Imported from Detroit

Imported from Detroit

by Liv | Published on March 8th, 2011, 6:06 pm | Sports

Rather like the recent batch of overtly pro-American, pro-detroit commercials Chrysler has come out with. Great marketing, but I picked up a 300m today, and while I've only put 70 miles on it- It feels like it's still made in China. Plastic everywhere, lackluster decor... I expected more from the car rappers snatched-up originally because it was "cool". Perhaps the new models are better, but I'm glad I'm just renting this for the week.

: Look it's a Mississippi car... I'm camoflauged as a super redneck.

Tomorrow I get the joy of testing her out for a 600 mile stretch of I-95 heading to Cape Canaveral. I'm really trying to be a proud American this week. Driving Detroit sheet metal, going to Disney.... so far it's not impressing me much.

I once bought a 1980 Ford POS, partly because of their ad campaign at the time, "Quality is Job One." I quickly learned that even if it WAS job one, it was done as shoddily as job 2543. The car sucked in oh so many ways.

When I last went to Hawaii, I decided to upgrade to something more spacious than a Japanese "economy" car and ended up with a 300. It sucked as well. I just can't get into any American made car that isn't brand new without feeling at least a little worry that something will fall off if i look at it wrong. And please don't get me started about all the car companies that have offered me a "Camry or similar" car only to put in my hands the keys to a sorry-ass PT Cruiser! OMG, those cars suck!

Myself, I consider the ads about "Imported from Detroit" to be a pretty huge stretch. They are saying "We're a hard, tough, bitter people in Detroit. Just look at the fun, beautiful cars we make!"

As always, it's not so much a reflection on the workers that put them together (the few that aren't robots), it's a reflection on the engineers and designers that are STILL working tirelessly to find the cheapest way to put something together that gives an IMPRESSION of good craftsmanship while only being good enough to last 3-4 years.

I've had my "crappy little Honda" for 10 years now, and I'm closing in on 200k miles. I would not expect any of these Detroit cars to put in that sort of service without giving a LOT more trouble than I've had with mine.

After 10 hours of driving this "luxury" car, I'm not impressed. It drives horrible, had a serious alignment issue with only 21,000 miles on it. The plastic "creeeeaks" as you drive.... It's like they didn't even try on this car. I realize it's a base model... but still. $65 to fill it up, and it's only a V6. I'm guessing I'm getting still around 30 MPG, but I consider that low with it being.... oh say 2011.... I thought these things had the ability to shut down cylinders and run as a 4 cylinder.... if it doesn't it should.

The pluses were it's American huge. Nice leg-room, big trunk for the kids... I mean their stuff.

Sadly, I expected it to have an AC power-port... again what year is it? Perhaps blue-tooth?

It does have Satellite radio with Canadian French language pop... I believe the rest of the family is about to beat me silly with a baguette over.

The cars gearing is horific, and the brakes take a gorilla to make them engage, then once they do... it's too much...

Not a fan of Chysler. I realize this model may be pre-bail-out... but based on what I'm driving we should have let them go into bankruptcy...

My 25 year old Taurus really shines in comparison to this thing. To bad they didn't rent me one of those....

Detroit, if they REALLY wanted to compete, would hire German and Japanese management, instead of taking their nepotized pinhead managers and teaching them to try and mimic Germans and Japanese. They suck at it. After getting their asses kicked by Toyota, Honda and even Hyundai for the past 30 years, you'd THINK they would have learned how to improve their product to meet the customers' needs. Instead, they appear to have the same basic attitude that they did 30 years ago: put out cheap, short-lived crapmobiles and if anything goes wrong with that business model, go whining to your pre-paid Congressmen for bailouts.

I forget... Did any foreign car builders get government bailouts in 2008 or 09

The problem IMHO, is capitalism.... (I know... but hear me out)... America when we build a car builds it not only to sell but to repair. That was one of the reasons people believe the electric cars were killed by GM.... There weren't enough replaceable parts in the engine cavity to justify a positive maintaince schedule, and create revenue for dealers. No oil, filters, etc....

If we spent as much effort on building a better car, as we do as making them profitable... I'm sure they'd be awesome... it's just we have alternate intentions.

So Japan and Germany aren't Capitalist? Cause they build significantly different, more durable machines that need far less replacement/repairs.

Japan and Germany are mixed economies with social support structures, or a Summy would say 'coomunist, moonbat, leebrul, demoncraKKK, socialist, baby murdering, fascist Nazis'

But I really don't think that is the reason. Socialist countries can produce truly awful cars too. e.g. Lada, Trabant and anything made by British Leyland

Rather what differentiates good cars from bad cars seems to be the intended market. Cars made for a domestic mass market, are invariably crap. Cars made for or by a company driven by the export market are by comparison invariably good.

A Person wrote:Rather what differentiates good cars from bad cars seems to be the intended market. Cars made for a domestic mass market, are invariably crap. Cars made for or by a company driven by the export market are by comparison invariably good.

So it seems to me that what you're saying is that American manufacturers look at the home market and assume that Americans prefer cheap, short-lived cars, whereas Germans and Japanese look at the same group of consumers and assume they want well-built, durable cars. Is that how it works?

I think it's more that to compete in a foreign market you have to take business away from an established domestic manufacturer who has a cultural advantage - so your product has to be better or at least have more appeal. Americans are not particularly friendly towards the Japanese or Germans and would far prefer to buy an American car - so the import has to be better. What's disturbing is how easy is was to be so much better.

I've owned Hondas, Toyotas, Fords, Chevrolets, Mazadas, even a Suzuki Motorcycle.

The Honda was by far the best built car I ever owned.