I have owned a few American made cars but later in life, I jumped over to Jaguar. I won’t drive anything else. There is just something about those Cats that once you drive one you can’t ever go back to anything else.
I have come to a crossroads. It’s time to make that big purchase and get myself a sports car. Even though I love Jaguars I always had in mind that I would one day buy a new Corvette. Then Jaguar threw a wrench in the gears by making their F-Type. Talk about a dilemma, I want to buy made in America but that F-Type keeps calling my name.
My friends lost leave of their senses as well, one bought a new Mustang GT, one bought a new Hellcat and another is sporting around in his shiny red Corvette. Now it’s my turn to go off the deep end.
I just no longer like any the American made sports cars. Not one of them appeals to me. So here it is, that F-Type. 575 HP of pure delight. I only wish an America car maker would produce a sports car of this caliber.
It’s just transportation and something that others can dent and scratch with their car doors.
Had a Jaguar XKE, loved to but required regular maintenance so off to went. I now drive vehicles that fit the need not one I love.
Many people think their foreign autos are more trouble free when the reality is if you take care of the American made vehicle it runs as well as any foreign auto.
The “Buy American” platitude is meaningless. If the American product were superior it wouldn’t be a question. If an inferior American product were priced so attractively that “settling” was worth the savings, there wouldn’t be a question.
I know all about the maintenance required for Jags. I do most of the work myself. That darn dealer is a thief when it comes to performing routine maintenance. The 3.0 V6 in my other Jag you have to pull the intake just to change the darn spark plugs. The dealer wanted $1,450.
I did the work myself and the parts cost me $260.00. That was new plugs, gasket kit, and 6 new coils. When the warranty runs out it’s the last time the dealer sees me for service.
When laying out that kind of money for a car it doesn’t really matter if it’s made in America or an Import. What matters is styling and quality. American made sports cars look nice but they rattle like shit is about to start falling off of them. My friend gave $60,000 for his Hellcat and the darn body lines don’t even match up. It’s great if you want to run a straight road but handles like crap on curves.
Ford makes a nice looking Mustang but they fell way short on the quality end of it. Plastic interior, thin seats, rattles, and clangs.
Ferrari actually said, the E Type jaguar was the most beautiful car ever designed. That is, sports car. To hear that from Ferrari is impressive. To me, the magic was American cars from the 20s & 30s. Never to be repeated. Packard, Cord, Auburn, and so on.
Years ago, when I was a young fleet mechanic for a major coal company, I took care of one of the executives V 12 Jaguars. It was a moody engine that needed regular tuneups; but when it was on the game, what a fun car to drive. It just jumped.
Except for some vehicles, when I buy more expensive American made products, the quality and durability of the products far exceed those of the cheaper imports.
