[DeTomaso] NPC How can this happen in America

[Jar]

I have to say that I never understood this "US vs Them" logic when it  
comes to buying cars (or anything else).

My Dad and my Uncle (both RIP) used to get into this from time to time  
when I was a kid.  My Dad with his Mercedes-Benz and my Uncle with his  
Ford T-Birds.  My Dad was a serious car nut all his life and he always  
ended the argument with authority saying:

"You can't subsidize mediocrity!"

What are the countries of the world?  Sports teams?  We are  
unpatriotic traitors if we buy a foreign product?  Spending multi- 
thousands on something is serious business and smart folks don't base  
their purchasing decisions on a need to root for the home team.   
Somehow Americans deserve to have money and jobs more than foreigners  
do?  Americans are better than everyone else?  This is just xenophobic  
nonsense.   In my family this view died with my Uncle.

My Dad often said American cars were sub-standard compared to Japanese  
or European, but he bought them anyway.  My Dad's American cars:
66 Pontiac Bonneville (caught on fire)
70 Mercury Cougar convertible (rear window leaked rain)
71 Pontiac Firebird (ran perfect for a long time)
77 Mercury Monarch (too boring)
80 Cadillac Seville (ran perfect for a long time, but the interior  
started falling apart)
93 Jeep (wagon/SUV) (ran perfect until the day he died)

Some were crap, some were not.

The ones he owned together or in between were all German, Volkswagon,  
Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, BMW or Audi (the Audi was by far the worst car  
he ever owned, an abominable piece of expensive sh*t)

As for me, I have bought 4 new vehicles in my whole life:

85 Toyota pickup:  Threw a rod at 125K
93 Toyota pickup:   Ran like a top, replaced it when my Dad (yep)  
advised me to try one of those new F-150's
95 Ford F-150:  Threw a (V6) rod at 75K, new motor = $6,000 (ouch!)
2001 Toyota Tundra:  Front brakes trash at 30K ($5K TRD upgrade),  
throttle body trash at 60K (repl. under warranty), $800 bucks to  
replace a starter, nice truck but I couldn't sell this looming money  
pit quick enough.

I cannot honestly say which is better, a Ford F-150 or a Toyota  
Tundra.  Neither one of them made it to 100k in my garage.

These days I do not even own a modern vehicle as I just plain flat-out  
don't like 'em.  They are too complicated for me to fix myself, they  
all look the same (ugly) and I can't treat a new one casually as I  
need to.  I don't want to have to baby a new daily driver because I am  
fiendishly trying to maintain it's resale value so as to get another  
one before said resale value takes a nosedive.

My fun cars are all American beauties, which I happily pamper and  
treasure:

60 Cadillac hearse
65 Buick Riviera
73 DeTomaso Pantera (well, half-American)

My daily drivers are simple Japanese mules, which I drive the crap out  
of and fix (most things) myself:

72 Datsun 510 Wagon
78 Datsun 620 Pickup

If American car companies are failing, I suspect it is primarily from  
this simple fact:

Generally speaking, foreign cars have historically performed better in  
the categories of reliability and resale value creating a perception  
in the consumers' mind that foreign cars are a more fiscally prudent  
purchase.

It's a damned shame, in my opinion, because American cars are a hell  
of a lot more fun and look much cooler.




On May 23, 2009, at 12:07 PM, fresnofinches at aol.com wrote:

> <<<<<I felt sorry for her, and asked if there was anything I could  
> do. Ruefully, she said, "buy a car!">>>>>
>
> A little late for that.
>
> Now, how many of you have import marque cars sitting in your garages?
>
> How many of you have shown how patriotic you are and put an American  
> flag on your import?
>
> How many of you can come up with "good" reasons why you passed on  
> American cars and bought the import car now in your possession?
>
> Now multiply that by a nation of "Proud Americans" and you'll  
> understand why the Big Three are in the situation they now face.
>
> We all make choices in life. They are not all based on logic and  
> financial concerns.? Some are based on faith, courage of conviction,  
> and personal taste.
>
> If we had all vowed to "Buy American"? decades ago.........
>
> Larry
>
> 2005 Chevy Equinox
> 2001 Chevy Astro
> 1995 Ford F-150
> 1993 Dodge Spirit
> 1972 De Tomaso Pantera
> _______________________________________________
>
> Detomaso Forum Managed by POCA
>
> Archive Search Engine Now Available at http://www.realbig.com/ 
> detomaso/
>
> DeTomaso mailing list
> DeTomaso at list.realbig.com
> http://list.realbig.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso