Which makes it all the more sad to realize that no city in the country has been harder hit by the recession than
Some say American car companies are struggling because of their focus on SUV’s. When gas prices started to rise, Americans began looking for smaller, compact cars, which are often foreign. Others say American companies missed the boat when it came to developing green cars with better emissions. We can no longer sell most American cars abroad, because we don’t meet the rest of the world’s fuel efficiency standards. Finally, some say American car companies just mis-managed their funds, giving corporate executives large bonuses, while ignoring their plants, technology and workers.
So my question to you this week is, “What do you think of American cars? Are they inferior to foreign ones? What do you think can be done to strengthen the American auto industry?” You must answer all questions to earn full credit. Answers are due no later than Wednesday, November 20th, 2013.
P.S. Monday was Veteran's Day! To all those who have served our country - thank you!! You are true American heroes!
It's not that I don't like American cars, its just that foreign cars are made better. They are quality cars that are built to not break down for years and American cars aren't made that way anymore. My dad works at the Toyota factory in Princeton, IN and has had the opportunity to travel the globe with this company and work with the extraordinary President Toyota. These are Japanese cars, yes, but they are made in America just the same as Ford, Chevy, or any other company. Foreign car companies have factories here that provide jobs just like American car companies do.
ReplyDeleteAs far as strengthening the American auto industry, there needs to be some serious changes in more than one area. They need to last longer, be built stronger, and keep the promises that they are making to their customers.
I would say that the issues with the automotive companies are everything that you listed in the blog. Honestly speaking, before gas prices started skyrocketing even the average American could take a joyride in an SUV or any other typical American gas-guzzler and not have to worry, but when it came to the aftereffects things change drastically. The American automotive industry failed to consider what would happen if gas prices started rising whereas their Japanese counterparts had already developed fuel-efficient vehicles due to the society and culture they have. While I do not necessarily believe that American automotive engineering is altogether inferior to that of Japanese car companies, I do believe that the quality of vehicles in America had been dropping for quite some time and that as our eastern counterparts had already long been researching ways to make more fuel-efficient vehicles they had a lead on us long before American car companies started looking into ways to make their vehicles more fuel-efficient. Fortunately, the American automotive industry has started to catch up to their eastern counterparts, but it may be some time (possibly even a few decades) before we ever truly catch up to them. American car companies need to focus on the quality they had been failing to provide in their vehicles and not always follow the mentality that "bigger is better" as they have in the past. Very few people can afford to put gas in an SUV or pickup like the ones that they have been producing and too many American vehicles just seem to start falling apart because of shoddy engineering a construction that results from them rushing to put another of their products out on the market. They need to take their time and do it right and provide the American people with quality vehicles that are built to last and are fuel-efficient.
ReplyDeleteI must say I dont know much about cars and whats going on in the auto industry. Therefore going off personal experience I think foreign cars are more superior. I had Chrysler Sebring that I put way too much money in. They all have similiar issues like the motors going out. No joke, I took my car to this shop and they had about 5 Chrysler Sebrings around the same year in the back needing to be fixed or they may have been junked. I also went to dealership auction last year and a cleeean black 2011 Chrysler Sebring came through for dirt cheap and NO ONE budge. If I hadnt known better I would have bidded. Now I have a Toyota Avalon and so many men tell me that it is a good car. Its older and I havent had any problems. It takes a good $50 or more when gas is 3 something. So to be honest a Suv is out the question right now. Actually there are some Suvs that have ok gas milage. With that been said in order for the American auto industry to become prosperous again they need to make smaller cars in order to compete with foreign cars. Obviously it may not be that simple, especially with the stigma of American cars not being "good cars". I always hear people say Fords are trash, that they are not good, durable cars. On the other hand Ive heard people say that they are good cars. So I think the American auto industry need to focus on making better parts in their cars. Also they need a creative marketing strategy to gain the trust of Americans. We need to feel that we can rely and depend on American cars in order for them become prosperous again.
ReplyDeleteI don't think anything of American cars or cars in general but i can tell from studying different social statuses that people would rather own a foreign car because its either well-known, expensive and causes attention, or because they believe they work better than american vehicles. I feel that they are inferior to foreign cars because people are always known to go for the more expensive and luxurious car as opposed to just looking for something to take them from point A to point B. I personally don't really look that deep into cars because i feel that every brand has a nice luxurious car that everyone longs for. All my family works for ford motor company in kentucky and I'm automatically feeling as if i have to have a ford car and theres nothing wrong with that to me. I feel that instead of worrying about what we can do for the cars or the american auto industry that the focus needs to be on the money hungry and attention seeking people that puts american cars down because they aren't foreign.
