ORIGINAL: Nero
Better quality? Depends on the car. I agree about the union workers bit. Unions have reached their usefullness years ago and need to be done away with.
good point about the car...
i feel that companies like nissan, honda, and toyota have done a good job of making efficient cars and trucks that look decent.
toyota doesnt make anything that i would buy, but the camry has proven to be a favorite of middle class americans who dont really care about how fast or sporty their car is, so long as it runs forever with little care, and gets good mileage. while i care about how my vehicles look, and how fast they will go, the truth is that most of the people driving do not. hence toyotas success. having worked as a mechanic, the toyotas were typically the cars with high mileage, and were poory taken care of...but they ran forever. they are trying to get into the racing world, but they are doing poorly in nascar, and their trucks are ugly.
honda has done the same thing that toyota has, but honda has made some effort to make some sporty models, like the civic Si and S2000. many civic and accord owners might as have have bought a camry, as they do only enough to keep the car running forever, and like toyota, they are typically cheaper than the domestic counterparts. i would drive quite a few different honda vehicles, especially the civic...
nissan has seemed to shift their focus to luxury and performance, and that appeals to me. next to dodge, the only truck that i would consider buying (although i dont see me buying another truck any time soon) would be the titan. overseas, nissan is a force in the racing world, and only because of an inter-company pissing match between nissan motors and prince motor company, they do not have the same appeal of performance here with models like the skyline and silvia, although we are not gettig watered down versions.
other than thoe three, i wouldnt ever consider having an import...hyundai and kia are complete junk, and i wouldnt drive one if it was free.
but it comes down to the bottom line for most normal americans, who dont are about how nice or fast their car is, and they dont care where it was built, or where the money goes... and example...the 07 camry LE versus the 07 charger sxt.
both 3.5L engines..the charger makes 250hp/250tq, and the camry makes 268/248...with similar options, including a 6 speed auto trans in the camry, the charger is already a couple thousand dollars more, before youve even chosen a single option..and for most people in the US, money talks. i would rather have the charger, even at the slightly higher cost, but most people only see the basics, and exclude where it is made, and where the money goes.