahoe is sweet but I gurantee that when the foreign companies start to take seriously making large size SUVs people will stop buying the top American models that currently dominate the market. As far as sedans the foreign cars simply are better vehicles for the price right now. I wish that weren't the case but it is. And it is totaly ridiculous to try and lay a guilt trip on people for buying foreign cars. We're not talking about a little money here. For most people buying a car is a major investment and simply put they should be able to buy exactly what they want and get the best car they can for their money. It isn't their fault that in any given class of cars the best are usally foreign. I don't blame a guy who makes 35,000 a year for buying an Accord rather than a Taurus. He can't afford to go blowing his money on an inferior product.
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As for sedans and coupes, I would argue that an Impala SS, Monte Carlo SS, Dodge Charger, Chrysler 300, Pontiac Grand Prix GXP, Pontiac G6, Pontiac GTO, Chevrolet Corvette, and Cadillac CTS all offer more than their foreign counterparts for less money. But this thread is more about getting Tafkas a new car, so I don't think we really need to get into a debate about specific cars, or this thread will likely turn into a 50 pager in no time.
And for the record, I never layed a guilt trip on anybody. To the extent you think I did, please show me where.