1st Chinese Car Priced at Under $10K

[PRICEPLUS]

Re: 1st Chinese Car Priced at Under $10K

The head gasket went on the Dodge Omni but only after the A/C failed. I also lost the brakes one day. The Cutlass Cierra rusted apart and gave me problems starting up all the time especially in cold weather. The head gasket went on my Ford Taurus. I don't even want to talk about the Windstar.

There are two Toyotas parked in the driveway. One is a Sienna and the other a Camry. I change the oil and do maintenance. Not one problem.
When the big 3 make a car as well as Toyota does then I'll buy one. Until then I will drive Toyota.

[Ima saver]

Re: 1st Chinese Car Priced at Under $10K

I have been lucky. I drove my chevy camero with not one problem for 7 years before I traded. Before that, I drove a ford bronco for 10 years and never spent a dime on it, except for oil changes. I gave it away, still running great. wish Ihad kept it.

[twins0203]

Re: 1st Chinese Car Priced at Under $10K

I will stick to my awesome looking corvettes!!

That's actually the exact car that I had in mind when typing my post

Getting ready to purchase a 04 Yellow Corvette Z06 myself

[Ima saver]

Re: 1st Chinese Car Priced at Under $10K

That is great. I have a bright red one. My old one (1978) came in to the dealership in primer and was painted tu tone turquoise blue) It is prettier than the new one. My husband;s motto: Live is too short to drive ugly cars!!

[twins0203]

Re: 1st Chinese Car Priced at Under $10K

That is great. I have a bright red one. My old one (1978) came in to the dealership in primer and was painted tu tone turquoise blue) It is prettier than the new one. My husband;s motto: Live is too short to drive ugly cars!!

That's awesome. There's nothing like the beauty of the Corvette. That is one car that everyone knows what it is and turns the heads of just about everyone you drive by.

I love the Motto!!!

[PRICEPLUS]

Re: 1st Chinese Car Priced at Under $10K

My cars scream "married wuth children"! No Vets in my near future!

[Ima saver]

Re: 1st Chinese Car Priced at Under $10K

My husbands car is a 1933 ford victoria, bright red. I have been told it looks like a zz top car. You can tell we have no children because we have no back seat in our vehicles.

[CRFSaver]

Re: 1st Chinese Car Priced at Under $10K

The ironic thing about it all is the number of cars manufactured by GM and Ford outside of the US. My father has a brand new impala and it is gorgeous, of course it is not made in the USA but made in Canada at their Oshawa facility. For the longest time I said I would not buy a car built in the US but I have noticed that Toyota and Honda are building many vehicles in the US that have excellent quality. Of course many of those are non-union shops like the ones in Tennessee. At the risk of getting smacked around I am beginning to wonder if I should change that to say I wont buy a car built by a US UAW worker. I cant say that about the Canadian UAW as I also had a beretta built in that same Oshawa plant and it was car that never game me a problem, same with my father.

[Russell]

Re: 1st Chinese Car Priced at Under $10K

The C6 vette (Z06 or not) is the only car that has set itself apart from the rest of the American cars and that's mainly because of its performance. While its comfier and has better road traits than say a Viper but its still pretty crude compared to the BMW M3/M5/Porsche GT3 etc.

The Ford Focus is another car that I wouldn't mind having but in general I don't buy American cars anymore due to the poor customer service, poor dealership experience, poor resale value (which can be a good thing if you're buying used), poor reliability and longevity compared to Honda, Toyota, Mazda, BMW and Nissan.

I also agree with Claudia on most of what she explained. Getting rid of the competition is never a good thing and doesn't address the source of the problem.

Also, like CRFSaver mentioned, Ford and GM both make pretty decent cars elsewhere in the world. Ford has had several successful cars in the UK and GM has had a few successful cars in Australia which we never got. Ford Focus and the Pontiac GTO are the only two foreign designed cars we've seen in the last several years and they both became quite popular (the GTO less so because it wasn't marketed right and it targetted a niche market).

Finally, about the SUVs...what can I say, they're a nuisance to a civilized society. The people driving them have a god complex, they take up so much room on the streets, they weigh 5000lbs+ and they're driving up the gas prices and they look absolutely ghetto. I picture their drivers as the gold chain wearing trouble makers whenever one cuts me off on the road. Sure there are those that need SUVs for their large families but in my daily commute I see these 9mpg marvels being driven by a single person or two at most. I know its sad but I was one of the people that was quite happy when the gas prices were on the rise and I will be when it happens again. I saw a big decline in SUVs around that time and it felt good. We need to realize like lots of things oil (and water) are finite resources and sooner or later they'll dry up...

