I conclude I will never again be able to act on that dream. Last new car I bought was a 1978 Ford Fiesta, purchased in Florence, Colorado, where I had just accepted the position of Plant Engineer at Flintkote Co., maker of gypsum wallboard (drywall). I bought it at the urging of my Mother, who lived with me there, my having been divorced the previous year, in Las Vegas, where my ex remained. How nice it would be to settle in to the seat of a brand-new, brand-new smelling, brand-new running, car it would be now. Won't happen. CAN'T happen. The tides of Federal Reserve control of money, interest rates, the destruction of the American Middle Class, have reigned supreme. Today, most are rich or poor, no middle ground. this is called the "concentration of wealth". No wealth in my world...... Sure. Buy on time-pay. Can you believe the gullible public looking at new cars mostly asks how much the monthly payment is? Couldn't care less about the actual selling price. Frank
There are no more Automobile Factories in America. There are only "Assembly Plants", where so-called American Cars are assembled from parts made in other countries. Hal
After Henry Ford pioneered the one-piece casting of a mass-produced V-8 engine block, the previous method of fastening the two banks together became history. He offered a good-running, reliable V-8 engine first time in 1933, those cars selling new for around $500. No other engine type was available in his car, which could keep up with the luxury line of cars also having similar-sized V-8 engines, such as Cadillac. Some preferred a "Straight-8" engine, and clung to making them for at least 20more years, but the straight-8 was doomed. My Dad bought a brand new Ford with the V-8 in 1935 for $604. The car got us through WW-II, no idea how many miles were on it when he gave it to my married sister in 1948. I recall no significant big problems with that car as I grew up, except that the fuel gauge had quit working, and instead of having it repaired, the Old Man opted to use a unique means of checking fuel quantity in the tank: he removed the fill-cap, placed a foot on the rear bumper and shook the vehicle up and down, listening to the "slosh" in the tank. He was remarkably accurate, as I only remember us running out of gas one time! His chief complaint about the car was that it had mechanical brakes, instead of hydraulic. Frank
I've only bought three brand new cars in my life. The last one was a 2002 Ford Explorer we bought in August 2001. We still have it but I'm looking to trade it for a 2007 Ford Expedition. I have no need or desire to spend the money or get a loan for a new car anymore. The one I'm looking at I will trade our Explorer and pay cash for the difference.
What's really crazy is that the cost of a new car is often just a few dollars more than a used one (just a few years old and pretty low mileage) now days.
The only new cars that I have had were a 1980 Datsun-Nissan pickup truck, a 1991 Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck, and a 2002 Chrysler PT-Cruiser, and I can't say that I was unhappy with any of them.
I bought one of those new (1980 1/2 to be precise). My experience was quite disappointing. Aluminum heads being the problem.
I drove mine for about ten years, put a lot of miles on it, and it was still running fine when I sold it.
@Ken Anderson Lasted about 4 years. I could overlook the outsides of the truck bed blistering and starting to rust (chalk it up to tariff avoidance), but the engine wouldn't hold up. Once in the first year during warranty and finally about 3 years later. Of course, considering my employment, it wasn't very fashionable to own an import at the beginning and less so by the end (tires keep failing). Bought an olds cutlass, which lasted about 2 years, before needing extensive valve work.
@Harry Havens, I had mine in Southern California and South Texas, so I didn't have a problem with rusting. While it was still very new, and under warranty, I drove from California to Michigan and back, and it stalled on me in the mountains. That turned out to be something to do with some adjustment for high altitudes, and it never happened again. I can't remember just what the problem was but it was an easy fix. I don't recall ever having another problem with it. My main dispute was that this was going to be my first new car, yet they didn't have the color that I wanted, and I would have had to wait four months for a standard transmission. Before buying the Datsun-Nissan, I had an older Datsun pickup truck and wanted a new one in the same color as my old one, but they didn't use that color anymore. They still made them with standard transmissions but the dealership didn't have any in stock, and told me it would take four months for them to get one in. I checked with another Nissan dealership and they didn't have any in stock either. So I ended up with a car that wasn't the color I wanted, and with an automatic transmission.
In January, 2012, I paid cash for a new 2012 Mazda3. Now, 6-1/2 years later, it has amassed 22,000 miles. It is one of the most trouble-free cars of the 27 that I've owned since 1952. The most trouble-free cars I've owned were a 1978 Toyota, a 1991 Honda, a 2005 Mazda, a 2008 Toyota, and my present 2012 Mazda...all Japanese! The other 22 were America made. Hal
I bought a Chevy Cruze new in July of 2012. I have almost 27,000 miles on it. Have had no problems whatsoever so far and it gets good gas mileage.
Well my SIL is about to live the good old American dream of a brand new car...except it will be a truck. It will either be a Toyota or Ford. They went to the Auto Show a couple of days ago and narrowed it down to those two which you can get with 4 doors and a separate controlled air conditioner for the back seat. With the new baby boy they are adding to their family in October they need a truck with the room in the back seat for 3 little ones in their car seats and they found only the Toyota and Ford fit the criteria for things they need. His old truck is 12 years old and has been in the shop way to often lately...so it's got to go. They will pay off my daughter's van so they will still just have one vehicle note. And with a good down payment I'm sure they will not feel the strain to much of getting to have that American dream come true.