American Cars..

Boys and girls, it's time to stop being Lemmings. In the mid to late 70's when foreign cars started to get really good most of the people I tried to tell this, well, didn't listen. They still were bying Camaro's and Firebirds that 0-60 in 10 seconds and had lousy quality, instead of Toyota Celica's that got twice the gas mileage, were way more dependable and were just as quick.

Well, now we're on the other side. The Lemmings are buying foreign cars because everyone in the neighborhood is. And you know what - they're still good, but the American cars are damn good.

I will admit, I was aflicted. Between 1985 and 2007 I owned a Porsche 944, a 911, a Mercedes C, E and BMW X5 as well as one of the most awesome cars I ever owned, a Nissan Pathfinder. I had a hand me down Chevy Blazer for about 4 months, and a couple of Jeeps, all as station cars, but they were all old and not really relevant. The cars were good. The BMW, to be honest, was not as dependable as it should have been - it needed a steering rack, etc. The Pathfinder was damn near indestructable. At 150,000 I gave it to my ex-wife still running strong. I would change oil, tires and front brakes. Yes front brakes. At 150,000 the car still had it's original rear brakes. Oh, changed the plugs and belt at 100,000 miles. Not even the hoses. The car ran and ran and ran and, well, it's on it's way to 200,000. Well in the divorce, I got to keep the Harley and the wife got the Nissan. So I got a company car. 2008 Ford Fusion. I expected to go out and start shopping for something fun - Infinity G37. Corvette. Honda S2000. 350z. You know what - the damn car gets 23 mpg mixed, handles and goes well, is comfortable for 4 and will hold 5, has the awesome Sync sound system and looks damn good. 20,000 miles and not a problem. The interior, with a faux black wood strip along the bottom and contrasting grey and black, it so much nicer than most Camry's it's pathetic.

It's time for all you foreign car lovers to take a look at JD Power. The top two ranked mid-sized cars are the Ford Fusion and the Chevrolet Malibu, the new version of which is just as nice, if not nicer than the Fusion.