For those of you interested in making a new-car purchase, this is the
Official List <gong> of union-made, American-made cars.
 1992 model cars:
BUICK: *Century, LeSabre, Park Avenue/Electra, Riviera, Roadmaster, Skylark
CADILLAC: Allante, Brougham, DeVille, Fleetwood, Eldorado, Seville
CHEVROLET: Beretta, Camaro, Caprice, Cavalier, Corsica, Corvette
CHRYSLER: Imperial, LeBaron coupe/convertible, Fifth Ave., New Yorker
DODGE: Daytona, Dynasty, *Shadow, *Spirit, Viper
EAGLE: *Summit, Talon
FORD: *Escort, Mustang, Probe, Taurus, *Tempo, Thunderbird
GEO: Prizm
LINCOLN: Continental, Mark VII (LS), Town Car
MAZDA: *626, *MX6
MERCURY: Cougar, Sable, *Topaz
MITSUBISHI: Eclipse, Mirage
OLDSMOBILE: **Achieva, Custom Cruiser, Ciera, Cutlass Supreme, Olds 88,
            Olds 98, Toronado
PLYMOUTH: *Acclaim, Laser, Sundance
PONTIAC: Bonneville, Firebird, Grand Am, Grand Prix, Sunbird
SATURN: Saturn
TOYOTA: *Corolla
 
*Some of these models are assembled in other countries; check the sticker.

29 responses total.

I have a Dodge, never Chrysler again.  Probably Toyota will be my next choice.
One of the reasons I bought the Dodge was not to offend the GM spinoff
company I was working at by buying a Toyota.  Dodge seemed to be a good
alternative.  Guess what.... they were offended since I didn't buy a GM
car anyway, although they kept saying they are not GM.  And it definitely
was *not* an alternative to Toyota Camry.  Toyota Camry is made here,
I don't know about the union part.

AFTER you try a Toyota, please try out a Ford.  I think you'll be surprised.
I sat in a 1993 Probe and was MOST impressed.  Door slams, ergonomics,
"handy features", and thoughtfulness of design were all as good or better
than any Honda or Toyota I've ever seen.  Ford is not at all like they
used to be and is by far the best domestic brand available.  Oh yeah, the
Probe is cheap, too.  Base prices for the *GT* start at $15,000.  LX's should
start around $12K, which is only nominally above a base Escort.  L of a deal.

I am not sure if the problem was fixed, but the powerfull version of Probe
had a problem of pulling the steering wheel out of your hand when you
stepped on gas.  This was reported when they came out first, and it might be
taken care of by now.

The reason I didn't consider Ford was that if you wanted to get a repair
done, you would have to make an appointment for a week later.  This was Ford
at Oakland Mall.  They weren't lazy or anything, and it looked quite busy.
It made me feel that those cars needed a lot of maintenance.

But I wouldn't compare any car with Honda when it comes to reliability and
low cost.  At least the ones they made 10 years ago are excellent.

I learned not to try and take a chance based on the improved product promise
of the vendor the hard way.  It is a lot of money one is investing.

I'm actually very pleased with my Saturn.

The Ford Probe IS an inport.  At least 95% of the design is.  All the union
dweebs got to do is put it together right and not loose too many screws
under the dash, etc. that fall out over the first few months it's driven ;)

Look before you jump, klaus.  The *1993* Probe is NOT designed by Mazda, and
in fact, this month's Car & Driver gives the Probe very high marks for
quality, while giving the equivalent Mazda MX-6 exceedingly poor marks on
quality, fit & finish and tinny-door-slam.  The new Probe *GT* is base
priced at $15,000.  Your Honda Preludes won't even come close to that.

As far as "taking a chance", I wouldn't give it a second thought.  I have
a 1988 Escort LX, with 139,000 miles on it and all I've had to do is
change the oil.  I've had to replace my brakes at 115,000 and my fuel
pump went at 131,000.  Clutch, trans, engine, bearings, and most everything
else has never given me a lick of trouble and shows no signs of doing so.
I have friends that have their "reliable" Honda CRX's that have to have the
clutches replaced every 30,000 miles because they wear out.  Cause: too
thin of metal on the clutch plates.

I work for R.L.Polk & Co. and see alot of what ALL automakers do on a daily
basis.  The domestics really are starting to get it together and the 
japanese are not the high-quality, high-value makes they used to be.  And
if you're wondering who the L R.L. Polk &Co. is, just look in the fine print
for any TV car ad and you'll see:   Source: R.L. Polk & Co.    And by the
way, Big Brother's name is Steven Polk.

