JoesC5

It did????? Well, I'll have you know that my 1998 C5 was only in the shop 14 times in the first 14,000 miles for warranty work. The first time at 380 miles and it was laid up for 10 days. Oh....wait... my bad...I don't know anything... quality has been great since 1980....forget that I posted.

Joe B.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

OnPoint

OP - how was your ownership experience with the Testarossa? I've always liked those, and affordable low mile examples can still be found.

The two manufacturers whose products I've had the best luck with are Honda and GM. Have enjoyed outstanding reliability from both of their products.

Won't ever buy another Chrysler, as apparently they can't make a transmission that survives past 60k miles.

b4i4getit

I have absolutely no brand loyalty. I buy what I like. I have had all 3 domestic brands as well as German and Japanese high end cars. And they have all had issues. I have learned one thing over the years. Its the dealership experience that can make or break your perception of a brand. I have had inexpensive cars that the dealers were fussy over dealer prep and did tremendous service often catching problems before they became serious. This is what a good dealer is supposed to do. I have also had expensive cars where the dealer prep amounted to little more than removing the window sticker and when it came to service it was a joke. My GM dealer treats me well. This is the main reason I would consider another GM product because I know he will go out of his way to keep me satisfied. The design and supposed high engineering of any product are secondary to me when a dealer has so much control over my satisfaction.

dmporter31

Brand loyality? From me, no.

3 Honda Accords, Toyota Camry, Toyota Corolla, Saab 900 turbo, Ford T-bird, VW GTI.

Upcoming C7 will be my first GM product. Looking forward to it. Hope they've ironed out all the first year gremlins by the time I get mine

themonk

I buy what I want and don't GAF who makes it.

petermj

Double posts? From you, yes

dmporter31

Ooooops. Double removed.

enzodude

Owned it for two years, Put maybe 5-6k miles on it in that time. Was a dream car compared to the 308 GTS. Great power and I loved the gated shifter. Motor made all the right sounds. Never had a single problem with it. Was black and beautifull! Bought it for 69k in 1996. Sold it for 72k. Was a grey market car so that did lower the value. Was a dream car that I loved owning.

OnPoint

A couple years ago I was tracking my modded Z and running in the track event that weekend was a guy with a TR. He couldn't keep up with my Z, but I have to say, the sound of that flat 12 may be the finest engine sound I've ever heard. I quite enjoyed listening to that TR working around the track. Good looking car, too.

Would be a neat car to own for a little while - good for you.

Jay_Davis

I love the "I bought a Voyager van and was bad" comments. Really? was is bad? Shouldn't have been a surprise since it was obvious at the time.

These companies are not one guy in a garage building a bunch of cars. They're huge companies which are not always (ie most of the time) so well coordinated. They all produce better cars and they all produce garbage. If you can't tell the difference then what car company you buy from doesn't really matter.

"I bought a Vega, a Chevette, and a Reliant. Since then I'll never buy an American car again." ..... I just have to laugh.

Aaron Keating

I have never -not- bought a GM.
Mostly because when my buddies buy outside of GM, they have really really bad luck. And I get to be the one that fixes it. (I'm 'the car guy' in my group of close friends) Dodge in particular has made some really fantastic examples of 3500+lb paper weights, through the 80s and 90s.

Now, there -are- cars that aren't GM that I enjoy having around. Hyundais are really freakin reliable, and I've had nothing but good luck out of Honda's motorcycles.
Toyotas I just can't get behind one and enjoy it, everytime I do it results in me cursing and swearing it's like driving an appliance pure and soul less.

JustinStrife

My grandfather fought in the Pacific Theater and shot down several zeros in combat. He also was in Korea though not as a pilot at that point. When he died in 1996, in his garage was a Bmw and a Datsun pickup. Was he not being loyal to his country?

goatts

Well there you go! How blessed we are to have an expert come on here and explain the mysteries of car manufacturing. Now listen boys and girls, you have your huge companies and they ain't so well coordinated. You have your better cars and garbage not one guy in a garage. That's all there is to it. Who would've guessed.

