AMERICAN CARS-Buy or Die?

Dodge Charger

A recent article in MONEY.CNN gives a shout-out to why American car buyers should think twice about buying imports or vehicles whose headquarters, design and technology labs are centered in other countries.  The premise is that buying Ford, GM or Chrysler products is still better for OUR economy than buying a Toyota, Honda, Nissan, even though many of their vehicles are made here by Americans.  Add to the stateside list BMW, Kia, Hyundai,  Mazda who also have plants in the U.S. and what the author doesn’t tell you is when you tally all those 13-14 “import” plants employees, does it total more or less than the total employee count of GM, Ford and Chrysler in the US, including DEALERSHIPS!

The truth is… most Americans would love to buy an AMERICAN CAR, knowing the funds go back into the US economy. However, 30% of current car owners in the US have owned a Ford, Chrysler or GM product in their lifetime, which failed to meet the expectation of the owner.  This is not a case of managing expectations, it’s about living up to your promises…aka WARRANTY.

When Hyundai and Kia felt the wrath of negative customer satisfaction for  shoddy construction, poor dealer performance and crashing resale value, they returned to the drawing board and later delivered a high quality product with a 100k mile or 10yr. warranty. The American consumer took notice and voted with their pocketbooks. Hyundai has continued to deliver with clever advertising and promises that resonate with the nervous car buyer. Imagine our US Car companies taking a marketing lesson from the Koreans.  This year Hyundai made money and increased market share while everyone else fell back.

Ford has experienced a strong demand for their 2010 product, and 25% of consumers surveyed acknowledge a lsight bias to Ford over the GM and Chrysler domestic product, because “Ford didn’t take a government handout.”

American’s aren’t stupid. They know the money they spend feeds the German, Japanese and Korean infrastructure supported by those foreign governments.  Even American business owners regret the situation when their own competition may be from off-shore sources, yet,  they don’t want to buy a lemon or worse; be rewarded for brand loyalty with a stick in the eye. 

Attn DODGE: If you want Americans to buy your new 2010 RAM 2500/3500 Cummins Diesel my readers and I would like to suggest you offer some major LOYALTY CASH or BUYBACK to everyone driving a 2007-2009 Cummins DPF problem.  You know who they are and thanks to the Internet everyone else does too.  Anyone researching the Dodge product has read this blog, asked their friends and will steer clear of your 2010 because of the HISTORY OF DODGE CUMMINS DPF, TURBO and CEL problems, REGARDLESS of how much you PROMISE them a newer, better redesign or BIG REBATE, LOW INTEREST RATE special.  Americans won’t gamble their lives or hard earned money on $50,000.00 trucks they depend on for work and family safety. SO get smart DODGE, those LOYAL DODGE Cummins customers, their gone…  Buying American may be Loyal, buy companies not standing up for their product, that’s UN-AMERICAN!

Sarah Lee is an automotive executive with 20+ years of experience. She writes about Cars, and is a staunch consumer advocate on car related subjects. Her company: MY CARLADY is a car buyer’s service committed to getting you the best deal on your next new or pre-owned vehicle. You can reach her at www.mycarlady.com

Top learn more about getting your best car deal click here: CAR DEALS

NEED AUTO FINANCE HELP or CREDIT report repair go to tell them MY CARLADY: Sarah Lee sent you. It’s a free consult and they do the right thing by you, fast, easy, cheap.

 Sarah Lee is an automotive executive with 20+ years of experience. She writes about Cars, and is a staunch consumer advocate on car related subjects. Her company: MY CARLADY is a car buyer’s service committed to getting you the best deal on your next new or pre-owned vehicle. You can reach her at www.mycarlady.com
Top learn more about getting your best car deal click here: CAR DEALS
NEED AUTO FINANCE HELP or CREDIT report repair go to tell them MY CARLADY: Sarah Lee sent you. It’s a free consult and they do the right thing by you, fast, easy, cheap.