I want a car that lasts for a long time, but at the same time I feel guilty for not purchasing an American car, what should I do?

I'm planning on purchasing my first car possibly sometime as early as this fall. My main priorities are a high functioning car that has good control and safety, as well as longevity. My mom has a van that is a Toyota, and that car is currently at 220,000+ miles and stills runs excellent with no malfunctions. It is not uncommon for Toyota's to go over 300,000+ miles in their lifetime, which is nothing short of incredible.

The problem is that Toyota and Honda and other cars that last for a very long time and are highly reliable cars is that they are not made in America. I was watching a youtube video of a classic car show and people were making fun of those who had Toyota Prius's calling them weenies for not having an American car.

The problem is a lot of American made cars just simply don't last anywhere near as long as a Toyota

I'm not sure what to do and would like some advice for choosing a car brand to choose from

The only thing you can do is cry and hope with a dozen years of professional therapy you can get over a stranger calling you a weenie.

Me? I pay no attention to them.

Why do you?

Many non-American cars are now made in the US, and so provide jobs for Americans. There's a Nissan plant in Tennessee, for example. Toyota has 15 factories in the US- in Alabama and Kentucky, for example. People who think those cars aren't made in the US are just ignorant.

First of all, if people buy American cars out of patriotism, American car companies have no incentive to improve their product. So you're not really doing them a favor.

Secondly, there really is no such thing as an 'American' car anymore. Every car made in the US is made by a joint venture between a US company and a Japanese company. Ford and Mazda, GM and Toyota, Chrysler and… Well it used to be Mitsubishi but now it's FIAT! We developed the science of reliability and quality control, and we taught it to the Japanese after WWII. The WE didn't do it, THEY did, and they ate our lunch. Then we had to have them come here and show us what we showed them. US cars have gotten better in the last couple of decades, but they wouldn't have if not for the competition from Honda and Toyota.

Back in the 1980s, Ford spent hundreds of millions of dollars on a study to see why it was that Americans preferred Japanese cars. I could have told them much less. They learned It was because Japanese cars lasted longer and had less trouble. Then Ford decided to spend a BILLION dollars, over a few years, not so much to improve their quality as to improve the customer's perception of their quality. Their motto was 'At Ford, Quality is Job One'. If you're old enough to remember this campaign, their spokesman was Bill Cosby!

The fact is, many Toyotas ARE made in the US. Some are made in the same factories that make Chevys. And many 'American' cars are made in Mexico. (Nothing against Mexico, but it's kind of dishonest to call them 'American' cars.)

Toyotas and Hondas are mostly assembled in America, so when you are buying one new, rest assured you are helping to pay the wages of Americans factory workers. Also, much of their car parts are manufactured here in America too. Their brand is Japanese, and the company is headed by a Japanese, but they are publicly traded companies around the world so the company owners are from every country, including USA.
Also, The Chinese love Buicks so their purchasing of GM car will offset you buying a Japanese instead of an American car.

Statistically, American cars are less reliable *because* the average American car driver abuses the vehicle and ignores maintenance. If YOU keep up with scheduled maintenance any American car will be just as reliable as any Japanese car.

I have news for you. Hondas and Toyotas are made in America. American cars aren't all made in America anymore. You don't get patriotism points for buying an American brand. Buy what you want.

The Camry is among the most "made in Americe" cars if not the most when considering materials, parts and labor content and final assembly. Ford and Chevy are both cutting US Jobs and eliminating many if not all cars from their product lineup. I've driven Accords and Passats and with the exception of my 95 Passat, they were all made in the USA. It's easy to have a misguided sense of which cars are "American", so you should look at each vehicle you like and make a determination on it and buy the car you like. By the way, some Buicks are made in Germany and some are made in China. Personally, I think the Accord is probably the best car you can buy overall in MANY respects!

Don't let idiots on YouTube influence your ability to make smart decisions about buying your car. Buying an American brand, that may or may not be made in the US, simply because you want to feel patriotic is being short-sighted. If American brands had always had the best quality, best reliability, best styling, best fuel economy, and best value over the years, the foreign car companies wouldn't have been able to sell cars here.

Get a model T, it's already old. And will last a lot longer.

My best cars, Korean cars.