What is your favorite American Group ?

[Stefanel1]

Camaro yes : if you don't want to stay on the road Though, cheap for a quite nice looking..... but it drinks too much and it's not nice to drive.

[DBR96]

Chrysler's design department runs circles around Ford's and GM's. I think the merger with Daimler-Benz made sense because they couldn't afford to independently engineer a true world car as America's smallest automaker. I think a lot of the new Chrysler products that will be coming out in the next few years will be quantum leaps for them in terms of engineering and overall quality. I'm thinking of the Chrysler Crossfire, Chrysler Pacifica, Dodge Magnum, and Chrysler 300C. The interiors of these cars don't look as mundane or cheap as before, and they're all very handsomely-styled too.

[Stefanel1]

Agree with you, but the sells of Chrysler are quite bad today.

[genjy]

I like Ford not because of their "American" cars, but of their cars aboard in Europe and Australia. Overall, I think Ford has more high-performance, touring, and rally cars than both GM and Chrysler groups. Ford has a respectable racing heritage around the world.

[§©RÉWßã£]

Two words: Toyota Lexus

[Swoxy]

As a group, I'd say Ford because it includes Jaguar, Aston Martin and Range Rover - fine British makes which I love!

[Stefanel1]

What a pity, these fabulous makes should have remained British
Ford is all but smart and elegant British behaviour.

[Swoxy]

If they were not bought over they'd be cash strapped businesses producing outdated, unreliable cars. It is a well known fact that for several decades, Aston Martin actually made a loss on every car sold! And I know from experience that the pre-1994 (just before Ford bought them over) model Jaguars were full of electrical problems. The previous Range Rover, although magnificant, was also a terribly unreliable car with an endless list of problems. Although I would have hoped for these marques to remain in British hands, Ford has done wonders for them.

[FordsRule03]

Fords all the way but i love the challanger and im not a gm fan

[genjy]

Jaguars in the US have very little resale values because of decades of very poor reliability reputation. Not that you can just go out and buy an used Jaguar without hurting your wallet, but used Jaguars are usually very cheap compared to other used high-luxs like Mercedes and Lexus. I think Ford is really benefitting Jaguar (and Volvo) by sharing engineering and materials. In a few years, we will probably see Jaguar's resale values and reliability go up a notch.

[Vettribution]

GM has the Corvette... Cant stand the Fords. Chrysler wouldnt be worth a thing without Dodge.. The Viper/Ram have earned alot of respect in my eyes, but I'm 100% GM.

Also.. Take a look At Holden. Austraillian for Car.. Its sad that GM is taking the least of the lot and making it a production car <GTO/Monaro>.

GM seems to come up with plenty of designs, and concepts that could rock the car world. They DONT follow through, so even though I am 100% GM, they still dissappoint me. (The SS Silverado comes out as a LUXURY sports truck instead of the Lightning Killer that they have made 4!!! seperate concept versions of that easily could have killed the lightning. /V6's in SS Monte Carlo/Impalas (gasp)/ No more Camaro/Firebird???)

Guess I am just crossing my fingers, waitin for GM to show its real worth.

[jayman12_23]

gm owns!

[justacruiser]

Well, I live in an area that is high in Ag. economy. This means lots of farms. Lots of farms mean lots of trucks. I don't give damn how a company makes its performance cars, reliability is measured with a companys work vehicles. I work in a county department where we have all 3 Ford, Chevy and Dodge trucks. I have driven all 3 types and several different years of all three types, including ones that are new to less than 2 years old. I can tell you with all honesty that the Chevys are the best in power, and are pretty much the same as the Fords in reliability. But if I'm gonna get shitty gas mileage, I want some balls to back it up. Go with a Chevy.

[PWMAN]

Originally Posted by justacruiser

Well, I live in an area that is high in Ag. economy. This means lots of farms. Lots of farms mean lots of trucks. I don't give damn how a company makes its performance cars, reliability is measured with a companys work vehicles. I work in a county department where we have all 3 Ford, Chevy and Dodge trucks. I have driven all 3 types and several different years of all three types, including ones that are new to less than 2 years old. I can tell you with all honesty that the Chevys are the best in power, and are pretty much the same as the Fords in reliability. But if I'm gonna get shitty gas mileage, I want some balls to back it up. Go with a Chevy.

You are not being specific enough. Did you drive half ton trucks? Or more Heavy duty? Auto or manuals? and what engines were in each of these? Each manufacturer has several different engine options. Ford's 5.4L is a piece of crap, Dodge's 5.2L is too. But ford's V10 is sweet, and dodges 5.9L is very powerful. Chevy is in the middle IMO, Dodge being first, ford you have to get the V10 or Diesel to get power. Chevy trucks are too much like cars, they sit too low and you don't even know if they are 4wd or not.
As for Diesels, the duramax is a piece of crap. Aluminum heads on a diesel??? Who the hell thought of that brilliant idea? Plus it has the least power now. Take in mind that I am comparing manual trannies now, because dodge's autos just plain suck. But the 6 speed(which my brother has) is very sweet. I like that dodge stuck with the cummins, and the straight 6 instead of the V8. It creates massive torque. All my brother has done to his is a 4'' turbo back exhaust, and the EZ power chip. He works at Cleveland bros on rigs, and they have a dyno there. 690 foot pounds to the rear wheels! With a 5.9L! Ford's powerstroke is OK, but the straight 6 is where the torque is at.

