• Front page
• Receive letters on your RSS reader

According to “Automakers’ latest focus: sedans” (Business, Aug. 22), industry observers say U.S. carmakers will have a tough time making inroads in the sedan market dominated by foreign makers.
Before purchasing a new car in the midsize sedan market, purchasers should test drive a vehicle made by Ford, GM or Chrysler. First, they will be surprised at the quality of the vehicles. Plus, their purchase, if they decide to buy, will help assure hundreds of thousands of retired American vehicle workers that they will continue to have health coverage and other benefits that they earned from their American automobile employers.
Granted, many of us always felt that the unions were out of hand in their demands, but these employees earned it through bargaining and stand to lose most of these benefits if the American manufacturers are forced into bankruptcy.
Having driven both foreign and American through the rental market, I do not think that foreign vehicles are any better than current American offerings.
I have always purchased American and my experience for the past several years has been that they are reliable and trouble-free and generally cost less.

David W. Salter, Lone Tree

READER COMMENTS

Sorry David,
We consumers do not exist to ensure the livelihood of a company or its workers. If Detroit makes a quality product, then Americans are smart enough to buy it. Detroit has been besieged by poor quality products and excessive pricing which is directly attributed to the excessive cost of production by union labor.
I haven't owned an American-made vehicle in years. In fact the last Ford and Chevy I owned were both lemons, notwithstanding the fact that neither company would fully honor their warranties.

A friend of mine had a beautiful Cadillac Sedan Deville that blew its gaskets at 94K miles. He still owed money on it and sold it for less than its value and was stuck...GM would do nothing...would not stand behind the car. I had two American cars and they each fell apart before 100K miles. My last car was a Toyota Camry (went 220K miles before its gasket went out) and now I have a Hyundai. When America makes better cars, I will buy one. What was Iacocca's old commercial...."if you can find a better car, buy it!"

I would have stayed with Toyota, but with the death of my husband and diagnosis of my daughter's chronic disease, I could not afford Toyota anymore.

Don't worry about the big three. Once they are sufficiently run into the ground, they can pull a United, go into bankruptcy, and dump all of their pension benefits onto the federal government. I'm sure they'll be given a decent bail out, only to continue building heavier, less efficient, less agile, and less safe vehicles. They can always continue repeating the process until their foreign outsourced labor, which they pay meager wages and little or no benefits, is their only remaining liability, and we are guiltless enough to allow them to go under.

cheryl, I hate to hear stories like yours. I think that if we could see into all those doors, we would be astounded at how much pain and tribulation there is in the world. That is why we prefer to keep them shut. When we ask how you are, we want you to give us only the good news. l

Truth:

When I win the lotto, I will let you know! But, right now, I have a mortgage payment to scrape up...somehow, though, I always manage to get the bills paid, feed the children and pay for my daughter's meds. But the hammer is alway around the corner waiting to fall.....

My point in the comment was that I would have bought Toyota again if price was not a consideration.

To " I'm Not Fooled"

I totally agree, buy the best you can afford, be it foreign or American. If I could afford a Toyota, I might get one.

I have a 2002 Chrysler Sebring sedan, 6 cylinder, with no problems at all. Runs fantastic, very reliable, but still a little on the "new" side.

My 2002 Olds runs just fine, but only about 60,000 miles on it. The last 2 Fords I rented ran great and gave me no problems either. My 96 Chevy truck is running great, but needs some new parts here and there due to plain old wear.

It's not that simple. My last three cars: Honda Accord, assembled in Ohio; Jeep Grand Cherokee -a Chrysler product (i.e. Daimler Chrysler, a German company); Plymouth Voyager, assembled in Canada. Which of these is the American car?

It's probably true that the quality of American cars is better than it used to be, but none of them make a car I want. I want (and have) 4 cylinders, a manual transmission, and AWD wrapped up in a nice package.

When one of the Detroit manufacturers offers something like this, I'll go look at it.

It is really hard to tell which is American and which is considered foreign built...same for people overseas.
About the only thing the automakers do now is buy parts and assemble, with some design thrown in. There may be something different design wise, but nearly all automakers (foreign and domestic) operate under the same quality guidelines (ISO16949).
All my cars have been American with a few going well beyond the 200K mark, with very little maintenance. My Saturn SL2 (96) had 226K and was still going strong until someone pulled in front of me--never felt the airbags go off. The import the kid was driving had to be dragged off the street. Mine, they jumped in and DROVE it onto the back of the flatbed with the front completely crushed. I've also known people who have had bad imports too, not to mention what it takes to maintain some of those so called dependable imports.
Besides, the warranties on some of these cars are so good, it doesn't matter.

When was the last you saw a TV ad for an American built sedan?

We fell for the 'Always Buy American' campaign back in the 80s to show our support for American companies and American workers. How did the companies repay our loyalty? By closing factories and destroying the livelihoods of thousands of workers.

While I feel for the retired auto workers, I refuse to put money in the pockets of the CEOs and stockholders. I now own a Toyota that was made in the USA. At least they employ Americans.

When American car companies put loaning and borrowing ahead of quality, especially GMAC, they started collapsing (Let's make a buck off of the consumer and let them figure it out). The chairman and founder of Toyota said, "I'll build a better car and let it make it's own reputation. My name is on the hood and trunk of every car I make and I want people to know that I stand behind it. Money is not an issue, Quality is. The money will take care of itself".

Business kinda slow down at David's American Cars in Lone Tree?

I've bought American. And Japanese. And German.

I buy whatever vehicle suits my needs at the time. Right now it's a 2004 Ford Explorer. It replaced a Toyota pickup, which replaced a Nissan pickup, which replaced a 1970 Volkswagen bug that, sadly, was acting its age. Each was purchased because I liked it at the time.

(Truth be known, if the bug had four-wheel drive and a new a transmission, I'd still have it today.)

I don't care who stays in business and who doesn't. Just as I don't choose which farmer gets my tomato dollar; I find a good vehicle, I buy it, no matter where it comes from.

Cheryl, the last time I looked the Hundai is rated as high as the Toyota in reliability.So I hope that gives you some comfort.

Cheryl, the last time I looked the Hundai is rated as high as the Toyota in reliability.So I hope that gives you some comfort.

I drive a tow truck and I see my fair share of vehicles. As far as passenger vehicles go they are all about equal as far as being towed and leaving customers stranded.

Trucks on the other hand, I tow in more Ford pickups than any other, next are Dodges, then GMC/Chevy. In fact GMC/Chevy and foreign pickups are all about equal.

Most of my passenger vehicle tows come from accidents or vehicle older than 7 years. Domestic or foreign doesn't matter. just my two cents from a first person perspective.

My completely American made car went for 880K yep 880,000 miles before I sold it. The engine only went for 760K though. Too bad Checker went out of business. Now there was a car built to last.

POST A COMMENT

• 'Kid Nation' reality show a new low
• Rivers a shameful hire
• Too little news
• ‘Diesel’ fumes
• Unlocalized story a disservice to readers
• Riled up by Christian music
• Darling of the left
• Solutions too costly