What angers me is that the domestic brands here in America are 100% capable of making cars that can actually compete with Toyota and Honda. In terms of everything from quality to performance.... Funny thing is, they choose not to put their best efforts forward. The Big 3 willingly gave up the passenger car segment to Japan. Choosing instead to concentrate on trucks. Which to me makes no sense since if you're going for volume of sales, the 4-door sedan segment is huge!
Despite owning a Ford for nearly 6 years, my next car is likely to be a Honda Accord. Every time I drive my Ford, I consistently see only 2 car models on the road that are over a decade old.... I'm talking about older versions of the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry models. Those two models are clearly built to last.
I don't lease. When you're done, you've got nothing to show for all of those monthly payments. A lease is just a contract for a brand new rental car that you keep for a couple of years, instead of days or weeks. I prefer to buy something that'll last for at least 6 years, won't spend too much time at a mechanic's garage, and won't eat up more of my $$$ for upkeep.
Until the Big 3 decide to put some actual effort into the 4-door sedan segment, I'll take my hard-earned $$$ elsewhere.... Also, if a Toyota Camry is made in an American plant, but a Chevy Impala is made in a Canadian plant; which one is the real American car?
It's funny, because Japan used to import "throw away cars" to the US. Now it looks like the manufacturing process is the other way around (and they still don't last as long). Monocrom is right, we are fully capable of making cars exceeding Japanese or European quality; but for bureaucratic/corporate reasons we don't.
I've read enough Dodge Intrepid nightmare stories to come to this conclusion, gives me a headache just thinking about it.
