If You HAD To Buy An American Car Today, Which One Would You Be Driving Home In?

The same one I drive everyday - The Cadillac CTS 3.6

Definately Dodge Challenger SRT8

2010 Ford Taurus SHO

The CTS and honestly, I'm not just saying it because you disallowed the CTS-V. Even as a performance enthusiast, I would consider the CTS-V more than I need and would probably opt for the CTS anyway. The Cadillac designers are the only U.S. ones who have managed to employ a design language that is modern yet evocative of their heritage and unique without being overly controversial. The rest of the designers are either doing retro or world car (Euro) design--not necessarily bad looking, in some cases, but not succeeding in creating an unmistakable look for their brand.

2010 Ford Taurus SHO

American as in North American? Allard J2X Mkii. American as in USA, hmm I want a Viper. It's perfect, it shows how much I believe in global warming (oh sorry... climate change...), I really like the interior (especially the seats), and it's not something you see everyday.

they still making that POS Viper?

"....and it's not something you see everyday."

It's not something you drive everyday either.

I already have an everyday driver thank you.

The ford Rapture, that was easy.

A black Chevy Tahoe

Sports Car: Corvette ZR-1
Sedan: Lincoln MKZ
SUV: Cadillac Escalade
Truck: Ford F-150 Platinum

2010 Buick LaCrosse

none

that's fine, you can walk.
there are a number of great american cars.
you're sour.

naw son i aint sour. im good

hmmm...by the way you speak, i'd assume you'd love to have an F-150 with a gunrack.

lol no enthusiastx11, i dont drive a pickup truck with a shotgun in it. look at my icon, its a nissan maxima, 6th gen, with aftermarket tail lights. i just felt like talkin gangster at the moment....seems like alot people dont like that. no one here is from NY?

Saturn Sky or Pontiac G8. Preferably both! Ironicaly my fav 2 are from the dying brands :-(

I'd go for a ZR 1 or....a CTS!

2010 Ford Taurus SHO for sure.

Taurus SHO or Malibu LTZ (if the budget was tighter)

My budget for the first car is between 30 and 40K. I have two young kids, I need space but I don't like SUV's.

Maybe I'll give the CTV sportwagon a try.

As for the second car, wich I only use daily for a 2KM commute to the train station, I think I'll wait for the Fiesta.

CTS ...

Camaro?

2010 Camaro SS.

I will buy an American car when the UAW are gone.

The UAW are anti-America and I will never buy any product built by them.

I pretty much despise all Unions. I have had many encounters with Union workers and I can't stand their brotherhood BS!

F them and they can go to hell!

sadly I'm with el34 on this one. Union's had there place during the industrial revolution. But now with an international marketplace if a worker doesn't like his employer he can go find a better employer. If he's a shitty employee he'll have difficulty, if he's a valuable employee he will find a job easily. Now they exist solely to rape companies of profitability by over paying the workers.

Yup!!... I agree.... Unions killed the American car industry.....

That is a good question, lets ask 1UAW ^^

I agree, during the industrial revolution union's revolutionized industry by providing a voice for the everyman. However, that was 200 years ago. In today's modern workforce companies have to work at retaining quality employees. During a slow down these quality employees are vital to maximizing a companies profits and keeping the company afloat. If industry slows down and a company still has to pay too much for employees that aren't productive enough... then that is where you have your problem. Yes the company and the unions do sit down to discuss contracts, but the union's main goal is to give as much to the workers as possible. If a company plans on investing it's capital in itself by retooling or expanding it's research and development it has to "steal" that money away from the unions first. If they "steal" to much away the unions strike and the companies lose even more money. As far as hourly wages go, unskilled labor and assembly line jobs should be $20 an hour MAX (i.e. wage after 20 years of employment). Starting wages should be about $15 an hour. Hiring someone to cut the grass or clean is a $10 an hour job, and should have no benefits or retirement package included. This being a competitive "tough" economy right now employees should be actively seeking post secondary educations to make themselves valuable, not crossing their fingers hoping that they can stand in line beside their fathers assembling seat cushions.

Coupe - '10 Camaro SS
Sedan - '10 Taurus SHO
SUV - '10 Escalade
Pick-up - F-150 SVT Raptor

Makes for a healthy and fun lineup of cars.

-00J

easy choice....cadillac CTS

Challenger- in black w/ no stripes............

Camaro SS or CTS.

Jeep Wrangler been around since WWII

Waiting for the next generation Jeep Grand Cherokee. I still love the Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon, which they would put a real engine in it, better yet let America have the diesel the rest of the world gets.

#1 - Cadillac STS-V
#2 - Lincoln Navigator
#3 - Camaro SS

Tesla Roadster
or a bit more practical
Ford Fusion Hybrid

Pontiac Aztec. The Best looking American car ever built.

Kinda stole some from others' list: :D

Cadillac Escalade ESV
Cadillac CTS-V
Camaro SS
Corvette ZR1
Jeep Wrangler
Ford F-150 SVT Raptor
Tesla Roadster

The new Taurus

Well, I own mine.

