Today's Market of Import Vs. Domestic

[Fox Body]

Originally posted by Mr 5 0
...a lack of vision. .....

Yes, doesn't that explain it all?

I dunno, but from my somewhat ignorant perspective, it just seems like the domestic manufacturers aren't trying as hard as they should be-- like they really don't even care. I said it once and I'll say it again: I'm simply tired of hearing how great Hondas are and their resale values and seeing people get rid of domestics and buying more imports. I don't necessarily blame them if what they are saying about reliability is true, but if it is, the domestic manufacturers need to step it up a bit. When will the descent end? When will I hear "Hey, I bought a new Chevy Impala b/c it has one of the highest resale values and was rated in the top 5 cars in Car and Driver or Motortrend?

[Stang_Girl617]

I used to drive am import... trust me not by choice because I really hated the car... It was weak and cheaply made and it really bugged me just driving it. The only thing I truly loved about the car was the speed and handling capabilities... and I really think the only reason I loved that was because it had a lotus handling package on it. But once I got my Mustang I vow to never drive another car I love it sooo much.
Everone I know besides 2 friends of mine drive imports. They bug me with the "Toyota has the best trade in value" and "they are cheaper to buy most of the time" infact my boyfriend drives a 2003 Toyota Matrix.... and his brother a 2002 Mitsubishi lancer. which they both are a hunk of crap that I would never be caught dead owning... I get ragged on all the time because I am one of about 2 or 3 of my friends who actully drive a domestically made car. But recently I read an artical that ford is sending all manafacturing to foriegn countries because it can be made cheaper over seas... which needless to say is pretty low. I hate that all those jobs are now gone because someone wanted to pay someone 1.00 per hour rather than 35.00 to 40.00 an hour to save some pennies. It really makes me despise ford for doing so but there isnt much I can do about that. I may despise their choice in labor but I cant turn down a ford car because they do make one heck of a car.

Sorry about that I kinda got off subject.... But I do think it is a good topic... what do you guys think about Ford sending all remaining manafacturing plants over seas??

[84LX89GT]

Cars break no matter what the brand, imports for the most part are more expensive to repair on average because alot of parts are imported or marked up. I've seen just as many imports as domestics on the side of the road and alot of it has to do with maintainance (lack of).
I work at a ford dealership and see explorers with 200,000+ miles with little to no problems, and i also see explorers with 20,000 miles with all the common problems associated with the vehicle. The quality of all cars has gone up tremendously in the last 10 years and the all new Explorers, Expeditions, Lincoln LS, Thunderbird for example have all new technology and design than older vehicles. Specifications for the engine, suspension, NVH (noise vibration harshness) for example is way more stringent than it used to be.
I think with cars today it's mostly a matter of preferance. Every manufacturer today sublets alot of work and product design to other companies. For example: saying model X Ford is better than model X Chevy is a toss up because 1/2 the parts on a certain vehicle may be made by another car company or mass production company bought at the lowest price and isn't actually made by the car company itself.
I'm rambling, but my point is import or domestic - both make good cars and both make bad cars, both also have common problems because there will always be a car that is a lemon, or a sublet part that isn't durable (ford DPFE sensors for example).
Personally i like torque and i like it cheap, thank god for mustangs

[Fox Body]

Okay, so what you and a few others hear are saying is what I agree with. And there are very good examples given about a ratio of how one cares for a vehicle to how long it lasts. There is a lot of hype. There are a lot of bandwagoneers. Some stories are false, but some are true, and still some have some truth but are embellished. I agree, there are good and bad points about both domestics and imports. It seems though that domestic manufacturers should try to market their vehicles as much as the import manufacturers do and go above and beyond so that they stand out in quality and performance. Resale value seems more of a hype thing than anything else.

And, what do you guys think about this: Look at the price for a 2003 Subaru Impreza WRX STi, it's performance #s, all wheel drive, and finally the price tag. Now do the same for a 2003 Cobra....

[BaLListic]

another issue i see with domestics honestly so far its been much harder getting approved for a domestic car than it was for my nissan... It was a very simple operation and they actually gave me an answer within the first 20 mins... i had to wait 2 days! to hear from my ford dealer.... i mean wtf... im driving and import and ill drive an import till i can sell this import lol... after that im going mach 1 or svt cobra....

[mustardjohn]

The WRX is hot!!! And a great bargin. Lets see if they hang in at these prices with this performance. Wonder how many units they sell of the WRX. Wonder if it is a lost leader meant to improve the Suburu name and image. In any event it is a good example of a cheap hot car.

