Will Model 3 be your first American car?

[Chargedmr2]

I've owned cars made by Honda, Nissan, Toyota, and Lexus. Model 3 will be my first car from an American automaker. Will Model 3 be your first American car, too?

 

[melindav]

I've only ever owned Detroit cars

 

[AEdennis]

Nope.

 

[Boourns]

S was my first. Previously I have owned mostly Japanese. My wife has a Volvo now.

 

[S'toon]

My first vehicle was a POS Ford panel van I bought off a neighbour for $500.

 

[JeffK]

First American car made in America? or no... My last GM car was made in Mexico and Canada.

 

[MTL_HABS1909]

Yup. Always had Hondas and NEVER wanted to drive an American car made by the current established manufacturers.

 

[ucmndd]

I've been all over the map, American, Japanese, German, American-built German, American-built Japanese, Mexican-built American. I don't have any particular flavor of brand or nationality loyalty.

 

[alseTrick]

Nope.

A Jeep and two Olds. I've only ever owned American.

I miss the Jeep. I loved that vehicle. I'm sure both Olds were good for the first few years and 50,000 miles but I wouldn't recommend them to a friend if they were still being manufactured.

 

[Chuq]

Interesting question. I said yes, although depends what you mean. Ford and Holden (GM) have had Australian manufacturing for ages, and in the Australian psyche they are Australian cars, despite their parent companies being US based.

Counting all cars my wife and I have owned (jointly and separately), the cars with a question mark are a 1976 Ford Escort and a 1998 Holden Barina. I think the Escort was UK made and the Barina was either UK or Australian.

Apart from that we've also had 1x Mitsubishi, 3x Mazdas, 2x Subarus and 1x Nissan. All are Japanese made. There was also one Toyota (manufactured in Australia).

 

[ecarfan]

Please define what you mean by "American car".

What percentage of parts made in the US must a car have to be "American"? Even the Model S and X use parts made overseas. At the moment, if you count each battery cell as a "part", Teslas are almost entirely composed of parts from outside America. That will change with the Gigafactory of course.

Or do you mean a car made by a company founded and incorporated in America? GM manufacturers cars overseas and some of them are sold in the US. Overseas companies in Germany and Japan manufacture cars in the US using parts from all over the world. Business and trade is global, and many companies are multinational.

Personally I consider Teslas more "American" than most cars made by companies like GM and Ford. But it's a sliding scale.

 

[Chargedmr2]

Please define what you mean by "American car".

Or do you mean a car made by a company founded and incorporated in America? GM manufacturers cars overseas and some of them are sold in the US. