2008 Honda Accord EX from North America - Comments

19:21... people can certainly buy whatever you want. And also whatever your priorities are.

But it's also wise to be informed and prepared down the road for whatever choices you make.

Here's an analogy. My roof needs a $16,000 replacement and I can save money this year buy not buying a replacement. If I wait a few years I may face far greater than that with the consequences damaging the structure underneath. Maybe not the exact comparison I am attempting to make, but it has a point. If you look long term and see where profits remain and are not shipped by many others overseas, it's a plus. Our economy needs the business. If you are getting nice cars and twice the warranty, why give money away to corporate offices overseas?

I am doing almost 3 peoples work and no raise. I am considered lucky by my friends and family. But again people can buy whatever they want and not care about the economy.

I saw no significant gain on both repairs and resale with our last import. I took a real big hit when I sold it over Carfax drivetrain issues being reported... 1/3 of originally selling price in 4 years! The bad thing is you think you had an isolated incident and buy again when you had many before... I quit that concept. Maybe the ones driving 10 year old plus imports are better off keeping them... our newer ones were trouble prone. We have had mixed import/domestic ownership many years and now 100% domestics. The added plus is the current economy assist as well as less headaches lately with repairs-resale. We sell every few years.

And we have had over a dozen new Hondas and they were more trouble prone for us after 2000. We quit buying, drove a lot, and bought every few years That's a lot of cars; more than most.

I keep seeing the word "import" to describe may of the cars. But, MOST of the cars made by Honda and several of the other "import" companies are actually made here in the USA. I and my family have owned more Fords than any other make. I always liked them, but the love was not always returned (like the Focus that cracked a piston at 65K). But the Hondas that I've owned have ALWAYS run 200K+ without a hitch. (I currently have a Ford Truck and a Honda Accord). After a time I have come to realize that the domestics throw money at you because they have to, in most cases. I just hope that the (not so) Big Three have finally learned that people will pay for quality and reliability!!!

I find the myth that Japanese cars are (or were) more reliable than domestics a very odd phenomenon. My 80's and 90's domestics were far more reliable and much better built than our 80's and 90's Japanese cars and returned more on resale too. I realize most people now agree that modern domestics are better, but I can't figure out where this gross misconception came from that imports were EVER better.

If I cracked a piston, I think I would go in with my

100000 mile warranty to the Ford dealer with 65000 miles on the clock. If I did that in a Toyota or Honda I would stay home. I did destroy a piston once due to nitrous being applied, but it was honestly my fault.

18:13 - Don't you think that is a little extreme?

You are not helping your case when you practically blame a person (who drives an American car) for the economic situation in the USA - starving children, evicted families, just because he says that it is his right as an American to drive whatever he chooses to.

That's way over the line in my book.

"We have lots of freedoms. Some are hurting us."

Yes, and we have lots of opinions - some are downright scary.

I am a salesperson at a dealership that sells both Hondas and GM's. Most of our Hondas are made in America by Americans. Most of our GMs are built in Canada by Canadians.

I believe the Fusion is built in Hermosillo, Mexico. The Accord is built in Marysville. The Fusion is supporting Mexico.

Yeah they're made here... using foreign parts and the profits still go to another country, so what's your point?! It's not the 1980's anymore, American cars are actually good! OMG imagine that!!

The easiest way to define "imports" is where the parent company is actually based and where the profits return to.

People pretty much know that BMW, Honda, Toyota are imports for example at least one would think. I am wearing a shirt today that the fabric started here, was shipped and constructed-overseas then shipped and sold in America. An America company made in the Carribean. The profits and high

retail markup stay here. Everyone wants the animal on the corner of their shirt! Wherever the parent company is located should answer your domestic-import question at any rate.

You must all look at this from an economic standpoint. Ford, Chrysler, G.M., all have their own ways of doing business, and it has not always been the right approach. As Americans, we have been conditioned by the marketplace to look for huge discounts and rebates on our so-called American products. All this does is destroy your future value, the manufacturer just told you that they had a fake price to begin with, or they would not need a rebate. The Big Three make cars that are on Par with Toyota and Honda etc., but until they can make less units and still be profitable, they will always have this huge loss of equity when you purchase their vehicles. They need to stop applying rebates and hold strong on having a good product.

Interesting fact... the 2010 Ford Fusion is built in Mexico. American car or import?

Another interesting fact is that the US auto industry has been adding manufacturing plant after manufacturing plant since the 80's. Some have been in Fremont CA (Toyota), Evansville IN (Toyota), Georgetown KY (Toyota), Marysville OH (Honda), Flat Rock MI (Mazda), Smyna TN (Nissan) and San Antonio TX (Toyota). Subaru, Hyundai, even Mercedes have also built plants here to take advantage of skilled American labor.

The significant fact here is that NONE of these plants employ union labor. They DO provide tens of thousands of jobs that people have been lining up to get.

During the same time frame, Ford, GM and Chrysler have been shifting more and more of their production OUT of the US in an effort to cut the high (very very high) cost of union labor.

I did not receive a rebate and the rewards program was over a couple of months back on my GM. Also any import of any significant value besides cars was addressed in the comment.

I use to buy a lot from Bombay Furniture, but they closed and left my malls. The transportation dept maintains highways in my state have not seen a paycheck since July 1. People have homes and taxes to pay and it is far greater than what car you bought this year; the economy needs your business, sending it overseas with profits hurts the economy.

"Wherever the parent company is located should answer your domestic-import question at any rate."

A parent company may be located elsewhere, but if the vehicle is made on American soil then technically it is domestic.