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Chevy vs Ford is one of the biggest American beefs
Japanese brands like Toyota and Honda have a reputation for making very reliable cars that get you from point A to point B without much fuss. American brands like Chevy are known for their powerful engines (and bad mileage) while German brands like Audi or BMW are seen as luxury status symbols.
Both Chevy and Ford had super dedicated fans and still do. My Dad used to tell his friends “Get that damn Ford out of my driveway” needless to say he was a Chevy man.
I used to be a strictly Ford guy (owned Mustang, Bronco, F150, Explorer, Thunderbird, even a Pinto) but my wife just bought a new Toyota Highlander and that thing is awesome. Not a big fan of anything GM or Dodge makes and would likely never buy one. I don’t pay much attention to anything that comes out of Europe. But vehicles are a widely debated topic and I don’t think you would find any consensus.
Japanese: the best compact/sedans on the market. Folks will swear by their 2-decades old Corolla or Civic.
Big 3 (GM, Ford, Chrysler/whatever its called these days): probably the best selling pickups out there. Chrysler is the red-headed stepchild of the group.
Tesla: How do you know someone has a Tesla? Don’t worry, they’ll tell you.
I love American metal. Cars with big engines that purr. Japanese cars don’t do it for me. We owned a 4 cylinder Toyota and half the time I wanted to get out and push to make it go faster. They are good workhorses if you just want to get from A to B. German cars are too expensive to fix. Parts can be really outrageous. Italian sports cars are out of my budget.
Some basic stereotypes:
Honda and Toyota: reliable but uninspiring
Nissan: cars for people with horrible credit scores
VW: unreliable but more fun than Honda/Toyota
Volvo: upper middle class mom cars
BMW, Audi, Mercedes: fun and luxurious but expensive to maintain
Jaguar, Land Rover: like BMW or Mercedes, but less reliable
GM, Ford: generally good value, not particularly good or bad. The go-to brands for pickup trucks, along with RAM
Dodge: like GM or Ford, but with big engines and a worse reputation for reliability
I can’t believe it’s 2023 and BMW still hasn’t installed turn signals on its cars.
My wife and I have been driving Hondas for several years. We love them, very reliable cars. Also helps that Honda has a massive plant employing tens of thousands of people in central Ohio.
I have a romanticized view of some American cars, not so much brands, but specific models. I love Mustangs, they are just iconic. I’d like to buy and restore and old one some day, but the current generation of them also really revitalized it for me, they just seem like great cars.
I’m partial to German brands, so that is what I went with when it was time to get a new car a couple years ago. I test drove a few things, and nothing felt as good and as comfortable.
Japanese brands are still seen as super reliable and for good reason. There is something to be said for cars that will run as long as they do and also be cheap to fix when they very occassionally have issues.
American, Japanese, German, and probably Korean are really the only brands we get super exposed to here in the US. You are almost never gonna see a French car on the road or something like that.
We use acronyms to describe what we think of the different car brands.
ACURA
Another Crummy, Useless, Rotten Automobile
AUDI
Awfully Unsafe Designs Implemented
BUICK
Big Ugly Indestructible Car Killer
CHEVROLET
Cracked Heads, Every Valve Rattles, Oil Leaks Every Time
DODGE
Drips Oil & Drops Grease Everywhere
FIAT
Fix It Again, Tony!
FORD
Fix Or Repair Daily
Found On Road Dead
Fast Only Rolling Downhill
GM
General Maintenance
Garbage Motors
HONDA
Hang On, Not Done Accelerating
PORSCHE
Proof Of Rich Spoiled Children Having Everything
TOYOTA
Torturous On Your Old Tired Ass
VOLVO
Very Odd Looking Vehicular Object
VW
Virtually Worthless
Generally (with my personal opinions in parenthesis)
Toyota – boring, very reliable (reliability is exaggerated/overstated)
Honda – slightly less boring than Toyota, very reliable (agreed)
Hyundai – a decade behind Honda and Toyota (I think they’re pretty cool)
Ford – good, reliable, most popular trucks (piles of junk)
GM – good, less reliable (more reliable than they’re reputation says)
Chrysler – big engines, fun, not reliable (agreed)
Mercedes and BMW – expensive, luxurious (agreed, I’ll add over engineered)
Volkswagen – fun, reliable, kinda pricy (agreed)
Many Americans display a near irrational preference for different car brands despite the major manufacturers making nearly identical products.
Sometimes this is due to the manufacturer their parents like, their friends like, the ones they’ve had a good/bad experience with, but all major manufacturers have lemon rates and make vehicles that fit within fairly narrow market identities.
