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And that's nothing new. The Chevy LUV was a rebaged Isuzu and the Ford Courier was a rebadged Mazda. Both started production in 1972.
They also did the same in the 80's. Remeber the 85-89 Nova? It was a rebadged Corolla. Yet it was crap, and only tarnished the name of the Nova.
We could also cover the Geo Storm, the Chevy Spectrum, the Chevy Sprint, the Ford Festiva...
Of course there has been some reverse copying; Isuzu released the Hombre in '96 after the S-10 was out for the 3rd year with the new body design. And Mazda followed as well after Ford introduced the new curvy Ranger for the 1993 model run.
There are good and bad in all of them it seems. In the 80s and 90s, Japanese cars seemed to be the best, but seems like recently, the American cars have improved. I have foreign and American..
I have some of the old American steel automobiles - and GAS HOGS!!!! I have a rare 1972 Chevrolet Caprice Estate wagon, 1973 Pontiac Grand Ville (daily driver), 1989 Pontiac Grand Safari wagon and a Japanese car- a 1991 Lexus LS400. Since 1997, I have most always owned at least one Japanese car. Love the Lexus, because its 17 years old, has 210K miles and still runs like new... even the interior is still rattle/squeak free. I have always had good service out of the 1980s-90s Toyota cars.
Here is my current fleet...
This one is under current restoration.. interior still like new... this was a garaged, 1-owner car with 47K actual miles
American cars:Working-middle class, mainly in the heartland (Midwest and South)
Foreign cars: Upper-middle class, mainly the coasts and urban areas.
I know Miami is not the norm, but American cars, aside from Chevrolets, are hard to see over there. Even pick-ups, the more "American" cars, are usually Japanese brands.
"1972 Chevrolet Caprice Estate wagon" We had the oldsmobile vista wagon. Which was a cousin of this car. I learned to drive on that olds. Then the gas crunch hit and Dad got rid of it for a "gas efficient" wagon. That thing s*cked.... I was so mad.
I wouild luvvv to buy an American car again but there isn't any that I like. Although improved as of lately reliability is still an issue.
Anyway, as Yo Vanillas stated many "foreign" cars are made here in US such as the Hyundai Sonatas in Alabama or Honda Accords in Ohio. And many "American cars are made in Mexico or Canada. If I remember correctly 65% of total parts come from other countries to assemble Ford or GM autos.
I wouild luvvv to buy an American car again but there isn't any that I like. Although improved as of lately reliability is still an issue.
Reliability is not an issue for many American cars, like the Ford Focus, Lincoln Town Car, Mercury Grand Marquis, Dodge Caliber, Dodge Charger, Buick LaCrosse, Buick Lucerne and Saturn Aura. Those all have better-than-average reliability.
All I buy is BMW SUV's and I own a Porsche Boxster convertable. They are both 2001 in excellent condition. What I hate about american cars is that there is too much frill inside and they change the body styles too frequently. When I drive I want the car to perform to my driving style. I have owned japanese cars and american cars and you get what you pay for after 4 to 6 years they look old.
To me BMW and Porsche similarity is to clothing/accessories...vintage, chanel bag they don't really go out of style. American cars I always replaced every 4 to 5 yrs. I got tired of it. I don't like lexus, mercedes...since american companies bought them...such a shame.
Location: central, between Pepe's Tacos and Roberto's
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Originally Posted by Soju
I wouild luvvv to buy an American car again but there isn't any that I like. Although improved as of lately reliability is still an issue.
Anyway, as Yo Vanillas stated many "foreign" cars are made here in US such as the Hyundai Sonatas in Alabama or Honda Accords in Ohio. And many "American cars are made in Mexico or Canada. If I remember correctly 65% of total parts come from other countries to assemble Ford or GM autos.
Let's not forget about BMW X5's and Z4's, which are built in Spartanburg, SC. I believe that BMW has plans to open another factory stateside pretty soon also.
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