Car-buying: Performance vs. Patriotism

Should loyal Americans feel inclined to buy American when looking to buy a new car? The question has most proud Americans puzzled at their local dealership. It comes down to the debate of performance versus patriotism. Which comes first? What is a loyal American to do? As most Americans know, the car-making industry has gotten to be very competitive in the last decade, with most of that competition coming from European and Japanese brands. A large contribution to the rise of foreign cars and fall of American cars has to do with the recent downfall of General Motors, a well-respected American auto-making manufacturer for years. “The partial collapse of General Motors (GM) is an important benchmark in American history. The bankruptcy of the major car manfacturer marks the end of the auto-industrial 20th century in the USA and start a 21st century, hi-tech society” (Veldman). Recently, foreign cars have gotten the leg up in respectability and longevity of their products. When it comes to buying a new car, Americans should base their decision-making on overall quality and reliability, depreciation value, fuel efficiency, and safety, without letting patriotism get in the way. This is not a paper to bash American cars, only to show how the rise of quality in foreign cars should persuade Americans to have an open mind in car-buying.

When it comes to overall quality and reliability, Consumer Reports, a well-respected research magazine, has a yearly magazine rating new cars. While picking the top new car in each of their ten categories, a foreign model won the award in eight of the ten categories for best small sedan (Hyundai), best family sedan (Nissan), best sporty car (Volkswagen), best small SUV (Subaru), best car overall (Lexus), be...

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...ciency, and safety. As simply stated in one website, “a buyer’s focus should not be on where the car is from, but if the vehicle meets their expectations” (Import v. Domestic). Whether Japanese or European, foreign cars have every right to be driven on American roads as domestic cars do. After all, America is a free country, so drive freely and be happy with your car!

Works Cited

“Import Cars vs. Domestic Cars. Which are Better?”. All About Car Selection. Web. 17 Mar. 2010.

"Poll: Americans Still Favor Foreign Cars." MSNBC. 8 Jan. 2007. Web. 17 Mar. 2010.

Tarlo, David. "American Cars Vs. Foreign Cars." Money Allocator. Web. 17 Mar. 2010.

"Top 2010 Cars-Exclusive Ratings, Reliability, Value, & Performance." Consumer Reports Apr. 2010: 6-11, 14-16, 19-21, 22-23, 70, 82. Print.

Veldman, Hans. “GM’s Downfall.” Nyenrode Business University. Web. 20 Mar. 2010