My comments are not addressed to anyone in particular but a general opinion and view.

[BAGAGT1]

Re: 1st Chinese Car Priced at Under $10K

The head gasket went on the Dodge Omni but only after the A/C failed. I also lost the brakes one day. The Cutlass Cierra rusted apart and gave me problems starting up all the time especially in cold weather. The head gasket went on my Ford Taurus. I don't even want to talk about the Windstar.

My Corrolla was so rusty after just seven years, that if I drove while it was raining outside the tires would kick up enough water that puddles would form inside in no time. There was also the time when the transmission shaft broke, which wouldn't have been much of an issue if it hadn't failed near the Robert Taylor Homes (real ghetto) in the middle of the night. Then there was the time the timing belt broke while I was about 100 mile from home. Another time the Alternator quit while I was coming back from Wisconson. I never spent more money on having my car towed than when I owned this car.

Now my Pontiac is starting to rust around the trunk, but that is not too bad considering that it is 13 years old. I did have to replace the transmission 3 years ago, but again isn't too bad considering it lasted 10 years and 128K miles. I might also mention that I used to work as a Service Technician and I had to use my own car, for three years I serviced the greater Chicago area lugging 700 - 800 pounds of spare parts and tools in the trunk everyday. The car has 165K miles now, I drive it everyday 46 mile commute round trip. No problems, as a matter of fact loved this Grand Am so much, I bought another one, I have a 2002 GA, so far no problems, but still too early to call it a truly reliable vehicle.

The fact is American Carmakers did have a quality issue. They have narrowed the gap immensely in the last decade. If you look closely at the surveys, you will see that different models of different makes have varying degrees of reliability issues Japanese models included. Yes Honda and Toyota have a greater reliability scores, but that does not automatically mean that buy doing so you will never spend a dime on maintenace, I have yet to see a Toyota or Honda dealer that does not have a large garage attached to it (like all dealers do). I have a friend who is a mechanic for a Toyota dealer, he will tell of all sorts of nagging glitches that Toyota vehicles have.

The fact of the matter is, no car is perfect, it is a machine, machines break. I personally like to buy American, If I can find a car that meets my needs that I like and is assembled in America, I will consider buying it no matter who (Toyota, Nissan, Honda) makes it.

[mccartygirl]

Re: 1st Chinese Car Priced at Under $10K

I'm sorry you feel that way Russell, I've been cut off by as many cars, Dodge Rams and SUVs. I do not wear a gold chain, nor do I have a God complex. I drive my SUV and will continue to because they're bigger and safer for my children to ride in. Let's face it, if I get hit by a Dodge Ram I have a fighting chance, if I'm in a Ford Focus - I'm a speed bump. I have to haul kids, dogs, misc things for the house in it. I think to make general comments like we have God complexes is wrong. There are cars that get the same gas mileage as my SUV

Good argument Bagati - our Corrolla was junk and had many of the same problems, tranny and such. Our paint prob was that it turned pink and then white within 6 months of purchasing brand new. They told us we didn't wax enough, waxed too much. More and more surveys are showing that the US automakers are closing the gap on quality. Cars are machines and will have problems, it's life.

[Ima saver]

Re: 1st Chinese Car Priced at Under $10K

Hey twins, we are almost neighbors!!

[twins0203]

Re: 1st Chinese Car Priced at Under $10K

they look absolutely ghetto.

I'm not quite sure why you say they look "absolutely ghetto." An Escalade or a Denali say nothing like "ghetto," they scream Class. Even the not as much expensive SUVs are nothing near ghetto.

SUVs are classy vehicles, especially the more expensive ones as mentioned plus the Z71 Tahoe. You say they are way to big, they are the same size as a full size pick up truck. So should everyone quit buying them also?

Gas mileage is not the only thing that counts when purchasing a vehicle. Looks are number one, at least in my opinion.

I'd rather be rolling in my Z06, getting roughly 19-28 MPG with 405 HP whenever I need it, than be riding around in a Toyota getting 30+ MPG with 100HP that I would slide down in the seat just because the looks of the vehicle are nothing even close to flashy.

I'm sure all of my views are way off than most of you guys', but this is because I am a car guy. A car to me is NOT just something to get you from point A to point B.

[twins0203]

Re: 1st Chinese Car Priced at Under $10K

Hey twins, we are almost neighbors!!

Yep, we sure are

Was the weatherman right about snow over your way today? My guess is no (he was wrong here), lol, but always good to see a little bit of snow sometimes

[Ima saver]

Re: 1st Chinese Car Priced at Under $10K

It snowed pretty hard and stuck to the ground, but the roads are ok. I took my vette to the grocery store and stocked up!