Are American Cars Getting Good Enough That You Would Actually Consider One?

http://www.carbuzz.com/news/2014/4/24/Desperate-Cadillac-Paying-Customers-to-Test-Drive-7719933/

According to this article, Cadillac is right now so desperate to get customers for their cars, and will give you 100 bucks just for test driving Cadillac.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2604380/Cadillac-fuels-Parisian-fury-anti-French-advert-takes-dig-countries-August-off.html

And also according to this Daily Mail article, Cadillac is blatantly bashing the Europeans on their commercial, especially the French.

But here are the sad truths. The American cars are still considered to be junk by the majority of people around the world, and unfortunately, no one really compares Cadillac to the brands like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi or Jaguar. Cadillac is....well, just considered to be as good as Hyundai, or just a bit worse than that. And practically no one cares about Lincoln.

I mean, even the Americans admit the fact that there is no such thing as a "luxury" American brand. Even the Japanese utterly fail against the Europeans in the luxury car segment, so how can there be "any" chance for the Americans against the Europeans?


But then I looked at the new Mustang, Escalade, Navigator and Corvette. I think what those cars show is the promising future for the American automakers, and I believe the American automakers still can compete with the European and the Japanese brands only if they actually do try. And they did try, and they did it good.

JDMUSMuscle, some of what you said could be true...it's called perception. Perception is a VERY deceiving thing. As a lifetime American auto owner and dabbling with import brands, I can say perception often is NOT reality on both domestic and import fronts. I will be the first to say that American car brands have had their low points on design, performance, quality and durability. It's a well documented fact. Truth is, I have driven makes from Asia, German and the America and they ALL have problems...ALL OF THEM. American cars are not junk and I personally am tired of hearing that. I driven Asian and German junk if that's the case.

The time has come when the playing field is leveling, if not leveled. Quality, design and durability between the domestics and the imports are in the same league, with a very few exceptions. GM has had some very low points, but what they produce today is FAR from junk. Cadillac latest plight to get people in the door by paying them to test drive one of their cars isn't desperate. It's actually quite clever. What's desperate is someone, who knows they would NEVER purchase a Cadillac, going in, driving the car, just to get the cash. There are guidelines to this test drive by the way. Cadillac has products they can now be VERY proud of, and that can compete with the best from anywhere else. If someone is a serious buyer and seriously considering a Cadillac, the chances are high they will purchase the Caddy, based solely on the fact they they are building world-class, competitive automobiles right now. The imports are no longer 'the standard.' Sorry, but it's true.

There is a reason why some import owners are not satisfied with the quality and reliability of their cars. Yes, it does exist.
http://autospies.com/news/Mercedes-Benz-Disappointed-With-Average-Customer-Satisfaction-Scores-Promises-Improvement-81113/

To answer the question in the title of this blurb...YES and always YES! I support the home team!!

Well, my point was more about how the society sees the American brands in general. Not really my personal opinion.

I would have no problem buying the new Corvette and an Escalade, since I am also a fan of the American cars. I guess that's why I still keep my Ford truck even to this very day.

Broken Link

NO.

The world hierarchy of brands (Not just cars):

The ultra luxurious European gods' brands >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> [The wall that you can never climb] >>>>>>>>>>>>> Japanese brands >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Junk >>>>>>>>>> Korean > American

I just truly hope one day, the American products will actually be far superior to at least...... Junk.

Drop the UAW and I might consider.

They are improving but are not there yet for me. American cars, in my opinion, still do not have the right balance of steering and brake feel, suspension tuning or design: either interior or exterior, to be viable options for me.

The German cars have better fit and finish, but are somewhat more expensive. While the Japanese brands give me the performance and feel I want at a cheaper price at a cost of sometimes bland interior design.