2009 Ford F-150 Supercrew Lariat 4x4- White Pearl, fully loaded, SYNC nav, etc.

I also like the Tahoe/Escalade Hybrid, 2010 Taurus SHO, Ford Transit Connect, New Lacrosse.

Why no CTS in the list?

Car drives great but I only think the exterior design language works on the Escalade and I hope the next gen Caddies dump the art and science look in favor of something fresh and innovative.

The only WORLD class American exterior design is the new LaCrosse in my opinion.

001

SYNC is great...best thing Ford has done in 30 years

001

Definitely the Ford Flex w/ Ecoboost engine. A family hauler that carries 6 comfortably and moves 0-60 at 6.8 seconds. I love it.

By the way, here's a funny Conan comment from one of his 'In the year' skits

"American auto manufacturers will show how out of touch they are with American consumers when they introduce the new Ford 'Jihad.'"

001

001, you give Americans way too much credit, I bet you that there would be a large number of bitter Americans who would buy the "Jihad" just to stick it to the Arabs.

As a matter of fact, if there were no media backlash and the pundits kept quiet, if Ford released a car called the Jihad that did the following:
1. Styling cool of the Volt
2. Fuel efficiency of the Fusion
3. Handling/performance a step above the Camry
3. Priced $21,000
4. Showcased in the next big summer blockbuster movie
5. Iran openly criticizing the car's name.

I'm pretty certain it would be the best selling American car.

The Camaro 2SS Fully loaded, which is what I ordered and is coming in 1 month. Cant wait!

The new Camaro which is simply gorgeous, i've seen 3 so far and i love it, but hate that they have that cockpit feel, i want open space in my car, not feeling all claustrophobic.

or the new Challenger, in red, just looks AMAZING. i wasnt even born when these things were so hot but i can feel them in my blood...

I can't believe you don't like the Korean built Aveo. I guess your patriotism is only for the company you work for.

Ford Fusion hybrid. Best 100% American car.

Or I'd wait for the Chevrolet Volt. Probably the best car in the entire world.

Why do you hold the volt as best car in the world? Could you rate a 1-10 scale for the importance of each of the following (1 being not important, 10 being of critical importance)?

Style:
Performance:
Fuel Economy:
Image:
Comfort:
Badge:

— Joe_Limon:

> Why do you hold the volt as best car in the world?

Let me respond in the context of any plug-in hybrid/range extended electric car.

Such vehicles will accomplish a few crucial tasks:

1. They will shift carcinogenic pollution from densely populated areas in cities and around main roads to sparsely populated surroundings of power stations (which are also the subject of very strict emission control unlike, say, vehicle exhaust systems).

2. They will shift energy dependence to fossil fuels that will peak much later than oil, giving humanity more time to develop technologies shifting us into something more like sustainability state. Peak oil is likely happening now (please see the excellent article maintained by the scientific task force: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_oil), peak gas/coal will happen much later.

3. When in the range extending/charge sustaining mode, they will compensate for internal combustion engine dramatic flaw - its one single top efficiency point (in terms of amount of fuel burnt to produce a unit of energy, namely the brake specific fuel consumption BSFC). Because demanded power output from an engine is very volatile (various acceleration, cruising, idle), engines rarely work in their point of peak efficiency (located at given revs and given torque produced, see here: http://images.google.com/images?q=bsfc). In a plug in hybrid, the ICE engine will mostly work in this point, producing maybe a bit more energy than average demand is for vehicle propulsion. Any temporary demand for high power will be covered by the battery, acting as an energy buffer/capacitor. Any temporary demand for low power will cause the engine to shut down.

This is a simple and truly brilliant workaround for the ICE flawed characteristic. Then, a small all electric range perfectly complies with average driving patterns (lots of short trips, then lengthy stops). These are two killer features, only available for plug-in hybrid cars. This will make such design the best individual transportation solution possible.

What's more, a lot of electricity is produced from renewable (hydro) or low carbon (nuclear) sources. Then, lots of electric power is wasted these days because of thermal power plants inertia and inability to accommodate to low nightly demand. Plug-in hybrid cars will swallow this energy, currently wasted, for good use.


> Could you rate a 1-10 scale for the importance of each of the
> following (1 being not important, 10 being of critical importance)?

Well, it's just my biased personal opinion, not a fact, anyway:

Style: 8 -needs to be distinctive due to psychological reasons, just like in case of the Prius

Performance: 3 - needs to be acceptable, just not awfully slow, nothing more

Fuel Economy: 10 - that's the heart and soul of this car

Image: 8 - Volt will cost a lot, buyers will want to feel differentiated by their new wheels (similar to Prius effect too)

Comfort: 5 - accep

Comfort: 5 - acceptable level comfort will do fine, only sound proofing will need to be rethought as in all electric mode lots of noises ordinarily masked by an engine working will come out

Badge: 3 - mainstream badge will do fine, the manufacturer themselves need to use a mainstream badge for the halo effect to work on where they sell most cars

I see... that is a very utilitarian view point. One which I do not share so rather then arguing, here are my ratings.

