Whose got it?

[rmezz13]

I always grew up admiring Chevrolet, but the more i learn the more i lean towards the Japanese cars, especially Nissan and Toyota. But i have also learned the Chevrolet is tied in with those companies.

Anyway the topic i am aiming towards, is who in your mind has the title as best Auto Maker? Give a reason why.

My pick is Nissan. From 2003+ they released the 350Z and the G35 coupe. These cars being released changed the look at nissan for the 21st century. Not only that the Infiniti G35 has been taking awards every year since but it really changed everything for Nissan and if an American Company was in the situation they were in at the time of release, i'm sure they would have failed. I do like Chevy/GM as a close second. They are making a huge effort towards MPG, Hybrids, Alternative Fuels, and electric cars. And they seem to be a step ahead of the rest of the American Market. And they can still make some fast cars with powerful motors.

Now its your turn...

[Beancooker]

Nissan as well.

They run forever, have decent power, and look nice.

[Burtonboarder950]

Ive been a nissan whore and a toyota fan since i was young. They are practical cars that are worth every penny, and cost a lot less pennies than many other manufacturers. Nissan & Toyota FTMFW

[dasoupdude]

Ive always been a 'yota at heart. But they've been slackin latley.

[R350Zz33]

nissan i was brought up with them 2 pickup trucks and a pathfinder and now my z. last forever look sexy. and they can get so much power out of small engines and still stay fuel efficient for example.

09 ford mustang v8 4.6 300hp 15/23 mpg 09 ford mustang v6 4.0 210hp 17/23 mpg08 nissan 350z v6 3.5 306hp 18/25 mpg

"Z" has more hp almost 100 on the v6 and gets better gas milage. and 2 less cylinders make-in 6 more hp. ford should get it together.And we also have the GTR.(claims are being made sayin the times the gtr posted cannot be true on dot approved tiers have to be running race tiers making the car not street legal.)

ps. sorry if this is post whoring since u consider every thing i write that. i believe i made a few valid points

[rchboy]

i would say american manufactureres for trucks, and japanese manufactures for cars.

[Gumby Gone Wild]

As much as it pains me, I would have to say Honda. They seem the most practical to me. Fairly cheap to purchase and maintain, good MPG's and to me the styling isn't too bad with their recent models. Most importantly however, they are 2fast4U

[R350Zz33]

gotta have the neons. they add like a bagilan hp

[dasoupdude]

09 ford mustang v8 4.6 300hp 15/23 mpg 09 ford mustang v6 4.0 210hp 17/23 mpg08 nissan 350z v6 3.5 306hp 18/25 mpg

"Z" has more hp almost 100 on the v6 and gets better gas milage. and 2 less cylinders make-in 6 more hp. ford should get it together.

Yeah but what Z's have in power lack in torque.

You forgot about the Mustang's torque rating.

[evildky]

Nissan>GMmy current truck daily driver is an 04 Silverado Z71, bought it new, had many issues handeled under warranty, speedometer, radio, transfer case control module, transfer case swithc panel, some sort of transmission computer error taht was fixed with some sort of cose update, currently has 92k miles

my last truck was a 99 Frontier SE-V6 4x4, I changed the oil....bought it new had it till 80k miles

truck before that, 90 hardbody SE-V6 4x4, changed the waterpump and timing belt at about 100k when the pump started to leak a bit, also had to replace all the tie rod ends around the same time, bought it with 26k miles sold it with 154k miles

.......see a pattern

[turbowofford05z]

nissan i was brought up with them 2 pickup trucks and a pathfinder and now my z. last forever look sexy. and they can get so much power out of small engines and still stay fuel efficient for example.

09 ford mustang v8 4.6 300hp 15/23 mpg 09 ford mustang v6 4.0 210hp 17/23 mpg08 nissan 350z v6 3.5 306hp 18/25 mpg

"Z" has more hp almost 100 on the v6 and gets better gas milage. and 2 less cylinders make-in 6 more hp. ford should get it together.And we also have the GTR.(claims are being made sayin the times the gtr posted cannot be true on dot approved tiers have to be running race tiers making the car not street legal.)

ps. sorry if this is post whoring since u consider every thing i write that. i believe i made a few valid points

U actually wrote something sort of decent untill that comment about post whoring, and you cant spell tire =failbut it was close richie

[maximus108]

Honda and Toyota are probably the best out there, their reliability is legendary.The problem with Honda and Toyota is that none of their cars have killer looks. (unlike Nissan's Z)

Nissan's reliability is almost as good as Honda and Toyota but they more than make up for it with performance and looks.

Don't hate on me, but I'd never touch an American car again. No disrespect to you guys who have American cars but I've had bad experiences with these cars, old and new. They're pretty comfortable though.

German cars are expensive to get and expensive to maintain; I'm too poor to afford them. You get noticed when you're driving them.

Reliablility = JapaneseComfort = AmericanLooks = GermanTail Magnet = Italian

[xjmxstac]

Toyota ftmfw! I've always owned a toyota, both trucks. I had an '84 p/u and still own a '00 tacoma. My '84 had 384,000 miles before it started having problems. My tacoma currently has 143,000 miles and still going. No major repairs, just cosmetic and performance, replaced 2/4 coil packs at 120,000 mi (they were only suppose to last to 60k), fuel filter @140k, and O2 sensor @140k. Other than a little rust spot on the front bumper, which i am soon replacing, it's still pretty clean and runs strong. I just recently sold my 15ft boat and my 2.4 tacoma still pulled it up a hill.

As for the nissan, it definitely looks amazing! Good power and agility. But it has yet to earn its stripes for being reliable. It's my first nissan but i have high expectations according to this forum.

[DachshundTooAteEZ]

...**** American cars. I said it, but we all knew that.

