1998 GMC Sonoma SLS review from North America

The problems started the day I brought it home. Paint chips, peeling decal, misaligned hood and fenders, very loose-fitting grille/bumper. The dealer said it was all "normal." And they wonder why people buy foreign cars...

The interior plastic parts have broken one by one and the seats are going threadbare at only 52,500 miles.

Original Uniroyal tires lasted only 30,000 miles.

Bizarre electrical problem that shuts down everything in the car when it rains.

Windows and doors leak badly, dealer unable to solve this one, calls it a "design flaw" in the gaskets.

Doors, floorboards, door hinge areas rusting.

Usual GM squeaks, rattles.

What I like about the truck is that it was cheap, it has comfortable seats, good legroom, larger cab than Nissan/Ranger/Tacoma. Good sounding stereo until the CD player started skipping and a speaker blew out.

Low-end torque good up to about 30mph, then the engine runs out of steam.

With 2 people on board and a full load it bogs down severely and the rear end bottoms on its suspension stops. I do like the styling of the truck and constantly receive compliments on what a good looking truck it is, especially the factory alloy wheels.

I will never buy another american-designed product again.

My next truck will be a Toyota Tundra or a Nissan Frontier, end of story.

If I buy a car, it will come from Germany or Japan. NO more American made crap for me!!!