Article About American vs. Japanese Cars

[thapranksta]

This is a slightly long read but you might want to check it out. There are always debates about American vs. Japanese cars on this forum.

http://autos.msn.com/advice/CRArt.as...tentid=4024680

[marc780]

I read the article. They are mostly right but they are talking generalities. I'll talk some specifics.
Volkswagen is one of the worst cars on the road. You couldn't give me one. Electrical systems are very bad and they dont hold up. They do drive well and feel solid but dont expect to own one much past 100,000 unless you own a money tree.
Toyotas, Hondas, Nissans too (i've owned 4) are about the best cars overall. Toyota has good consistent reliability while Honda is odd in that they have had bad years and models that gave problems that were fixed by the next model year. Still good, but not as good as Toyota.
American automakers are struggling for existence because they cant or wont adopt the japanese design philosophy. I know, i fix detroit iron every day. Some are good, some are bad, but no American car matches toyota. I would like to buy American again but after 10 cars i am so tired of fixing this crap when it breaks or paying a fortune to have it done. On some of the detroit models, too many defects are actually BUILT IN to make things break before they should. FORD is the very worst for this, always has been, they fell behind Toyota in sales for very good reason - WON'T CHANGE THEIR DESIGN PHILOSOPHY! Surely you have heard the phrase "designed-in defects", well it is not just a catch phrase. American auto engineers are some of the best in the world, American production methods are usually state-of-the-art. American autoworkers are just as good as their Japanese counterparts (Kentucky Camrys, assembled by Americans, just as good no?). American cars are not as good as Japanese because the auto companies just havent kept up, and this comes from the top down. The closest that US has come to copying Japanese design methods is Saturn and i think that experiement is a mixed bag. Look at their reliability record, only fair. Also do you know anyone that owns a Saturn?

The American automakers are quite capable of making a car as good as the Japanese, if and when they choose to do so. The question is will they do it, and will it be too late for the US auto industry by the time they do?

[thapranksta]

Actually, I know someone who owns a Saturn and someone broke into it and stole the radio.....but that's besides the point.

I think the US is far behind at this point with the exception of GM in terms of design and technology.

[thapranksta]

^I'll have to check that out. I guess my feelings toward GM were always based on assumptions.

[CamrySExxx]

The only cars i would buy and not worry about problems are Toyota and Honda. Nissan is meh to me. Toyota and Honda is basically what every vietnamese family around here own LOL! except for the few that still have there 1G mazda MPV..most of the families i know got rid of the mpv due to so many damn problems...but we still have ours sittin in our driveway

[gonzo08452]

Originally Posted by CamrySExxx

The only cars i would buy and not worry about problems are Toyota and Honda. Nissan is meh to me. Toyota and Honda is basically what every vietnamese family around here own LOL! except for the few that still have there 1G mazda MPV..most of the families i know got rid of the mpv due to so many damn problems...but we still have ours sittin in our driveway

I'm not Vietnamese but I was at 'Little Saigon' which is in the city of Garden Grove in SoCal getting some Pho (Vietnamese noodle soup) and I noticed there were a lot of old Cressidas and 1st Gen Legend Coupes. Interesting...come to think of it, I did see a lot of the 1st Gen MPVs. I overheard someone in the parking lot commenting about my car to his partner... 'thats a bee sic Camwee'.

[Blackhawk3D]

Toyota, Honda and Nissan are my top three. My dad had a 9? B13 Sentra, not one recall or check engine light, nothing. It just went and went until we sold it to our neighbor. Fun little car too, not much power but it was pretty sporty handling wise. Our Toyotas and our Honda have been flawless, our GM trucks have been great. Our Dodge Caravan threw a rod at 81,000. Go figure (Sucked big time...) Our Ford Taurus station wagon crapped out a few thousand after the warranty expired. My biggest gripe about US carmakers is that they continue to build cars with inferior fit and finish, materials, reliability, and for me, most of all, inferior engine power, fuel economy, and tech. An impala with a pushrod V6 with 190 hp just can't compete with a Camry, Altima, or Accord with 250+, not to mention better looks, fit, finish and reliability.

[Engineer2048]

I'm on my second Toyota and I couldn't be happier. Nonetheless, I have a 1990 S10 Blazer that's got over 300,000 miles on it, and the engine still runs great. I did replace the transmission this past summer. My first Toyota was a 1995 Corolla that I just gave to my son for his 16th birthday. In general, American cars don't last as well as the Japanese cars in my experience and are overpriced for what you get.