(Not that there aren't American cars that I think are very, very cool, but they function in my mind mostly as cultural items rather than something nice to drive.)

I can't give a prize for anyone in this modern age though, no one can keep cars from getting fatter it seems... Automotive progress was the 90s, when the Japanese companies were just getting into all the high tech fanciness... turbos/multiple turbos, all wheel drive increasingly ubiquitous, four wheel steering. Cars were still neat, slim, and serious. Somewhere all that fizzled out, bah.

Nissan gets props from me for retaining the Z at least (while every other brand killed off their sporty cars, Honda, Toyota etc.) and continuing to give us GTRs that can humiliate middle aged men in their government mandated at 50 Corvettes and continue a heritage of technology.

Historically it's definitely still Nissan, for giving us the Z, opening up the market to Japanese cars with that and the 510... Basically, doing what the Euro brands should have been doing in the first place and giving us cheap engineering. Importantly, in the US market, their engineering was able to stand up to the increased emissions standards and whatnot far better than most contemporaries. People don't recall the S130/Z31 fondly, but at the time those were seriously HOT cars, world class, for cheap, and hold up well to many things that pretend to be sporty nowadays...

Euro brands seem to be just waiting out this period by competing for bragging rights with styling and cars that are to most of us built of unobtainium for people to gawk at in magazines. That and selling out :P

I have sentimental feelings for Lotus, but they've always been a shoestring operation, meaning the cars are often literally held together by such. Maybe that's one reason I like them, but that doesn't make them the greatest.

[BlackSmoke]

If they would still make the Supra I would buy another one.

[marlin29311]

I think that it all depends on what you are looking for as the "best"

Reliability - JapaneseComfort/Design - AmericanPerformance - European

Each segment has it's ok qualities.

Some say BMW is the best - I personally think their cars look like a$$.

American reliability has been changing in recent years, and the old powerhouses of the past are now being redesigned so that they can make a turn as well.

Most of the japanese compaines have trouble making cars that don't look like other cars (ooo, that's a honda? Looked like a BMW/Benz to me...), but generally have a lot more "toys" to play with in the car from their electronics domination.

I personally like Nissan, as the styling on their newer cars has really become amazing, and their powertrains and performance are superb.

Porsche is an amazing brand as well, and can still find a way to pump out 23mpg highway on the 911 Turbo that drops 480hp / 460lb/ft....

Ford is a pos. Every Ford that I/my family ever had is a POS. They never work right, something always breaks, and service can never fix it.

GM is a personal favorite, as I have always admired the style they bring to their cars (CTS, G8, new Camaro, etc). They've come a long ways in terms of quality.

o, and...

i used the spell check that safari uses and tier is a real word so it did not register im sorry i was just doing a quick post i get flamed for spell checking and i get flamed for not spell checkin so i dont give a crap cause thats what the spell check came up with.

sentence structure FTW!

[turbowofford05z]

back on topic well i feel that toyota and nissan are far superior products so far from what ive actually experienced i own a toyota truck and the 350z both good vehicles and you can really tell with the quality of the drive trainsthat they have potential to last for a long time as long as you dont beat the crap outa them and do your proper maintenance

[R350Zz33]

why did they have to take the supra away oh yea it was fast sexy and amazing thats y

[Thor II]

I know its a reeaaly ignorant question but why did toyota nix the supra I saw a coupple the other night and they were flying down the hiway I was like DAAAAAANG.Thanks

[marlin29311]

I know its a reeaaly ignorant question but why did toyota nix the supra I saw a coupple the other night and they were flying down the hiway I was like DAAAAAANG.Thanks

Cost/marketing. Toyota realized that their best position in the market was to be the affordable/dependable/reliable auto maker. They capitalized on the daily driver market, catering to the gas and cost conscious consumer. That's why they don't even make the celica anymore - sales were owned by a select few and they weren't making out on it like they were with hits like the corolla and camry, not to mention the prius as well.

[Watermelonwarrior]

why did they have to take the supra away oh yea it was fast sexy and amazing thats y

Because they were not selling. In 1997 supra turbos were going for around $48k, and then at some point in 1998 Toyota started to discount them $10K to move what was left of them, so you could get them new for $38k. All the Japanese sports cars got expensive in the 90s... one of the main reasons for their demise.

Fast forward 10 years and you can buy a fully loaded Z between $35k an $40 (before discounts) and a corvette starting at $43 before discounts. Those were expensive cars for their time

[R350Zz33]

i thought the government created emission laws that made them not pass u.s. regulations too because they were to fast. maybe another reason.

[evildky]

cost, saftey standards and emissions standards all played a part int he death of japanese sports cars in the US, till 03 the 350z cost less than the 96 TT it relaced while mathcing performance, and complying with increeased modern saftey and emissions standards

[slipstream_pnoy]

Hate me all you want, but i have to go with honda. when i had my integra type r, never once did that car give me a problem. maintance was fairly easy and the preformance was there. as for style, its looks awfully imo. unfortunitly a (nissan) pick up side swipe me and totaled it. After that i had a hunydai. Cant say much about that car, lol. then i bought a use 95 240sx, i fell in love with that car instantly. So much potienal. if didnt live in a apartment i probably would have kept that car. totaled the 240, because the transmission went after 210k later. i plan to get another one in the near future, as soon as i get a house. as for the z, i was just in the right place at the right time. to make a story short, i went to a dealer where my friend works at. he told me that there selling a z, and that he would get a a good price for it, trust me the deal that he gave me i dont think anyone would pass it at that time. i have the car for about 6months now and no issues so far, i do get scared from time to time when i read constant threads about transmission issues, but i have high expectations on the car, so hopefully it will last me, until i get a house.