Again, Chrysler is the least American of the "Big Three"

[Rack]

whenever I mention that I have a 98 Dodge Neon, instantly people say its a POS...  The thing has 192,000 miles on it without replacing a headgasket.  The only things I have changed on it were a timing belt (at 145,000 miles), and oil pan gasket, and a egr valve...that's it.

All my dodge's were good vehicles...all of them.  My '05 ram pickup is by far the best family vehicle I have owned.  I test drove tundra's, titan's, ford's, and dodge's before I chose the ram.  It was the best vehicle, with the best room, and the power I needed.

I would have picked any pickup if it fit my needs, but the dodge did it above all the rest.  Sorry, no way in hell would I ever own a GM, so I didnt test drive one of those

I hear ya. My best friend has a Neon with almost 100K miles on it and he's only had one minor problem with it (some gas sensor thing, not sure what it was but he hasn't had anymore problems with that). He never gets the oil changed on time and he generally doesn't treat the car well but it's stood up to the challenge with flying colors. That little thing is well built.

[SeattleCharger]

The US trucks are good, always main money makers, but problem now is gas prices, US companies did not plan for this, they are playing catch up, with new models taking about 3 years to get to market from design, so all their big hopes for staying competitive are in vehicles that aren't really going to be for sale til 2010, in the meantime they are taking big losses overall, unfortunately for them the japenese just offer more fuel efficient and reliable vehicles, most us companies have these big hp vehicles that just don't make the sales numbers anymore, people aren't buying them with 3dollar plus gas, companies hardest hit since 1988 I just read in paper, tired of them being catch up companies, why can't they lead?   trying to sell us gas hogs, I don't feel that sorry for them.   maybe the oil companies own the car companies
  (although a 3/4 ton dodge with a diesel isn't bad for mpg/ size and power and truck value)

[68RT4ME]

I'm currently in the market for a new full size truck. I have a Toyo Tacoma currently that I will be getting rid of. It has been a good and trouble free truck for the last near 4 years but, it's too small for towing. I will not buy a Tundra nor even look at one because, when it comes to a real full size truck, it doesn't qualify in my book. Nothing more than an over grown Tacoma.

My decision has come down to the Dodge Ram 2500 Cummings or the Ford F-250 Powerstroke. I'm liking both at the moment and I'm thinking the final price will be the deciding factor. The Big 3 are hands down the kings of truckville and I am of the belief the American cars are every bit as good as any of the imports. I think the media makes it harder on the American companies by hyping the imports and belittling our own cars. This has been the case for years but then again, going back to the 70's, American car makers didn't do themselves any favors by turning out the crap thay did and not trying too hard to change with the times. They have been playing catch up ever since but, they have also come a long way to the point that I feel perfectly comfortable buying one.

I'm not crazy about Chryslers current lineup style wise with a couple of exceptions but the Big 3 are turning out quality cars and I plan to stay with them. Someone here said that the U.S. missed the boat in the begining by not putting tariffs on imports as is the case with American cars in most foreign countries. This is absolutely the case with not only cars but all products. Greed was/is the biggest factor here. If they had put tariffs on imported goods, there would be a more level playing field all the way around and we wouldn't have American companies leaving the country in order to compete. sometimes, we seem to be our own worst enemy.

[Mike DC]

 

Detroit is fighting the culture-wide image problem of American stuff.  Every Japanese-made video game system or Ipod that a kid buys is reinforcing the idea that Japan is the place to get your technological products in general.  By the time kids get to car-buying age they've already been totally indoctrinated to assume that Japanese=good and American=bad. 


   
     

[Rack]

 

Detroit is fighting the culture-wide image problem of American stuff.  Every Japanese-made video game system or Ipod that a kid buys is reinforcing the idea that Japan is the place to get your technological products in general.  By the time kids get to car-buying age they've already been totally indoctrinated to assume that Japanese=good and American=bad. 


   
     

Which is why I own an XBOX 360. 

[TK73]

Which is why I own an XBOX 360. 

Where are those manufactured?

[68RT4ME]

Which is why I own an XBOX 360. 

Where are those manufactured?

I'd bet "China"  American idea that's built somewhere else at cheaper labor rates to earn big bucks here and abroad.

[SeattleCharger]

 

Detroit is fighting the culture-wide image problem of American stuff.  Every Japanese-made video game system or Ipod that a kid buys is reinforcing the idea that Japan is the place to get your technological products in general.  By the time kids get to car-buying age they've already been totally indoctrinated to assume that Japanese=good and American=bad. 

     

that is a good point mike, kinda makes sense   

[Charger_Fan]

Which is why I own an XBOX 360. 

Where are those manufactured?

I'd bet "China"  

I bet China too. Japan's gotten into the same game as we have lately, farming out their stuff to have made from cheaper Chinese labor.

[Rack]

Which is why I own an XBOX 360. 

Where are those manufactured?

No idea, but at least it's made by an american company.

Pretty sure it's the only game console made by an american company. PS3 is from Japan, nintendo... no idea.

[Joshua]

This thread from another board seems relevant.......and many made good points on the "issuse" the big three have.....
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=163085&highlight=auto+makers

My opinion??? New cars are junk......ALL of them from the last 20-30 years.......

[SeattleCharger]

Thing I like about older cars is how much easier they are to work on.    all this electronic crap that wears out is crummy, cars that are 10-15 years old that still have life left in the running gear have all the electrical stuff messing up and costly to fix,  ruins the car when it could be a good car still

[Mike DC]

 
New cars are like all other modern products. 

They're just appliances.  When you shop for them, you're not INTERESTED in them.  You're mostly just trying to wade through the sea of plastic to get the one that will bend you over the least and hopefully work almost as well as the old one did from 30 years ago.  (At least for the first week.) 


And once it breaks, you don't try to take off the cover and do anything about it.  The smartest & least troublesome thing you can do is just admit defeat, throw it away, and take your money loss.  Then you go buy another new one almost exactly like it while knowing full well that it probably won't last any longer than the first one did. 

     

[Ghoste]

I agree Mike and thats exactly why I keep saying that at some point in the near future, Wal Mart will jump into the car game.  They'll not have lots, you just go in and tell them the color and option package and in a week it'll arrive from China.  Watch out for falling prices. 

[SeattleCharger]

I agree Mike and thats exactly why I keep saying that at some point in the near future, Wal Mart will jump into the car game.  They'll not have lots, you just go in and tell them the color and option package and in a week it'll arrive from China.  Watch out for falling prices. 

   You can buy a car at Costco.  made in japan