I buy for overall balance and long term ownership, and American brands have not yet shown they have reliability to match the Japaneses leaders.
American brands have claimed for decades to have matched the imports only to be proven false. The only one that is an exception is Tesla.

went to the ny auto show yesterday, one of my favorite cars ( of all time) the corvette, say what you want, the interior is still crap. definitely better than the last generation, but all this talk about how they got it right this time, totally not true.
that being said, id still get one, only because i love corvettes.

There are American cars in the traditional sense (Ford,GM, Chrysler) and there is Tesla. Tesla leapfrogged over the German brands. Among more affluent buyers who can purchase any Porsche S, BMW M, Audi S, they have voted with their dollars and are purchasing Tesla over the German brands.

The American culture is generally about trash culture. Hollywood, Justin Bieber and such, trash culture. And also America is all about junk food. Not only that, the only thing most American corporations care about is simply profit.

So it is practically no wonder why not a single quality product ever comes out from the United States. Because the United States is culturally all about cheap garbage, trash culture and junk food. That's what America is, it is simply, a country of low culture that does not really get any kind of respect from anyone.

Japanese are usually more about producing quality products at reasonable prices, which means Japan is definitely able to produce better products than the Americans can ever imagine to do.

And the Europeans, as we all know, just like how all the rich people (And the poor people always dream to get their hands on them) worship their brands, we all know why the Europeans are considered as gods. Their high culture is respected everywhere.

So well, even though I wish the Americans really did better than they are doing now, I also feel that the American cars are just ok the way they are. I mean, how can we seriously expect the American companies to make something that can rival the European brands, when the American brands struggle against the Japanese and the Koreans already?

And well, there is this "Tesla". But this is something only a few Americans would buy. I actually do not understand why anyone would even want to buy this, when it looks boring as hell (Even Buick looks more exciting than this)

@JDMUSMuscle - The Tesla Model S is a very good looking car that is well balanced. It has the look of a supercar without the exotic factor. And a classy look without the "old" look. A good balance for a wide appeal.

Oh wow, what a question...I only know one person who ones an American vehicle, 70y/o father bought a new CTS. He resides in the midwest and Ford, GM, & maybe Chrysler to some extent have a stanglehold in that part of the U.S.

Eveyone else I know has been burned by, abysmal reliability & resale value. Escort, Taurus, Town Car, Fleetwoods, the Dynasty & New Yorker, the Intrepid, PT Cruiser...Admittedly GM cars were the most reliable for them, but once they got a taste of great gas mileage, reliability, decent handling from the Camry, Protege, Tribute, Armada(not so fuel efficient)...it was sealed.

Yes - Tesla! Eliminate all the "trucks" from the equation and you just don't have great American made autos except for tesla. The Camaro cited? Isn't that Australian made with production in Canada? America has always been good at badge engineering but the cars we advertise always lack that something extra. Tesla on the other hand has shown the world that we can design and produce one of the finest cars the world has seen or driven.

Americans as a trash culture? Most products feature a leading American country. Commercial planes, medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, computers, tablets, phones, military equipment, construction equipment, pianos and rockets are all areas that feature leading American products. So we don't lead in consumer automobiles.. that doesn't mean we are a trash culture.

Oh, nice try. Other than the medical equipment and the military equipment, all the other things you mentioned are not even something the Americans are really good at. I mean, tablets? Phones? Seriously? Do you think they can be made without the Chinese and the Koreans? Do you know how many areas are being led by the Chinese?

And you simply proved my point. The United States is just good at what some other developing countries also are good at. Nothing too special about America, except the trash culture aka Hollywood.

70% of luxury brands in the entire world come from Europe (And I am not talking just about car brands), and without a doubt, the whole luxury brand market is utterly dominated by the Europeans and I highly doubt the Japanese and the Americans will ever be able to dethrone them. There is practically nothing luxurious about any American brand out there. How did this happen exactly? How did Cadillac and Lincoln (Most likely the last remaining "luxury" American brands) collapse this radically?

No.

But if I needed a vehicle which might explode with no warning I would definitely get a GM.