Rt.66: I have never owned anything other than American made cars. However, I can honestly say that all of the American made cars I’ve owned have not come close to my 1969 Mustang Mach I, in terms of fit and finish and performance.

The “crazy reliable” Ford 500 I drive is now experiencing some sort of weird gremlin that is causing my dashboard electronics and gauges to intermittently die. Given that my speedo and fuel gauge reside there, it’s something of a problem. The service guys at Ford have tried several fixes, but none to seem to work for more than a week and the folks in Michigan seem just as befuddled claiming not “to have heard this one before”.

My wife’s Lincoln Navigator is junk, pure and simple. We’ve had everything from various plastic attachments on the seats and doors fall off to an improperly hung tail gate to a driver’s side power lock that only functions periodically. It looks great, but the performance and quality are another matter entirely. It’s a 2007 model, by the way, which is the same year as the 500 (we bought both within two weeks of each other).

The Ford Expeditions (1998 and 2003) we owned were excellent and we never had a problem with either. We kept them up, maintenance-wise, and they were both rock solid.

I leased a 2004 Ford F350 King Ranch for three years and loved it. Beautiful truck and the interior was to die for. However, I wound up replacing two sets of gears in my tranny at 19,000 miles and then the entire tranny at 34,000 miles. Sorry, but that’s a little soon to give up the ghost, especially on a $50,000 truck. I’d like to buy the new F450 King Ranch, but the service record and the $65,000 price tag make me a little leery.

My point is this: I love American cars and have been fiercely loyal, but quality and performance have been hit and miss and that’s what drives a purchase.