Just my personal view, figure out what type of vehicle you want and then see which manufacturer has been doing the best in that market space in recent years.
I don’t much at all about vehicles, but I’ve had two Toyotas over the past 13 years, a Yaris and now a Highlander. The Yaris I kept for 10 years, bought it brand new. I never needed to do anything to it other than replace the tires, windshield, and battery. So far the Highlander has needed nothing. Reliable is an understatement!
Also, worth mentioning, I moved up to Michigan from the south and certain people up here make fun of/hate (sometimes racially stereotypical comments) on my Toyota for not being an “American made” car. Jokes on them, the Highlander models are constructed here in the US. 🙄
Ford: nice designs, good interior, under-engineered. Sedans? We don’t make no stinkin’ sedans.
GM: good trucks, meh cars. Better built than you might expect.
Stellantis: vehicles you lease, but don’t buy. They have the shelf life of mayonnaise on a windowsill.
Toyota: reliable but dull. Coasting on their reputation, and tied to boomers. Camry is the car for people who have given up excitement and just want a to b transport with zero thought or drama. Their big trucks get awful MPG.
Lexus: see Toyota, but add a hood ornament
Nissan: not all Japanese cars are created equally well. Trucks get even worse MPG than Toyota.
Infiniti: Nissan with a hood ornament
Honda: like Toyota, but with a nod to some kind of interest in driving.
Acura: Honda with a hood ornament
Mitsubishi: i love the smell of burning oil in the morning
Mazda: fun and reliable, but not comfortable
Subaru: go anywhere, pretty reliable, good resale, kinda scrappy. Should come with large hairy dog standard.
VW: fun to drive, check engine light always on but never leaves you stranded. why buy an Audi for twice the price?
Audi: vw with AWD at twice the price.
Mercedes Benz: reputation for reliability has been unearned since the 90s. Expensive to buy and maintain, often dream car of the pretentious
BMW: fun to drive, same reliability and maintenance gripes as M-B, with an even bigger d-bag owner rep. (Porcupines and BMWs… one has the pricks on the OUTSIDE)
Jaguar/Land Rover: Jesus, why? Why would anyone?
Only commenting on ones that I’ve owned or rented.
Chevy: Cheap to fix, and you will have to fix it.
Ford: The default, IMHO. If I win the lottery, I will be buying a King Ranch F250.
GMC: Same as Chevy.
Honda: Reliable, holds value very well.
Jeep: Garbage.
Kia: Crude.
Mazda: Underrated. Up there with Honda and Toyota.
Nissan: Same as Mazda.
Subaru: Best car I have ever driven (late 2010s Legacy). My early 2000s WRX (Rex the Wondercar) was great until he blew a head gasket at 156K miles.
Toyota: Same as Honda.
VW: The Golf is a better low-end car than the similar Toyota/Honda/Mazda/Nissan models.
Toyota and Honda: super reliable, though uninspiring.
Chevy and Ford: pickup trucks. Fierce allegiances for essentially the same thing.
Mazda: super fun, super attractive, great value. They’re now entering luxury for a reasonable price.
BMW/Audi: fun, sporty, something to prove.
Mercedes: boring luxury. Boomer-mobiles. (Doesn’t include AMG)
Subaru: solid vehicle, crunchy people.
Land Rover: absolute douchebag who values name recognition over reliability.
Honda and Toyota: Reliable cars that you’ll have no trouble getting 10-15 years use out of.
Acura and Lexus: Same as the above but whoever is buying them is more status conscious.
Hyundai and Kia: For people that wanted a Honda or Toyota but also wanted to save some cash.
Anything German: Owner is status conscious and has a friend with a Honda that can drive them to the mechanic for all the crap that is constantly going wrong with their cars.
Tesla: Someone with disposable cash. Might be environmentally conscious. If they don’t have a front tag in my state, they are probably an asshat (this is true of most brands but seems particularly relevant with Tesla).
Honesty my opinion has changed on most brands since evs are available now. Like I never wanted a ford but the mache looks nice, never wanted a Chevy but the blazer also looks nice. Hell I never wanted a Hyundai but the Ioniq5 looks dope!
My Camry may not be flashy but it’s reliable, rides awesome, and will forever be cheap to maintain.
I think it’s sexy, though, with her tinted windows and black leather interior.
Nissan: Decent cars, but everyone has a reason they hate the brand.
Subaru: The counter-culture car on a budget. If you’re one of these people, you own one because a Prius is too obvious, a Fiat is too small, and you can’t afford a Tesla. Otherwise, they’re just a good, reliable brand.
Jeep: Either the outdoorsman’s car or an adult Lego set. If the latter, they’re completely defined by their car. I’m not sure what “Jeep life” is and neither do they.
