So I have saw this forum is pretty much split between people that love all cars....and people that strictly love american cars. For those that hate imports, why is this? I've been on both sides of the fence...and I believe each 'group' has their pros and cons. I had a 2005 RX8 before I bought my 2007 vette...I personally thought the RX8 had a much better fit & finish than my vette. All the panels aligned perfectly...I loved the interior of the car...and 232hp out of a 1.3 liter was pretty cool....and the 9000 redline was cool. The cons were I picked probably the worst japanese made car for gas mileage...I think combined I was getting like 16-17mpg...though that was a lot of me screwing around in it...constant redlining. The other being...though it was a 1.3 liter making 232 hp....it doesn't compare at all to the vette in power and torque. I still have a lot of respect for imports...I may not care for the looks of the EVO's...STI's...but they are fast and can be made a lot faster...same with the Mark 4 supras...and FD RX7's....so to ask again...why all the import hate?

 

If we don't hate on the imports who would we have left lol. JK I don't know why people hate on imports. I would say its just more of a rivalry if you could call it that. Or its just flat out people who only like american products then there really isn't much you can do about that one.

 

I dont particularly care for the EVO'S, WRX'S or ricers ,
but I do love my DD's 07 Nissan Altima 3.5SE and 07 Infiniti G35X, I feel the imports are much better in fit and finish and reliability.

 

I don't hate them and I don't knock them, I just wouldn't buy one. To each his own.

 

Most of the owners here who hate on such cars are just plain ignorant....nothing more.

 

 

I think that it is mostly a disdain for the stereotypical import owner... While there are all types of owners driving all types of cars, a slight majority of the "import crowd" seem to have a pretty bad attitude. This is possibly age related as most import tuners are teens-twenties. My personal observations are that most of the import guys have a chip on thier shoulder for some reason.....mabye napolean complex.....always singing about the superiority of japanese design, how pushrod engines are ancient technology, etc. How many hp/liter does your engine make Bring in a major motion picture series like Fast and the Furious and it works them into a frenzy.....loud graphics, louder mufflers, neon, bumping stereos, wings that belong on fighter planes, what is there to like? Again, there are exceptions. I'm sure your RX-8 was tastefully done. There is also a safety element to this picture; I think that the majority of illegal street racing encompasses the import crowd....not to mention the idiots trying to learn to drift on city streets getting themselves (and others) killed. I could go on and on about this as it strikes a special nerve with me. This is my opinoin only, and is subject to change. I have seen a few import cars tastefully done, and have met a few respectable owners, but this is certainly not the norm and I am probably guilty of stereotyping many of the others.

 

if it wasnt for the imports pushing up the quality, then the american car makers would just be looking at the profit margin and not improving the quality that much, because they wouldnt have to.

 

Well said. I'm not trying to start a japanese > american...or american > japanese...just trying to see why everyones 'where they are' on the subject.

 

I agree with this 100%. I can finally start seeing american cars catching up interior wise.

 

I traded my G35 Coupe for my C6, the G35 had much better interior, paint, etc but I traded that for the C6 hp/tq

 

I loved the last gen G35. I think i'd rather have that than it's cousin the 350Z.

 

IMO, not all hate the imports due to people own imports besides their vette. If you look at the streets today, you will see 70% of imports rather than domestic. It depends where you live, it ranges from affordability as well as reliability. I'm going to get flamed for this but the domestic except for a few (vette, pick-ups, & others) don't tend to last more than 5-6 years. Also, it depends how they maintain their own vehicles.

 

Where I live is pretty much redneck central....if you don't have a truck, camaro, or mustang...you suck.

 

(Flame suit on!) I don't hate the imports, I like several of them, the STi, R34 Skyline, Infiniti G35, are some of my favorites. It's not an anti-Japanese thing either, I like the current BMW 6-series and the Mercedes CLK family (especially the CLK 63 AMG Black Series) but I won't buy any of them. For me it's not about hating those cars, it's about supporting our local economy.

When I buy a Vette, yes, some of the parts and subassemblies are built in Canada and Mexico and even Japan, but the bottom line is that the profit for that car goes to Detroit. Its assembly employs American workers and supports local economies. Think about what would be in Bowling Green if the plant wasn't there.

To me, buying an import means that most of my money is going to a foreign country. Honda builds cars here in Ohio. Toyota builds down in Georgetown, KY. There are plants all over the country, BMW in Spartanburg, Mercedes in Tuscaloosa. Those plants do support the local economy the same way as GM supports KY, but the profit from those sales is going back to the home company. Honda and Toyota of Japan are getting a share of the pie. BMW is a closely held company and all of it's profits go back to Germany.

Furthermore, there's the tariff situation. The reason that most foreign manufacturers started building cars in this country was to get around the tariffs that are imposed on imported goods. We however are not afforded that luxury. A Cadillac imported into Japan costs the rough equivalent of $100K based on the tariffs that are imposed on the vehicles that we try to ship over there.

I could keep going, but to sum up, it's mostly for economic reasons with a hint of patriotism (some will call it xenophobia, but I don't care) that I won't buy an import - at least not a new one.

 

I had a VW GTI that I drove to work before I retired. It was great!, one of the best cars I ever owned. It was well built, fast, fun and got 28 MPG around town everyweek. 45000 miles when I sold it, never a problem. I wish it had been American built but the UNIONS would not have allowed it.

 

I think it TOTALLY depends on how they maintain the vehicle. I have a 1990 Chevy Beretta that I bought new in 1990. That car has 215K miles on it and I drove it to work this morning. We also have a 1995 Dodge Grand Caravan with 129K miles that we bought new. My mom drives a 1997 Cadillac Eldo ETC that was bought new in 1997. car only has 50K miles, but it beats your 5-6 year window.

By contrast, a co-worker of mine has blown up (run w/o oil blown-up) 2 Hondas (mid-90's Civic and Accord) and a Mercedes Diesel. If the quality of imports is so much better, then my first question is "How did these cars lose their oil to begin with?"

 

You must have read my mind, my thoughts exactly. Well said.

 

First I can't believe that you would suggest that the Mazda RX-8 is better built than a Corvette. My girlfriend has one and it is the biggest POS I've ever seen. With just 47,000 miles on the clock she has had her engine replaced once with the second one now starting to go, it burns a quart of oil every 1000 miles, it get terrible gas mileage, she has had 2 sun visors melt and fall off, the A/C went out, the breaks have squealed since day 1, her ABS computer shorted out once causing the car to stall intermittently or have no interior power, the car stalls occasionally just sitting at stop lights, and its flooded twice because if you don't let a rotary warm up all the way apparently it floods. Not even my 95 Pontiac Formula (which was a huge POS with constant problems) was that unreliable. Plus over on the RX-8 message board that she frequents they have a thread that keeps a running total of everyone who has had an engine swap. As far as body panels are concerned all of mine are perfectly aligned but so are hers I can't say anything about that.

About your original question, these import guys always have such a chip on their shoulder about HP/liter, or push rod technology, etc. I love hearing things like "Yea Corvettes are nice but they're American you should have gotten something fast like an Acura TL", "Why do you drive a chevy you could've gotten something reliable like a Mitsubishi", or my personal favorite "I only lost because my car isn't all plastic, if Lexus used plastic to make a car like Chevy does than I would have won" this was a guy telling me about his SC430 out at the SpeedWorld drag strip.

I guess you could say that I don't hate imports just your typical ignorant import driver.

 

The only import I like is Pamela Anderson, we owe Canada big time for that gift.