 
Townonenorth
Member
Username: Townonenorth
Post Number: 338
Registered: 10-2007
| | Posted on Monday, November 10, 2008 - 5:42 pm: |    |
I'd really love to find out what recession proof field that Fury13 is in. I cannot believe for a second that anyone can be that short-sighted in their world view.
You can rationalize all you like on how they are spoiled babies, overpaid, lazy, shiftless, good for nothing bums.
Truth is, that these so called "losers" may have been paying your way in life, directly or indirectly. Your cushy white collar job may be not as secure as you might think.
There. Does that make you feel better? |
Sstashmoo
Member
Username: Sstashmoo
Post Number: 2855
Registered: 02-2007
| | Posted on Monday, November 10, 2008 - 5:44 pm: | |
Quote: "Toyota and Honda sure saw it ahead of time."
Oh puhlease, they are building the same undersized junk they always have. Explain the Tacoma then. |
Fury13
Member
Username: Fury13
Post Number: 4193
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Monday, November 10, 2008 - 5:51 pm: | |
What you call "undersized" is simply the right size. Americans are too used to their 14-mpg Fatmobiles.
Let me throw some concepts at you: Honda Fit, Nissan Versa, Toyota Yaris, Toyota Corolla, Mini Cooper...
(Yeah, I know... some of those cars are ONLY rated at 35 mpg or so... gee... but most of them can get over 40 mpg in careful real-world driving.)
Why can't GM or Ford build one of those????
No, instead they give us junk like the Chevy-badged Daewoo Aveo... lucky to get 32 mpg highway with that tin can. Worse yet, it doesn't even generally manage 30 mpg city... more like 28. Piss-poor. |
Fury13
Member
Username: Fury13
Post Number: 4194
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Monday, November 10, 2008 - 5:53 pm: | |
"...gas is 1.99 a gallon..."
Yeah, and we all know it'll be back up over $3... maybe closer to $4... next summer. Don't live in a dream world. |
Fury13
Member
Username: Fury13
Post Number: 4195
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Monday, November 10, 2008 - 5:58 pm: | |
Townonenorth:
"Cushy white collar job"? Hardly cushy. I easily work 55-60 hours a week.
A far cry from the auto plants, where workers can stop working at noon and play cards in the break room if they "meet production" (and God forbid if they exceed production... they'll hear about that!). |
Townonenorth
Member
Username: Townonenorth
Post Number: 339
Registered: 10-2007
| | Posted on Monday, November 10, 2008 - 5:58 pm: | |
It's not about product, it's about prejudice. Certainly the 3 have been behind the 8 ball on quality. BUT, I feel that it's all perception.
I'd be willing to bet that all these so called "reviewers" are paid by foreign automakers to shill for their products. Seriously. And the MPG argument only became an issue in the last 2 years or so, so blah blah blah. |
Mashugruskie
Member
Username: Mashugruskie
Post Number: 198
Registered: 09-2006
| | Posted on Monday, November 10, 2008 - 6:00 pm: | |
Fury, are you typing your responses from work? 55-60 hours per week would mean you're playing on employee time right now. |
Townonenorth
Member
Username: Townonenorth
Post Number: 340
Registered: 10-2007
| | Posted on Monday, November 10, 2008 - 6:02 pm: | |
He still won't say WHAT he does. Must be a management position at 50-60 a week. |
Fury13
Member
Username: Fury13
Post Number: 4196
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Monday, November 10, 2008 - 6:08 pm: | |
Townonenorth, I never considered nor bought a foreign car until nearly two years ago. I was Buy American all the way until I realized Detroit didn't make the product I wanted when I started shopping for a new car in late '06.
I certainly foresaw the coming fuel crunch at that time. I was tired of my 15-mpg Cherokee draining my wallet.
And I actually have few issues with the quality of U.S. cars today (although my '01 Cherokee -- bought new -- had its share of trim cracking, parts falling off, accessories failing... at only about 60,000 miles). I do think the U.S. companies have made great quality strides. No, it's all about fuel efficiency for me.
I don't care if gas drops to 99 cents a gallon. I want to put as little of my paycheck into my gas tank as possible. I want a car that has a low total operating cost. That's the bottom line.
