It’s not that, it’s just an internet thang, fostered by the longterm success of claiming victimhood and thereby getting to ascribe blame elsewhere. This phenomenon is a sort of intergenerational resentment. It gets to blame all manner of problems on another generation.

It serves only to keep the masses in-fighting, and not watching where the real problems arise.

Are you kidding? These kids are spending small fortunes on tuning these rust buckets just like Civic owners.

Then again, I grew up in the guido capital of the world where Camaros and Firebirds were as common as zits and fake gold chains.

New Jersey… bad accents, bad taste, and in the 80’s, REALLY bad hair. I looked at my yearbook picture recently and thought I was looking at two parts Bon Jovi one part Horseshack. Or was it really the other way around.

The fast and furious crowd was left behind by Detroit a LONG time ago, and the rich kids in suburbia all want Audi’s, Honda’s, Toyota’s and VW’s.

Zero resale value and parents that want to dump them result in a wasteland of junk at the high schools. Ever met a kid the WANTS a Cavalier?

So.. you blame the consumer and his poor experience with the product and not the manufacturer of that product??
Gen X’s and Y’s parents learned the hard way not to trust the traditonal domestic carmakers. It’s only natural for experience to be handed down to the kids.
You go to a restaurant and get food poisoning, do you return to give them a 2nd chance?

Wow, you have enjoyed one big pile of depreciation costs. I keep my new cars longer than the average California marriage lasts, so the example of a new-every-few-years car buyer means little to my situation. I’m not the only one.

After each purchase I’ve had to respond to people of ALL ages on why I’d buy an American car. Maybe that sort of Anti-American car-ism is just entrenched on the coasts, as I’m on the Eastern Seaboard.

They all were good cars (well, the first two were “good” in a different sense than the last three), and anyone who drove in them were surprised American car companies were actually building decent cars.

I’ve never felt like I was driving a second rate car from a second rate manufacturing country. I blame the baby-boomers with their memories of GM, Ford, and Chrysler cars of the ’70s – 1995. Their negativity has rubbed off on Gen-X and Gen-Y buyers, and so the younger set is wired to not give the domestics a chance.

It’s already been established that the world won.
In passenger cars, with the exception of the Corvette, nobody considers US cars competitive or desirable. If WE dont want them, why should anybody else?

Today, I chose between two cars, one of which is built in Ontario and one in Ohio. I bought the Ontario built car, which is nominally “japanese”, not the “american” one. The canadien car was built closer to me than the American. Quality was very close but a horrid dealer body helped make the decision.

Did I buy an import ? How about my Mexican Golf ? Is it German ?

This should have been entitled Big 2.6 vs the world.

We need a better description…

dynamic88

"It’s nice that teens like Mustangs – I certainly did. Of course, by the time the finsh college, start paying those loans, start saving for a house, start a family, those thoughts of Mustangs will go right out the window until they are in their mid 50s. But I doubt Ford has any plans to update the ‘Stange before 2035 anyway."

Dang… Mid 50's… I thought that is when you buy a Vette???

LMAO

It isn’t.

Why do you think this is suspicious ? Just like their adult counterparts, I reckon that there are teens who don’t give a hoot about cars and will simply default to what their parents drive for their first car purchase—they do not know any better—nor does this group of teens probably care.

Dynamic 88 “It’s nice that teens like Mustangs – I certainly did. Of course, by the time the finsh college, start paying those loans, start saving for a house, start a family, those thoughts of Mustangs will go right out the window until they are in their mid 50s”

I have a 2005 Mustang—-and I can assure you I am not in my mid-50’s. Life is too short to not drive what you like….hopefully you will not / or did not wait until your mid 50’s to do so.

BTW—the beauty of the Mustang is that my two kids can travel with me as the back seat is more than big enough for them. Their friends think it is pretty cool that their friends Dad drives a Mustang as well….certainly much cooler than dropping off the kids at school in a grandpa like Camry.

