I just bought a new KIA. Does that make me UN-american?

[shockey80]

I buy a new car about every 6,7 years. I like to buy american. My last car was a Ford Focus. I do not like to spend a lot of money on new cars. I just need something to get me from point A to point B. I do a lot of research.

I got it down to two cars, The Chevy Cruze Sedan and the KIA Forte 5, Hatchback. The Chevy Cruze Hatchback was overpriced.

I took the Cruze for a test drive . Nice car. I brought the sales price that was listed on their website. With my trade in I believed they could get me where I wanted to be on monthly payments. The salesman went to talk to his boss and came back and said I have bad news. The sales price on the website is wrong. I walked out.

I went to kia. Took the Forte Hatchback for a test drive. I Liked it better than the Cruze. I brought the sales price from their website. $3000 rebate. They honored it. They asked me if I was a vet. I said yes. They took another $400 off. They offered me more on my trade in than chevy did. All together, I got over $8,000 off the sticker price of $19,000

They gave me 3 years of free oil changes and it comes with a 5/10 year warranty. Better than Chevys 3/5 year warranty.

Bottom line , they kicked Chevys ass every which way but loose.

I felt sorry for the salesman at Chevy. He said he complains all the time about their website being wrong. He has no control over it.

[MineralMan]

1. No, it doesn't. But, some will tell you it does.

You bought the car you preferred, for whatever reasons. Better warranty. Lower price. Whatever. I have a KIA Soul, a 2013 model. I like it very much. Good engineering. Good ergonomics. Unbeatable warranty. Great pricing.

Enjoy your new Forte Hatchback. I'm sure you will.

[unblock]

2. Yes, it does

Real Americans buy beemers, Mercedes, jaguars, lexuses (Lexi?), etc.



(I like my new sportage)

FYI 40% of kias are built in Georgia, but neither of our models.

[A HERETIC I AM]

9. The OP's Forte was most likely built in Mexico

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kia_Forte

I hauled many, many of them for delivery to dealerships. They came in at Brunswick, Ga., and other ports and even though it may seem counterintuitive, they didn't send the eastern US bound units via railroad, they put them on a ship that crosses the gulf and makes stops up the east coast.

[brooklynite]

27. How did it get over the wall?

[A HERETIC I AM]

30. By going around!

[Motley13]

57. tunnel

[Bradical79]

61. Catapult

[Quayblue]

83. 😂😂😂😂

[Demonaut]

85. beemers are made in the USA too

by a non union plant

oh well

[Hoyt]

3. Our Prez -- and a lot of others -- want to slap a 20+% tariff on foreign cars.

Let us know how the Kia works out. I gotta start looking in a year or so.

[politicat]

41. I've had a Soul for 7 years. No problems at all.

It's been a solid little car with a touch of TARDIS in there -- I can pack a lot of stuff in it, including about half an ikea kitchen.

I spent the first three years with it making a lot of longish trips - several to the Midwest, several to Arizona, a couple to Utah (I'm Front Range CO) - and now I don't commute at all, so I've only just rolled over 60K.

Just keep up on the maintenance, especially the timing belt. That HAS to be changed before 60K. It's a $600 trip to the shop, but blowing a timing belt means a $3000 engine rebuild. (That's what killed the previous car - we did the 60K timing, but I forgot the 120K. My bad.)

And buy them new. That warranty, and the dealer incentives like lifetime oil changes, is worth every penny.

[Hoyt]

46. Thanks. Been through a timing belt melt-down on my lady friend's VW Beetle. Jeez.

[NutmegYankee]

73. I think that was one of the reasons VW went to the 2.5 5 cyl with a chain.

Having a chain and no turbo took out some of the worst issues.

[Freddie]

51. My next (used) car will be a Soul, I think

DH works in the auto parts business and is a good shade-tree mechanic. Is of the "buy an older used car and drive it til it dies" philosophy. Right now I'm driving a 2001 PT Cruiser we bought for $2500 3 years ago and it's still going strong. Soul reminds me a bit of the Cruiser, a smallish car with high utility value. Unique and "cute", and fairly inexpensive used.

[politicat]

63. If nothing else, the puns on the model name are an added bonus.

To be honest, I have never worked on mine -- our dealer is close and very good, and while I'm mechanically inclined, I am done working on machinery that can squish me. (I rebuild sewing machines.)