ReplyDeleteI personally like old school American cars, my favorite car is a 1970 Chevy Stingray. At the same time I do like foreign cars as well. I'm just a car person in general. American cars seem to be built to withstand crashes better. most foreign cars are built to be lighter and faster. This means that when you get to top speed a wreck there is no change to survive in most of them. On the other hand some foreign car built for family purposes. It does seem that foreign cars made for families are of better quality these days as well. I'm not sure I would go as far as to say American cars are inferior. Americans are falling be hide in making great quality and efficient cars. We already build our cars to be tougher which helps them last better in wrecks so we really just need to hop into the race of green efficient cars with all the stops and gears. Then speed by everyone else in the race and get back on track the way we use to be in this industry. Stop being greedy and get the cars people need built.
ReplyDeleteI agree Patricia on the school American Cars are great, for me the old gangster looking cars like the 1931 Buick Series 50 sedan. The bad thing is I love cars for the look I am not familiar with most of the cars so I can't make a great decision on that but I know that gas is expensive and if the gas keep on going up I think it is going to create another crisis on its own. I did find out about who makes parts of cars just a little information to know In 2005 there were 63 million cars and light trucks produced worldwide. The USA produced 11,524,000, Japan produced 10,064,000, Germany produced 5,543,000, followed by China. Would you be surprised to know that many of the vehicles manufactured in the USA are designated as “foreign” while many vehicles manufactured in Mexico or Canada are designated as “domestic” (American)? That’s due to federal regulations that require a “domestic” vehicle to be made of at least 75% domestic parts (content). So, US manufacturers send parts to Mexico or Canada where the cars are built, but are legally sold as “domestic”. Toyota, Honda, Nissan, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Hyundai manufacture cars in the USA, with American workers, in American plants, with American research facilities, that are “foreign” because they contain less than 75% domestic parts (content). The picture gets even murkier if we take a closer look at the major manufacturers. They are multi-national corporations with operations and manufacturing arms and partners world-wide. General Motors owns or has a percentage stake in Saab, Opel, Holden, Fuji Heavy Industries (Daewoo), Suzuki Motors, and Isuzu Motors. In 1998 Daimler-Benz A.G. of Germany, took control of Chrysler to become DaimlerChrysler A.G. Ford owns Volvo, Land Rover, Aston Martin and Jaguar, and has a significant stake in Mazda. Let’s see, BMW owns the Mini and Rolls Royce; Volkswagen owns Bentley… Ok, not withstanding ‘automotive nepotism’, for the purpose of this article, foreign means the vehicle has a foreign name-plate and American means the vehicle has an American name-plate! This is from Money Allocator.
ReplyDeleteThe only cars that i have ever owned or drove have been American made, so Im not sure how American cars are inferior to foreign cars. As for the American car makes, I think if they start to make cars efficnce standards they would be able to sell to more countys which would make more jobs for people.
ReplyDeleteI think the best car makes are the ones that have been around for a long time and are just being up graded with todays technology. If you think about how many older cars that are still being driving 20 years later and still have more to go. I think American cars are at the same level as foreign cars but are not inferior to foreign cars. If american cars became more efficient and compared their parts to foreign ones to make them better than it will strengthen the auto industry.
ReplyDeleteOver the past few years, American car manufacturers have most definitely stepped up their game. Before 2007, I would have never purchased an American vehicle. I still believe that most of American cars are inferior to foreign cars in the case that they aren't making what consumers want. Consumers are going toward smaller vehicles that are more fuel efficient than the gas guzzling SUV's that American manufacturers make. Obama's bail out ultimately hurt our car industry dramatically by not putting restrictions on the cash for clunkers. It should have been stated that you could only use that credit toward American made vehicles.
ReplyDeleteI have only owned one american car and personally I believe the foreign ones I have owned are better quality. I feel like American cars seem to be of less financial and environmental quality. I think America needs to stop try to release so many options of car body and style and focus more on the quality safety and environmental friendliness. We need to build cars and focus more about purpose and regulation.
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