Now look what happened when they released Fast and the Furious, 2F2F, and Tokyo Drift… It has created a world full of hatred between the Dom and Imp world… I have vette my friend has a supra they're both highly modded and both kick azz cars.

So there Live together in harmony. 

I’d say suspicious rather than interesting.

If they’d had a similar survey when I was a teen, I can promise you there’d have been no Polaras, Biscaynes, or LTDs on the list.

It’s nice that teens like Mustangs – I certainly did. Of course, by the time the finsh college, start paying those loans, start saving for a house, start a family, those thoughts of Mustangs will go right out the window until they are in their mid 50s. But I doubt Ford has any plans to update the ‘Stange before 2035 anyway.

Landcrusher: never asked you to help Ford—-and never meant this string to get into another “Ressler Thread” as I think we have all beat that topic pretty good. My main point—as stated—is based on the Teen Survey….the Ford brand still has “life” with kids.

I think that is a good thing and bodes well for the company if Mulally is able to lead them out of their self induced mess.

I think he is concentrating on the right things now (safety + reliability) to be able to retain those that buy a Ford product now. It is particulary relevant against the young target…if the point of entry into the Ford brand is positive (i.e. safe, reliable, and in the Mustangs case stylish) the better chance for a return visit to Ford (hopefully with better product line than they have now)

On an emotional level, I would be sad to see Ford go. However, I am not that attached that I care about it enough to try to help. There is a HUGE amount of harm to our country from the domestics being run the way they are. They command too many resources for their incompetent management while they feed the unions cash to subvert our government. The net effect is negative beyond the amount to be lost if all the profits they bring into the country were to dissappear.

Stephen,
I don’t think it’s $3 gas as it is the constant barrage of environmental messages they are all getting. They would be afraid to say they want a big SUV. Must be the country music crowd and rural teens bringing in the F150.

On an inter-related note, one factor that may be helping VW’s resale value these days is all the teenaged and college girls that want to buy a Jetta. I swear that the Jetta is probably the most femme oriented vehicle in the market today. THAT should be the car with the flower vase on the dash instead of the Beetle.

Panther cars, Wranglers and F150’s are definitely pegged on the testosterone side. Everything else on that list is pretty much androgynous. I would think that a Mustang convertible would actually have a fairly good female demographic to it.

I’m not counting chickens—I’m merely stating that with all of the crap Ford mgmt is trying to solve for now—the Ford brand still seems to have a base of interest with future buyers if they survive. I think that is a good thing…do you ????

My first car that I bought with my own money was a GMC S15 extended bed 4×4 pickup with a 2.8L v6. It seemed like a good idea, room for my friends and their mountain bikes and off road ability. Turned me off GM forever. Worst peice of crap I have encounted to date. I chaulk the purchase up to my ignorance of cars at the time. With the internet that is no longer an excuse. It’s no surprise to see the Jeep Wrangler in that list, I can’t imagine that they mean a late model FWD Chevy Impala though. If you need a pickup truck to haul your dirt bike well the F150 is an obvious choice. I find it hard to beleive however that a Neon or Cavalier isn’t in that list, since the parking lot at the high school down the street is packed with them.

I’m not counting chickens—I’m merely stating that with all of the crap Ford mgmt is trying to solve for now—the Ford brand still seems to have a base of interest with future buyers if they survive. I think that is a good thing…do you ????

Gee—3 Fords in the Top 10 among teens—who said the FORD brand does not have a future.

Teens? Teens don’t buy new cars. If teens want a 1989 Mustang well thats great, it’s cheap (no resale value), eary to work on and it’s a lot slower than it looks. Doesn’t help Fords sales one bit though.

Thank God the I leased the Jeep, I should have leased the LS also, but that is the past. The Jeep was replaced with an 2008 Acura. Boring, yes but reliable and great resale that has a quality feel to the interior.

Most likely won’t look at GM, Ford or Chrysler for my next purchase.