Drive a few model years, if possible. The one thing that's irritating about the Soul is the GIANT rear A pillars You have to set the mirrors and you have to use all three, because those pillars can make ginormous blind spots. Some model years have bigger pillars than others. I rented a 2014 (I think) at one point, and I disliked it intensely because those pillars felt huge compared to mine. But I was also driving in a city that has notoriously bad traffic, horrible urban stroad design, and stupid-aggressive drivers, so I wasn't in a great mood anyway and even more on edge because I was in a rental.

I consider the Soul superior to a Cruiser or an HHR. I've had experience with both, and really disliked both. I hated the HHR far more than the Cruiser, though. (Stay far away from the HHR. Transmission problems, and even when the transmission is working right, it still howls. So much road noise with the HHR. :eyeroll: ) The Soul has a tighter turning radius than the Cruiser, so it turns and parallel parks very well. They're about equally thrifty, but the Soul has pretty good pickup and gearing ratio for a small utility car, so it gets out of its own way very well.

One other oddity on the Soul: If I keep the fuel tank at or above half, I run about 33 MPG on highway, and 31 in city. If I let it go down to a quarter, I lose at least one on both. So in the interest of efficiency and because tornadoes and flash floods and wildfire are part of my world, I keep the tank above half. Right now, with my driving habits and gas prices, that means about $12 every two weeks.

And if you don't like AC, the Soul might not be the car for you. It drives MUCH better with the windows up. If the windows are down, it tends to buffet. AC is standard, but if you like 4x60, either look for one with a sunroof/moonroof, or look at another car. I prefer windows up, so it's not an issue for me, but my best friend loves the wind in her hair, and thus hates my car.

[Freddie]

92. Thank you

I will keep this advice in mind when car- shopping. Cruiser has blind spots too. I insist on finding a "pull-through" parking spot at the supermarket for that reason. Luckily my work commute is not long and there's no highway merging involved. And I much prefer using the AC to "Amish air conditioning" (4 windows down).

[EX500rider]

59. 60k timing belt on a interference motor? ouch!

interference motor=piston hits valves when timing belt breaks-destroys motor
non-interference=timing belt breaks-no problem, replace belt

My 2002 Ford Focus is suppose to be done at 90,000m, I just had it done at 143,000, still hadn't broke.(it's non-interference)
Got the kit incld water pump on Ebay for $60, mechanic did the work for $175....woohoo!

[politicat]

62. That was on a Hyundai Accent.

It was the barest bare bones base model. That it made 135K was pretty darn good. We commuted 40 miles a day, 5 days a week, for almost 10 years in it, and took a couple long trips in it.

We made the decision when we got married that we were done doing our own automotive work. We both (individually) spent our teens, twenties, and thirties doing it, and we're pretty good at it, but there's a lot of peace of mind to be had in driving something that isn't likely to shit the bed, and having weekends for other things. We budget $9K a year for each car. The Soul has never cost us more than $7K a year, and most of that was payment. Now that it's paid off, her major costs are insurance (we still keep full coverage, but have spotless records), and she's not at all thirsty.

[tammywammy]

4. No.

While people focus on where the vehicle was made or who the manufacturer is, there are a lot of foreign branded vehicles assembled in the US. Plus, there's the people employed by the dealership both in sales & service, and those outside dealerships that service and maintain vehicles.

You shouldn't pay more for a vehicle you don't want because it's a Chevy.

[shockey80]

5. I must be honest.

So far I like the kia a lot better than the Ford Focus I was driving. Time will tell reliability wise. I had zero problems with my focus. The salesman at KIA was great. He did not try to bullshit me at all.

[Demsrule86]

6. No it doesn't make you a traitor.

But it does contribute to the loss of good paying jobs in the US, weakens unions and increases income inequality. Enjoy your new car.

[Cirque du So-What]

14. What do you drive?

I'd be happy to share a breakdown of domestic vs imported components with you...or even whether it was even assembled in this country - despite what's on the nameplate.

