2008 Hyundai Accent Base model from North America - Off Topic Comments

People can buy anything they want to based on ad hype and myth, but the only car I've ever been stranded in was a nearly new TOYOTA!! In 20 years I've NEVER had any mechanical trouble with ANY domestic. I don't know WHERE people come up with these ideas about domestics being "unreliable". I suppose it's from ads for Toyota or Honda.

The most reliable car Consumer Reports has ever tested is the Ford Fusion. The longest running truck they've featured was a Ford Ranger (488,000 miles and going strong, October 2007 issue).

The Cadillac CTS is Motor Trend's Car of the Year, the Chevy Malibu is the American Car of the Year, and 3 of Car and Drivers "World's 10 Best" are from GM.

The latest J.D. Powers report shows the 2nd most reliable car to be Mercury (Ford) after Lexus, which was TIED last year with Buick for first. That does NOT sound like domestics are garbage to me.

Of course, as a long time car enthusiast, member of two car clubs and a mechanic, what would I know??

The ice cream analogy is inaccurate as well as just...wrong. I have owned Fords, and just like ice cream that I don't like, I don't buy them anymore. I don't like Fords because they break down too often and the build quality is crappy from day 1. I read and comment here often, and it just so happens that, just tonight, I got in from a 4 day trip to New York City. While I was there, it just so happens that I rode in quite a few cabs. Because of my interest in automobiles, I noticed than the taxis were mainly either Fords or Toyota's, and I made it a point to ask a few different NYC cab drivers about their opinions of each. Guess what? Each of them gave me the same answer basically. Each of these cabs (I looked) had over 200,000 miles on them, the last of which had 380,000 miles on it (a Toyota Sienna van). They ALL said that generally, the Fords DO NOT get as many miles as the Toyota's, and if they do, they are worked on often. I already figured as much, and this confirmed it. If a New York City cab driver isn't qualified to answer this question, then no one is. The last driver went on and on about how the Toyota's treat him better because of very little or NO down time until they trade them in, and the Fords get fixed more than he thought they should. I suppose you Ford guys would say that he doesn't know what he's talking about. Well, the fact is, there were 5 in a row that told me the same thing, and this is a person that basically beats the hell out of a car all day for a living. Toyota comes out ahead, as I already knew.

So now the world's best authority on cars is a New York cab driver. What next?? Santa Claus driving a Honda??

10:26 Obviously, a person who drives cars all day/night long for a living, in stop and go traffic in one of the busiest cities in the world, and sees which break down and which don't, ISN'T qualified to state the fact that Fords break down more than Toyotas (imports) do. These guys LIVE in automobiles more or less. Nice try at a rebuttle though.

I'm telling you that I was told by four NYC cab drivers that their company's Toyotas last longer than the Fords do.

Comparing a large rear-rear Ford to a puny Camry is sort of like comparing a Harley to a motor scooter. There is no real competition for the big Fords. You'll notice that virtually ALL police departments use Crown Victorias. That is good because most people would have a laughing fit and have an accident if they saw a CAMRY police car!!

10:37 Actually, the police use Crown Vic's because they need a big, junk car that they can ram into things if need be, and they need a V-8.

Plus, Ford parts are cheap since they break down every other day of the week. Ford parts are abundant and cheap. Why smash up a good car like a Camry when you can smash up a Ford?

If they were going for reliability and longevity, they'd be buying Toyota's.

One hard hit to the front will instantly disable the flimsy Camry. It could never be used the way the Crown Victorias are. I've seen Crown Victoria police cars broadside a car and push it over 200 feet SIDEWAYS without even slowing the Ford down or damaging it.

My brother-in-law is a police officer and he said the main reason for using the big Fords is that they are tough, virtually unstoppable, and SELDOM EVER NEED REPAIRS. That is somewhat different from "breaking down every other day".

I've known guys who bought used Crown Victoria police cars with over 100,000 miles on them and drove them ANOTHER 100,000 miles with no problems.

A Camry police car? How about a Moped. It would be about as effective.

GM's 4-cylinder compacts get 36mpg+ highway, come with a 100,000 mile warranty and a price tag several thousand less than Civic. Why would anyone want to spend thousands more on a car with a far worse warranty and no better fuel mileage?

The Ford Fusion, which has had a greater increase in sales than Civic and Corolla combined, gets equally good mileage, has a better warranty than Civic or Corolla and costs about 5 grand less than the Civic and about the same as the Corolla. It does not make a great deal of sense to try and save money on gas by paying 5 grand MORE for a car.

And don't bother with the "It will cost more in repairs" line, because repeated requests for evidence of better reliability for imports has gone unanswered, and a 100,000 mile warranty pretty much takes away any threat of reliability issues, as most people trade cars before 100,000 miles, regardless of what they drive.

