If the BRZ was an American car would you have bought it?

[Spaceywilly]

There's no sense in arguing hypotheticals like this. If Ford, GM, or Chrysler had made the car exactly the way it is now with all the exact same parts, would I have bought it? Sure, but the reality is that if those companies had set out to make a car like this, the end result would be very different and probably not something I would buy. I guess a good example is the Toyota Camry and Subaru Outback, which are made in Lafayette, India, but still very Japanese cars. Maybe a better way of posing the question is whether you would buy the car if Subaru was an American based company, but then again back in reality if the company was based in America it would not be the same as it is today.

[raz0rbladez909]

Maybe if it were made by Ford, especially since they have gotten turbo happy in the more recent years in America

[SVTSHC]

Originally Posted by whaap

What's the saying: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

My wife and I started our lives in the suburbs of Detroit and always bought American made cars. It wasn't so much a point of loyalty but rather the fact we didn't know any better. In 1976 We moved to San Diego and once there we joined in on the foreign car parade. We drove foreign cars (mostly Toyota) and really marveled at how great they were. In 1994 we were retired and found ourselves back in the suburbs of Detroit to care for our two mothers who still lived there.

Once again in the suburbs of Detroit we thought we would give the Motor City a second chance and bought a 1994 Dodge Intrepid. We were not happy with it's reliability and traded it in on a 1995 Pontiac Grand Am. Not happy with that car we traded it in on a 1996 Chevrolet Astro Van which helped in our move to Tucson.

Once in Arizona we traded the Van in on a Toyota 4Runner and again enjoyed the pleasure and reliability of a foreign car. Since then we have bought all Japanese cars except for a 911 that I owned for a few years. We have been happy with each and every purchase.

To answer the question: regrettably I would not have bought either of the Twins if they were made by an American manufacturer. If made in America by a foreign manufacturer, that would have been o.k.

The last time you owned an American car was almost 17 years ago, and I can personally vouch for Ford in saying the Ford from the mid 90's and the Ford of today are diametric comparisons. If they make something you like in the future and you're in the market for something I'd say it wouldn't hurt to give them a try (not saying buy it; but test drive it and see what a few owners have to say about it). But maybe if I was burned a few times I'd be distrusting also.

[strmshadow84]

Yes, definitely. As long as everything remained the same I don't care who made it.

[swift996]

NO

No American car manufacturer would design something like the BRZ in philosophy. It would be a small coupe (think Ford Probe) with a 3.8L V6 with pushrods.

[srtblake]

sad that people refuse to purchase if it was a domestic.

same people who bitch about jobs going overseas

[Sportsguy83]

Originally Posted by srtblake

sad that people refuse to purchase if it was a domestic.

same people who bitch about jobs going overseas

Unfortunately, when you are getting a mini-mortgage, you need to look out for yourself. There is no way I would buy an American car as sad as it sounds, given how I can spend similar money and get a car 1000X better, more reliable, better value etc...

It is sad, but its the truth.

[RRnold]

Assembled in America=Yes

Designed in America=Hell no

[srtblake]

Originally Posted by Sportsguy83

Unfortunately, when you are getting a mini-mortgage, you need to look out for yourself. There is no way I would buy an American car as sad as it sounds, given how I can spend similar money and get a car 1000X better, more reliable, better value etc...

It is sad, but its the truth.

No, I get why car enthusiasts buy whatever car they want. Its the regular people who buy econo-box import vehicles without even considering a domestic alternative. Believe me, I dont bleed Mopar blue and I HATE GM, but I like to support middle class jobs.

[Admiral Ballsy]

Originally Posted by swift996

No American car manufacturer would design something like the BRZ in philosophy. It would be a small coupe (think Ford Probe) with a 3.8L V6 with pushrods.

How many pushrod V6s are being built these days?

[Admiral Ballsy]

Originally Posted by Dorb

Not if it was GM. I was actually looking at the Camero few years ago, until they took the tax payer bailout.

Help me out with something here, please.

Explain why so many people - you included, apparently - want GM to fail.

I understand the anger over the bailout. I was not then, and am not now a supporter of it. But it is, as they say, what it is. The government, and by extension the American people, own a big chunk of GM. Why on earth would we wish it to fail, thereby ensuring a loss of huge sums of money?

Why do we not wish it success, so that we might recoup the full amount - or better still, profit?

[BRZfan]

Originally Posted by jduffy

Talking with a coworker and he posed the question, if the BRZ were made by GM, Ford or Chrsyler would you have bought it?

And your answer is?

Of Course,
what the f__k country are you from?

[Spaceywilly]

Originally Posted by srtblake

sad that people refuse to purchase if it was a domestic.

same people who bitch about jobs going overseas

Foreign car companies still create plenty of US manufacturing and design jobs. These days it doesn't really make sense to call a car domestic or foreign. Good luck trying to build a car using labor and materials entirely from one country, and making it competetive with companies that can source the best products from around the world. The sad thing is that people will prefer an inferior domestic car over a "foreign" car out of some misguided sense of patriotism.

[Admiral Ballsy]

Originally Posted by jduffy

Talking with a coworker and he posed the question, if the BRZ were made by GM, Ford or Chrsyler would you have bought it?

Sure. I want the product that best meets my needs and desires, regardless of origin. My family (both sides) are GM retirees, so for most of my life we bought GM simply because it was cheaper (with the employee discount) to do so.

Now the employee discount is essentially crap, so it's a much more level field. And yet I still own two new GM cars, because they made what I wanted, and nobody else made anything really comparable (Corvette and Avalanche). We also own a Honda Fit and a Mazda 2, and I have the BRZ on the way. Whoever makes the best thing for the best overall value proposition.

I might be a little hesitant to buy something like a Mitsubishi, simply because I think parts and service might be tough in the future (I bet they leave the US market soon). And I'd have a little internal twinge with Ford, because my singular bad experience with a new car was a Mustang - but that was 20 years ago and the Ford of today ain't the Ford of 1992, and that'd be superstition more than anything else.