My first car was a cherry-red 1965 Mustang 280 V8.  My dad and I took evening auto body classes at my high school; kind of a father/daughter thing to restore it to mint condition.  I loved that car.  This started my love affair with American Made Cars.

When my husband and I first met it was a match made in heaven on many levels; one of which being a shared love of American Cars.  Scott drove a brand new, chestnut-brown, special order, F150 regular cab pick-up.  What a great truck.  As we started our family the Mustang was sold for a more sensible vehicle, a Jeep Grand Cherokee.  When our second child arrived, the regular cab truck was upgraded to a ¾ Ton Ford Crew Cab.  Our family enjoyed many camping trips in our F250 and overhead camper.  As time progressed and camping became RVing; the perfect tow vehicle was a chili pepper red Jeep Wrangler.  Nothing would be better than an afternoon with the top down, kids in the back, and a picnic in the mountains.  Even our RV’s have all been American Made. 

Our love affair didn’t stop there.  At work, when offered to choose a company vehicle to use, we insisted on a GMC Envoy.  Scott and I were the only people at our corporate office to drive an American made car.  Time moved forward, our business horizons expanded, and again we needed a vehicle only American ingenuity could provide; a 2005 GMC 2500 Sierra Crew Cab; perfect for renovating houses but classy enough for a night on the town.

Then in 2007 gasoline prices were going through the roof with no end in sight.  We knew it was time to park the big truck and purchase a more fuel efficient vehicle.  Naturally we instantly turned to our faithful American Auto Makers… but no luck.  We couldn’t find anything that offered the room we needed, the luxury we wanted, the quality we expected, the fuel efficiency that the economy and the environment demanded, but most of all at a price that was competitive to foreign counterparts.  So we did the unthinkable; we looked at a foreign car maker renowned for innovation, Volkswagen.  They had a wide selection of gorgeous, fuel efficient cars at 20-30% less than American car dealers.  But we still felt loyal to American products so we farmed bids from every dealer in our area.  We explained what we wanted.  The closest match was a Ford Fusion that compared to the VW Passat.  They were close on almost everything until we got to the pricing, the Ford Fusion didn’t even compare with the VW price.  Every dealer was the same.  Some didn’t even try, they just said, “Sorry can’t help you.”  After 17 years of American Car purchasing, we purchased a foreign vehicle.     

My first foreign car is a 2007, metallic black, 2.0 Turbo Wolfsburg Special Edition, Volkswagen Passat.  I’m in love; beautiful car, affordable luxury, great gas mileage.  Everyday it seems I read another news article on an American Car Maker asking for more taxpayer handouts, bailout money needed because of the “bad” economy.  I say it’s not the economy boys; you dropped the ball and the foreign team was there to pick up the fumble and run it into the end zone. 

If American Car Makers want my business back, stop reaching into my pocket and start building better cars.  Woo me, who knows, I just might fall in love all over again.