[Demsrule86]

64. I own a Chevy Traverse and a Chevy Malibu...both made in this country...bought my kid

a Chevy Cobalt. I have never owned a foreign car...except for a small Volkswagen my Dad bought me used when I was a teenager... which actually burned up in the parking lot of Cumberland Farms in Connecticut...it was very old. I do buy American.

[VMA131Marine]

17. How so?

The Chevy Cruze is manufactured in multiple locations around the world. The Kia is built in Mexico. The Cruze has 60% US/Canada parts content; less than your typical US-made Honda Civic.

[Demsrule86]

65. Lordstown makes the Cruze and was supposed to for all sales in this country...but

now they are allowing cars from Mexico ( the hatchback is made in Mexico)...and have laid off the third shift and if they lower line speed, more will lose jobs and that's a fact. Most other countries won't take our cars unless we make them there...which is why we have fewer good jobs, but our market are wide open...trade does need to fixed. Hillary had a plan...Trump is an asshat and will do nothing.

[WinkyDink]

32. Wow. Are you kidding here? Do you think MAYBE Chevy and Ford might make cars AS GOOD AS FOREIGN

BRANDS?

P.S. Do you think the Kia salesman was foreign? Or that the showroom is in a foreign country?

[Demsrule86]

66. I think that money is in manufacturing not the retail and when you buy foreign cars you are not

helping create good jobs...we all talk about income inequality...factory jobs were very important. You can rationalize all you want... that is what it is...you going to tell me it's better to buy foreign cars...and Korea is particularly bad...they take no cars from us.

[NutmegYankee]

76. How about instead of an entitlement attitude the companies actually try to sell a better product.

I'm tired of the "buy our shit at a terrible price or you're hurting fellow Americans" bullshit that keeps getting flung out there. Want to sell cars? Make them innovative and exciting for people, reliable, and have dealerships that actually WANT to sell cars.

[Cirque du So-What]

7. American automakers clearly don't have their heart in making small cars

Their interest lies in making trucks & SUVs that have a higher profit margin. They begrudgingly make small cars, but it's apparent their heart isn't in it.

[Demsrule86]

67. That is not really true...they are forced to compete with cheap imports.

These countries don't have to take our cars but dump their cars on our market...it is dumping. You want to buy them than fine...the rust belt can lose more jobs...that will work out just great for the Republicans.

[Different Drummer]

8. I had an aunt who was in the WAC...

who, if you had admitted to her that you chose a Kia Forte over a Chevy Cruze, would have physically assaulted you (no, I'm *not* kidding!). However, you're fine with me.

[Blue_Adept]

10. If you're here, you're likely a liberal. That's enough in most of their minds.

The car just reinforces it

[NCTraveler]

11. No. You simply outsourced some of the profits. Nt

[MichMan]

12. UAW members at Lordstown thank you

http://gmauthority.com/blog/2017/04/gm-lordstown-assembly-plant-braces-for-additional-layoffs/

[Cirque du So-What]

18. If GM were truly interested in keeping Lordstown at capacity

they'd devote some engineering expertise toward making a fuel-efficient vehicle that stands out instead of falling into the middle of the pack consistently.

[pangaia]

34. You just have way too many facts... it's not fair to others...

PS i just bought a new Honda HRV first new car since my 1978 Aspen wagon..

[Demsrule86]

68. The cruze gets great mileage.

Oh please....if people want to buy foreign cars and starve American workers , it's a free country, but please spare me the rationalizations. No matter what you say if enough of you bought American, income inequality would be reduced and unions would be strengthened and people would have money in their pockets and less hate in their hearts...that is just a fact.

[WinkyDink]

33. So you never buy anything foreign-made? Try looking at the label in your pants.

[pangaia]

35. Gulp!!!!

[Demsrule86]

69. You are right because the entire garment industry went down in this country and those areas still

have yet to recover...you drive to Florida from Georgia you see shuttered factories...not so different from Detroit and Gary...except more rural...all represent American prosperity sacrificed to Wall Street and the 1%.

[shockey80]

13. Like I said,

I like to buy american. The chevy dealership really screwed up. KiA kicked ass. Thats the bottom line.

[Takket]

15. I'm an employee of one of the big 3 and I say...

nope. not unamerican. Free market society we live in. let the customer be king.