10:12 Okay, where to begin... first off, GM doesn't and never has made a car that gets the kind of mileage that a Civic or a Corolla, or even a rusted out 1992 Toyota Tercel gets. Civics, even the ones with 250,000 miles on them, generally get at or above 40 mpg. GM can't, or for sure hasn't, designed an engine on par with a Honda or Toyota.

And don't tell me about the Aveo either because my aunt bought a new one this year; it gets around 31 or 32.

My new Hyundai Accent gets 34 worst and has done as well as 38. Now, Toyota and Honda are in a league by themselves. My 1993 Tercel, that I owned and sold in 1994 got about 40 to 43. And I ran it with no regard for fuel mileage, even though I always have calculated it.

My girlfriend's 95' Civic gets 40 regularly, as does her Dad's 2000 Civic. Nothing Ford or Chevy makes will do this regularly. Maybe you can say you did it if you coasted down a mountain and towed it back up. Otherwise, forget it.

Funny how GM guys are always up on the warranty; I guess they need it. As a Toyota owner, I never have. AND, it is nothing more than your opinion that people get rid of their cars at or before 100,000 miles. You must be talking about Ford/GM owners; that makes sense, because the cars are generally junk at that point, and worth nothing on trade in. For a Toyota or Honda owner, 100,000 is just good and broken in. Many, many trouble free miles to go.

As a general rule, most people of average or better income trade cars well before 100,000 miles just to have something newer. Any car that comes with a 100,000 mile warranty is going to serve the needs of 90% of the people.

When we were younger and poorer we kept cars a very long time because we had to. Now we can pretty much afford new ones whenever we choose to get one.

We always buy domestic because they are more comfortable, look nicer and have far more appeal than less exciting imports. Our past experience with several imports didn't impress us. They were not very reliable.

23:39 Actually it's very easy to understand why Toyota and Honda's warranties aren't as long as the domestics, and the obvious answer is that they don't have to be to sell cars. It's pretty clear that when you produce junk, you have to offer a long warranty to back it or not many people will buy it, which is why GM needs one.

The other obvious fact is that when you make a quality product, people will buy it because they know that it's a quality product instead of buying a piece of warrantied junk. If the day ever comes when Ford and GM make cars and trucks as well as Toyota does (not holding my breath) then they too will stop offering such a long warranty, because they too will not need to. It's common sense, people.

As a small business owner I find the logic of comment 15:45 very flawed. No business is going to risk huge losses by offering warranties that will require numerous repairs at the manufacturer's expense. Conversely, no company that has confidence in their product's reliability is going to be hesitant to offer a longer warranty. The reason Toyota has a very poor warranty probably has to do with the many problems that manufacturer has had in recent years.

Businesses do all they can to hold down costs, whether it be by not offering a good warranty on a less-than-reliable product, or purchasing vehicles for company use that do not require frequent repairs. Our family's company uses trucks and vans. There is not a Tundra in the entire fleet. Most of the trucks are Fords, and the vans are pretty much divided between Ford, Chevy and Dodge. Reliability has not been a problem with any of them.

For those who commented that they will only buy American made vehicles, you are in luck. The Hyundai Sonata, Honda Civic, Toyota Camry, and dozens of other so called "imports" are made in North America. Stay away from the Ford Fusion, Dodge Journey, Saturn Astra, all the small cars from GM because they are not made here.

It's a confusing position to take. 50% of the vehicles made in North America are what are referred to as the new domestics.

Just buy what you like and forget about patriotism if you don't do take time to do your homework.

It takes no "homework" to know that Ford, GM and Chrysler are American companies, just as it is blatantly obvious that Honda, Toyota, Nissan, etc. are NOT. Buying an American company's PRODUCTS benefits America, regardless of outsourcing of labor. This is a very common mistake made by import owners.

10:12 Well, you see, your argument falls apart the second you claim that Ford, GM, and Dodge DON'T have problems with reliability. They do. And regardless of the handful of Big 3 owners that like to try and sell them on the Honda, Toyota, and Hyundai threads on this site, the rest of the country knows that the Big 3 DO in fact have serious issues with quality (lack of it) and reliability, which is exactly why the 3 imports that I have mentioned have grown to such proportions in the good, old, U.S.A. Americans are TIRED of buying junk from Ford, GM, and Dodge.

More Toyota Camry's were sold in the States last year than all Dodge cars COMBINED. A lot more. I've worked for several HVAC companies, and all of them used Big 3 vans and large trucks. Do you know why? ONLY because Toyota and Honda don't make large trucks and cargo vans. That's it. And they all went to the garage in a constant rotation.

The most mechanically gifted guy I ever worked for repaired all of the trucks in his fleet himself. Brilliant guy. He also said that if Toyota made vans and large trucks, he'd sell every one of his Fords and GM's the next day and replace the entire fleet. Of course.

As far as the largest trucks Toyota DOES make; the new Tundra is JD Power's truck of the year. Of course.