Check out this review of the new Acura MDX:

http://info.detnews.com/autosconsume...iews/index.cfm

Did I read that right? On the right they say "dislikes: test car didn't like to start." Loose carpet coming up? They gave it 4 out of 5 stars? I can't help but think if an American product was hard to start it'd be considered junk! This SUV really has none of the features that aren't available on competing products either....this kind of stuff blows my mind.

It is no wonder why people have the continuing perception that Japanese and German makes are far superior, with a final rating like that. So what do you guys think? Are there two very distinct standards in the automotive media?

 

I like it, that reviewer must have had some kinda Singapore butt-slug up his azz when he was making up that review. I think it could use a little more styling though. To me it just looks like another SUV...

 

What a shock! That's the import lover mentality for ya. Read my thread "Domestics vs. Imports" from a week or so ago to see why. It's pretty upsetting.

 

go see for yourself. Visit a Chevy or Ford dealership and then go to a Honda or VW dealership. They still don't compare. That is why Chevy is offering 2fers, 0%, and huge rebates.

 

It's the same attitude that makes people crap their pants when their GM car makes a strange noise, yet tell you that the Camry that just shat its transmission all over the driveway is a great car.

 

It's real easy to fall victim to the pro-import hype. When I finished school I needed a reliable car and went straight to the imports. I ended up leasing an '00 Corolla. Here's its problem list:

@1 mo. - leaky transmission
@3 mo. - trans leak reappears
@6 mo. - turn signal out (flasher out)
@1.25 yr - indash CD changer stopped working (the only option on the car)
@1.75 yr - some sort of valvetrain noise shows up (it was never really isolated).


Here's the problem list for my '02 so far:

@2 mo. - Piston Slap shows up (1K mi.)

 

My Ford looks like it was built poorly (fit and finish, etc.) but has only been to the dealer once.

My VW feels like it will drive forever, has top notch fit and finish and has been to the dealer half a dozen times in 60K (for minor things, but still...)

My Chevy has been starting to give me problems lately, but it is 16 years old and has 225,000 miles on it.

 

Our Accord is like this, too - kinda like the PCM can't get a ignition synch signal without cranking over a few times. Buick fixed that back in the 80s, I'll give you that much, and my LT1 when stock also fired off very quickly. Really, it's not a big problem, as long as you don't expect to just touch the key momentarly.

But, ya know, the combination of sharp handling, adequate brakes, smooth engine, good gearing, outstanding structural rigidity, and world-class interior kinda makes up for having to hold that key for an extra half-second.

Getting to your point, I'll happily acknowledge that there's a credibility issue with the automotive print media. My feelings on what's wrong would take too much time to type at this hour of the night, so I'll simply say that, yes, they're heavily biased against the American OEMs, and that the American OEMs probably have an unfairly tough uphill battle to regain a good reputation.

 

Every day I deal with people who claim they won't buy American because of that 1982 Citation they had that was a pile of crap. Like that is relevant today. So I ask them, see any 1982 Civics lately? Haven't seen one in 10 years, right? Yeah, they all rotted into the ground.

Tell me, whats cheaper? Alternators for your 88 Beretta or body work on your 88 Civic because the damn fenders look like swiss cheese I don't see where imports are that much better built, especially today. And as anyone who lives in the rust belt knows, Japanese cars simply rot...period.

 

Kinda odd that you skewer someone for holding the American OEMs accountable for their 20-year-old mistakes, and yet then go on to point out the corrosion problems with earlier Japanese cars, a problem that has now been corrected for at least a decade?

 

Amen to that, butt...

Even with a rust hole the size of a baseball in my rear quarter panel, I sold my 89 Integra in 2 days for $4,000 with 165,000 miles.

I had a 92 Ford Tempo once upon a time that I tried to sell for 9 months with absolutly NO offers. It only had 60,000 miles and was in perfect condition, but it was a Ford. I ended up giving it to a dealership when my mom was buying her car for $450.

There is where my foriegn bias started

 

I'd love to know which Japanese cars you're talking about...want me to send you a pic of my roomate's '95 Accord? I have yet to see an older Accord around here that doesn't have rotted rear fender crowns, unless it has been redone.

Sure, Japanese cars aren't as bad as they used to be, but they're still bad...and bodywork to pass for a sticker IS still more expensive than a lot of normal car repairs.

 

No offense but a used Integra has an infinitely bigger market than a used Tempo. Old Integras are still one of the hot rides for kids and is, in their view, a solid starting point for customizing and such. I don't know of anyone who is looking for a 10 year old Tempo, which was not one of Ford's more popular cars to begin with. The fact that you only got $450 for it proves that. That isn't saying the Tempo was a "bad" car, just that there is no market for it.

 

Hmm, odd, our '96 Accord here in the fleet is only rusting on trunklid, where the paint cracked due to a dent.

We could bring up the rust on my '92 Roadmaster wagon or the less-visable spots on my '96 Impala (which has seen very little winter use), but I don't see what that would prove.

And if anyone here really wanted to make a point about rust and foreign cars, all they have to do is bring up a manufacturer like Mistubishi. Just talk to anyone in the steel industry and you'll learn a lot.

 

A big reason not to by domestic unfortunatly. Have you ever seen an 89 integra?? It isn't pretty. And the Tempo was a decent car, I literally couldn't give it away though.