[MTU 50]

Originally posted by HotRoddin
This is a perfect example. I'm a damage appraiser, i spend a good part of my day thumbing through Kelly Blue Book. The vehicle that stands out most in my mind is the little Ford Ranger ??? They have to be the best buy going right now because the resale on them just goes through the freekin floor in 2 or 3 years. Why, I have absolutely no clue ? I talk to the body shops about them and ask if they're put together poorly or difficult to work on, and they say no, not at all .... i ask one of the mechanics if they had more than the usual amount of problems with them, and he said in fact, they have very few problems with them, and overall he considers them to be good reliable little trucks ????? I'm baffled.
I know lots of import owners that tell me they have a jillion miles on their import, but i know alot of domestic owners that say the same thing. I know my only personal experience with imports is a toyota celica i inherited when i married my wife .... it was a total piece of crap!! It broke down all the time and was obsurdly expensive to work on when it did.
The longer i'm around in this world, the more i'm finding out that about 80% of the so called truths you hear are just pure conjecture, pure Urban legend. They are things that are passed off as fact, when in reality there is no basis or proof to support that conclusion.
Are imports built that much better than domestics? I know there are tons of people that will say yes, but I just don't see the PROOF of it.
All you young people take heed of this ... In this world .... especially now days, just because a bunch of people (whether experts or not) say it's a fact ... that does not make it a fact. Reality is often quite different than majority opinion.

Great Points. People have it stuck in their head that all Hondas go 200k with no problems and you are lucky to get 100k out of domestics. Not true at all. Some import models do last longer than domestics and the reverse is certainly true as well. It depends more on the specific vehicle than it does the manufacturer.

Then look at recalls. Which ones seem to get attention? Ford, GM, and Chrysler. Well guess what folks, imports have recalls too. You just don't hear about it as much. If you ever have the opportunity to read Wards Auto Report, it is a great publication that lists what's going on in the auto industry business wise, engineering wise, production numbers, global auto news, and recalls. I see just as many recalls for imports as I do U.S. vehicles. Honda had one the other day I believe on the Accord where a couple of bolts can break and you lose power steering. About 300k vehicles in Japan were affected and 140k in the U.S. Did any of you hear about that? Now, if 140k Ford Focus' had that problem, I bet you would have heard something on the news or in the paper.

Then there is foreign brands that are made in the U.S. Is that better for U.S. workers than foreign brands made overseas? Yup. Is it better than Domestic brands made here? Nope, not even close. Yes, the Big 2 1/2 are becoming more 'global' and using more parts made elsewhere, but domestics still have more parts that are made here. Look at the window stickers of new cars and they will tell you the % of parts that are made in the U.S. & Canada.

Domestic auto manufacturers also still use more American suppliers for parts as well. I work for a Tier 1 supplier to the auto industry. 69% of our sales are in the U.S. 23% go to Europe and a whopping 3% go to Asia.

When that is broken down by manufacturer, it looks like this:

Ford...............................24.7%
GM.................................13.6%
New Venture Gear.........11.1%
DaimmlerChrysler...........10.2%
Delphi............................10.0%
Dana..............................8.4%
Toyota/AISIN..................8.2%
Visteon...........................7.7%
TRW................................3.8%
American Axle..................2.3%

Those are out Top Ten customers in regards to Automotive Sales. We supply all of them with parts and 90% of our parts are made in the USA. The rest are either made in Europe or in Mexico. Headquarters is in the U.S., my office is in the US, and 5 out of our 6 plants are in the U.S.

Do you see Honda on that list? How about Nissan? Where's Kia at? And Toyota accounts for a whopping 8.2% of our business. (Sales below the top ten don't account for much, so this is basically all of our Automotive OEM business.)

Now that is just one example, but there are more. As of right now, if you are an American it still pays to buy American, and until Honda and Toyota move their headquarters over to the USA, I don't see that changing.

[BigCountryGT]

Ban all cars made in Aisa

[BaLListic]

im about to buy a new Mitsubishi lancer Evolution simpliy because i cant get approved for a mustang... not to mention the lancer is pretty damn fast! out handles! and has a lower sticker!..... Kinda narrows it down a bit....

[mustardjohn]

Did a little research. Go to this web site it is JD Powers. I respect their ability to gather market information. You can stack up their Mkt research for various cars. I compared the 2000 Mustang, Acura Integra, Honda Prelude and Suburu Impreza. I was surprised at the results. Go do it and see what you think. If the link below does not work just go to jdpower.com, select auto and work your way down to the ratings.

Did the same comparisons for 2003 and was surprised again.

Then do it for say 1994-95. See what you think. See if you see the same trends I do.


http://www.jdpower.com/cc/auto/jdpa_...ndJdAwards.jsp

[BaLListic]

good point man.....