Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris55
... I'm American so I would really want to support the US car industry but they never have anything that I want. The overall designs often look OK at first but always age badly and often look tacky and worn somehow. I addition there are always too many cheap, shiny surfaces inside and out for my taste.
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I could have written those same words as that exactly 100% expresses my thoughts.
The last American car I owned was a new 1971 Buick Skylark. I replaced it with a 1974 & 1/2 Datsun 260Z (a transition 280Z with SU carbs). The incredible improvement in fit, finish, quality, feel, and reliability was overwhelming. The absolutely terrible everything associated with that 1971 Buick, especially in almost direct comparision to a Japanese product, left a very long term and powerful impression on me and I never again purchased an American branded car (although I have not hesitated to buy BMW, Lexus, and Toyota products manufactured in the US and Canada).
I agree, US manufacturers certainly have come a very long way since then. The quality of a new domestic branded car is indeed excellent. Nevertheless, I do not at all believe cars sold by American Companies (GM, Ford, Chrysler) age as well as German and Asian brands. The interior of every American branded car I have ever seen looks worn and old after a few years.
I know this is unfair and incorrect but I nevertheless perceive people that buy expensive Cadillacs as very naive car buyers.