You're asking an understandable question but I think we need more
details on what exactly you're looking for.  If you're looking for a
replacement for your GM, you're pretty much looking at either a CV or GM
again as those are the only cars left in that class.  If you just want a
"car" give us an idea of your priorities.  Space?  Performance?  Cost?
Maintenance/repair cost?  Economy?  What kind of weather do you drive in
and do you prefer FWD or RWD in poor weather?

my GENERAL thoughts...

I'm not a big fan of American cars.  I like performance and handling,
and I don't care at all about space, so long as there's room for two and
a reasonable amount of luggage.  American cars feel like appliances to
me, they're generally larger than they need to be, and just don't
inspire that feeling of confidence in their longevity.

I DO like German cars.  They tend to handle excellently and most have
decent pickup.  They do cost more to purchase and maintain, and require
more frequent service/minor repairs.  But with proper maintenance you
can drive most of them damn near indefinitely.  However, I am a little
disappointed with the cars coming out of Germany over the past decade or
so - they seem to have fallen into the trap of "over-contenting" their
cars with lots of electronic doodads that will undoubtedly be a
nightmare to troubleshoot and repair when they eventually go bad.

I don't own Japanese cars but I can understand why people buy them.
They generally have a better reputation for durability than American
cars, but unlike German cars that you can keep as long as you want,
there comes a point, 10 years down the road or so, at which the car just
isn't worth fixing anymore.  I think that this is probably because of
the restrictive inspection laws in JApan that mean that pretty much
nobody keeps a car longer than that anyway - so who cares if it self
destructs at that point?  That said, they will probably be good,
reliable transportation up until that point.  Their dealerships
generally have the best reputation of all for taking care of in-warranty
problems promptly and without hassle.  Hyundai I'd lump in with the
Japanese - they seem to be making good quality, inexpensive cars these
days.  Mitsubishi is an exception.  You couldn't pay me enough to drive
a Mitsu after all the horror stories I've heard.  The Japanese have
ALWAYS had the same "over-contenting" I was complaining about re: the
Germans above - they originated the concept.

I wouldn't worry about exhaust replacements anymore.  PRetty much any
decent car should come with a stainless steel exhaust these days, but
check to make sure before you buy.

Now the above is a GROSS generalization and please don't base any car
purchasing decision on the above alone, let us know what you're looking for.

nate

From my limited point of view it looks like the domestic manufacturers
have taken note of the higher prices on foreign parts and marked their
stuff up accordingly.

Personally I have always been a big "buy American" person.  I will
even go so far as buying a product that might not be quite as good if
it means supporting Americans because I need Americans to support me
but these days it is hard to tell...  That shiny new American Chevy is
probably made in Mexico while the Honda is made in the US.

My best advice is to look at the offerings of the big players and buy
the one you like best.  I would not buy anything from the smaller
names because I know so many people that have gotten burned by them
(Kia, Daewoo, Mitsubishi, Hyundai).

Who can tell?  You can buy a Ford made in Japan and a Toyota made in the
US?  Which one is foreign?  Which one is Domestic?

If you like buying second-hand cars, you have it much easier because you
can look for maintenance records both for that model and for the specific
car you buy.

Look for cars that have good maintenance histories.  If one model is very
well-known for breaking timing belts and exploding, don't buy it.  And then,
when you BUY a car, make sure it comes with a log saying that preventative
maintenance has been done properly on it.  If the original owner didn't keep
a log, how do you know it was maintained properly?
--scott

On 12/30/06 7:18 PM, in article
1167527930.357879.59650@v33g2000cwv.googlegroups.com, "jammie911@yahoo.com"

There are winners and losers both domestic and foreign.  You might consider
picking up the annual car issue of Consumer Reports.  The textual write-ups
about the cars are usually useless, but I have found their long term
maintenance ratings to be dead on with my personal experiences.  Pick
something that still looks good back through five or six years of experience
and you will probably be satisfied with it (at least maintenance-wise).

The Crown Victoria was considered one of Ford's most reliable vehicles,
I think it was chosen by police depts. mostly because Ford was one of
the few companies willing to build police cruisers.

I used to think that parts were cheaper and more available for domestic
brands, but then I bought a Ford Escort and learned otherwise.  For
example, an electrical connector for a temperature sensor was $30 at
the Ford dealer, but a nearly identical part was only $8 from Nissan.
And half the time I took the car in for warranty work, I had to make
two trips because the needed part wasn't in stock, sometimes at none fo
the dealers in the area.