Yeah, I'm cheap when it comes to cars. Damn straight. It's strictly point A to point B transportation, and I want to accomplish that as cheaply (but reliably) as possible. |
Fury13
Member
Username: Fury13
Post Number: 4197
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Monday, November 10, 2008 - 6:11 pm: | |
Mashugruskie, actually this is my time. It's after my work shift. But since I do devote enough time to my actual job, quibbling about a few posts here and there on DYes is ridiculous. |
Townonenorth
Member
Username: Townonenorth
Post Number: 342
Registered: 10-2007
| | Posted on Monday, November 10, 2008 - 6:14 pm: | |
I agree in the fit and finish problems. But people mostly don't want underpowered autos. The mileage is all in the body, not the engine. Compare the sound when you slam a car door made by Japan and one made here. Tinny sounding doors. If the 3 made cars like that they would be laughed out of town. |
Mashugruskie
Member
Username: Mashugruskie
Post Number: 199
Registered: 09-2006
| | Posted on Monday, November 10, 2008 - 6:17 pm: | |
Um, no Fury. Posting on DY while on employer time would be a no-no, regardless of hours put in. After all, if "schleps" aren't good enough for a break, neither are you. |
Mashugruskie
Member
Username: Mashugruskie
Post Number: 200
Registered: 09-2006
| | Posted on Monday, November 10, 2008 - 6:21 pm: | |
Townie, in the 1980's I owned an old Toyota Corolla. It was made from a tuna fish can.
I have had ZERO problems with any of my Dodge and Chrysler products. My Dodge Daytona, bought new, was paid off and smashed into by a teenager. No visible damage to my car (but the frame was bent). The kid's foreign hunk of junk, otoh, was a mess. |
Hectop99
Member
Username: Hectop99
Post Number: 6
Registered: 04-2006
| | Posted on Monday, November 10, 2008 - 6:24 pm: | |
Quote:
Let me throw some concepts at you: Honda Fit, Nissan Versa, Toyota Yaris, Toyota Corolla, Mini Cooper...
(Yeah, I know... some of those cars are ONLY rated at 35 mpg or so... gee... but most of them can get over 40 mpg in careful real-world driving.)
Why can't GM or Ford build one of those????
The Ford Focus is rated by the EPA at 35 MPG and happens to be built right here in Wayne, Michigan at the Wayne Assembly Plant. It also has a lot more room than the Yaris, Fit, etc... |
Buyamerican
Member
Username: Buyamerican
Post Number: 866
Registered: 02-2007
| | Posted on Monday, November 10, 2008 - 6:28 pm: | |
Fury 13, you are hopeless and it would be futile for me to try to answer your questions. You have your "perception" and obviously that won't change. Hope your 55-60 hr. a week job lasts, the economy is in the pits and the depression is on the horizon.
Thank you to those who can see things for how they really are here in the U.S. |
Mashugruskie
Member
Username: Mashugruskie
Post Number: 201
Registered: 09-2006
| | Posted on Monday, November 10, 2008 - 6:30 pm: | |
I owned two Toyotas in the 1980's. A Corolla and a Celica. They ran forever. And then forever came and I was stranded in the middle of fucking nowhere! When they die, they die big-time, like "I"m in a fucking cornfield at 2 a.m. in Indiana! Can you come and get me, dad?" |
Fury13
Member
Username: Fury13
Post Number: 4198
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Monday, November 10, 2008 - 6:32 pm: | |
Townonenorth, my Toyota doesn't sound tinny at all when the door is slammed. That was one of the things that surprised me when I went car shopping. As I said, I had never purchased a foreign car before this one.
And... I feel my car has just enough power. I have all I need. I can accelerate onto a freeway and pass if I need to. I have good initial accelerator response. The problem is, most American cars are grossly overpowered... and that's why the U.S. cars' fuel economy is so bad.
And I can certainly compare... I've had Pontiacs with 389's and Chryslers with 440's. A '59 Buick with a 401 and Chevys with 327's and 350's. A '66 Mustang with a 289. All that V-8 horsepower just isn't needed. We got used to it, we got spoiled, but it's not necessary.
I'll never own another 8 cylinder car, and I may never even buy another 6.
If I crave a surge of torque, I'll hop on a motorcycle. And they get 40+ mpg all day long. |
Fury13
Member
Username: Fury13
Post Number: 4199
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Monday, November 10, 2008 - 6:35 pm: | |
Hectop, Focus isn't a bad car at all. More room than a Yaris or Fit? Maybe. But I needed a hatchback, and as I recall, Focus doesn't come in a wagon or hatchback any more. And isn't city MPG well under 30?
