@MickeyMoo: My "American" Chevy Aveo was made in South Korea. And with ~50k miles on it, required a new transmission. And I was charged $500 for a new airbag clip system when, oops, turns out your clock was bad! Third new clock! And most of the repairmen treat me like crap because I'm a girl ("Of course you have a seatbelt buckle. It would be impossible for you to not"....Ok, so I technically had a seatbelt buckle, but it was between the back of the backseat and the interior of the trunk. Sorry I couldn't find it myself--it only required you to pull the backseat completely out of the car).

All in all, I'm dunzo with GM. I was raised in a GM family, dyed in the wool, and I have watched car after car after car die a premature death (2 cracked head gaskets--a Pontiac Bonneville and a Chevy S-10). My car is complete and utter shite (it was named as one of the 10 nails in GM's coffin), and I have had pretty lousy customer service. So, yeah, I have pretty much 0 sympathy, especially when the execs whine that their new cars are pretty good, they just have a bad rep. My car is a 2005, and I cannot wait till it dies and I can buy a Mini Cooper. Luckily, that shouldn't be too long.

I own a Saturn (fully paid off, which I'm quite proud of). Don't even TRY to say that I overpaid for my car. I didn't...because it's a SATURN. This is my second saturn, and I love it. Been great for me, hasn't had any major issues, and is almost 6 yrs old. All I want is for someone to be able to keep giving it oil changes and I'll be peachy. Based on the info linked from this article, I think I'll be fine.

I love my Saturn, love the brand, and am glad someone's buying them. It'll be better off when it isn't part of GM.

Meanwhile, my sister bought a Honda back in January, and hasn't gone a month without having it in the shop for at least a week.

How exactly is she better off?

@BlazerUnit:

& your reply is helping how ?

Seems pretty accurate to me.

Is it really matter that you lost less money on your Toyota/Honda/Nissan sedan at trade in time? Not in my opinion. The salesmen are still going to try and low-ball your trade, and also try and pack on costly extras if you decide to go ahead and buy.

You can just as easily play the depreciation game to your benefit by buying a lightly used domestic car, and roll the savings into a 'car repair account' that you might not dip into as much as you thought.

I say buy the car you know you want, and drive it until you're sick of driving it, sick of fixing it, or whatever. Even if CR doesn't like it, you can still use their findings as a heads-up for things that the car in question falls short in, possibly doing something in the aftermarket to fix it yourself.

@AMetamorphosis: some advice for your list:

buy a truck. No, really. They're designed better, built better and last longer than any car. Buy a Tacoma or Frontier if you're worried about your carbon footprint.

Also, it would be a good idea to stop relying on conjecture and pop-culture references to pretend you've made a more intelligent choice by not buying a GM/Chrysler/Ford. It's just no becoming of an intelligent car buyer such as yourself. :) In other words, the schtick's getting old.

It's not the "Gub'ment" anymore. Obama's in charge. He's the one running the show.

And it's true, Japan props up its auto industry when it goes south (Nissan anyone? Nearly disappeared in the early 90's under crushing debt and substandard model choices... sound familiar?) Anyhow... this bailout is our response (albeit WAY too late) to the oft-discussed problem of GM's crushing obligations. Chrysler was buttsurfed by D-benz and the Germans milked that dry. (And tried to take Jeep with them to boot.) So, we know where they stood in terms of never getting any updated designs after the 300, and their car line missing the "merger of equals". Their trucks are still solid performers, even in a gas-starved economy because they just work well. :) Except if you ask a Ford owner. :)

So, lighten up... the world will acknowledge your superior choice in cars one day... until then, you don't have to put on a false aura of smug when referring to Chrysler and GM. And I'm not stuck with an automobile.. So, no... don't say anymore.

@MickeyMoo: "I want to support Union labor, I want to buy American, but .... gotta pass on this one no matter how steep the discounts and incentives are. "

...so buy a Ford. Their lineup is better than it's been in years and you get an added bonus of supporting a company that hasn't yet taken a government handout =)

Me too. I really wanted that freakin' Challenger, but damn, if the resale value is going to tank, I dunno.. I might want some new car a while down the line...

5 things to know if you bought GM or Chrysler

1. You over paid for your sub-standard automobile.
2. Your automobile will break down faster than a Toyota, Mazda or Honda.
3. You didn't really " buy American " since almost all automobile companies operate in a GLOBAL economy.
4. Your stuck with an automobile backed by the US Gub'ment ( need I say more ? )
5. You've paid twice for that car with all the billions of our tax dollars that were lent to these fossils.

@HIV 2 Elway: It varries on your driving conditions. If you are driving on dusty dirty roads, your filter will get clogged faster than if you drive in the city. I was always told that you should check it periodically and replace it when you could no longer see light through it. On my vehicles, that is usually about every 12K-15K miles.

