Cowboy, you need to look at the OP. It said nothing about a competition or market economy. You make a ridiculous assumption. If I buy a Mexican made shirt, or Korean made shoes based on the fact that they are just the same or better than American made products, it does not make the American economy hum a little better, by making American made products better regardless how many times you say it does.
However I would argue that there is not a Japanese car made that doesn’t have a American made counterpart that is just as good. Furthermore I’m willing to bet you drive a foreign made car, and didn’t even test drive an American made car.
It is my contention that it doesn’t matter how good American made cars are because there is a certain segment of the population that will not drive an American made car no matter how well made they are. On the other hand there are people who will only buy American. That is why your argument is flawed.
As for my “Flawed logic”, please point out the flaws so that I can dispute them instead of just a statement that I am wrong.
This is a turning into a great debate, but I would disagree. The “Big 3” consistently lag behind the Japanese makers in most objective ratings (JD Powers quality ratings, etc.). Subjectively, I don’t see any “Big 3” cars that match the quality of the Lexus line, or even Toyota generally. (None of the Big 3 SUV’s come close to matching the build quality and reliability of the Toyota Landcruiser, for example. Yes, I’ve driven them all – even the goofy Cadillac Escalade). Only when you throw price into the mix do the “Big 3” cars become competitive. (GM’s current 0% finiancing plan is one example – they have increased sales by effectively, and materially, reducing the price of ownership of their vehicles. This is not a great long-term stategy, however, and will affect their profit margin in the long term.)
Disagree all you want, but the JD Power awards for Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout Study 2002 has four Fords, three GM, two Hondas, two Toyotas, one Chrysler, one Lexus, one Audi, one Hyundai, one Acura one and BMW (MINI Cooper).
It looks to me like the Big 3 are pretty competitive according to JD Power.
The US has been able to make pretty and even* practical *cars for decades. They are still having difficulty (albeit, they are far better) getting the reliability and finish that the Japanese makers have been getting for years.
That being said, our 93 Grand Am and 98 Cherokee haven’t given us any problems. However, the in-laws 84 Accord is still going strong with nothing other than reglular maintenence. I seriously doubt the Grand Am will age that gracefully.