Maybe by 2013, when I'm in the market for another car, I'll take a look at the latest edition Focus. I'd certainly buy American again... if I can get what I want. |
Buyamerican
Member
Username: Buyamerican
Post Number: 867
Registered: 02-2007
| | Posted on Monday, November 10, 2008 - 6:35 pm: | |
Mashugruskie... that's a funny story, thanks for adding some humor. |
Fury13
Member
Username: Fury13
Post Number: 4200
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Monday, November 10, 2008 - 6:39 pm: | |
Mashugruskie,
Gee, funny thing... the same type of "dead car" scenarios happened to me... only they happened with a '66 Olds 98, a '78 Jeep Cherokee, and a '81 Cadillac.
Yeah, I've owned LOTS of cars... from a 1948 to a 2007 model.
Guess it can happen with all makes and models, huh? |
Mashugruskie
Member
Username: Mashugruskie
Post Number: 202
Registered: 09-2006
| | Posted on Monday, November 10, 2008 - 6:39 pm: | |
Thanks, BA. I could tell you stories about my '64 1/2 Mustang but it gets disgusting. Bad pheasant and Cointreau (sp?).
(Message edited by mashugruskie on November 10, 2008) |
Mashugruskie
Member
Username: Mashugruskie
Post Number: 203
Registered: 09-2006
| | Posted on Monday, November 10, 2008 - 6:40 pm: | |
Exactly, Fury. |
Pffft
Member
Username: Pffft
Post Number: 1796
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Monday, November 10, 2008 - 6:41 pm: | |
The Ford Focus is rated by the EPA at 35 MPG and happens to be built right here in Wayne, Michigan at the Wayne Assembly Plant. It also has a lot more room than the Yaris, Fit, etc...
Hecktop99,
These folks have already made up their minds. GM could make a 99 MPH Cadillac and they'd trash it because back in 1975 some door trim fell off a Bonneville.
The consequences of every buying decision you make are huge.
If the American auto industry goes down, the economic hurt that will reach all of you "I get to buy the car I prefer" folks will be just as profound as it is to the rest of us. Wake up. |
Pffft
Member
Username: Pffft
Post Number: 1797
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Monday, November 10, 2008 - 6:43 pm: | |
Whoops, I mean MILES PER GALLON. |
Sstashmoo
Member
Username: Sstashmoo
Post Number: 2856
Registered: 02-2007
| | Posted on Monday, November 10, 2008 - 6:48 pm: | |
Fury,
The economy comes at a price, doesn't matter who is providing it. One of the costs, first and foremost (I'll see that on the "Phrases to eliminate" thread") is safety. Whats that worth? Then there is comfort. Then prestige. You wanna' go to the family reunion and show em' how that College education is paying off, in a Yaris? Seriously?
(Message edited by Sstashmoo on November 10, 2008) |
Mashugruskie
Member
Username: Mashugruskie
Post Number: 204
Registered: 09-2006
| | Posted on Monday, November 10, 2008 - 6:53 pm: | |
Well, I'm not too into "looking" good in a car. I couldn't care less about it. I have a Town and Country minivan. I'm more worried about my 20 years of work experience being reduced to pushing shopping carts back into Kroger in a blizzard. I have nightmares about it. |
Buyamerican
Member
Username: Buyamerican
Post Number: 868
Registered: 02-2007
| | Posted on Monday, November 10, 2008 - 7:07 pm: | |
DHL, Circuit City...and that's just today's news. |
Mashugruskie
Member
Username: Mashugruskie
Post Number: 205
Registered: 09-2006
| | Posted on Monday, November 10, 2008 - 7:13 pm: | |
Walter's Home Appliance.... |
Jiminnm
Member
Username: Jiminnm
Post Number: 1855
Registered: 02-2005
| | Posted on Monday, November 10, 2008 - 8:09 pm: | |
Buy American, DHL is a German company owned by Deutsche Post. They are pulling out of the American market because they have been unsuccessful competing with FedEx and UPS. They actually began about 9 months ago and are wrapping up now. |
Bratt
Member
Username: Bratt
Post Number: 779
Registered: 01-2004
| | Posted on Monday, November 10, 2008 - 9:00 pm: | |
Buyamerican:
Thanks for all of that. But with all of that being said. I bought American for many years. I got screwed over so much by them I couldn;t take any more. Customer service was so bad I wanted to go postal. They sold me vehicles with so many problems, and they didn't want to own up to it. So I switched over to foreign. Yes I did. Growing up with american factory workers. And they were not mad at me. I switched over to Lexus. I had the best vehicles and if I had any problems, they owned up to it and took care of it right away.
Sorry to say that...but just the way it happened. |