Why I Drive a Japanese Car

I drive a Japanese car. It is my seventh Japanese car … in a row. My Japanese car is made in the US. I choose Japanese because it is reliable, holds its value and has staying power in styling as well as in the quality of the material used. The mileage is good and it drives well. It is both comfortable and gutsy – I like to feel the road when I drive.

The last time I was changing cars I thought I’d try American again, particularly the Ford Thunderbird. At one time it was a good car, stylish, sexy and sporty. Heads turned when a Thunderbird roared down the highways and the byways of the country. That was in the fifties. Years took its toll on this classic. It grew large and cumbersome and just plain old ugly. But hey, it was just keeping up with the trends, the direction of Detroit.

The new one that I was interested in was reintroduced a few years back- it had that retro style of the original machine and it came in colors of not just black and white, but a scorching red and a vibrant yellow. I drove into the Ford lot, parked my Prelude and walked into the showroom to take this babe for a spin around the block, down the freeway and some rough country back roads ... I did mention that I am driving my seventh Japanese car in a row.Right?

Why do I bring this up? Well yes all the controversy about the bailout of the US Auto industry may have something to do with it, or, it could be the letter that Jim Jackson of Elkinds Fordland of Michigan wrote to the editor of his local newspaper. That letter has now been published in many newspapers and has made more laps around the internet than all the cars at the Indy 500 throughout its history. Combined.

Mr. Jackson has some compelling arguments in favor of the American Auto Makers – most of his supporting data is based on the Ford Motor Company itself. Now it appears that Ford manufactures some pretty good cars --- they can be seen on the streets of Moscow where the price of one is on par with some its European competitors. But here is the thing, the Fords that the Russian billionaires, oh, ok, the millionaires - the billionaires drive Bentleys and exotics - yes, the Ford models that the Russians are driving are not seen here. They happen to be stylish and evidently worth the coin. Are these manufactured in North America? Is the Ford Motor Company saving its best for the export market? Or are these marquee cars manufactured in one of Ford’s European plants? Pity they are not here.

Mr. Jackson also mentions a few of the American cars that outperform their Japanese counterparts and he decries the perception held by the American public that being that the Big Three build inferior cars. Maybe so but two or three cars outpacing the Honda and the Camry does not an industry make.

I remember a time when Japanese cars were scorned for their poor quality, their inferior styling, but the “rust buckets” were cheap and good for a second set of wheels for the family, for mom to run the kids around when needed and to pack home the groceries. For serious driving however, such as the commute to work or the family vacation, it was the American car that held pride of place. And then a funny thing began to happen – the rust buckets began to outlast the favorite model.

It did not happen overnight. What the Japanese did well was to try and improve the quality of their car with each and every new model, in small increments. They could not go up against the “Big Three” from the get go, but by one small improvement at a time, they became a dominant player in the quality automobile market.

With the exception of the Corvette, if GM and Chrysler make quality cars then we certainly don’t know about it. Even the Cadillac has been struggling and the Lincoln, good as it might be, fades in an out of the stream of consciousness. Some of that might just be perception and you know that saying about perception being reality. But I think the truth is that in the low to mid price range of the GM and Chrysler cars, the parts used are inferior, the headlights burn out more often, the standard tires wear out quicker, the breaks need to be replaced sooner and the accessories just look plain cheap. They don’t age well and they don't hold their value well either.

Oh, why did I not get the Thunderbird? It just did not drive well. it rattled, cornered poorly, and if there was a power house of horses underneath that hood, compared to my then lowly Prelude, they seemed slow to respond. What is more telling is that I remember the salesman asking which cars I was test driving --- when I told him (they were all foreign models except for the Thunderbird), his response was simple, he said that the “bird drives differently.” I did not know what he meant exactly but could not help sensing a reluctance of sort on his part as I turned the keys in the ignition and took the babe for a drive. Yup! She shore drove differently!