American cars surpass foreign rivals

Jul 02, 2010

By: Oakland Press staff

By JOE SZCZESNY
Of The Oakland Press

One of the constant refrains I’ve heard over the years from people connected to the domestic auto industry is they don’t understand why people across the U.S. have opted for “foreign” cars time and time again.
To them it’s obviously un-American and unpatriotic.
For more than 25 years or so, however, the buyers of models with the foreign nameplates could plausibly argue that that foreign cars were better than those built by General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. or Chrysler Group LLC.
I think the “foreign is better” argument was way overstated by a lot of the news media.
Not every car coming out of Europe and Asia was perfect and not every car made by the domestic manufacturers was a dud. In fact, I would argue American carmakers were way more creative — having invented forms such as the minivan, sport-utility vehicle and the basic crossover.
But the notion of foreign car superiority has persisted, fed by reputable surveys by Consumer Reports and J.D. Power & Associates.
The “Buy-American” campaigns, sponsored by unions such as the United Auto Workers in a bid to protect jobs, certainly had an economic logic to them, especially in a world where foreign automakers in Asia and Europe routinely benefited from support from their own governments.
The campaigns had a blunt, old-fashioned appeal, emphasizing a support for neighbors and community.
However, the logic and and old-fashioned appeal were easily trumped by another very appealing argument — the idea that as Americans we can buy whatever we want.
“Do what we want, buy what we want” is supported by the hippie movement, libertarians and followers of Ayn Rand — groups who also draw inspiration from deep-seated American myths about cowboys and frontiersman. In the face of such thinking, which had a substantial, though often underrated, appeal to the baby boomers who have shaped American culture in the past 40 years, the “Buy-American” campaigns really never had much of a chance outside of Michigan and Ohio. Self-interest, in its narrowest terms, is a powerful tool.
Employee discounts, which were extended to relatives, did help the “Buy-American” campaign around Detroit, because the discounts rested on some basic self-interest.
But while the self-interest and self-gratification emphasized by Rand and the hippies of the 1960s and 1970s are still very much with us, nothing lasts forever and change is inevitable.
Thus, after 25 years of trailing behind Asian brands, American carmakers have finally caught and surpassed their overseas rivals in initial quality and overall dependability.
For example, for the first time this year, the Ford brand has the highest initial quality among all non-luxury brands in J.D. Power and Associates’ 2010 Initial Quality Study, putting it ahead of Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Hyundai. Only luxury brands such as Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and Lexus finished ahead of Ford’s Blue Oval.
The Ford brand has now posted nine consecutive years of gains in the closely watched quality study, based on consumer evaluations after the first three months of new-vehicle ownership.
Some of Ford’s most popular nameplates — Focus, Taurus and Mustang — also earned top honors in their segments.
GM’s quality also has improved substantially in the past five years while the company has been under siege and equals that of its Asian rivals. Meanwhile, the top Asian brand, Toyota, has slipped and Chrysler’s new vehicles, such as the Ram and new Grand Cherokee, are as good or better than rival vehicles built by Asian or European carmakers.
Customers do pay attention and the notion of “Buy American” can once again appeal not only to potential customers’ patriotism but also their self interest.

Contact Joseph Szczesny at 248-745-4650 or joe.szczesny@oakpress.com.

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