[F1GTR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The_Mac Because american cars have come a long way since the late 80's and they're now as reliable as an import

No they clearly are not.

The interiors of GM cars hasn't improved since the 70's and they use the same steering wheel for every car. If they were anywhere near the quality of Japanese makes they wouldn't be losing billions of dollars each quarter.

I would choose a 96-00 Honda Civic HX. It's a no brainer.

 

[Lil_JV]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Claus1100xx if you want a reliable car, why are you looking at american cars? 'snicker'

+1 If you want a long lasting car, you go with a japanese car. Simple as that. Even my families Nissan Pathfinder lasted until about 300,000KM's without any major work. Edit: Just noticed the previous comment. Their interiors are absolutely horrendous. They last time I checked the Corvette has the same audio system as the mini vans. LOL. Pitifull. We rented a Chrysler Sebring when we went on vacation. It rides like a race car, everything is made of plastic, and it already had tons of rattle/squeaks(5000miles).

JV.

 

[AlanY]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The_Mac Because american cars have come a long way since the late 80's and they're now as reliable as an import

That's not true. Domestics have definitely improved, but I'm not aware of any statistical data that ranks them as reliable as the imports.

The University of Michigan survey just came out today and Ford came out dead last:
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1...514104,00.html
(The University of Michigan study includes some subjective factors as well, so it's possible it overstates the extent of problems with Ford.)

The Consumer Reports survey shows that "domestic makers continue to have an average problem rate about 40 percent higher than that of their Asian counterparts for their newest models."

The JD Power corporate VDS survey ranks Toyota and Honda above GM and Ford in vehicle dependability.

 

[AlanY]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pepsione1 Dodge SX2.0? Pontiac Pursuit? Chevrolet Aveo? Chevrolet Colbalt? Chevrolet Optra? No Ford Focus. It must be domestic. So what would you choose? The #1 priority here is reliability. 2nd is cost. Please share info if you have any personal experience or know of any good reviews or surveys.

For what it's worth, none of those vehicles is recommended by Consumer Reports (based on their ownership reliability surveys). The closest vehicles recommended by Consumer Reports are the Pontiac Vibe and Ford Focus.

 

[slwiser]

Even for the cars you posted, lots of parts are made out of country; Canada, Mexico. Remember NAFDA and now CAFTA? It is hard to buy a purely domestic today. I do not know if one exists.

 

[apnk]

I thought the Ford Focus was domistic?

Anyway i would go with a Cobalt. Its basically a Cavalier (my sis has one) with a different body. Great acceleration for a 4 banger and pretty good gas mileage.

 

[Claus1100xx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by apnk I thought the Ford Focus was domistic? Anyway i would go with a Cobalt. Its basically a Cavalier (my sis has one) with a different body. Great acceleration for a 4 banger and pretty good gas mileage.

no the ford focus was developped for the european small car market. I think a substantial amount of these might actually be produced overseas as well and imported.

The Cobalt actually looks halfway decent as well.

 

[Edwood]

In that case I would look into buying a Toyota. EIther a Corolla or Camry (not compact though) Both of those cars are more "made in the USA" than any of the other cars listed.

I would definitely stay away from GM, personally, but that's just me.

Although, the Pontiac Vibe is in fact a Toyota Matrix. GM and Toyota collaborate a lot. Some excellent cars have been produced through their partnership.

THe Focus has had a lot of recalls, but probably because there are so many of them sold worldwide.

-Ed

 

[wallijonn]

Pep,

Test drive them all.

I drove an Aveo rental and I couldn't wait to get back to my Miata. Wow, I had power again.

Gas is going up everyday, get the best gas mileage one. But it had better handle and have accleration.

When's the Pontiac Solstice coming out?

 

[apnk]

Why does everybody hate GM? Have you guys even own one?

 

[hciman77]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Claus1100xx no the ford focus was developped for the european small car market. I think a substantial amount of these might actually be produced overseas as well and imported.

I hired a Focus in blighty, it was fairly nice to drive and had a reasonable amount of poke but for a small car the fuel economy was somewhat unimpressive.

 

[zoboomofo]

On my drool list:

Acura RSX (type s for more oomph) A real fun drive with trademark Honda refinement. It is perfect for me.

