We Know The AVERAGE Buyer Doesn't Care - But What Influenced You To Choose Your Ride?

Style, drive, cost are the factors that led me to get a BMW.

you can't be seriously asking me that? I meant the cost as in affordability

would you like some cheese with that whine?

I have had them all, MBs, BMWs, Porsches, Audis, Acuras (uggh), Saabs.

Fun, pure fun, influenced my current ride - a GTI.

Maybe, but I'll have fun along the way. I would still not trade it for a Corolla like you said. There is more to the automotive experience than pure reliability. I have had Jap cars, I know.

Taking a vacation to Arizona every few years, buying a senior-owned Chrysler product with 100K, drive back. Use for a few years, then sell for about 2/3's what I paid. I've been doing that for a bit over a decade. (New Yorker, minivan, Concorde and LHS) My 401k is funded, my tenants pay any mortgages. I bought a Challenger R/T because they offered 0% financing.

Those of you with expensive foreign junk... When you are 65-years-old, be sure to say "hello" if I should ever set foot inside a Walmart (it's your job after all).

Fun to drive is number one followed by drive it anywhere, park it anywhere, leave it outside all year round, don't think twice about letting others in family drive it, a worry free drive the hell out of it six speed manual...a Mini. Have owned dozens of cars in 50 years of driving (MB's, BMW's, Porsche, Viper, Corvette,etc) and while I loved them all the cheapest ones were always the most reliable, hassle free fun to drive...Miatas, Subaru's, Honda's, etc. Cars are meant to drive. Never could understand buying a $250K supercar to put 3,000 miles on it because
you are worried about depreciation or something happening to it. That's not having fun with cars. If that's your concern buy tax free muni's with your money and a Mx-5, GTI or STi and enjoy your ride everyday in every way. Very liberating !

@spy6: Speaking for myself, I'm not concerned about the Charger being built in Canada, nor do I care that Chrysler is owned by a foreign entity like Fiat SpA. The people from Turin did a better job of fixing Chrysler than Daimler AG ever did.

Furthermore, they know what customers want from a Chrysler vehicle and are willing to give it to them.

Spy6, I feel just fine driving my Canadian-built Challenger because Canada doesn't add any tariffs to US built products. As a consequence, several US made Chrysler products sell better in Canada than the US. Actually, the same can be said for Mexico.

Regarding Fiat's 53% ownership, I am slightly troubled by this and do look forward to an IPO offering of Chrysler stock on the US market. Given that Chrysler is basically propping up its Euro cousin (history repeats itself) I don't see additional Chrysler ownership coming from anywhere but the US market.