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jimhowie2000 · 03-14-2009, 01:12 PM

I was actually very impressed with the Camaro overall when I saw it at the Cincy and Cleveland auto shows, enough so to trade in 4 cars to order one. Personally, I do not now, nor have I ever been able to figure out why everyone goes so nuts over Japanese cars. I have never owned one nor would I ever. Everyone knows that the big three had horrible quality control in the 70's and 80's, yet the strides they have made since then have gone largely unnoticed. I am old enough to remember the crap the Japanese peddeled in this country in the late sixties into the early eighties. How about Toyotas that religiously had head gasket failure at 50,000 miles, Mazdas, Nissans and Hondas that broke timing belts at about 60-70,000 miles and correspondingly turned the engines to scrap metal, Toyota pickups that had serious bed rust and structural rust at 3-4 years old, Honda Accords that had to have front fenders replaced under warranty after one winter due to rust out, and now, the glorious Camry with its transmission troubles that everyone is ranting about. They made junk, yet the label did not stick to their products as it has to American vehicles.

As for the other points brought up in this thread, I don't know of a single time where state or local governments have given GM, Ford or Chrysler money to build a production plant in their state or given them land tax free......the state of Ohio gave Honda $92 million to build its plant in Marysville, and I also remember hearing about one of the southern states granting KIA land tax free to build a plant. We do not treat our own manufacturers as well and it seems highly unfair. Remember also that the Japanese manufacturers do not have to put up with the UAW and its demands.

And for those who think the Japanes cars are so over engineered, they have been decontenting their cars for the better part of the 90's and this decade. This is another area that irks me, Japanese cars have grown fatter and less fuel efficient since the 70's yet, nobody scolds them for this. Our cars got smaller and more fuel efficient and everyone complains about the mileage. PErsonally, I think everyone buys Japanese cars strictly on reputation of others rather than actual experiences. Case in point, Consumer Guide admitted to giving New Japanese cars excellent reliablity and frequency of repair records without having anything to go by but past tests on older models that had no relationship to their current counterparts other than the name. Does this seem fair? NO!

And take a real hard look at those "Quality" products Toyota makes....I rented a Corolla last month and quite franky, the thing was nothing but cheap ill fitting plastic on the inside, tinny sounding doors, uncomfortable seating, the paint had orange peel so bad you could not even see your reflection in it, the bumpers were two shades darker than the rest of the car and the door sills did not line up on either side. The thing was overly noisy and the gas mileage was nowhere near what was advertised, even driving like an old man with it. I was not the least bit impressed. My "07 Cobalt was far better than this in every area.

So, overall, I still remain mystified as to the foreign is better mentality. I do hope America wakes up and starts buying the few things we actually build here. If not, as someone else stated, our children can look forward to poorer lives with no jobs while other countries continue to prosper.

03-14-2009, 01:12 PM	#275
jimhowie2000 Drives: '10 Camaro 2LT/RS & 6 older Chevy's Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Mount Vernon, Ohio Posts: 75	I was actually very impressed with the Camaro overall when I saw it at the Cincy and Cleveland auto shows, enough so to trade in 4 cars to order one. Personally, I do not now, nor have I ever been able to figure out why everyone goes so nuts over Japanese cars. I have never owned one nor would I ever. Everyone knows that the big three had horrible quality control in the 70's and 80's, yet the strides they have made since then have gone largely unnoticed. I am old enough to remember the crap the Japanese peddeled in this country in the late sixties into the early eighties. How about Toyotas that religiously had head gasket failure at 50,000 miles, Mazdas, Nissans and Hondas that broke timing belts at about 60-70,000 miles and correspondingly turned the engines to scrap metal, Toyota pickups that had serious bed rust and structural rust at 3-4 years old, Honda Accords that had to have front fenders replaced under warranty after one winter due to rust out, and now, the glorious Camry with its transmission troubles that everyone is ranting about. They made junk, yet the label did not stick to their products as it has to American vehicles. As for the other points brought up in this thread, I don't know of a single time where state or local governments have given GM, Ford or Chrysler money to build a production plant in their state or given them land tax free......the state of Ohio gave Honda $92 million to build its plant in Marysville, and I also remember hearing about one of the southern states granting KIA land tax free to build a plant. We do not treat our own manufacturers as well and it seems highly unfair. Remember also that the Japanese manufacturers do not have to put up with the UAW and its demands. And for those who think the Japanes cars are so over engineered, they have been decontenting their cars for the better part of the 90's and this decade. This is another area that irks me, Japanese cars have grown fatter and less fuel efficient since the 70's yet, nobody scolds them for this. Our cars got smaller and more fuel efficient and everyone complains about the mileage. PErsonally, I think everyone buys Japanese cars strictly on reputation of others rather than actual experiences. Case in point, Consumer Guide admitted to giving New Japanese cars excellent reliablity and frequency of repair records without having anything to go by but past tests on older models that had no relationship to their current counterparts other than the name. Does this seem fair? NO! And take a real hard look at those "Quality" products Toyota makes....I rented a Corolla last month and quite franky, the thing was nothing but cheap ill fitting plastic on the inside, tinny sounding doors, uncomfortable seating, the paint had orange peel so bad you could not even see your reflection in it, the bumpers were two shades darker than the rest of the car and the door sills did not line up on either side. The thing was overly noisy and the gas mileage was nowhere near what was advertised, even driving like an old man with it. I was not the least bit impressed. My "07 Cobalt was far better than this in every area. So, overall, I still remain mystified as to the foreign is better mentality. I do hope America wakes up and starts buying the few things we actually build here. If not, as someone else stated, our children can look forward to poorer lives with no jobs while other countries continue to prosper.