Yeah, some survey company somewhere was saying the same line when I bought
my Dodge about Chrysler, it might have been big brother.  I am kind of numb
to that by now.  Most of the statistics can be manipulated.  For example,
you can send out surveys within the first two years (I got plenty of them
mailed), but then silence all of a sudden.  Mine is an 88.  The surveys
stopped after about 1.5 years.  I guess most owners must be dissatisfied
after that time period with what they got.

I look at the used cars out there to figure which brands are solid.  Also
asking friends helps too.

Ford must be the best out of the three (GM, Chrysler, Ford). 

Who said anything about 93 Probes?  How can anyone make a valid judgement
on a car that hasn't been on the road long enough to collect one or two
surface rust spots?  Sure, most any car out there would do me just fine
if I only had to drive it for a month or less like the auto mags. do.
I keep my cars for 10+ years and I want to know if I'm gona find Lake
Oil in the bottom of my air cleaner ater 45,000 miles, etc.
I sold my '80 AMC Spirit a year ago. (Everry one say "YEACH!" , like you
were told.)  Great car!  Very little trouble and it's still going strong
today, working it's way to 200,000 miles with the only major engine work to
date being a new water pump.

Polk is differentiated from other "statistics" companies (such as J.D. Power)
by the fact that their numbers come from state registrations and hold up in
court.  J.D. Power and the FoMoCo surveys are subjective and rarely if ever
stand up to any kind of scrutiny.

As for the 93 Probe, you're probably right.  But as a bonefide auto-show
goer for the last 5 years or so, I'd say this is the best built car to come
out of the industry.  Well, maybe "best" is a little strong, but it has no
reason to be ashamed of having an american nameplate on it, it definitely
competes with the best and competes strongly.

That's good to hear in a time where more and more familiar names like
Nova, Escort, etc. are mostly inport designs.  I hope your right.

Me too.  My brother and father both work for Ford.  And no, I'm not terribly
biased, I just watch Ford closer than usual.

I'm related to the Fords, and my family haas a long-standing feud with their
Ford relatives.  I was the only one of the Bryants to own a Ford in over 3
generations.

The new Probe is still a Mazda.  Assembled side by side the MX6.

umm, and Mazda Motor of America is no more. It is now "Auto Alliance
International Inc."

The new Probe is a car, as is the MX6 - as far as I am concerned.

Hey, buy the best car for the money. If that's a foreign car, so be it. 
If you buy an American car that's inferior, you'll just be making the
situation worse, by showing the americans that they can get away with 
sucky cars. It's also good not to fall into any sort of an "American 
cars all suck" thing. Just evaluate the cars on their own merits.

I think that is the best policy, besides, the Toyota Camry is made in the USA,
which shows that good cars can be made here.

Just for the record, Ford did the design work this time around for the Probe.
The last car was mazda designed.

I think we may be arguing semantics.:)  Design = style? I think Ford
styled the old Probe too.  At least I remember some press crowing about
the "hot" Probe selling well while the "stodgy" MX6 being a sales dog, due
to its styling.  As far as engineering and most everything else, I bet you
a warm can of used crankcase oil that Mazda provided the know-how and 
execution.

Who gives a shit? If it's a good car, great. If not, bummer.
Have a nice day. :)

Obviously sir,you are the victim of a misspent youth, and have never 
properly developed your adolescent brand loyalties. Shame on you.

I assume this was sarcasm.

No, I think he was really, really serious.

rilly.

For the record:  163,000 on my 1988 Escort mentioned earlier.  Goin'
strong.

An aside: my wife will be leasing a Nissan Pathfinder soon.  She was
extremely objective and liked it better than all of the competition.  I
formally retract much of the gibberish I spewed previously.

Sorry to those of you that I pissed off.  :)

 I just turned over the 100,000 mile mark on the Aerostar. 
looks and acts a little crotchety but none the worse for wear.

Never Chrysler again.

My mom's Dodge Neon seems alright, other than a minor fit'n'finish problem
(the right side window weatherstripping doesn't seal).  We've had it a year
now.

I'm the only one in my immediate family to drive a foreign car, incidentally
-- it's hard to get parts and service for 'em in Michigan, unless you live
in a nice big city.

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