I always know you can take what ever we dish out, Charlie.
AS far as import vs domestic, there are far too many variables to say one way or the other, personally I believe the general public has been brain washed into thinking foreign cars are better built than American, there are far too many issues at hand to make that statement one way or another, country of origin? Country of manufacture? Parent country of manufacture? The lines are so blurred its hard to define whats foreign made or whats domestic built. I just find it wrong that because a company is a traditional American company, its assumed that they are inferior product. This country gave the foreign manufactures plenty of ammo to make statements against our manufacturing with cars built in the 70's-80's. I won't even get my soap box out about union labor(UAW) or socialized auto manufactures(Italy, France). Like I said, I have a 99 Burb with over 200K, a 99E350 with over 340K, an 02 Burb with 100K, I could add up every expense I've paid out on all three vehicles for repairs and it would be less than one years payments on a new Toyota. Does Toyota make a good car? Yes, But so does Ford, GM, and Chrysler. They've all built turds and they've all built good cars. I have friends that own independent car shops and the first thing they tell you is the Toyota's and Honda's are what keeps them in business. That emblem on the hood of a Mercedes is a target sight, it takes aim on your wallet, BMW stands for "bust my wallet". Its not just the car, but the attitude of the customer, just like the boats we own. I tell some one their four stroke Yamaha needs $500 spent on it for service, they usually don't balk, I tell some one their 2 stroke Johnson needs $250 spent on it and you'd think I was trying to rape them. I've seen every brand of motor fail at one time or another, they all break, if they don't, they'll replace it with one that will(6.0L Ford Diesel). Biggest pos car I ever owned was a Volkswagon Dasher Station Wagon, even a minor repair exceeded the value of the car, followed by a Nissan Hardbody 4wd pickup, with a four cylinder on a good day it got 15 mpg(my E350 gets better), parts for the ignition and fuel injection were obsolete about four years after it was built. My 02 E150 died a horrible death at 105k with jumped timing chains. Had a friend that had a Mazda Miata, crank position sensor went out, the sensor cost more that the car was worth. Toughest car I've ever owned with out a doubt, was my 96 2wd Cherokee, its got over 200K and my sister drives it everyday. I can fix just about anything on it with a paperclip, screwdriver and an adjustable wrench. To say one brand does far better than the other is hard to justify, take each one independently and look at the history. Throw the consumer reports out the window along with JD Powers, they are all advertising companies, they work on cash. Look at overall repair cost and parts availability, look at service options, talk to mechanics in independent shops, look at what they drive. I always thought Hyundai or Kia was POS, got a friend that works on Fords for a living and thats what he drives. The only thing you can count on is if they build a car that's too good, they will stop building it, whether its foreign or domestic.
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