It's a crime

[Joe K]

IMO, just because a car is made somewhere other than the US does not mean it is no good. You'd be surprised if you knew how much of your "American" car is made in China these days.
The US has about 5% of the world's population. That means anything US made is foreign made to 95% of people, many of whom consider US made the same way you say you consider all non US made.
No one has a patent on quality.

And consider the percentage of so called "American" cars - how much of that car is actually made offshore?

Last I heard the percentage by value was about 50 percent. Weight about half of that.

My mind goes back to that Westmoreland 1980 VW Rabbit. Anything on that car from the country of origin offshore was VW quality levels. The diesel was made in Brazil. The Continentals were Europe. The floor mats were US - and I wore a hole with my right heel in about a year. Everything made in the US on that car was as cheap as they could make it. This may include the body as German Imported "round headlight" Rabbits seemed to have a long and glorious life, while the square headlight Westmoreland ilk were considered "rot-boxes."

Quality IS separate from country of origin. I have spoke of W. Edwards Deming who has a complementary write-up in Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Edwards_Deming

Ford Motor Company was one of the first American corporations to seek help from Deming. In 1981, Ford's sales were falling. Between 1979 and 1982, Ford had incurred $3 billion in losses. Ford's newly appointed Corporate Quality Director, Larry Moore, was charged with recruiting Deming to help jump-start a quality movement at Ford.[27] Deming questioned the company's culture and the way its managers operated. To Ford's surprise, Deming talked not about quality, but about management. He told Ford that management actions were responsible for 85% of all problems in developing better cars. In 1986, Ford came out with a profitable line of cars, the Taurus-Sable line. In a letter to Autoweek, Donald Petersen, then Ford chairman, said, "We are moving toward building a quality culture at Ford and the many changes that have been taking place here have their roots directly in Deming's teachings."[28] By 1986, Ford had become the most profitable American auto company. For the first time since the 1920s, its earnings had exceeded those of arch-rival General Motors (GM). Ford had come to lead the American automobile industry in improvements. Ford's following years' earnings confirmed that its success was not a fluke, for its earnings continued to exceed GM and Chrysler's.

The mid-80s saw the origin of the Ford advertising phrase "Quality is Job One."

And the American business mantra "If you're going to do it - do it RIGHT." (The money will come later.)

Joe K

 

[nkaminar]

The stories of WWII vets not liking Japanese and German cars reminded me of a story about my father-in-law, long dead WWII vet from the Pacific theater. He was caught chasing the Japanese gardener around with his rifle. The police took the rifle.

When I was growing up, the ads in the classified section of the newspapers had two classifications: Foreign and Domestic.

 

[Joe K]

Vince Falter at his Fordgarage.com site has something to say about both Japanese and Ford quality.

Someone let him know his Security Certificate expired on 1/9/24 and the site is no longer accessible.

Joe K

 

[rackops]

You'd be surprised if you knew how much of your "American" car is made in China these days.

Or, how many "foreign" cars are made in the US (Toyota, Mercedes, etc...)

 

[rackops]

The current book I'm working through is The Glory and the Dream: A Narrative History of America, 1932–1972, by William Manchester. Reading the part about the Great Depression and how impacts were felt all the way up through WW2 makes me surprised that any of our cars made it. It makes me all the more appreciative of what my cars experienced during their lives.

 

[BillCNC]

When I sold my place in California I cut up several cars with a Sawsall and stuffed them in a dumpster to be hauled away to be recycled. They were just old cars from the 1950's. Worthless at the time.

I had 3 Dodge Chargers in 1978, a 68, 69 and a 70. At the time they were not what they are today and I ended up getting rid of the 69 with a torch after pulling the engine and trans. When thinking back, I think of all the 10's of thousands $$$ I sent out to be made into cheap toasters and washing machines.

Regards
Bill

 

[rackops]

I had 3 Dodge Chargers in 1978, a 68, 69 and a 70. At the time they were not what they are today and I ended up getting rid of the 69 with a torch after pulling the engine and trans. When thinking back, I think of all the 10's of thousands $$$ I sent out to be made into cheap toasters and washing machines.

