For those of you sick of reading these automotive posts I apologize. BUT…The IDEA here is to take you from the initial INVESTMENT IDEA (to buy ford stock) Then through the turn around process…and to be able to IDENTIFY these events so this process can be repeated over and over through your life!!!
and I think most of their cars have compared better to imports than any of the other car manufacturers in the past tw years. Like the Corvette Z06 and ZR1, the cadillac CTS and CTS-V, the Chevy Malibu and the Pontiac Gt just to name a few.
Sorry, still not convinced about long term reliability of american made vehicles. sure, they look good off the lot, and ford has done some realllly nice restyling on their recent year models, BUT where are they going to be 5-10 years from now? how many times have they been in the shop in those five years? how many dollars have been spent to keep them running to 100K miles? how about resale value over the long term? these are all questions that haven’t been answered in my mind for american cars as of late…my wife drives an acura and I’ve got an infiniti-WE LOVE THEM- they hold their value stupendously AND require almost NO MAINTENANCE other than brakes, tires, oil, etc…AND THEY’RE BOTH JUST OVER 5 YEARS OLD!!
Rob,
I agree about GM engines.I just got rid of my third chev truck though because it was an 05 with 32kmiles when I got it and had 60k when I sold it.It went through 3 wheel bearings,2 rotors!I’ve been around cars all my life and wheel bearings are not a common fix.Especially with those miles.So I gave up on GM,then they got in bed with the govt so I’m definitly done w/ them.
Really have a new respect for ford for doing the right thing and walking away as henry ford done decades ago.Good business knows better.
You are right…The jury is still out…But I will say this…TOYOTA is having some MAJOR issues lately which may DRIVE consumers into American (assembled) products. Here’s a quick list of current Toyota issues…
Tacoma pickup frames rotting so badly that dealer are REFUSING to let customers LEAVE with THEIR trucks. To Toyotas credit they have been buying them back at 150% of blue book.
Tundras are NOW experiencing the same issues but because Toyota spent so much on the Tacoma 150% buy back they are NOT doing this on the Tundra’s. My friend just went in for an oil change and the dealer noticed his frame had rotted through at the suspension mounting points (2002 truck) They’l refused to let him leave with the truck and he has been WITHOUT a VEHICLE for 2 months now. Toyota is ordering a NEW FRAME for his Tundra!
Toyota recently settled a class action lawsuit regarding engine sludging. V-6 engines across the entire line were seizing with about 60,000 miles on them…Dealers were balming poor maintainance but Totoya LOST this case in court and is now responsible for those engines to 100,000 miles.
The Big 3 dug this holes for themselves…They are now perceived as having a inferior product to the Japanese. IN some cases this is simply NOT TRUE…But that’s what happens when you build JUNK for 20 years while the Japanese built incredibly reliable cars that held their value because of it.
What are you talking about? When you buy a Corvette or Cadillac CTS you are not buying it to drive it back and forth to work for 15 years. You are buying it to drive it like you stole it for 2 or 3 years tops and trade it in on a new one. You should only pay for half of a car. It may as well be the half with the warranty and the new car smell. Let some other guy pay for the repairs.
Bluemoon- so you’re basing your opinion of all American carson two models that the average guy cant afford? My statement regarding reliability is geared toward vehicles that 99% of americans drive, NOT the corvette.
My parents came down to visit this weekend. Their 2002 Bonneville w/ a 3800 V-6 made it just fine. The car has over 200k on it and the trip down here was about 10 hours. The car still gets upper 20’s mpg on the hwy and has had the steering column replaced. No other major repairs. My dad also has a '91 Sonoma w/ about 215k on it that refuses to die. It had a new manual tranny installed at 90k and a new fuel injector a couple years ago. The truck is about to rot to the ground (has Fred Flintstone floor boards), but still runs.
That being said…my wife’s 03 Accord is closing in on 70k, has only had oil changes and a new set of tires, and gets 30mpg hwy.
Justin,
That 3.8 V6 is bulletproof,and your dad’s is prob the 4.3 that’s also great motor.I just put an astro w/4.3 up for sale.I hate to get rid of it but I don’t drive it,it’s got 140kmiles and is great on gas.My wife has a lexus LS430,I got it a while back and she’s gonna drive it till it dies.WHich will be a while,plus it gets around 25mpg!I used to pull these into my shop with 200k mi. that was’nt taken care of and still ran great and leaked nothing on the floor.
I agree the 4.3L is an awesome motor. This one, however, is the little 2.5L. It’s just been a really good truck. I bought it in '94 before I went to college. Later, my dad got rid of his full size and took over the payments so I could get a cheaper car in college. I bought it with 60k on it for $6500 back then. It’s been a great truck. Still gets about 22-24mpg.
I’ve mostly owned American brands, but I agree there are so many plants in the US from what used to be considered “foreign” automakers that it’s tricky to really determine what percentage of a vehicle was made/assembled here. It’s not as simple as it was 20 yrs ago talking about American made vs. foreign.
Maybe I am irresponsible, I would rather have a 70’s Vette than health insurance payments on myself. $3,800 will almost pay for a Z06 engine that will look great in my dining room, (for the time being). :biggrin