[justacruiser]

Well, lets see here, these are work trucks, not Heavy Duties. They are all 1/2 tons, most older ones are short beds, but some are long beds like the new ones all are, of all 3 types. When it comes to Heavy duties, in the diesel department the Dodge gets the cake, it makes just a little less torque than the Ford Powerstroke, but at a much lower RPM, which is better for hauling. The Duramax is a piece of shiite, whoever decided to go with the aluminum heads needs to be kicked in the face. Repeatedly until dead, preferably. Now, as to the other aspects of the trucks, Heavy Duty or not, Dodges have some major issues with power steering, or at least their 2001 series do, we've had 5 trucks go down in flames, (not literally...yet), with a power steering pump going out. You ever tried to steer one of those lumps of shit with no power steering? Damn that's an arm workout. 3 had transmissions go out, one of them had the transmission go out in the same week that the power steering pump blew up. Now, keep in mind that the newer vehicles are driven much nicer than the older ones and the dodges still ate a turd. Also keep in mind that these are the first set of dodges that this department has purchased since the set of 1989 ones they had originally. The last one of those finally gave up the ghost last year, when it's transmission blew up, again, stranding my happy ass on the middle of a bridge. The Fords now, well, they've sort of solved the tranny problems they used to have, although it still feels like an "I can't believe its not butter" comment comin on when they shift. They always feel like they're slipping. Other than that and the all persistant Ford power steering whine that comes standard with Fords, nothin much to say bad about Fords. You might get something once in awhile, like Kevin, a guy I worked with, getting a 2002 F150 that had a loveable tendency to shift from overdrive...to 2nd gear... on the freeway doing high speeds. Very nice indeed. But thats really the only complaint I have with them. Now, with the Fords we have a set of 91s, 96s and 2002s. They are all very reliable, but slower than paint drying and get some seriously shitty gas mileage. The Chevys we have are 1 (now dead and gone) 91 that of course, I, got stuck with, some 95s and a couple of 2003s. I'm not afraid to admit Chevy's failings in the past. That 91 was THE, no ifs ands or buts, THE biggest pile of absolute dogshit I've ever driven. It was gutless, got bad gas mileage, broke down constantly, had cooling problems, was uglier than sin on the inside, cheaply built... the list goes on and on... Anyways, on to the 95. The 95s have the 350, pre Vortech, (so they were built early on and the county must have gotten a deal on them) and other than the 2003 Chevys, is the most powerful set of trucks we have. That includes the new F150s and RAM 1500 MAGNUM V8s we have. The Chevys haul ass, it's no wonder I see guys with dropped ones that mod the hell out of them. The only problem we've ever had with those Chevys is that the damn windows would come off track sometimes, it's happened twice in the last 2 years on two different trucks. Other than that, no powertrain problems, the most solid feeling to drive, the most powerful...etc. of the old ones. The NEW 2003 Chevys are the ones to talk about. They've all got a 4.8 litre, which is the smallest V8 Chevy offers and is much smaller than the Dodge V8s, yet by far haul the most ass and the most stuff of all the trucks I've driven there and get the best gas mileage to boot. They ride better than the dodges, a bit stiffer than the Fords and look better interior wise to me. Now, the NEW (as in 2003s, these are 2001-2s) dodges look pretty nice on the interior too, but the Chevy is where its at between Dodge and Chevy. We don't have the new F150s yet but I have gone to the dealerships and looked at them. They have awesome interiors, nuff said. As for your comment on the Bigger gas engines, Chevy 8.1L V8 is only an $800 extra option from the 6.0 and gives 330 HP and 450 torque. Fords V10 gives 310HP and 425 torque for $200 cheaper. Dodges V10 gives 305HP and 440 torque, I can't get the damn price though, Dodges site is not letting me build a Ram... Anyways, you get the picture. The only thing Dodge or Ford beat Chevy in the power department with is the diesel, maybe the HEMI, I couldn't get Dodges site to let me price the HEMI option. Oh well. So there you have it, I'll take a Chevy, they've more than proven their worth, the 95s are a bit older so they get the shit derbied out of them all the time, but still run hard. The Dodges get treated nicely and basically drive on roads all the time, but still take giant shits. You know what the deal is when you take a Chevy with a tranny problem to the garage, (my fault, YOU shove a branch through your transmission... and then drive 40 miles home with it), and the guys at the shop at first go, "Its a Chevy? A 95? What did you do to it, we hardly have any problems with those." I've made my choice. Oh yeah, one more little story, the farmers have some Heavy Duties they roll around with. A guy I work with named Dustin got his Jeep Cherokee, (they are actually pretty well built Chryslers), stuck up to the frame in silt sand. The garage sent a towtruck, a flatbed 3-ton tow truck, you know how big they are, to get his ass unstuck. The towtruck proceeds to get stuck. So what happens now? Joe shmoe Farmer John comes along in his brand new farm truck, a Chevy 2500HD that still has dealer plates on it, hooks up a tow chain, and pulls them BOTH out, no problem. Whatever 4x4 system they have in their trucks, it is awesome. I wish I had a video camera for it, because I'd have mailed it to Chevy and said, "Use this in your commercials, lets see em beat that." Most incredible fuckin thing I've ever seen. Goddamn, that was pretty long winded wasn't it?