Re Tesla: I have a buddy who is a bit of a "tree hugger" who was talking about buying one a couple of years ago. I gave him a bit of hell about it - I was asking him why he'd want to pay so much money for a car he'd have to "plug into the wall overnight" just to drive a few miles across town and back, etc. I think today's electric car is what "Jap rice burners" were to many people here 30 years ago.
Asian car manufacturers assemble their cars faster than their European counter-parts. It does not mean their work is low-quality. It is just that they work faster.
http://www.businessinsider.com/why-tesla-always-overpromises-and-underdelivers-2015-10 Tesla over promises and under delivers, per a story in Business Insider, on the production and sales numbers. The Model S I followed the other day attracted my attention, but it is too pricey for me. Maybe I can afford the extension cord...
While I agree that fast work is not always poor quality, I think sometimes it can mean exactly that. The more cars they can build, the more profit they will make, especially if they're aiming their vehicles at the budget end of the market as if people are willing to pay so little for a vehicle, they're not going to complain to much if it starts to fall apart after a couple of years. They can just trade it in for another budget one. There's plenty around because of the speed they are being produced.
Japanese were always able to produce higher quality cars cheaper and faster than us because they didn't have to deal with overpaying labor and the unions, and the culture and attitude of the Japanese worker is much different from the typical US worker.
While Asian made cars may roll of the assembly lines faster I agree that it does not mean their work is low-quality stuff. I mean as said a few posts up some Japanese cars are well know for their reliability, but it's other stuff that sort of worries me, stuff like Hyundai and the likes. Hyundai's older stuff was pretty good but I have heard around from people who own current gen ones saying they are piles of garbage. They are cheap though so you get what you pay for I suppose.
Where do you live? Mitsubishi has been hurting a lot and I thought they might go under soon? I fancy their bi-turbo 300 hp 2 liter screamers, but can't afford those. Used car prices in Thailand are obscene. Often 10 x higher than in say California. At least for a Porsche 911. As a biker, I weep when I see the prices for big hogs etc. The 883 is costing a lot more than $ 22,000! Might as well say nearly $ 30 k. But there are domestic made bikes like Kawasaki's Er-6 for about $ 8,500. The Honda CBR 300 is < $ 5,000 but not my cup of tea. My wife's Honda City was about $ 22,000 last year with metallic paint, rear camera and a small petrol engine with automatic transmission. My next car will likely be a Porsche as the Boxster convertibles are very cheap in the UK. For motorcycles, I fancy the British made Triumphs (pretty good quality) and Honda's VFR 800 built 2000-2002 with the specs I like.
Oops, I'd like to clarify: an old Porsche 911, one sees for < $ 15,000 while in Thailand we are talking > $ 150,000 for it.
Foreign brands do tend to be a lot cheaper. American made are way too expensive and not as trustworthy! Lots of dangerous recalls.
There is so much crossover with parts, factories and vehicles these days, that I really don't think that buying American cars are the same as they were before. That being said, i have owned both, and have found quality cars, and inferior cars with both foreign and domestic car products.