Regards
Bill

My next door neighbor has a 1997 Mercury Grand Marquis. It's a horrible looking car.

I often wonder if, by 2050 or 2060, I'll be at a car show and tell my grandkids: "Wow, LOOK AT THAT CAR! That's a '97 Grand Marquis! That's a true classic right there!"

 

[shew01]

My union hall still has a sign"No foreign cars permitted" although it is widely ignored. I for one will never have a foreign car. Now you have Chineses and Vietnamese cars, UGH

It’s hard to tell what a foreign car is anymore. “Foreign” cars are now made in America, and “American” cars contain lots of out of the country components.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dave in australia]

All of our collector cars are just the ones that survived the stage in a car's life when they were worth nothing but scrap value but I can't see how today's car will ever be restored as our have been.

I think the same about modern cars, "why would anyone want to restore a VS Commodore or 1993 Magna etc". But, people do, and we have them in one of the car clubs I'm a member of. So I just let them enjoy their cars, as I enjoy my vintage cars. No doubt in the future, someone will be a member of the club with a pristine 2023 Mazda CX-8, and enjoy it as much as any other.

 

[Synchro909]

I think the same about modern cars, "why would anyone want to restore a VS Commodore or 1993 Magna etc". But, people do, and we have them in one of the car clubs I'm a member of. So I just let them enjoy their cars, as I enjoy my vintage cars. No doubt in the future, someone will be a member of the club with a pristine 2023 Mazda CX-8, and enjoy it as much as any other.

Dave, the early hybrid cars are now almost eligible for the Club Permit Scheme. (Shocked emoji). Fully electric ones (from the current generation) are not far behind. I find it easier to imagine someone restoring one of those. To each, his own.

 

[dave in australia]

Dave, the early hybrid cars are now almost eligible for the Club Permit Scheme. (Shocked emoji). Fully electric ones (from the current generation) are not far behind. I find it easier to imagine someone restoring one of those. To each, his own.

Just looked up Toyota Prius. First sold in Australia in 2000, so at the end of 2025, can be placed on historic rego.

 

[Joe K]

I think the same about modern cars, "why would anyone want to restore a VS Commodore or 1993 Magna etc". But, people do, and we have them in one of the car clubs I'm a member of. So I just let them enjoy their cars, as I enjoy my vintage cars. No doubt in the future, someone will be a member of the club with a pristine 2023 Mazda CX-8, and enjoy it as much as any other.

During my working career, one of my work-mates owned a Delorean. This was before the "Back to the Future."

He liked the car a lot - but admitted the "composite" construction of the body "Left a lot of water pockets just waiting to corrode."

https://www.deloreanguide.com/new-p...bly-the-1-value-killer-in-delorean-cars-today

With apparently 9000 units originally produced, one wonders how many are extant.

Joe K

 

[Gene F]

The current book I'm working through is The Glory and the Dream: A Narrative History of America, 1932–1972, by William Manchester. Reading the part about the Great Depression and how impacts were felt all the way up through WW2 makes me surprised that any of our cars made it. It makes me all the more appreciative of what my cars experienced during their lives.

The DOW, which was the leading index of the day did not recover until 1951. So if a person were nearing their retirement years when the market crashed in
(Oct) 1929 they never recovered financially before they died.

I could tell another interesting fact that the late Louis Ruekiser, JR researched, but I don't want to start some boring info.

 

[Gene F]

During my working career, one of my work-mates owned a Delorean. This was before the "Back to the Future."

He liked the car a lot - but admitted the "composite" construction of the body "Left a lot of water pockets just waiting to corrode."

https://www.deloreanguide.com/new-p...bly-the-1-value-killer-in-delorean-cars-today

With apparently 9000 units originally produced, one wonders how many are extant.

Joe K

The prototype for that car was the Chevy 350. If I had one the car would be changed over. 4 cylinder Renault just seems anti-climactic to me.