Response to U.S News "10 Cars Detroit Should Copy"

 U.S News' Article, "10 Cars Detroit Should Copy" is a good example of poor media analysis and bias. I respond to each of his statements below:

The honda fit is a very close match to the Ford Focus. The curb weight of the vehicles is only a difference of 30 pounds, their prices are within a couple hundred dollars of each other and the car's gas mileage is within one mile per gallon. Given all these similarities, the focus still boasts a significantly stronger engine, more leg room as well as providing a better highway ride with its longer wheel base.

The Ford Edge is more stylish and original than the Tiguan, with more pick up (65 more hp), a better ride, comparable msrp, and interior options that top that of the Tiguan. The edge handles like a small car with a wheelbase only 10 inches longer than the Tiguan's. Also the Edge offers a glass vista roof, an option no foreign car manufacturer can compete with.

The Lincoln MKZ is another Detroit vehicle that competes very closely and competitively to the Infinity EX. 

You are correct in stating that the Detroit Hybrids are more expensive but when comments like the following are made regarding a $27k vehicle I think the extra cost is well worth it. "OK, let's just get it out there: The 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid is the best gasoline-electric hybrid yet. What makes it best is a top-drawer blend of an already very good midsize sedan with the industry's smoothest, best-integrated gas-electric power system. It's so well-done that you have to look to the $107,000 Lexus LS 600h hybrid to come close." -- USA Today

The argument you are trying to make regarding Audis is very unclear. You state that the american car lines, "can only lure customers from the German and Japanese luxury makes by offering lower prices." I'm sorry but am I missing something? Isn't this precisely the way to sell vehicles and be profitable? 

Regarding the Mazda's, Ford owns Mazda so it wouldn't make much sense for them to develop a car that would compete with a partner company.

The Ford Mustang V6 Pony Package offers front and rear sway bars, 30 more horsepower, many inches more more leg room and trunk space all for 3k less than the Volkswagen GTI. Additionally the GTI's reliability as rated by U.S News only scores a dismal 5/10, while the Mustang scores a 7. 

Reliability

Many Americans have a false perception of the American automobile’s reliability. Much of this perception is due to bad past experiences, not current status. This is exacerbated by poorly constructed media comparisons rife with biases.

I have found that many sub scores make sense when analyzed individually; however, when they are aggregated into overall rankings, they often compare vehicles of very different markets. U.S News’s most recent vehicle rankings for Affordable Large Cars has the Mercury Sable, Ford Taurus, and Buick Lucerne ranked second, third, and forth respectively with reliability sub scores 10, 9.0 and 10. The only car in the first four seats with a reliability score below a 9 is the Toyota Avalon ranked number one with a reliability score an entire point lower than all of the rivals I just listed. Additionally, the Avalon has a starting MSRP $2,000 greater than the Sable and Taurus, an 8% increase in price. For the 8% greater price, you’re getting better handling, not just handling in general, but “high speed cornering ability,” and what some reviewers claim is a less “boring” interior. I don’t feel a ranking agency has any business judging a car’s styling and factoring that into the rankings. Consumers can develop their own opinion. If you want to round corners at high speeds in a large family-size car and enjoy styling that is more accepted by auto reviewers, by all means spend the extra $2,000.

In the midsize car sector U.S News ranks the Ford Fusion #1, Chevrolet Malibu #2 and the Ford Fusion Hybrid #3. Each earned a 10-point reliability ranking, as did the Mercury Milan, and Buick LaCrosse. The Honda Accord on the other hand only faired a 7.0. 

Why Buy American?

Let me begin by explaining the immense importance of the company from which you buy your automobile. Aside from a house, a car is the most expensive item a consumer buys in his or her lifetime. The funds put forth to buy a house remain in the domestic economy and support the local and national market; unfortunately, many Americans inadvertently chose to send their money overseas when purchasing a car. Many people rationalize their decisions to purchase foreign cars by claiming that American cars are of inferior quality, or even that much of the un-American car was built in the United States. In this entry I will not be tackling the misconceptions held regarding foreign versus domestic product quality, but I will explore and expose the false advertising and propaganda many Americans believe regarding foreign cars built on domestic soil. Despite what many Americans think, there is no substitute for buying a real American car.

This past year our economy has been in a state of turmoil; in 2008 alone 2,590,000 jobs were lost, raising unemployment to 7.2%. This is the highest yearly job-loss since 1945, the year in which WWII ended. This is a serious problem that Americans must address before it becomes worse or even unrecoverable. In 2005, the American auto industry had 300,000 employees and by 2008 had 250,800 employees, a 16% decrease in jobs per year. These 300,000 employees are only accounting for workers who are directly employed by the Big Three, while an additional 569,000 jobs supply auto parts to the manufactures. Auto part supply jobs are decreasing at a similar annual percent. Each job associated with the auto industry supports 4.7 other American jobs ranging from doctors to garbage men. This means that on average, one million jobs are lost each year as the auto industry downsizes. The shrinking auto industry effect won't be confined to Detroit. The auto industry is a top five industrial employer in 18 states, which is nearly a fifth of all states in the US.  Thus, the auto industry directly or indirectly has a major effect over the well being of our national economy.

On average a Big Three car comprises of 74% domestically produced parts, while a foreign car built on domestic soil has a average of 34% of its parts from US parts manufacturers, and domestically built Kias only have 3% domestic parts. If the Big Three reduced its domestic parts count to 34%, America would lose $49 billion in revenue and 189,000 jobs.  A Big Three car uses on average twice the number of domestically produced car parts as a domestically built foreign car. If that's not enough, GM alone employs as many American workers as all foreign companies combined and Ford employs as many Americans as Hyundai, VW, Subaru, Mercedes, and Mitsubishi at only a single plant.