[Demsrule86]

70. I am the wife of an employee of one of the big three and the mother of a laid off

Lordstown worker and I say you are wrong...this has nothing to do with the customer and everything to do with a level playing field in terms of trade.

[shockey80]

16. By the way, I am a union member. That's why I like to buy american.

I went to the Chevy dealership first. They blew it.

[MichMan]

21. Solidarity is forgotten when it is inconvenient I guess n/m

[WinkyDink]

36. Give it a rest.

[pangaia]

40. As Winkydink so eloquently put it... try looking at the label in your pants..

or your t-shirt or your computer, or your sneakers, or that new set of dishes, or the lamp in the corner, or that 55" TV.

[MichMan]

42. False analogy

I don't really have any options for domestic union made products when it comes to computers, shoes or TV.

The OP posted that despite being a union member, he abandoned his principles to save a few $$$. He didn't buy a Kia because he thought it was better quality, or fit his needs better than the Cruze did, according to his post it was cheaper.

He can buy whatever he wants, but it seems hypocritical to me to want to support unions and American jobs and then turn around and do the opposite. We blame corporations for moving production overseas to save labor costs or cutting jobs for automation, but how can they compete with those that do when people are so driven by lower prices for goods ?

[BlueSpot]

50. What about the Longshoreman's Union? n/t

[Cirque du So-What]

25. Although I am no longer a union member, I was for many years

I experienced a similar moral dilemma in the mid-70s when I bought my first import, which was several orders of magnitude higher in quality than anything available from the big three at that time. That first wave of imported cars helped spur quality initiatives in Detroit that led to better vehicles as they embraced the principles developed by William Deming as their Japanese counterparts had done years earlier. In the end, you have to do what's right for you. Only when corporations see the effect on their bottom lines will they take steps to become competitive. Unfortunately, bean-counters at the big three appear to have given up on small vehicles in favor of maximizing profits from trucks & SUVs, which works out well for them in years when fuel is relatively cheap...otherwise, not so much.

[Demsrule86]

71. Whatever gets you through the day...there are many Chevy dealerships and great deals on cars

at the moment.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

19. No, but you won't have a warranty when Donny tiny hands starts a war with North Korea...

.... and Seoul gets leveled.

[ProudLib72]

20. Just wondering

Why didn't you go back to Ford if you liked your Focus so much?

[shockey80]

22. Sober

You may be right, Lol. Here are the bottom line numbers. The sticker price for the Cruze was $800 more than the Forte. Pretty much the same features. Chevy offered me $266 per month for 60 months. I got the KIA for $217 per month for 60 months and a much better warranty.

[shockey80]

23. I did not go back to a focus because reliability has dropped.

They changed the transmission I believe in 2013 and they are having problems.

[csziggy]

24. If the Chevy dealer's website is consistently wrong

With prices lower than they actually are, I'd call it bait and switch tactics. I'd complain to GM national offices and if I felt vengeful, I'd call up the state consumer complaint department and discuss it with them.

I understand where you are coming from. My family always bought GM vehicles - my parents always owned Buicks and Cadillacs. I had GMC and Buicks for the most part.

The last time my husband and I went car shopping, we ended up with a used Prius. Nothing matched it for mileage and the car even approaching twelve years of age is tight and drives great. This summer we're buying another vehicle and it will be another Prius. This time we're going for the slightly larger model, the Prius v but it will still be a used one.

None of the US manufacturers make a hybrid that have been out long enough to be in our price range, so once we decided on a hybrid they weren't an option.

On the other hand, my 1999 GMC Suburban which I use as a truck and for towing is still going strong and should last me a long time. It will be my last truck, since I seldom need one anymore.

[Demsrule86]

72. If people keep buying foreign...we will lose our last great industry which support many other jobs.

But I am sick of this subject. We are going down a bad path with jobs...and people talk about the right to buy whatever foreign car they want...sure you have the right...but is wise to buy foreign in terms of jobs?

[csziggy]

84. For years I bought domestic cars - but they just didn't make what we needed

For a price we could pay the last time around. That is still true.

A sedan just does not cut it for our needs. The original Prius hatchback is good, but we need a little more room, thus the Prius v.

