American-made minivans--buy one or go with something else?

[Anonymous]

Sounds like my friends' Dad who used to work for GM. They drive a Jimmy.

[Anonymous]

Have you considered a Ford Flex? I also have to buy American, for other reasons. We are loving the Ford Flex. I can't bring myself to buy an American minivan. But I think I can do the Ford Flex. It's pretty hip, nearly as sizable, no sliding doors but a third row, decent gas mileage, lots of room in the middle, and gets great reviews. We haven't made the leap yet, but spending the holiday crammed in between 2 carseats in the tight middle row of our midsize SUV has got me on the brink!

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:I'm surprised that nobody has pointed out that the "American-made" Town and Country is manufactured in Windsor, Ontario.

Or that Fiat (an Italian company) holds 53% of Chrysler shares.

[Anonymous]

Nissan has a nice looking well made van. Parts include from USA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Go and get consumer reports magazine. I just saw it last month at Costco. It compares minivans. I believe Sienna was their top pick, Honda was 2nd, and it basically said that that Chrysler was a POS. If you aren't going to keep it more than 4-5 years it might not be an issue. If you want it for 10 years I think that you could argue that it's a big waste of money and you will most likely be dealing with lots of repairs.

Why does your FIL get a say in the car you drive?

Can you test drive the American one, and then find it terribly uncomfortable? Would your husband actually force you to drive a car that puts you in pain?

If he won't budge, what about the new Ford Explorer?

,
We have a 2005 T & C and we have nicknamed it the "clown car" because of all the things that have gone wrong with it or have broken off. These include the cup holders, plastic panels on the sides of the seats, back door locks that don't work, buttons for the automatic seats that came off, 4 sets of brakes, water pump, tire sensors, rack and pinion issues, automatic door that won't close etc. We can go on and on. It is a POS and we have had two., NEVER AGAIN. Chrysler has horrible service repair and history records. Just check any Chrysler forum. Stay Far away!!!

[Anonymous]

please look at the IIHS safety ratings. http://iihs.org/
and maybe that will bolster your argument. I am always amazed at how many people drive cars that are rated terribly on crash tests (as in, you are more likely to die in a crash in that car).

This is how I will always choose cars. FWIW, I am a Toyota/Honda girl but was considering the Ford Flex until I saw how bad its crash tests were.

[Anonymous]

PP here. Also FWIW, my in-laws paid for part of our house, but there is no way they could tell me what car to drive!

[Anonymous]

Please get what you want without regard to your FIL's opinions. It's your life and money.

We have a Sienna and love it. Our budget was such that we could get either a fully loaded American brand or a basic Sienna without a ton of features. Still glad we went with the Sienna. We would have liked to "buy American" and gotten a fully loaded vehicle, but we didn't want a piece of crap. I also don't love the style. The test drove clinched it, though. Within a minute of driving off the lot we smelled a burning smell. We asked the salesman and after some "uhhhh", "well" and "ummm" pauses he came up with "oh, this is a new car and that's just the initial burn off." The interior trim on this new car had half fallen off on one side.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:please look at the IIHS safety ratings. http://iihs.org/
and maybe that will bolster your argument. I am always amazed at how many people drive cars that are rated terribly on crash tests (as in, you are more likely to die in a crash in that car).

This is how I will always choose cars. FWIW, I am a Toyota/Honda girl but was considering the Ford Flex until I saw how bad its crash tests were.

Exactly - safety should be your biggest concern. Why drive a *less* safe, less reliable "American" car just to placate your FIL? I am not interested in subsidizing bad Canadian cars, even if they are sold under an American name.