Posted on 04/12/2006 10:50:03 AM PDT by apackof2
Hey, New York, check out the exotic "imports" - from Detroit.
Detroit. Now that the media din has successfully canonized literally every import brand imaginable, no matter what the pedigree, and instilled a Detroit = Bad, Imports = Good mentality in the American car buying public, New Yorkers attending the New York Auto Show this week owe it to themselves to check out the "exotic" import offerings from the Motor City. And if they would take their import-oriented blinders off long enough, they would be shocked at the sheer number of competitive offerings from GM, Ford and the Chrysler Group.
The state of the domestic auto industry in this country is such that Detroit-sourced brands should be viewed as exotic imports at this point, because too many in the media (who should know better) and in this country's current administration, along with the various lightweights in Washington (who are incapable of knowing better) are so blatantly biased against anything that Detroit comes up with that it would be laughable - if it weren't so tedious and flat-out wrong.
In many respects, now that the imports have gone mainstream, thanks to ill-informed tirades from such automotive "experts" as The New York Times' Thomas L. Friedman, who officially anointed Toyota as "America's Car Company" last summer - Detroit collectively has a shot as the alternative brand for American consumers. As a matter of fact, it's amusing to see some of the import brands veering to the staid and stodgy end of the automotive spectrum, while the Detroit automakers continue to push the envelope, coming up with some of the industry's most expressive designs.
After documenting this industry for the last seven years, it's no secret why this has happened, and I'm not going to rehash it here, but suffice to say Detroit played a large role in the predicament they find themselves in today and have gotten almost everything they've deserved. But some of my lesser colleagues out there have so bought into the imports-are-automatically-better way of looking at the world that they're not only incapable of seeing anything positive come from Detroit - they wouldn't know if it ran over them in the street. And the American consumers have followed right along with the program, now so conditioned to the notion that Detroit = Bad, Imports = Good that they're incapable of giving anything with Detroit overtones even a minimal shred of consideration.
With that in mind, I'll offer up a list of worthwhile offerings from Detroit that New Yorkers should check out at the show - on their way to picking out which shade of Beige to order their Camrys in.
Stop at the Chrysler Group exhibit and check out the Dodge Caliber and the Nitro. We like the Nitro better, but these are compact vehicles with a real point of view. Rear-wheel-drive fans shouldn't miss the Charger, the 300C and, of course, the bad-ass Viper sports car. And if you're into Jeeps, there are so many variations on the floor that you could spend an hour just sorting them all out. Trucks? They got plenty of 'em, so you won't be disappointed if trucks are your thing.
At Ford, the Fusion is a perfect example of a mainstream domestic car that deserves far more attention than it's already receiving, so investigate it further. And if branding exercises are your game, there are Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr versions too. The Ford Edge is the kind of crossover vehicle that should get a lot more attention once it hits the streets, even though it's not our particular thing. But so far it's getting lost in the din of import canonization. The Ford display is Truck City, so I won't even bother talking about the endless variations on the theme, although if you don't revel in the sheer presence of the "Super Chief" F-150 Concept you're truly missing out.
And for those of you out there who equate euro "sophistication" and technological overkill with desirability, don't go see the new Shelby Cobra Mustang GT 500. As a matter of fact, just keep right on walking, because its raw visceral appeal would be completely lost on you. For the rest who have the remnants of an open mind, you'll also enjoy checking out the milder Ford Shelby GT-H, a throwback to when Shelby and Ford actually sent a few Shelby Mustangs to Hertz rental lots in the 60s.
As for GM, they're the one domestic car company that has put more emphasis on product in the last few years than anyone (after ignoring it for so long they certainly needed to, desperately) - and it shows. In GM's display, you'll see good stuff everywhere you look. If you're looking for a sedan that has more character in one wheel than most other sedans have in total, the new Saturn Aura has mainstream "hit" written all over it, and it will be available this summer. For those needing something right now, check out the Chevy Impala SS with a small-block V-8 and displacement on demand. It's one of GM's "quiet" hits that continues to sell extremely well. Or the tasteful new Buick Lucerne, which packs more style, luxury and value in its package than the Lexus ES350. Then, there's the Chevy HHR, another of GM's "quiet" hits. Or the Pontiac G6 hardtop convertible. Or how about the Pontiac Solstice roadster, or the Saturn Sky, if sharp creases appeal to you more? Or the new full-size SUVs led by the Cadillac Escalade. Or the Hummer H3. The new Corvette. Or the Corvette ZO6 - one of the best sports cars in the world, period.
You get the picture. The New York Auto Show is a snapshot of the automobile industry right now, the most competitive it has ever been in its history. Detroit has been so out of it for so long they're now coming back around as the quintessential "outsiders" in a business that has become overrun with preconceived notions, accumulated biases and a confluence of relentlessly ill-informed weasels hell-bent on witnessing the outright destruction of the domestic automobile business - even though the consequences of such a scenario would have a profoundly negative impact on every single citizen in this country.
The "exotics" from Detroit are now worth a serious look, and this week, New Yorkers will get an eye-full. I believe they'll be pleasantly surprised.
Thanks for listening, see you next Wednesday.
But can you take the Truth?
IB4TZ!!
Zoom
Zot what?
I see little there that interests me. Overall, the American Auto Industry is in a pit of it's own making. I knew a man who worked at FORD who told me: "At Ford Quality is just a 7 letter word." I've seen little to persuade me he was wrong.
hemi jeep. 'nuff said :)
There were some nice models at the Detroit Auto Show (I mean cars), but nothing I could afford (I still mean cars).
One man's quote does not an opinion make
One man's quote does not an opinion make
Actually, one man's quote really is an opinion.
Eh? Not sure what you mean. I do agree, however, with the idea behind the article, that is, imports good, American bad. I remember reading a Consumers Report magazine a few years ago. The Mazda Navajo SUV was rated excellent and the Ford Explorer was rated as average. The trouble was that the two were utterly the same vehicle from the same plants. The only differences were literally and only the name plates of Mazda- Navajo versus Ford -Explorer.
Trust but verify
I remain a fan of American cars. And what many people don't realize -- in their blinding hatred of unions -- is that once the U.S. auto industry is gone, it ain't coming back. Ever. That's it. For good.
That said, I've driven many, many American cars that stack up just fine against imports.
I don't put much stock in Consumer Reports ever since the Izuzu Trooper/Acura SLX fake rollover stuff.
Trooper were great trucks.
Basic and never, never, stop. Have one on the ranch with 300K miles.
Looks basically new, except where I clipped a deer.
If you have a Corolla I suggest you check for sludge and tune your ear to pick up the sound of a loose piston ring
BTW, what do you drive?
That makes two of us
Actually, the Mazda Navajo was somewhat superior to the Ford Explorer in one key respect -- it came with Mazda's standard 3-year/50,000-mile warranty instead of Ford's 3-year/36,000-mile warranty.
"But can you take the Truth?"
I'll grant you that American companies have corrected some of their problems with style, (or lack thereof).
Now, there are two other not so small issues... reliablity, and the fact that many Honda or Toyotas are more made in America than some of the American models.
When there was a guest host on Rush's show, he live interviewed the GM CEO and gave him a chance to say whatever he wanted to say to car buyers. He said something like, "I ask only that buyer's check out our products before making a purchase". This article seems to lend support to doing that.
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