This is a very intellectually-stimulating forum that has sparked credited and valid arguments from both sides. I think I probably won’t contribute anymore (I have a full-time job, honestly) but would like to say just a few more things before going away:
Jeff Bridges can pitch for whoever he wants, domestic or foreign brand. He’s an actor so it’s his livelihood to do this kind of stuff without discrimination. If we’re at war with Korea, I’d understand but this is peacetime so let the man do his job.
GM and Ford do make good cars nowadays but they’ve alienated consumers for decades in the small/mid-size sedan segment and have not had a true winner since the original Taurus in the mid 80s. The Big Three were too fixated on trucks, SUVs and niche vehicles (Viper, Corvette, etc.) that for years their small/mid sedans were sub-par and unreliable comparing to the foreign brands. They didn’t lose consumers’ confidence overnight, they had decades to perfect it. I’m glad to see that they are now finally making good small/mid sedans but winning us back will take time, as we’re still a bit skeptical.
After employee pricing, factory rebate, dealer cash-back, 0% financing and all other goodies offered by the desperate Big Three, buying an American mid-size probably would’ve been $5K-$7K less than my Accord, but I’d be buying from a car-maker with spotty history in the mid-size segment vs. a car-maker whose mid-size has been consistently praised by the automotive press for 20+ years and has been consistently the top 5 selling (non-truck, non-rental sales) vehicle in the US for 20+ years. That $5K-$7K cost differentiation upfront would also be made up in 3-5 years when I’d be ready to trade-in, as the Accord has one of the highest resale value of all mid-size.
Now I did state that I was seriously considering the Pontiac G8 so some of you may think I’m contradicting myself. But G8 is a full-size that is new to the market so to me it’s a clean slate and thus I was willing to consider it.
I hope there will be more good posts on this topic and look forward to keep on reading it.
