What's the best American car brand?

[AviatorTom]

This is the fourth in a series on auto makers in the world.

The United States of America is known for many things, including the manufacture of automobiles.

The poll lists the major American auto-makers, in alphabetical order.

Which do you think is the best American auto-maker?

Note: General Motors' major brands are listed separately, while Ford/Lincoln are listed together.

Note: This question is for internal combustion engine brands. There is a separate question for electric vehicles (EVs) ...

What is the best EV-only car maker?

BUICK

CADILLAC

CHEVROLET

CHRYSLER

DODGE

FORD / LINCOLN

JEEP

Updates

17 d

Kinda surprised... A company whose name is often called Fix Or Repair Daily is the overwhelming favorite.

[OneViewpoint]

• Stellantis - Chrysler, Dodge, Ram, and Jeep are all straight up disasters. Total trash.
• Ford / Lincoln - Are mediocre like Ford products have always been.
• Tesla - has all kinds of baggage from initial price, to repair costs and parts/service availability to the politics of the asshole who runs it
• GM - Buick, GMC, Chevy, and Cadillac are no longer horrible and the best US brands have to offer, but not really competitive with Japanese brands.

German car brands are all expensive to buy and maintain. Mercedes, Audi, BMW, and VW. Their reliability sucks. And they have no advantage in performance or durability when compared to Asian brands. I wouldn't touch another German car with a 10 foot pole. There's a reason the "never own a German car out of warranty" expression exists. They are lease cars. Period. Porsche still makes a great car but the price and the fact you can't really take them anywhere makes them a "no go" for me.

The class act in brands sold in the US are...

• Toyota / Lexus
• Honda / Acura
• Mazda
• Nissan
• Subaru

The value / low cost but decent brands are...

• Hyundai
• Kia

Volvo and Land Rover are irrelevant and have pretty much priced themselves out of the US market. Volvo quality has slipped significantly while Land Rover quality has always been a joke.

[Likes2drive]

I totally agree with everything you just stated, that’s like the best review for someone that knows nothing about cars should read before buying one

[CindyRuns]

Adding to the above --

A majority of Toyota's and Honda's and a lot of the Hyndai's and Kias are made in the USA.

Next time you're bored and in a parking lot, check the VIN number on the car... visible on the dashboard on the driver's side. If the first character is a number, it's made in North America.
Letters are used for cars made elsewhere

[OneViewpoint]

@CindyRuns ,

Nissan, Subaru, and Mazda also all produce vehicles in the US. US production isn't the problem. US design capability and supply chain management is a huge problem.

[Kingofkings1992]

Yeah, no. That’s just dead wrong. No advantage in performance or durability? I have a VW, and their dependability is unmatched. They can easily go years without ever needing to be serviced, aside from stuff like tire rotation and oil changes, obviously. VW has more cars on the road with over 100k miles than any other brand. @OneViewpoint you obviously don’t know dick about cars

[OneViewpoint]

@Kingofkings1992 ,

Sorry you're so butthurt and defensive over buying a German shitbox. But the fact is all German brands other than Porsche suck. And Porsche should be excellent with average prices above $125,000.

Reliability ratings for Volkswagen vary between sources. Repair Pal gives the brand a 3.5 out of 5.0 reliability rating, ranking it 12th out of 32 car brands, which is considered above average. However, J. D. Power and Consumer Reports typically rank VW much lower, often below Japanese competitors like Toyota and Honda.

Now combine that below average reliability with ridiculous repair and maintenance costs and VW sucks. Yay, yours hasn't crapped out. And you think 100,000 miles is some sort of achievement? Big deal. Japanese engines routinely last 200,000 to 250,000 miles.

Average VW depreciation in the first 5 years is 50 - 54%.

Toyota is 35%
Honda is 28-32%

Mercedes is 50-60%
Audi is 50-58%
BMW is is 50 - 62%

Guess why German cars lose value over time like a brick tossed from a plane loses altitude? They are nightmares outside of warranty. That's not my opinion. That's the market judging their products.

But hey fanboi, you keep waving the flag for German engineering. Their marketing department loves fools like you.