Volkswagen GTI V (now with less bloat!) not available in N. America until 2006/7?

other consideration:
Dodge Neon SRT-4 - looks smart, very fast!

disappointment:
Mazda 3 (2004+)
more plasticky than old Proteges, poor visibility, uninvolving drive
(but looks nice from the outside.)

Money-no-object:
Subaru Impreza - I love everything about the way the WRX looks.

 

[12thgear]

I err on the side of fun to drive over fuel economy or a plush ride.

I like the Mazda3 5 door with the 2.3L engine. They're more fun to drive. I'm not sure how it can be more plasticky. My wife's 2000 Protege ES and her previous 1998 ES were extremely plasticky inside. This new engine is much better, but even my wife's car had surprising torque down low and responsive handling.

The Nissan Sentra SE-R is also a lot of fun to drive, but it really lacks style.

I haven't been in a Chevy Cobalt, but it appears to be much, much better than the Cavalier. That's not saying much though. The Cavalier is a pathetic excuse for a small car. Reviews are positive overall, but it still seems like it's a step or two behind the best.

I've never liked the way the Corolla drives, but it's a quality car. The XRS might be fun.

I'm not a fan of the styling, but the Toyota Matrix/Pontiac Vibe is surprisingly tossable and roomy. I enjoyed test driving it.

The Scion tC might be worth checking into if you want a sporty looking coupe, provided you can get past the overblown youth marketing.

I like the Focus quite a bit. The ZX5 was a pleasant surprise. It's just too bad it's been plagued with reliability issues.

I'd skip the Neon unless you're getting the SRT-4,

 

[Lil_JV]

Quote:

Originally Posted by apnk ...Cobalt... Great acceleration for a 4 banger and pretty good gas mileage.

Yah, okay.

Quote:

Why does everybody hate GM? Have you guys even own one?

Have you ever owned an import? If you did you would understand why.

JV.

EDIT: Forgot to mention. Wait until your sis decides to sell her car. Enjoy! Have you ever payed attention to the huge value drop after you drive a domestic off of the lot? Compare that to a Honda, Nissan, Toyota, etc. If not, you will notice when it is time to sell.

 

[Tuberoller]

The reliability gap has long since closed and the latest ratings pretty much smash the myths.

If you don't like the way something looks,that's certainly a matter of personal preference and I do personally prefer some of the interiors of the Euro and Asian cars(especially cars like the VW Jetta). As far as the quality of the electrical and mechanical systems,the quality is about the same in most Domestic and foreign products. The point about domestic vs. foreign parts content is valid as some "Japanese" cars have as much domestic content as some so-called domestics.

I race the Chevy Cobalt SS and have found it to supremely durable and well built. I prefer to speak from personal experience and have found my domestic cars to perform well and offer outstanding value. The last two foreign cars I've owned (2002 BMW M3 and 1997 Mercedes M-class) have both been complete,utter junks. The BMW was purchased back under Illinois "lemon laws" and the Mercedes gave my wife so many problems she traded it in on a Buick,which has'nt had a single problem in five years and 70,000 of ownership. My sister and her husband are strict buyers of Hondas and justifiably love them. What is unjustified is the rediculous cost of some repairs. I swear,if you ever have an engine or trans go bad in a Honda,you may as well buy a new car. You pay for emissions repairs on these cars with your pants around your ankles.

I had a clutch installed in my Caddilac CTS-V for less than half the cost of a clutch replacement in my sister's Accord V-6 with a six-speed. What's worse is the fact the her dealer and Honda attributed the clutch failure to "abuse" though my sister has been driving manual trans cars for nearly 25 years and drives like the 40 year old doctor and mother of two small children she is. The "abuse" claim was utter BS. Her dealer installed the new clutch only to have it fail 2700 miles later and found a leaking engine seal that caused both clutch failures when replacing the second clutch which they also tried to charge her for. Her initial expense of nearly $2400 was never reimbursed and the technician whom worked on her car later admitted that hers was the first of a string of V-6 Accords that had the same leaking rear main seal. The problem was most evident in the manual trans models due to the fact that it caused the clutch failures. What makes this whole thing worse is that I absolutely abused the clutch in my Caddy and the dealer still offered to pick up the labor if I purchased the parts.

I'd say that while most foreign cars are generally very reliable and well built,I would'nt want to have one after the warranty expired.

Buy a Cobalt and enjoy.