Why do people think american cars are bad?

Question

i have a 2008 chevy malibu LTZ red and black interior and i think it is the best car i ever had in my life and i had 6 different ones 4 were Japanese

Answer 1

There is nothing wrong with American cars. Different people expect different things from cars. I love BMW's but they are not problem free. Merc's have less problems but not as much fun. Japanese cars have generally less problems but again not as much fun to drive. Personally I think American cars are not any worse or better overall. Generally large, comfortable, not the fastest but ample pulling power, easy to fix, low initial cost. What ever the car is, if the area you live in has good parts supply and service, than it is a good car.

Answer 2

These answers above know what they are talking about when it comes to the japanese cars cause they do last long but i have a 98 s10 still running and going so if you take good enough care of it will be fine...but if you ever are going to japanese cars i suggest toyota. My moms truck was 3k miles over when she needed an oil change and the oil still didn't need changed.

Answer 3

I don't know. All I know is that I Chevy♥.

Answer 4

Some are.  But some are quite good; there are a number of models of Fords which have excellent histories.  See Consumers Reports for specifics.

Answer 5

Wow a 2008 and it still runs great and you're really happy with it? I recently sold a 1987 Toyota Celica with 185,000 miles and it got 30 mpg and the AC worked as good as my 2003 Camry.

You won't be saying that about your Malibu in 20 years, or even 10. American cars do not last nearly as long as the top Japanese manufacturers, but some day I hope they change that.

Answer 6

I honestly think it started back in the 70's when the first fuel crunch happened. American cars started to go from muscle cars to economy cars to quickly and they became junk. It was not uncommon to see the hood and/or trunk clearance lines be completely different sizes on each side.

That is when Toyota and Honda entered the market heavily with their fuel efficient, 4-cylinder engines that had been around for several years, while the American 4-cylinder engines were newly designed.

Now, American cars can go as long, or longer than their Japanese counterparts. I have a 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier with 167k on it and no major problems whatsoever. My S-10 before that went over 400k without any major issues before it was wrecked (by a Ford no less).

Ultimately it comes down to what peoples opinions are.  

Answer 7

ITGuy...if they don't last as long how come you never see a 30's 40's 50's 60's 0r 70's j*p car on the road?

Answer 8

I have owned a 2006 Malibu Maxx for just over a year now. We have replaced (under Warranty) the following;

front sway bar

front sway bar mounts

rear wiper motor

ignition wires

front bumper cover (warped)

Intermediate steering shaft and related hardware

Rear suspension strut and the other is leaking

complete steering column (yesterday)

the lighter circuit fuse (at least 20 times) Dealer can't find fault.

This vehicle does not yet have 30,000 miles on it. Would you buy a car knowing that it was built this way. I certainly never will. I like the car for it's fuel mileage and it's space utilization but will I be able to afford to run it after it goes 'out of warranty"? I don't intend to find out. My wife wants to replace it with an ACCORD and I'm in agreement with her.

Answer 9

Cars aren't supposed to have problems while under their original warranty. After all, that would cost the company money.

Under $25,000? Thats about 10x what I'd pay for what I drive and I drive a monster of a Japanese car....independent suspension....3 liter V6.....182ft/lbs of torque...23mpg....only problems my family has had with it are our faults with the exception of the transmission.

Answer 10

I’d never drive anything but an American car, and only a GM at that.

I think there were quality differences back in the ‘70s and some people have refused to let go of that, although current differences are negligible.

How long they last and well they run is 100% about maintenance.  I just traded in a ’97 Monte Carlo that I drove for 10 years and had 133K miles on it. It was still getting 30 mpgs and ran reliably. The only reason I traded it in was that I’m expecting and a coupe wasn’t going to work so well with a car seat..  My extended family has been through several Chevrolets with models years from the 70s-90s that lasted a decade or more.

I think the American Manufacturer’s problem now is cost. There’s that “They lose value so fast” argument. But you rarely hear much explanation of why that is.

Do you know that thanks to UAW (the auto worker’s union) a typical assembly line worked makes a mid-five figure salary?  I’m talking $50,000, $60,000/year plus generous health care, huge pensions & free health care at retirement.  I’ve seen some stats recently that the salary + benefits works out to around $140,000 in compensation for these guys.  Most people I know with college degrees don’t make anywhere near that!  

The only way to pay for such inflated wages is in the sale prices of your products.  That’s why value drops so fast. With a new car, you’re picking up the tab for Larry the factory robot watcher’s $30/hr (plus benefits!!) salary.

