I agree with most of the comments you guys are making, and I don't agree with the writer of the article posted, but I might want to remind a few...

ever looked at a late 80's Chevy Nova and a late 80's Toyota Tercel? How about the Mazada small pickup truck (B2600 I think?) and a Ford Ranger? How about the old Dodge small pickups, and the Mitsu cousins? And who can forget the Talon, Eclipse, Laser? GM owns Izusu to gain diesel knowledge... and even the new Saturn VUE suv thing has a Honda engine if I remember correctly...

point is, Detroit is a lot closer to the "imports" than a lot of people give them credit for... however, they never seem to get it right... not until now

 

Thanks for the reality check on my SRT-4 with its Jap turbo and engine built in Mexico!!![sm=smiley36.gif]

 

Nova and Tercel were built at the joint GM/Toyota NUMMI plant in Cali. Happily combining the worst of both continents.[:@]
Ranger and B2600 from then shared nothing. Now Mazda Pickup and Tribute SUV are Fords, rebadged.
Isuzu P'UP and Chevy Luv were all Isuzu.
Mitsubihi Mighty Max and the Dodge Ram 150(?) , all Mitsu.
DSM (DiamondStarMotors) Joint Chrylser/Mitsu venture.

Some others.
Mercury Merkur
Cadillac Catera
Dodge Colt
All Geos, everywhere


But, what do you judge by? Where it's built? Where the profit goes? Where the economy benefits the most?

 

Haha I'm so glad everyone agree's that the article hardly warrants any attention, other than the shear pleasure one could derive from excersizing their own mental superiority over that ontically challenged disability case. I especially liked the comment andybuzz2u made about him wearing cheap shoes and a cheap suit. That struck home. I resent people wearing cheap clothing. I'm in the fashion business and my wardrobe costs more than my car haha. I had enough money to buy an STi or Evo (But the evo wasn't offered in canada.) But I chose the SRT-4 over the STi. I'd rather save the money for mods on the SRT-4 and have it smoke any STi. It's as simple as that. Besides, I'm not a big fan of AWD. I preffer lightweight. And FR handling in my opinion is equal to or better than AWD. Not to mention the affects AWD has on the top end of the vehicle. Besides, half of the buzz about the japanese cars is because of movies and games like "The fast and the furious" and "tokyo xtreme racer" etc.. It's rather ridiculous to think that an american company with the same technological abilities, if not greater abilities, cannot produce an equal or better car than japanese manufacturers. As I see it, that article was over as soon as he brought up the issue of door handles. If you buy a F&^%ing RACE CAR, safety is NOT your #1 concern, so why should it even be an issue? haha.

 

You can't judge. That's the beauty of a "world economy" and the World Trade Organization (WTO) which so many countries are begging to join. Yeah, they get to dump all their junk in our market, they employ more people while we lay off more, and their GNP goes up like a rocket while ours struggles to stay where it's at. All this for a bunch of CEO's with salaries and benefits that will bring tears of anger to your eyes. America is the greatest country in the world, but big business and Wall Street are screwing the average American...BTW, I'm a "retired" Air Force Master Sergeant with 21 years of active duty and 10 years reserve and I'm working more hours now to keep my head above water than I did during Vietnam or Desert Storm...[:@]

 

Yeah, the WRX is a joke in comparison to the SRT-4, the STi is it's competition though, but it's still $10-$15K more though.

 

True but any SRT-4 with like 2000$ worth of mods will take out an STi =D. It's louder too! hehe.

 

And for $2K in mods to the SRT-4, their "advantage" vanishes.....[&:]

 

AYE! haha.

 

in a "race car" I think safety should be your #1 concern, followed by going fast as a #2. that is one area that bugs me (not to blow the lid off here or on Carkid... but)... who wants 600 HP if you can't stop it or control it?? going fast is awesome, nothing like it! but remember... you do have to stop, turn, and sometimes things happen you didn't expect or plan on I personally think in a car like ours safety SHOULD be an important factor...

but to lessen the blow... I agree, if you are whining about door handles you are just knit-picking