A Ford C-Max Hybrid might handle what we need, but I will not buy another Ford. They are perfectly good cars but the local dealership are crooks and I will not put business in their direction. I live in a fairly isolated market - I would have to drive to Georgia or a hundred miles to stay in my state in order to get to another Ford dealer. Any specialize servicing on their hybrid would need to be done at a dealer and that is not going to happen locally.

When I can I buy locally and American produced goods - but I cannot afford to spend money on things that do not fit my needs, that are over priced compared to the competition, and that will cost me more money in the future.

I would love to buy a GM made hybrid, but the Volt sedan is not what I need and the Chevy Tahoe and Cadillac Escalade are far beyond my price range - and if I need that much hauling space, I already own a gas powered GMC Suburban. It is not gas efficient, but it is paid for and I will keep it as long as I can keep it running. Since I seldom need to use it, the dismal gas mileage is not a huge concern anymore. It will be the last large vehicle I will ever buy.

American car manufacturers should have started building efficient cars and experimenting with hybrid or other alternatively powered engines in the 1970s. Instead they imported cheap, undersized foreign made cars that they sold under their brands. Then they abandoned those models as soon as gas prices dropped. I have a book from the late 1970s about converting gasoline cars to electric - if it could be done by home tinkerers, why couldn't American engineers do it better, cheaper and more efficient forty years ago? They left the door open for Toyota to build the first mass produced, widely sold hybrid and break open the market.

The same is happening today, American manufacturers are letting politics dictate what they are willing to spend their research dollars on. The US should have been leaders in solar power and other alternative power sources. Ronald Reagan and the Bushes made sure that would not happen. Now India, China and Germany are building more plants to produce solar panels and generating significant percentages of their electricity with their own solar panels. In contrast, US states are trying to pass legislation to restrict the use of solar power - fortunately here in Florida, that initiative failed last year, but I am sure the backers will try again.

American manufacturers screwed themselves and screwed consumers along the way. We had the brains, the money, and the ability to build better cars for the last half century. Jimmy Carter told us forty years ago that we needed to make the steps to energy efficiency, but we let the oil companies and the Republicans bull shit the country into ignoring President Carter. So screw the American car manufacturers - they've done it to themselves.

[Demsrule86]

90. I refuse to argue with you...I have seen the new cars and many would be those standards...only thing

I can say is enjoy the coming poverty. People have no idea how important autos are to this country. Your cheap foreign car will cost us way more than you can imagine.

[bagelsforbreakfast]

26. Just saw the Netflix series "ABSTRACT"...

The head designer for Chrysler quipped on camera "Kia's are looking better these days, aren't they?" - lamenting losing his top designers to them.

[Turbineguy]

28. A little bit.

Now if the KIA had been made in Russia, you would have been a True Blue Patriot!

[ProudLib72]

77. A Lada?

Or a Fiat. Now I forget what the Russian Fiat was called.

[democratisphere]

29. Yes. And you should be deported to NORTH Korea as punishment.

[WinkyDink]

31. Never unAmerican to go for the best price and product!

[WinkyDink]

37. I'm surprised some here didn't post "America--Love It or Leave it."

3 Billy Goats Gruff, IYKWIM.

[beachbum bob]

38. shopping at walmart makes you unamerican unless its food....

[LeftInTX]

53. I buy clothes from WalMart

They have these super lightweight (cheaply made) White Stag jeans with an elastic waist. I've got radiculopathy. I can't have anything constricting my sciatic nerves. I'm also petite - size 4/6. Unfortunately, this size puts me in a "fashion over comfort" market. (Think teenager, but I'm 60 years old) The jeans look decent too. I can't wear traditional jeans such as Levis because they are too heavy and compress my nerves.

However, there are plenty of things that I refuse to buy from WalMart.

I refuse to buy groceries from WalMart because they have horrible service. They won't help you bag and carry your groceries. Forget about asking questions about a grocery product. Their lines are much longer than my grocery store and they try to steer shoppers into self checking. For all of their crappy service, their prices are no better than my local grocery store (HEB)

Ditto for large bulky items, which I can buy at Lowe's, Office Depot or Best Buy.

Gardening stuff tends to be crappy quality, so I avoid that. (They used to have decent garden hoses, but even those have gone downhill)

[ecstatic]

39. I've heard great things about Kia and their warranties. nt

[DemocratSinceBirth]

43. You should buy what you like.

[SonofDonald]

44. I buy American

Nothing wrong with imports but I like built in the USA.

