>Evaluate the model, not the manufacturer. The Big 3 automakers have tried so hard to show people that its cars have improved in quality. Some of the cars that they are touting as built with the same quality as a Toyota or Honda are the Malibu, GMC Acadia, and Ford Fusion. These three cars often get good reviews, but there are some models (like the Chevy Cobalt and the Chrysler Sebring) that are still getting shoddy reviews.

Beware of bargains. Cars that are cheap now will be cheap when you go to sell them, only cheaper. It’s not really a quality issue it’s more of an issue that stems around the fact that you’re not the only person getting that deal on the car you’re looking at. When you try to sell the car in a few years, there will be hundreds or thousands of people trying to sell the car at the same time. This decreases the value of the cars.

Consider warranties. When you don’t know whether or not your dealership is going to go out of business, you really need to check to see where the next closest dealership is for warranty repair. Since this article was written, it is a pretty safe bet that Chrysler and GM will continue operating so liquidating is not an issue for either of these companies.

Gas prices still play a factor. Gas prices are still pretty low. Even though oil is starting to creep back up, some analysts are expecting it to spike again and the small cars that we all saw on the roads a year ago will be making a comeback. While the Big 3 made the best SUVs on the market, their smaller cars left something to be desired. They are, however, coming out with some new small models to appeal to people who are looking for something small.

That car may not be American. There are a lot of “American” cars that aren’t built in America. As a matter of fact CSM Worldwide is predicting next year that foreign automakers will be building more cars in the United States than the Big 3 will. Many of the cars the Big 3 produce are built in Mexico or Canada. You can check to see where your car was built if you look at the stickers in the windows and read them carefully.

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An older article from US News World and Report shed some light into how to know if you want to buy a domestic car versus an import. Here are some of the tips:

Evaluate the model, not the manufacturer. The Big 3 automakers have tried so hard to show people that its cars have improved in quality. Some of the cars that they are touting as built with the same quality as a Toyota or Honda are the Malibu, GMC Acadia, and Ford Fusion. These three cars often get good reviews, but there are some models (like the Chevy Cobalt and the Chrysler Sebring) that are still getting shoddy reviews.

Beware of bargains. Cars that are cheap now will be cheap when you go to sell them, only cheaper. It’s not really a quality issue it’s more of an issue that stems around the fact that you’re not the only person getting that deal on the car you’re looking at. When you try to sell the car in a few years, there will be hundreds or thousands of people trying to sell the car at the same time. This decreases the value of the cars.

Consider warranties. When you don’t know whether or not your dealership is going to go out of business, you really need to check to see where the next closest dealership is for warranty repair. Since this article was written, it is a pretty safe bet that Chrysler and GM will continue operating so liquidating is not an issue for either of these companies.

Gas prices still play a factor. Gas prices are still pretty low. Even though oil is starting to creep back up, some analysts are expecting it to spike again and the small cars that we all saw on the roads a year ago will be making a comeback. While the Big 3 made the best SUVs on the market, their smaller cars left something to be desired. They are, however, coming out with some new small models to appeal to people who are looking for something small.

That car may not be American. There are a lot of “American” cars that aren’t built in America. As a matter of fact CSM Worldwide is predicting next year that foreign automakers will be building more cars in the United States than the Big 3 will. Many of the cars the Big 3 produce are built in Mexico or Canada. You can check to see where your car was built if you look at the stickers in the windows and read them carefully.

Source

A buyer of the 2008 Ford Fusion could choose from the various models and extra features available and come up with 2,600 combinations. For the 2010 version due in showrooms this summer, the number drops to 104.

The Toyota Camry and the Honda Accord were the two best-selling cars in the U.S. in 2008. The people who purchased more than 800,000 of them combined last year picked from a total of just 15 versions. For the Accord, the models or trim levels were limited to just four, each level complete with a variety of extra bells and whistles.

The reduction in different styles of models would help the companies cut costs.This could also help the companies cut back on models and go to a structure where they have a great line up of a few cars rather than a large amount of okay cars.

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