[Kingofkings1992]

@OneViewpoint repair costs for VW are about average. I have no clue where you’re getting this idea that they’re so expensive. Again, putting on full display that you have no clue what you’re talking about. I’m not butt hurt, I am simply correcting your mistake. But hey, keep flapping that dick sucker. I’m enjoying you making a total fool of yourself. Kind of similar to the time when you called an atheist “Jesus boy.” Do you make yourself look stupid for a living, or is it just a side gig?

[dislikesmath]

Ford this was a 1989 car we had was a factory supercharged v6 with probably more options than a Camaro of the same year. In 9 years all we did was replace brakes, sparks plugs once, water pump once. I can't say the same about the newer Ford's. We had Chevrolets newer more boring to drive with more issues.

[dislikesmath]

Thank you for the xp

[purplepoppy]

It's rare to see any of them apart from Ford on British roads and usually its a new driver or granny in a Ford fiesta. Ford used to be the most popular brand but sales have nose dived by a quarter last year. If you see any of the other makes them there's probably a car show happening nearby.

[AngryCarl2]

I don't think the Ford Fiesta is made in America.

[exitseven]

GB puts tariffs om American cars. thats why you hardly see thm.

[mysteriousNicholas]

@purplepoppy there definitely seems to be something deep about the appeal of the blue oval 💙🔵

[mysteriousNicholas]

@purplepoppy or was. Or was... 😢

[exitseven]

Ford F- series trucks are about 90% made in the USA. The other SUVs are mostly made here as well.

[RandomGirl42]

My 98 Jeep Cherokee is held together with duct tape, chicken wire and hope but she's still runnin'! 😊

[exitseven]

the really know how to build them back in the day.

[RandomGirl42]

And TY for another MHO. I feel so special. 😊

[Friendlybro79]

Not really a fan of anything American anymore as most of them aren't built here and have a ton of quality issues. I used to rent a lot of cars for work over the past ten years and their quality is way lower than Japanese brands. It was amazing to me how many new Chrysler products i rented literally didn't start or have transmission issues with under 20k on them.

Of all of them I prob like Ford and Lincoln the most. They drove nicely but everything felt cheap to me. The Expedition was nice but didn't feel like it was worth the MSRP.

[strateguy632]

Dodge, i agree with update! And the users xaw and iron here. You left out the popular gm pontiac, but only 7 poll options. But pontiac has that joke we can't write online. Remember? The initials of pontiac? When comedy was less shackled.

[AviatorTom]

@strateguy632 Pontiac was a good car. It wasn't included for two reasons: GaG only allows 7 items in a poll, and Pontiac cars are no longer manufactured. GM shut it down in 2010 during GM's Chapter 11 reorganization.

[nolabels]

I've been a Chevy guy all my life, especially liking '60s Impalas and '60s to '70s Chevelles.
The '56 Bel-Air is my favorite of the '55-'57 series.
I like other GM products, too.
Pontiac GTO and Caddy Coupe de Ville, back in the '60s are cool.

Ford and Dodge/Chrysler have had some outstanding models over the years.

I've never been a Jeep fan.

[mysteriousNicholas]

Ford seemingly 👀 with my bias, seemed to carry itself alone 💙 🔵 and successfully.

Where as, while no disrespect to GM and all the other brands, for some reason when I look at the two, Ford seemed to always chart its own path and on its own. It seemingly, to me, didn't need to be anything other than just itself and itself was enough to see it through 🤑 💰

[mysteriousNicholas]

I guess it's like comparing a giant to a gnome

[CindyRuns]

I'm going to say Toyota -- they majority of their cars sold in the US are made in the US.

My Camry was made in Kentucky as was my husband's RAV4 !!!

[exitseven]

I have been a Gm guy since the 80s but my wife had a Ford Country squire and a /mercury mariner and they have been very dependable over the years. I just got a Ford F-150 6 years ago and it has been great

[OlderAndWiser]

I have owned two Ford Explorers, two Mercury Grand Marquis, and a Lincoln Town Car. All of them were dependable and a good value for the money, especially my 2023 Ford Explorer Limited.

[exitseven]

My daughter looked at an Explorer and she didn't like it, She bough a Hyundai that has that gimmick where you can park it by remote control. Its ridiculous.

[Shiprex]

Ford is the only one I've experienced and both were firsts. First diesel in a Ford Escort 1.9TDi the other was a first sub 1000cc Fiesta the fuel economy being like that of an APC.