1: 1928 Model "AA" one ton flatbed

2: 1947 Ford Super Deluxe 4 door

3: 1991 Dodge D250 Cummins intercooled turbo diesel, 100,000 mile in 26 years, still looks new, 25 mpg at 70mph, only has 300-400,000 miles left on it.

4: 1998 Mustang Cobra Convertible, triple black, 41,000 miles, replaced fuel pump at 29,000 ( they all went out at that mileage), two idlers for the serpentine belt system at 40,000 miles, still has orig belt, spark plugs and wires, brakes.

Can't beat that, and the top comes down!.

[Doreen]

45. Absolutely not!!

12 years ago when I went to buy a new car I refused to even think American. I knew this would be the last new car I would ever have in my life and probably the last car I could afford period so I needed something very reliable. I got a 2006 Scion Xb and it has been absolutely wonderful. Except for having to replace the back hatch because some asshole rear ended me at a red light everything is perfect. I even added cruise control, a higher quality radio and more speakers, and the best is my moon roof. It is easy to get into and out of and all around visual is better than any car I have had or driven...well, except my little Nissan xtra cab truck that I had. It has a lot of room to pack things into also. Oh, and you can fit two large German Shepherds into it and they can sit up fully and not bump their heads on the roof. Like I said perfect car. Well, OK it is not very comfortable for long drives as the seats are a little hard. Other than that it is great.

[k8conant]

75. You get in and out of your moon roof?

[Doreen]

82. OK, the way it is stated it does look like that is what I am trying to say.

[k8conant]

87. I enjoyed that!

[jehop61]

47. Nope

Our Kia was made in Georgia, so lots of Americans had jobs because of Kia. We love it after four years btw

[politicat]

48. My grandfather was a UAW shop steward. In the 90s, he told me to stop buying Big 3.

When GM opened the joint venture NUMMI plant, they brought in Japanese manufacturing methods and produced a better car. My grandfather was the master electrician for a Midwestern plant, and spent 6 months at NUMMI learning the method to bring back. The manufacturing method is strongly focused on quality and employee empowerment to produce a stellar product. He started skeptical, but came around to the idea and became a strong supporter. His goal in his professional life was to produce safe cars that exceeded expectations.

Grandpa and the rest came back to start the implementation and retool, and the UAW in the Midwest rebelled. They were insulted by the implication that their quality was poor (it was) and that they needed to change (they did.) Morale dropped because these big babies couldn't admit they had things to learn, and their quality of work dropped further. My grandfather retired soon after, completely disgusted.

When I started car shopping, my grandfather was very firm in his opinions that I not buy anything produced in the Midwest plants. He could not trust a culture that would not admit their own capacity for error, and would not let me put my body in their products. But he also insisted I always buy a union-made vehicle, because solidarity with working people knows no boundaries. Toyota, Honda, Kia, Hyundai, and Mitsubishi in Asia and Benz, Volkswagen, BMW-Mini are all pro-union. The lack of union representation at the plants in the US is the result of the states and the UAW, not the parent corporations resisting. (IIRC, there was recently a Kentucky plant that Volks wanted in the union, and the workers themselves refused.)

So no. The UAW, or at least its membership, has been cutting their own throats for at least 35 years. They seem to like the pain.

[hamsterjill]

49. No, you're not a traitor.

I'd have bought the Chevy though. But that's what's great about DU. We can disagree and still be civil and friendly.

Good luck with your purchase.

[mcar]

52. We've had a KIA Sedona for 15 years

It still runs great. I love Kia cars; they are durable and cost-effective.

My Ford Fiesta 2013 has given us nothing but problems.

[MedusaX]

54. People often forget that our domestic auto brands are also sold internationally...

So it is not as if the big 3's sales are limited to US customers only...
And why is it that it is acceptable for the big 3 to participate in the global marketplace ...
whereby their international customers are effectively purchasing a "foreign" auto...

Yet, somehow it is not acceptable for the US customers to purchase a foreign auto?

if the big 3 are truly competitive market contenders in the US
(price, quality,resale value, etc)
then their cars would be purchased over other brands completely based on merit

And there would be no need for a 'Nationalist' guilt based campaign
that calls one's patriotism into question because they purchased the best product on the market ...


