12 Cars That Could Spoil a Chrysler-Fiat Deal

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Loyalty Must Be Earned

I have a Honda Civic, a Toyota Tundra, and a Jeep Cherokee. You can guess which one is the bad one out of the group. The Jeep moves only when I need it for the snow. It is otherwise horrible to drive, leaks oil, and pollutes like nothing else.

The Honda drives like new, even after 120K miles. You can't hear or feel the engine at a stop light, nothing is broken, and it gets 40 MPG if you drive slower. It will hit 115 MPH easily if you need to pass a Jeep. The Tundra has aalmost 100K, runs perfect, tows the boat, and nothing has broken. If it lasts as long as my last Toyota truck, I still have about 300K to go before I sell it (still running fine even then). The Honda was made in Canada and the Toyota in the U.S.A.

The Jeep needs to be replaced ASAP, since the other cars are not 4x4. Why would I even consider anything other than a Toyota or Honda? My loyalty has been won by owning cars like the Vega, Metro, Impala, 3 really crappy Mustangs, a E150 van, and a Plymouth Colt (the best out of the bad cars but also made by Mitsubishi). Detroit has a long way to go to convince me that a Chevy, Ford or Dodge will perform and last like a Toyota or Honda.

Mike B of NV @ Jul 11, 2009 13:25:07 PM

Crash Tests

If your full size SUV gets hit by even a medium size truck, you'll be in bad shape too. SUVs actually have had a high accident and injury rate because they roll over easily. Even though the Smart car is too small for me, it actually does well in crash tests, with a well engineered safety cage.

Race cars don't weigh much either, but the drivers survive huge crashes remarkably well, thanks to safety features. Some of the most dangerous cars to ride in are the old, big, American cars.

American cars are getting more reliable and competitive. Unfortunately, Americans have largely lost confidence in the product due to poor design and more repairs. Toyota and Honda build good cars in the US, so they're American cars just as much as a Ford made in Mexico!

TJA of CA @ Jul 08, 2009 21:27:59 PM

CRASH TESTS

How do one of the little boxes on wheels pass our crash tests? Like the SMART CAR?? They are going to get hit by a full size SUV and start crying!

Mike B California

MICHAEL BUTTON of CA @ Jun 05, 2009 17:39:51 PM

cars

how about the chev corvair back in the 1960'S I HAD ABOUT 7 OF THEM AT ONE TIME . BUT THEY WAS PULLED OUT OF THE MKT BECAUSE EVERYONE SAID THEY WAS NOT SAFE BUT WAS GOOD FUEL SAVERS.BRING THEM BACK.

WILLIAM BURNETT of SC @ Jun 02, 2009 20:32:58 PM

yeah

exactly the person filling up for $10 will feel foolish because even though he has 80 mpg he will be feuling up just as much as the guy with the 20gal tank on his truck because he only has a 5 gallon tank... so go figure

spud of NV @ May 29, 2009 08:06:29 AM

cars

sounds like u drive a import mabye u art to get a job over there somewear.senes u dont udont like us .......

bob of TN @ May 28, 2009 23:35:41 PM

Corporate America

We had the car world the palm of our hand with our Electric Car back in the 1990's. And you can't tell me all that information is gone or lost. Also the Rotary Engine is something auto people will not talk about. There are only (7) moving parts in this engine while we have 283 moving parts in an internal combustion, Mazda still makes it and this is a good small engine that out performs the Other engine.USA Car makers gave it a bad rap. Just like the electric and MONEY and Greed didn't let it show everything it could be. GIve me an and electric car with the Lithum battery technology and a backup Rotary engine and you could put any name on the Car and it would be what AMERICA needs and want. The bells and whistles are all the some the Power plant is what people are asking for the past 50 years. Remenber the Falcon and Vega. Where did we go wrong GREED, of the automobile makers in this country.

Joe_Voegele of TX @ May 27, 2009 10:07:02 AM

Will importing more cars help Chrysler and GM survive?

Actually, I support the idea of getting some Fiats into the USA. And, I would hope that we don't intentionally try to spoil the fuel economy of all the cars.

The Mini Cooper was mentioned.

Except that it gets in the mid-twenties for gas mileage, not much better than my Ranger Pickup.

Let's get some cars with 50-80 MPG.

And, not everyone has to drive a car that gets 80 MPG. But, those who drive cars getting 15 MPG will feel much more foolish when they pull in next to a car filling up for less than $10.

Anyway, please don't cripple the cars if they are brought to the USA.

I suppose another question is whether importing more cars will actually help Detroit.

Clifford of OR @ May 22, 2009 19:30:09 PM

Fiat

A lot of people keep their thinking in yesteryears. Fiat was junk then, but I understand that about 2003, the company had a big shakeup and quality has improved a bundle. They should be judged on the cars they now produce not on the past. That is also true for American cars.

Julisn of MT @ May 22, 2009 16:51:01 PM

Imports deserve the win

Only a fool thinks buying American is somehow preferable to buying the car that actually performs better. Toyota, Honda, and Mazda as well as other foreign based manufacturers deserve to reap the rewards for their intelligent business decisions. While companies like Chrysler were ignorant to the market's need for small, affordable, and fuel efficient vehicles, the competition was working smart. Buying "American" only gives the foolish American auto companies false hope that there is still going to be a market for SUVs and Mini-vans in the future. Forget it. Small fuel efficient cars are the ideal given the environmental and economic situation we are in.

Ken of NY @ May 21, 2009 19:22:41 PM

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Rick Newman

Rick Newman

The global economy is mysterious, even scary. Chief Business Correspondent Rick Newman connects the dots. In addition to his writing for U.S. News, Rick is the co-author of two books: Firefight: Inside the Battle to Save the Pentagon on 9/11, and Bury Us Upside Down: The Misty Pilots and the Secret Battle for the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

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