JoesC5

My step dad flew B-25's bombing Germany in WWII and retired from the Air Force as a B-52 pilot in the mid sixties. We had three enemies in WWII.

My step dad has owned cars from Italy, Germany and Japan since the war ended. I guess he wasn't a loyal American either.

JustinStrife

Wonder what they'd say if some union hack told them that they weren't loyal Americans because of the cars they drove, to their face?

JoesC5

Isn't that the truth. As a veteran myself, I get tired of hearing that crap.

Bill Dearborn

Not sure how you can say you are a GM guy and then list a whole bunch of other vehicles that you have owned. I have been a GM guy since I saw my first 55 Chevy. It took me several years before I was able to buy one while I was in college but have owned them ever since. Along the way we did get my wife an 81 VW Rabbit Diesel which got great gas mileage but blew its head gasket every two years. Had that car for 7 years. Only bad GM car we had was an 86 Olds Delta 88 that started having issues with its AC, crankshaft sensor and power steering but after I complained to GM they wrote me a check to cover the out of warranty costs and gave me a $1300 chit to apply toward the purchase of a new car which I did. Yes, I lost the engine in my C6Z due to a dropped valve but it was replaced under warranty and the only gripe I have about that is it took 6 weeks. That is the only time I have ever had any of my cars in the shop for more than 2 days. If they need a repair I take them in, the shop orders parts, I drive home and I take the car back once the parts get in. Little hard to do with a messed up head missing two valves in one cylinder and coolant dripping from the exhaust.

Currently have 3 GM vehicles an 03 Tahoe that I bought new and is the beater, an 08 Malibu that I bought new and is my wife's car and or trip car and the 08Z which is cruising along nicely with its new engine.

I have cross shopped Toyota's, BMWs and VWs but other than the BMWs couldn't find anything that even came close to what I was looking for in a car.

Bill

tuxnharley

I'm sure they were loyal Americans to whom we all owe a debt of gratitude, and were from a generation that was more patriotic and did more to support this Country than either yours or mine. That said, however, they subsequently (after that military service, thus differentiating between those two aspects of their lives) made a choice to send their well earned dollars to help support the national economy of those other countries. I do not believe that one's military service, no matter how exemplary, creates a "pass" for other subsequent actions.

To me, it's not about whether those countries were our former enemies in WWII ( that was a looooooooooong time ago folks, get over it!) or even if the cars are now assembled here in the USA. The issue is really very simple - where is the corporate headquarters located, where do the corporate profits go, and whose national economy do they support.

If you want to support Japan, Korea, Germany, Italy or wherever, that's your choice. I just don't believe it's a good choice - or a well considered patriotic one in the long run. Our economy, balance of trade, and national debt is literally growing evidence of that. Spend as you will, but at least be responsible for your share of the consequences.

PS - and no, never been a union member, was part of executive management, and a life long registered Republican!

ck9887

Brand loyalty? Nope. I owned a 99 C5 when I was 21 and after I sold it I bought a 2003 Lexus IS300. I swore I would never buy a GM product again after seeing first hand the difference in build quality between the two. Keep in mind the IS300 was the bargain Lexus and also had 120K miles on it when I bought it. The Lexus was still 10x more solid than my previous C5.

I since have owned another Corvette, a 2002 Z06. I figured I'd give the Vette another shot. It wasn't long before that was sold. I know the C6's are better but still not up to par. I have been in plenty of C6's and drove a brand new one across the country over a weeks time. Still not as refined like the competitors and still rattle more than they should.

My current car is a Lexus IS-F. The difference in quality and refinement is milestones ahead of the C6. However, I have been looking for a C6 Z but I will be sacrificing luxury, refinement, reliability and quality.

Point is, I love Vettes but I'm not loyal to them. There are too many other good products out there and the fact is GM is still behind many other manufactures in many aspects.