Why is it acceptable to expect US customers
to forgo value or quality or personal preference
simply because a product is made in the US, essentially expecting US customers to subsidize a non-competitive brand simply because it is a domestic brand.....

While simultaneously expecting people in other countries NOT to do the same for their domestic products...
and instead expecting that international customers should exercise their right to purchase what they want from whichever vendor/country they wish???



Either you have a closed economy with forced nationalism and limited choices across the board so that you do not have to compete with foreign brands

Or you actively participate in the global marketplace and are willing to compete for a percentage of the market share by providing a product with both value & quality .....

Yep... I am well aware that
I am a lousy person
and a traitor to amurikuhn bid-ness & workers...
& seriously deficient in patriotism... etc etc etc

[forgotmylogin]

55. I bought my first "new" car a few years ago.

It is a fully-loaded 2013 Chevy Sonic that I acquired in late 2014 from the dealer. It had 7000 miles on it because someone had returned it and it was a good deal. And I love it.

However, the only other car that still makes me turn my head is a Kia Soul. I don't know why. Most people hate them, but I love the aesthetic, and they look roomy. Sounds like you got a good deal on your Kia!

A lot of "foreign" cars are assembled in the US by American autoworkers, so the idea of being "unAmerican" for owning a "foreign" car isn't so clear-cut as it used to be.

[Motley13]

56. you do what is best for you!!!!!

My guess is the Cruz salesman was full of BS, glad you walked out. Who wants to fight false advertising when there are plenty of options.

I am like you, I like to buy American, but a lot of the parts are made in Mex, Can, etc

I was looking at a new Malibu, but decided to hang onto my 2005 Impala, I have not had any problems with it.
Just like all the features of the new cars to help me get around, since I'm really getting up in years.
My stepdaughter has a Kia & it serves her well, good luck.

[Dem2]

58. Your choice

Our company struggles like mad to compete with Asian competitors, and I only buy American, so I feel a little depressed that mine is the only American car in the lot (focus.)

Oh well. 🙁

[sarcasmo]

60. Pretty sure the Kia warranty is better than anything Chevy could offer you.

[Demsrule86]

74. Yeah and with their quality, you are going to need it.

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/kia.htm

[Warpy]

79. I found the same things when I bought my Kia 10 years ago

The Focus was nice and easy to drive, but to get AC (and this is the desert), I'd have had to accept a "package" of garbage I didn't want, like automatic windows and automatic transmission. No thanks, we get snow here, I want stick.

Kia had exactly what I wanted on their lot that day. My truck was old enough to vote but they still gave me a few bucks trade in. The only bad thing about this car is that the tires were cheap and crappy and had to be replaced. Otherwise, it's been a peach.

[LeftInTX]

80. My son bought a Kia Forte about a month ago

He's a mechanical engineer, who designs valves for oil and gas companies.

He wanted to save up for a Suburu, but his Honda gave out on him prematurely.

He did some research and bought a Kia Forte.

[marybourg]

81. Yes. You should have bought a Lada. nt

[doc03]

86. Well sure the KIA can be sold for less, no union wages, the company doesn't pay for employee

health care, they don't have those pesky pension plans to fund.

[DFW]

88. Patriotism shouldn't be part of a decision to buy a car these days

Buy the one that fits YOUR criteria of safety, environmental friendliness, access to repair, warranty, and price. YOU are the one riding in it, you are the one saddled with repair bills, and paying for the fuel to power it, even if we're talking a Tesla.

My wife and I buy only domestically-made cars because we value repair access plus the fact that locally made cars where we live happen to be VERY good. The government slaps a 19% tax on them already, but at least Trump doesn't get to spend a cent of it.

[dembotoz]

89. Try to buy us built but after my Chevy and I got busted up a bit, the insurance payment

Was what decided on an old Kia sephia. It was all I could afford.
It has worked well enough..some quirks..car runs better when the engine light is on than when it is off..

[cynatnite]

91. We have a Kia Forte.

We've used it for long trips. Gets great gas mileage and is all around a good car, IMO.

Was very happy with the price although our interest rate was a little higher than we like.

We'll be un-American together.