[Jersey2]

Tesla. It’s mostly made in the USA, more than an other American car. It’s safe. It’s high tech. It literally drives itself. It is reasonably priced as a standard 3 Class would have cost under $30k earlier this year with government rebates but is still just high $30ks.

My last 5 cars have been Mercedes and BMW. My latest is a Tesla.

[msc545]

It used to be Chevy probably but there are no good American cars now. You would be better off with your bicycle if that is your only choice.

[Iron_Man]

57. Chevrolet is pretty good.

[msc545]

@Iron_Man Yes, it is - and in 1957 it was a great car - too bad Chevy no longer makes them.

[Iron_Man]

My brother had a blue one 1957 Chevy Chevelle

[msc545]

@Iron_Man too bad he didn't keep it. It had to have been a really great car.

[Iron_Man]

Yes, but his friend totaled it he had to sell it for parts

[lightbulb27]

Agree, buy a Trek Domane + and pay the electric bill to keep it going.

[exitseven]

My wife has a 2018 Ford Escape. i am not a fan of 4 cylinder cars but it is surprisingly quick and rides like a much bigger car. We have had it to 7 years already and except for oil changes and a new battery it had a bad brake caliper once and that is the only problem. The seats are comfortable nd there is plenty of legroom.

[msc545]

A sample of one car is not definitive in regard to this issue.

[msc545]

@Iron_Man I'm very sorry to hear that. It seems like the good ones always meet an early death.

[blackeagle007]

Ford has come a long way. I have a Nissan now but I had a 2010 focus for 11 years and it’s great. Engine and transmission never crapped out

[slatyb]

You know that a lot of Japanese automakers have factories in the US? So does BMW. Those are the best.

[DryGermanGuy]

I voted Cadillac, because I actually like the CTS/CTS Coupé. But it's probably Ford.

[Xawyx-2]

It's Dodge of course :P

[Xawyx-2]

Ford has the most votes? No wonder, it's one of the oldest car brands in the world.

[Staximus]

I'm going with general motors (Chevy, Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Cadillac) from the 30's to the early 2000's. After that I would only buy a Japanese car.

[KostasKouvalis]

WTF? Jeep is a BRAND? I thought it was a type like "truck" or "hummer"

[DryGermanGuy]

Colloquially, yes. But it's also a brand.

[Kingofkings1992]

None of the above. American cars suck. The Japanese and the Germans make the best cars

[Likes2drive]

Probably Ford

[mysteriousNicholas]

@Likes2drive it is surreal to see it riding high in the poll results. Nowadays I wouldn't probably buy a Ford, not since they closed here many years ago locally here. However, it's one of those brands that just seems to tug emotionally and you know, I've always liked how Ford was always Ford. And nobody else, it was just Ford. The only downside ever to GM, was GM became an umbrella ☔🏖️

[mysteriousNicholas]

@AviatorTom and amazingly, GM the umbrella never got to buy out Ford - or so far 🔵🤭 @Likes2drive so the emotional tug lives on 💙 even though I'd happily buy a car based on cost and quality and like not a Ford, tomorrow - like a Mazda built from Thailand, or even a MG built in China

[mysteriousNicholas]

@Likes2drive it's still surreal that Ford remains to this day the only puzzle piece or chess piece that even the mighty GM hasn't taken under its ownership 👀 @purplepoppy @AviatorTom personally I'm amazed and impressed Ford keeps managing to remain "independent of GM" or *becoming owned by GM* duh duh duh flashes of lightning drums 😮 🌩️⚡ 🥁 and chuckles 🤭🤭👀

[mysteriousNicholas]

So Ford keeps managing to carry on 💙🫡 bless 'em.

[Likes2drive]

@mysteriousNicholas I’ve had pretty good experiences with the old ones like 1996 and 2003 years as an suv but newer ones probably have more problems with the more electronics they put in an extra things we don’t need

[Likes2drive]

I drive a Toyota now so I don’t have to deal with problems and reliability anymore and it’s much better on fuel

[Sal_Monella]

Ford panther chassis.

[Sal_Monella]

The Crown Vic and Towncar are two of the best cars in recent memory. The police interceptors last almost forever.

[Keyboardkat]

Matchbox!

[Iron_Man]

Dodge Ram 👍

[emeraldsaphire]

Toyota!

[jamesgoldman]

Cadillac

[austinbooth]

GM or Jeep