Pushing an Australian car as a "domestic" really doesn't help your case, let alone one that isn't even sold here. European and Australian Fords are a world apart... they aren't made or even designed here. However, many of the best offerings from GM/Ford are being shipped over here anyways; Ford's insanely popular Focus was brought over from Europe. The Pontiac GTO is a Holden Monaro, and the G8 is a Holden Commodore.
What would you prefer?
Focus (UK) or
Focus (US)
Mondeo or
Fusion
Falcon or
Taurus
Vectra or
G6
H1 or
H2
I guess Ford and GM think Americans aren't interested in cars without big gaudy chrome grilles. They seem to suggest that everyone in America has some sort of inferiority complex, which nothing but blocks of chrome can fix. Of course all that chrome comes at a cost, so the interiors are still made out of bullshit plastic, they still run on agricultural motors, and they still don't understand what consumers want.
It's either that, or they sell out the classics like the Hummer, Mustang, or Charger. The new 2-door Challenger SRT8 went from a gorgeous showcar to a GM parts bin interior, 20 inch wheels, no manual option, less than 100lbs lighter than the charger srt-8 (and 300lbs heavier than a 4-door CTS-V??)... on par if not slower than a mustang gt all for the low price of $38000.
SIIIGHH.
Current "domestic" offerings remind me of a highschool nerd trying to fit in with the cool crowd. HEY GUYS CHECK OUT MY BLING!! Aw station wagons are soo gaaay man. Did you know I have FIVE slurpee sized cupholders?!? Totally unaware that he is in fact not cool at all... poor little guy, he tries so hard!
GM and Ford seem to be behaving as if Detroit is still the center of the automotive universe. Once upon a time it was, but the market is global now, and they need to learn how to be competitive. In order to do that, they have to give the people what they want... which to them still seems to be chrome and pushrod. What they really need to do is follow suit to their European and Australian counterparts, and offer competitive (instead of just adequate) cars at excellent value! Heck, they can even keep the modern knockoffs of their glory day cars... I think they are great! But how about they make them something worthy of their former day praise as well!
I am starting to see evidence of this turnaround happening... the new Cadillac CTS for example, or the new Chevy Malibu, seem to be a huge leap in the right direction. The Corvette interior is getting cleaned up, to match the lump under the hood. The Solstice and Sky are taking big bites out of the Miata compact sportscar market. Their lineup has taken a huge about-face from the disaster they had in the 80's and 90's, and it's going to take some time to build up their cred again.
So I do think there are some good domestic cars out there, but on the whole they still seem to have a pretty messed up idea of what the consumer wants. European and Japanese cars have their troubles as well... Toyotas get sludged due to "high mileage oil changes", and VW's 4th gen cars were an electronic nightmare. However, they still seem to be producing cars that people actually want to buy...
As far as which car is better on the track? Who gives a shit. Japanese corners hurrr American straightline oxcart hurrr... what a boring argument. ALL cars are fun to modify and can be exceedingly fast. Bdubs has an Intrepid, not a 1000hp tuned Fox Body Stang, so I don't see how this argument is at all relevant.
You may have not seen anywhere up towards that range, but my friend you need to make a trip to the south