Ford: Trucks
BMW: Expensive and very nice. Bad drivers, though. Will cut you off on the highway going 10 under the speed limit or ride three inches off your bumper while going 20 over making rude gestures even though the left lane’s open. Sours the brand for a lot of people.
VW: Proof German engineering is overrated.
I will die unhappy because Pontiac is no longer around
Ford – Good value, good reliability, not too luxurious or flashy. Middle market.
GM – A step below in reliability but still a good value
Chrysler/Jeep/Ram – Maximum fun minimum reliability
Toyota/Lexus – Maximum reliability, but boring and technological dinosaurs
Volvo – Chinese owned, poor reliability
Honda – You meet the nicest people. Unless it’s ridgeline.
Tesla – Great tech, incredible safety, quirky
Hyundai/Kia – The up and comers but still budget cars
BMW – Flashy trash but fun. Like a one night stand.
Mercedes – Expensive, luxurious but over engineered.
VW/Audi – Europe’s GM but worse reliability and over engineered
Subaru – Solid choice for people who don’t need a truck and live in rural snowy areas
Anything German is wildly overpriced and unreliable. And even the scheduled maintenance is insane.
Toyota: Generic but reliable. these cars won’t die.
Chevy: trucks and crossovers. corvette is iconic though.
ford: Same as chevy but I don’t view the mustang in the same as the Corvette.
Dodge: Ram is the flagship. Chargers/Challenger with either the scat pack or hellcat package screams “I follow car instagram pages and my credit score is below 350”.
Nissan: Altima that is missing most/all of the body work.
Mercedes/BMW: Upper middle class luxury. BMW drivers have a stereotype of being dicks on the road.
Subaru: The dealership for the lesbian couple 3rd date.
**American:**
Ford: the least bad of the American car makers, great trucks, good SUVs, not as reliable as the Japanese brands
Chevy: cheaply made cars, decent trucks
Dodge/RAM: cheaply made junk, typical owner has a profile picture with mirrored Oakleys and a goatee and a Trump flag
Jeep: obnoxious drivers, unreliable and cheaply made trucks that look cool, legit off-road prowess
**Japanese/Korean:**
Toyota: generally boring cars that will stay on the road longer than you’ll actually want to keep driving it
Honda: best all-around brand for the average driver, not quite as reliable or boring as Toyota, way ahead of most other brands in terms of reliability
Nissan: once-great carmaker that has fallen from grace, good for people with 500 credit scores
Mazda: underrated Japanese car maker that quietly does well on reliability ratings, nice vehicles, still not quite up to Honda/Toyota levels
Hyundai/Kia: average build quality, nice designs, has been “5 years away from Honda/Toyota” for about 20 years now
Subaru: average reliability, great safety, official car of liberal outdoorsy types
**Other:**
BMW: gorgeous cars, fun to drive, unreliable, drivers are assholes
Mercedes: boring luxury cars for boomers that cost a fortune to repair, a few models are nice though.
Audi/VW: very appealing cars that are mind-boggling to repair and expensive to own, not reliable
Land Rover: people lease them or have too much money to care about the repair bills
Honda: great engineers, excellent value cars, love the CRV, very reliable
Toyota: very good value for money, reliable
Nissan: I wouldn’t touch them and you couldn’t give me one after the political BS they pulled with Carlos Ghosn and Greg Kelley. Go bankrupt you jerks.
GM: in the past, I’ve always liked GM cars. Like the CEO. Think they’ve got a decent future with autonomous. Still wonder about quality vs. a Honda or Toyota.
Ford: Wasn’t a big fan until the past few years when I had them at rental agencies and they’ve really done a nice job with SUVs. I’d buy one. Still wonder about quality vs. a Honda or Toyota.
Is Chrysler still alive?
Tesla: I’m glad an American company is doing well. I don’t like cult of personality though. Also, I haven’t heard great things about the quality.
Kia and Hyundai: same thing. Korean. Kind of seem like Japanese cars but not quite there? Not interested.
Chinese cars: No. Just…no.
Mercedes: for some reason most people that drive them are aggressive d-bags. I couldn’t own one even though I can afford one.
BMW – I actually own a MINI and the design and quality is really nice, so I feel like I could buy a BMW but it just feels a little to much. Maybe or maybe another MINI.
Audi: nice design. I feel like I don’t know enough about them.
Volvo: safe, mostly boring.
VW: The Jetta is cool. Not super interesting cars.
Other European: I have seen cars outside of the US that are cool looking but probably aren’t sold in the US, like Citroen makes a cool little car like a MINI and Alpha Romeo has a nice sedan and compact.