Style:9 A car must be visually appealing, in the case of the volt... the original concept was dramatic and looked good. The production version however looks simply like another sedan, I find it heavily lacks in what originally caught my attention.
Performance:8 A car must react the way I want it to, if I am in an underpowered car, or a car which exhibits excessive body roll, or has a very slow reaction time to driver inputs it is like being handicapped, sure you don't need to run all the time but knowing you can't run limits ones feelings of freedom.
Fuel Economy:3 My first car got 7mpg out of a 3.8L v6, it does add up so I gave this subheading a few points. Gas prices are relative to what you think are expensive. If you want to save money buying a car, let alone a new car is the last thing you should be doing.
Image:7 The world is a very shallow place. If you want to impress an employer/clients don't drive an expensive car. If you buy a 20 year old cargo van certain people will think you are a pedophile, if you buy a compact car certain people will think you don't have money to spend or don't like spending it on vehicles, if you buy a hybrid certain people will think you follow a green agenda, if you buy a sedan certain people will think you had to settle with it because you have a family, and finally if you buy a sports car people will think you are either arrogant, having a midlife crisis or live for your car (and probably spend too much time/money on it). I'll stick with the last option thank you.
Comfort:5 A car mustn't be painful to drive. Leather has issues with hot/cold so fabric seats are far more luxurious imo.
Badge:4 Unreliable brands stand out. Fortunately now a day they are few and far in between.

The best looking and most powerful pony car--Mustang GT500.

A Camaro 6speed manual of sorts; I love manuals, and Camaros look awesome. The Challenger is too heavy. And I'm over Ford's live rear axle, being a former Mustang owner.

Caddy CTS 4

2010 Taurus SHO gets my vote; Escalade Platinum Edition gets honorable mention...

Tesla Roadster ;)

Oh yes, forgot about the compensation part of sports cars. If you apply reverse logic to it however, would the guys who buy these cars fully knowing about that negative stereotype be the ones who are the most secure in their own masculinity?

The new Camaro...it looks very rock starish.

Camaro is to cartoonish

I'm surprised no one has picked this one yet but I'm going to go ahead and pick the Volt

pontiac G8 or camaro SS

Hurst Challenger.

Cadillac CTS 3.6DI.

Sedan Pontiac G8 GXP,
SUV Jeep wrangler rubicon (4 door if I could get it in rubicon trim)
Sports car Saturn Sky turbo
Exotic Ford GT

Ok... I'd pick a 2009 Cobalt SS "sedan" with the 2.0L Turbo just to have fun. It is as close to a track car as you can get with a nondescript exterior. I drove one a couple of months back when asked us to pick an underrated star... and it was amazing. Horrible exterior which is what you want when you want to blend in, but the engine, the suspension, the transmission! Everything that counts is there including Recaro seats. Too bad about the rest of the interior. Anyway, it is a sleeper and something you don't see on every corner. For that reason, I'd pick this Chev for this contest.

Wow! Hard to say soo many good GM and Ford products today it seems.

Sports Car: Chevy Corvette
Luxury Sedan: Cadillac CTS
Near Entry level lux: Buick LaCrosse
mid-size sedan: Ford Fusion
SUV: Chevy Equinox
Sports Coupe: Chevy Camaro or Ford Mustang

any corvette,mustang, camaro, charger, challenger, cts v, escalade,buick enclave, lacrosse,.....plenty of nice american cars

Nice bitch-fest we have going on here.

If I HAD to buy an american car today:

Camaro SS or Solstice GXP Coupe (I I could 'find' either one). A G8 GXP or CTS if I could not.

Cadillac CTS, Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKS

Buick LaCrosse. Best looking domestic car in 10 years.

Its an opel insignia with a different badge.

I like my Jeep Wranger and the Corvette ZR1 but I would never buy an american car as an everyday driver, they are not durable enough

And a ferrari is ahahahaha

After visiting the Denver 2010 Auto show:

Ford Taurus SHO great car, overpriced
Buick Lacrosse CXS, great car, could use a tiny bit more power

Ford 150 over the Sierra 1500
Tahoe over Ford
Traverse over Ford
Equinox over Ford

Really missing any GM Zeta platform vehicle. I test drove one of the last remaining semi-new G8 GT last month. Great car, a great start, but needed some polish as a Pontiac.

The Holden Zeta long wheel base should return as the Cadillac RWD replacement. That aging big Caddy is pretty weak.

The Holden Zeta medium wheelbase/G8 should return as the RWD Buick (the Lucern is pretty weak). Did you know the Australians are "allowed" to purchase the left over Pontiac G8's at their local Holden dealer?!?!?

Buick has plenty of racing and muscle car history. They could call their new RWD the:

Skylark
GNX (Grand national)
Roadmaster
The Super

My favorite would be the New Buick 2012 Riviera, but that is an already designed 2 door concept car.

Buick is favored in China, therefore GM will sell many Buick's.

With Toyota's current issues with percieved safety, Buick has a real chance at advancing in the US market. The new Lacrosse is making great headway against the Camry/ES Lexus in the US. The Opal Regal is going to be very good.

Therefore larger, killer RWD, with the G8 engine line up, based on the Holden Zeta will seal the deal for Buick.