You might find this article interesting, Marlo: http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090202/AUTO01/902020… The truth is, Ford produced a lot of junk for a lot of years. I don’t which was worse over the years: their Pinto or their Detroit Lions. My father attended Henry Ford Trade School in Detroit, and grew up there when that town was great (he was born on American Avenue, in 1921). There is plenty of blame to go around, and I don’t fault you for not buying American in 1977 or whatever. The products coming out of the Murder, er, Motor City, have been garbage until recent years. But now, contrary to myth, independent studies show many American-made cars are superior: http://www.autoblog.com/2008/01/28/american-automakers-top-jd-power-s-we… For someone like you with money, but classy enough not to be too flashy, you might consider something like the Ford Mustang: http://www.ford.com/vehicles/vehicle-showroom#/ford/ford-mustang-coupe-2…

Well, as an automotive hobbyist, I know a thing or two about cars, and I’m going to echo what James just said. If you look closely - I mean VERY closely - at the research, you will discover that Ford in particular has made enormous strides in the past five years; beyond what I thought was possible. CEO Alan Mulally (who turned Boeing around) is a smart guy who has made all the right decisions for the Blue Oval. I understand the resistance - these companies pissed away a lot of good will between the mid-’70s and early 2000’s by frankly building a lot of junk and allowing import manufacturers to gain the upper hand with better products. Certainly, nobody is going to buy an inferior product just to say they “bought American.” But today, Ford has the stuff, and now that they are adapting to a system of global platforms and bringing over some of their European product lineup [the new Fiesta (http://www.fordvehicles.com/2011fiesta/) is gorgeous and will be the class leader when it arrives], along with developing their new Ecoboost technology that couples twin turbochargers with direct injection, enabling small displacement, high mileage engines to also produce much greater power. So terms like ‘Found On Road Dead’, or ‘Fix Or Repair Daily’ simply don’t apply anymore. In fact, Ford is actually beginning to SET standards once again. Now, as to GM: slightly different story. The new Cadillac CTS is a gorgeous sedan, but GM products are a mixed bag and the company is in serious trouble…likely to return to Congress for yet another bailout. Chrysler: private company now so they don’t have to publicly reveal their numbers - but I would probably stay well away from their products for the moment, because I’m honestly not sure what this new partnership with Fiat will yield. Overall, however, I’m not sure Detroit will collapse - but it will definitely emerge in a significantly different form. And I think that’s probably a good thing for the American car industry in the long term. And James is right about the new Mustang, especially the 2010 version arriving this Spring - beautiful car, with overall quality rivaling the imports and better than any Mustang that has come before, including the classic models of the 1960s. Speaking of which, if I’m not mistaken, I seem to recall the Ford Mustang showing up in a few episodes of ‘That Girl’ - in fact, didn’t Ford supply the cars for the series? As to Mercedes and BMW - they build wonderful cars, but I know from experience that here in Vancouver, at least, they’re mostly purchased as status symbols, not because they’re necessarily so superior to other brands anymore. One final point that Phil may not have taken into consideration: What is more American - a Toyota Camry built in the United States with American labor and parts, or a Ford Fusion built in Mexico with Mexican labor and Central American parts? It’s now very much a global industry.

Bob, yeah Ted & Mar were cruising around in a shiny, red beautifully buggy - a convertible. I have a ‘73 Mercury Marquis with 65,000 original miles, excellent condition, in my garage. Anyway, the Cadillac CTS you refer to is made at the Lansing Grand River assembly plant, along with the STS and SRX models. Workers there return to the job Monday, after a month-long layoff (as part of GM’s North American shutdown of production plants to save cash). Workers at the Lansing Delta Township plant returned this past week, albeit on a single, rotating shift now. Your comment about GM being in “serious trouble” and “likely to return to Congress for yet another bailout” is speculation, though. GM’s more likely to ask Obama if it can push back the Feb. 17th deadline set by ‘W’, because they’re having difficulty negotiating all of the concessions that need to be hammered out with the UAW, bond holders, et al., on that timetable. Perhaps GM ought to consider what privately-owned Chrysler LLC did: merge with a foreign automaker to buy some time & money. Of course, some Congressmembers may flip out about providing bridge loans to a foreign entity. (But not too much heck was raised about Chrysler doing so).