@Onion_Volcano:
GM won't buy back the inventories, or so I've heard. That's why the dealers need to sell them NOW because after 6/9, they can't sell them any more. So, then what happens to the unsold inventory? Dunno. Maybe the dealers will sell them to other dealers who aren't getting shut down. But they have to do it by 6/9

@henrygates:
why would they? I thought GM was buying all unsold vehicles back after a certain point.

A. No. Bankruptcy wipes out all past debts. The government decided that protecting people against defects is not important since they won't think about that during purchase decisions. You're screwed!

@MickeyMoo: "If GM and Chrysler had been making cars that lots of people actually wanted to buy, the situation wouldn't have been as dire"

Exactly. All of the cars that I have ever owned have been GM Vehicles (I am not loyal to only GM, and I doo look at other brands when I am shopping, it is just that GM had the features that I was looking for…so I guess I am an existing GM customer, and their cars appeal to me, the exact demographic that they want to keep) I sat on a focus group before the new Malibu came out, looking at advertising, brochures and commenting on the car's design. The response from the focus group that I was in was not kind, comments like "$h!+" and "Terrible" were common place when it came to the looks and the design. These comments were from loyal GM customers as well as customers who were loyal to other brands. To be fair, there were some positive comments as well. What was interesting however was looking at the ad campaign that was finally used. Even though the focus group was very critical of it, they did not change one thing in the ad campaign. So they asked consumers what they wanted, the consumers told them, and they didn't listen...no wonder I have not seen many 2009 Malibu's on the road.

@captainpicard: most of toyota cars are made in america from american suppliers built by american workers."

@AirIntake: "From Japanese designs....."

Exactly Air.

One opinion.

1. Is my warranty backed? Focus purchasing a vehicle in the middle or end of its model life cycle for reliability. See number 5.
2. What if my dealer closes? Go to another dealer who services that brand. Don't expect them to be really nice about it since you didn't buy the car there but they will be able to handle the repairs.
3. What if I want to sell my car? Sell it privately to get more money than dealers ever offer.
4. What if my brand is discontinued? Ask Plymouth and Oldsmobile owners about that.
5. Will parts and service be available? By focusing on buying a car in the middle or end of its model lifecycle parts should readily be available in the aftermarket. Ie go for the left over PT Cruisers for good support and parts. Any model out for 4 or more years should be ok. Do not go after brand new models or models of only 1 or 2 years on the market.

As they say YMMV- your mileage may vary...

@Zach Quella: Shit, not oil filter air filter. How often does that need to be swapped out.

Uh... You're supposed to change that every time you change your oil.

@Jim Topoleski: lol what.

@militarydave: You're a mechanic? How often do I really need to change my oil filter. The guys at the quick oil change dump ate constantly pushing that on me.

@ddmeightball:

most of toyota cars are made in america from american suppliers built by american workers.

@Jim Topoleski: One word: Aztek. Meaning that the corporate structure that was in place that allowed the Aztek to make it off a drawing board and into production is to blame. Badge engineering is to blame. My neighboors Cadillac who's armrest/door handle assembly came off the afternoon he drove it home from the dealer is to blame.

Sad to say but there was no profit. They've been riding on fumes for years. Iit's an ugly and complex situation, of which I am sure that the bailed out banks had a part in hastening. If GM and Chrysler had been making cars that lots of people actually wanted to buy, the situation wouldn't have been as dire. They may well have been able to downsize organically through attrition (given some Union cooperation) and tightening up the brand differentiation with some innovation instead of a badge and some different upholstery.

Especially when you realize its that same banking industry that withheld the loans the 3 auto manufacturers where relying on, which caused them to spend all their profits that are at the root of this mess.

@Jim Topoleski: "Both have had major build quality drops"

And yet the quality is still better than anything "Made in America".

"The difference? The Japanese government supports its auto industry, while the US one goes out of its way to hang it by its neck."

Apparently funneling tens of billions of dollars into the industry is the same as "hanging it by its neck"?

WTF?

'tard

Both have had major build quality drops, and both are in serious trouble as well now.

The difference? The Japanese government supports its auto industry, while the US one goes out of its way to hang it by its neck.

@MickeyMoo: Yeah, and there are pleanty of union-built made in America foregin brand cars that are a hell of a lot better than GM's. Makes it pretty easy to pass on their vehicles.

I'm just glad i'm a mechanic and work on my own car(s). i can't do everything (some things are shop specific), but the question is.... will 3rd party auto supply chains be able to get parts? and if so, we can only hope they don't raise their prices.

simply put.... they make too many cars that nobody wants, and they dont make them like they used to.

@Radi0logy:
7. If I buy a Toyota/Scion, will I have to worry about those things?

Answer: NO

Now I don't feel so bad driving around in my Ford....

Answer: NO