Quote:
Originally Posted by littlecammi
The problem is that all things have not been equal for years, since the car magazines have done too good a job of convincing the American public that imports are good and American cars are bad.
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I respect and appreciate your passion and loyalty to our country, but I don't think you can lay the American consumer's "preference" on the car press.
As a sales professional in an unrelated industry I can tell you that buyer "preference" is a KEY element that either works for or against the seller's favor, depending on whether the seller has this preference or not.
Up until the first oil crisis in the 1970's and then continuing into the 1980's, US automakers devolved from owning consumer "preference" as indicated in their domestic marketshare to where they are at today. Instead of feeding our preference with products and services that offered great value, they began to offer poorly designed, poorly built, poorly serviced products. This included a saturated dealer network offering an unpleasant consumer experience both in sales and service. The Japanese hit it right in timing, products, and service . . . indeed, they evolved to a point by the late 80's where they even took on the Germans with their luxury brands!
I went from owning American to German and then to Japanese and have bought Japanese since 1988. Today, I'm seriously considering the Camaro in large part because I experienced the evolution in American quality over the years via rental cars. This time last year I rented a Malibu, and I swore I was in a Camry. I was impressed and for the first time am open to buying American. Previous rental cars (all American) did not reach this level for me, although I definitely saw improvements with each rental experience. You should also note the two best selling vehicles are American trucks.
As far as "no American" would or would not do something . . . all I have to say is I did not abandon American automakers; they abandoned me the consumer. Now, I'm willing to go back.