Friday, August 11, 2006

Cars

JD Power just released its dependability survey. Lexus took its perenniel spot at the top, but guess who the next three were? Hint: It wasn't Honda or Toyota. It wasn't even BMW or Mercedes. It was three American automakers: Mercury, Buick and Cadillac. Long live the American automobile. Literally.

As the happy owner of a GM product myself (a Saturn SL2), I get annoyed with the bias towards foreign cars. Have you ever noticed that if you tell someone you have 200,000 on your car and it's a Honda or a Toyota, it's because "They're made to run forever. They're the best." but if you have 200,000 miles and it's an American make it's because "Any new care will last that long if you take care of it." It's a double-standard.

My parents once had a Toyota Corolla and the thing died an early death. Their next car was a Buick.

I don't doubt that Honda and Toyota make excellent cars, and that they're better than some American brands. I just get irritated that they have become the universal default choice especially as they tend to be more expensive. All I'm saying is give Detroit a chance.

And by the way, I average 30+ mpg in my '01 Saturn.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah, but you didn't see Saturn, Ford, Chevy, Pontiac, Lincoln, Chrysler, Dodge, GMC, and Jeep in the Top Ten. The rest are all Foreign Cars including Toyota and Honda. Stop being like the liberal news media and give all the facts. Don't just skew them to make your point work.

Steve Lamp said...

As I said, "I don't doubt that Honda and Toyota make excellent cars, and that they're better than some American brands." While other American brands such as Lincoln and Ford did not make the top ten, they were above average and made the top 13 (unlike Japanese makes like Nissan, Suburu, Mitsubishi, etc.) If I was attempting to skew things I would not have linked to the original source for the full details.

Anonymous said...

I love my Camry...but loved my Buick before that...and the Pontiac before that...hmmm...as long as it runs. And if I can demo derby it, all the better!

Joe said...

If you want to experience an excercise in confusion, try having Steve and 'anonymous' as roommates while you are considering the purchase of a new car.