American built cars should be drastically more affordable than their imported counterparts, but UAW won’t make the concessions to allow it to happen, and then they want to complain when manufacturing moves to Canada & Mexico. Gee, I wonder why that is?  

Answer 11

My 94 civic still runs like new.  It gets 41 mpg and does NOT even burn one drop of oil.

I'll see you in 14 years and I would like to see you say the same for you car.

====

Sorry man.  My family grew up on American metal.  It was me who did most of the car repair and  they really are c**p.

Good luck....

P.S.  I am not loving imports blindly.  My other car (2000 Audi A4) is c**p.

Answer 12

Like has been said previously, it's all a misconception by the public. It was true in the 1970's with the gas crunch. Now, one may ask why was detroit content with making such shoddy cars? (notice cars, not trucks, Chevy pickups have and always will be the most durable on the road). It's simple, with that abrupt of a transition to making cars for fuel efficiency rather than powers the cars that GM really wanted to make, and the ones that people wanted to driver, were totally different from the ones they had to make, and the one people were forced to drive during that era. However, starting in the 80's quality started to pick up significantly, as did power, unfortunately, the damage was already done. You will find that the notion of unreliable American cars applies almost exclusively only to passenger cars. The trucks and utility vehicles of American manufacturers have always been considered the best in their class, no matter what decade you lived in.

This is why GM in particular has been working so hard on cars like the Chevy Malibu, Buick Lucerne, Saturn Aura, Chevy Cruze, and Cadillac CTS. Each of these cars are rated high in their segment, or in the case of the Chevy Cruze, are expected to rate high in their segment upon release. It's in this market (passenger cars, particularly the In-line 4 cylinder power plants) where they have the bad reputation, and unfortunately, it's this market that is make or break in this day of high gasoline prices. But I think you'll agree, if the Buick Lucerne, Chevy Malibu, and Cadillac CTS are signs of anything to come, brighter days WILL be ahead for GM.

Answer 13

American cars kick *** (especially the muscle cars). All Japanese cars look the same (not racist).

Answer 14

My '69 Camaro has 232,000 miles on it and I still show it at car shows.

I would feel like a dork in a Toyota. I would have to run it into a tree so I wouldn't have year's of embarrassment.

Answer 15

Because they are!

haha!

Your car is a 2008. Wait until 2010 and see what happens.

haha! No offense!

My dad is a true hater of the American car!

He's driven 2 Fords, and Oldsmobile and a Chevy. All of them have either left him stranded or has broken down many times.

It depends if you take care of your car too. I know people with american cars that are 20+ years old and they work totally fine.

American cars are better than Korean cars though. To me, I think japanese cars like, Hondas and Acuras are more reliable and dependable.  

Answer 16

people think American cars are bad because they all want to buy the compact cars that get 40+ miles to the gallon without thinking of the economy they and for the record an 87 with 130k is nothing if you take care of any vehicle and do proper maintenance it will get you to where you need to go people have model t's that are still on the road so it doesn't really make a difference but that Malibu will still be in good condition for years and years  

Answer 17

i love american cars.

my dad makes us steel so we've always bought american rides since it would be kind of stupid to buy foreign with his job.

i think american cars are better to understand, like the people who made it think the same as you. my friend has a toyota and the owners manual is very hard to interpret.

and i dont want to hear about how toyota camry's and toyota prius's get better gas mileage because i have seen a lot of sedans just like those get the same amount of gas mileage. and mostly those foreign cars are overpriced and you can't get a good deal on them because for some reason everyone wants them.

i don't know about you but i definitely don't want a car that everyone has.

i really like your car by the way! those wheels that come on the LTZ's are really awesome :]

Answer 18

I got a dodge with over 350,000 miles on it and it still runs good. Its a 95 stratus

Answer 19

A lot of the Bad blood for American cars started in the Late 70's and early 80's. The pride that went in to making these cars really lacked in what people where used to. I have been restoring cars for over 25 years. Been turning wrenches for 30. And I'll tell you, I have seen a lot of junk come out of the late 70's and 80's. However the cars that are being turned out now, WOW, the pride and quality is back in American cars. I have to admit that my 05 Chevy Malibu is still a strong running car. I just did the first brake job on the car at 70K. I change the oil every 3000K, change all filters once a year. Flush the Trans, Coolant, and Brakes every 30,000 miles. And the car is still running like the day I bought it. You take proper care of your car and it will take care of you. It got 33 MPG when I bought it and it still gets 33 MPG. American steel is back.