What makes a car American?

Pretty interesting article.

 

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/12/12/american.cars/index.html

 

I'd suppose this is why most americans dont support the auto bailout. "Foreign" car companies make plenty of their cars here, just as "American" car companies make most of their car parts / assemble them over seas or in different countries.

 

Just something to think about when buying a car - buying american isn't what it used to be.

american isn't what it used to be.

 

I think thats the key phrase there. Its not so much about buying, its about the prestige and image a car does for a person and American cars are as bloated as McDonalds. My uncle is a big wig at Ford and I stick it to him about the problems with American cars these days. Its like they design cars they think they can sell through commercial and advertising instead of making a car that sells itself. Poor styling, average quality and in general nothing to get excited about. He says many of the trademark cars are getting face lifts to Euro styling and they are some what using the off makers (Saleen, Shelby, etc) to do the Muscle overhauls for them.

 

Also, shhhh... word on the street is Ford's new 2010 Mustang engine has already been given to Shelby and they modded it to an everyday use twin turbo V8 pushing 700HP. BAWLS!

 

Heres a prime example of what American cars used to be and the image they brought to the road and gave Americans. I saw this today...

 

Top 26 Coolest Movie Cars. More than half are American and older than 1980.

http://www.hecklerspray.com/top-26-coolest...s/200817708.php

 

First line in the article "It’s a scientific fact that even the worst films can be improved 501% if there is a cool car in it."

 

They jsut don't build cars with personality like that anymore. I saw one of the new Challengers driving around, F'ING sweet, but yet it sits on the back burner to the other meh cars in the production line.

 

http://reviews.carreview.com/files/2008/10/challenger_srt10_concept_05_med.jpg

It leaves no doubt it will skull f*** you and leave you on the side of the road crying.

 

 

EDIT: Ya the article is about where the parts come from and everything and I didn't even mention that, but this is America, the people here aren't even typically 100% American or even 50%. Its a blending pot and corporate business is an even larger mixing bowl. These days American is 99% attitude and unfortunately that large percentage of American is about turning a profit...

Edited December 12, 2008 by Joesf

Naw I agree with you Steve. Not many american cars get people excited anymore. I mean cmon, some of these chrysler/dodge boats they've put out have been nothing but facelifted chrysler concordes.

 

I think they are turning around, They being GM / Ford, dont know about Chrysler so much yet.

 

The new Malibu is a good example too. You got this one which is a 2006 that screams rental car piece of crap:

http://admin.dealermaid.com/admin_inventory/inventory_pictures/S6300979.JPG

 

Then the new 07/08 models which are actually pretty cool:

http://2008chevroletmalibu.info/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/2008-malibu-1.jpg

 

Same goes with a lot of the other cars they are starting to pump out. I think the quality is there, they just need to ramp up the styling.

 

I just think it's funny to talk to this guy here at my work that drives a Chevy truck cause it's "MERiCAN!" and disses on all the other foreign cars. I looked up the "Final Assembly" info on his truck, and 60% of the truck's parts are made in foreign countries, transmission assembled in india, engine in USA, final assembly in Mexico. I then showed him the Toyota tundra which is 60% parts here, engine japan, tranny USA, assembled in USA. He wasn't happy. =P

First of all, I love the Jeremy Clarkson reference by the DB5 on the list, and what Joe said is pretty much right on. American cars recently have just seemed so uninspired and underwhelming. When you look at some of the European cars recently they just flat out look better and perform better than what American cars of today can do.

 

Also Joe, there was a really good Top Gear episode recently(released in England) in which Clarkson, May, and Hammond came to America and tested out some of the new American muscle cars, and that Challenger was one of the cars they used. Surprisingly they actually liked the cars, and they never like American cars.

the only interesting american cars to me are the outrageous expensive ones, viper, gt, top model camero/vettes.

 

i still like classic 50's era american cars though, i always liked how they were as big as a boat with giant engines to match.

 

What episode\season was that? You can Youtube just about all of them. I LOVE Clarkson! He bash American cars in general but when he gets a hold of the true American sports car, like the ones Ben listed, he loves them. I saw the one were he test drove a Viper and just loved it. Big, bulky and absolutely brutal. He test drove a Z06, took it from 0-170 in fifth gear without shifting in 1.5miles(? however long the airstrip is they use).

 

Over torqued, slightly loose, gas guzzling, front engine, rear wheel drive cars are the core of a true American Car.

 

In general, and the Big 3 are the biggest trads about this, the United States in all aspects needs to bring manufacturing back home. Its cheaper over seas but that gives you a substandard product, hence the sh!tty cars we have coming out of here today. Seriously, do you think the other countries we are having manufacture our products are giving it the same quality we would if we made it here?

 

My dream muscle car, which I ALMOST got ahold of, 1970 GTX 440 Magnum with 4 in the floor.

 

http://anthonysrodandcustom.com/1970gtx/4.jpg

Little known fact: If you buy a '69 Camero, not only will it rip BAWLS, but you can also convert it to a water vapor engine, thus forcing tree huggers to STFU.

 

Some Cameros had iron engine blocks which don't suffer 'copper leach' from water vapor like aluminum does.

 

And no, this ain't no joke. I know a guy that did exactly that.

$70 per hour total cost of labour, I suppose?

 

Seems like quite the little fencing match going on atm between the UAW and the US Senate. It'll be interesting to see how that turns out!

 

Not surprisingly the union still don't get it, despite brave words about how they are willing to sacrifice, become part of the team to solve the problem, etc... I still hear "But we've given up so much, you can't expect us to give up any more! See - We gave up on some new perk that we had already been promised by GM and Chrysler!" and "Working at an auto plant is hard! We deserve to retire at 55 with full pensions!"

 

In my understanding of a sane world, taxpayer money going to subsidize autoworker entitlements that the taxpayers don't have (how many taxpayers have a pension these days?), is crazy talk.

O_o

 

It seems like structured bankruptcy is the only way to avoid that trap. Interesting times, in any case!

by the way, i thought this was neat.

 

Basically, it shows that after the UAW takes on the employee benefits in 2010, they should be (ford) quite a bit more competitive as far as how much they pay per employee per hour.

 

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/12/10/business/1210-biz-webLEONHARDT.gif

:: Thing that ticks me off for the day ::

 

- The UAW negotiating a "concession" that screws down the salary of future employees, so that those people (not currently in the union) will end up doing the same work for much less money. What ever happened to that whole equal pay for work of equal value concept? And how do existing employees get to call that a concession, when it only hurts other people?

 

Booooo.

What ever happened to that whole equal pay for work of equal value concept?

That's the problem. UAW members earn way more than other people for the same work. And new members will still make more.

Some Cameros had iron engine blocks which don't suffer 'copper leach' from water vapor like aluminum does.

 

All but the most exotic Camaro's from that period will have iron blocks. Any of them that had an aluminum block will more then likely be snapped up by collectors, or WAY out of reach unless you're willing to pay obscene amounts of cash.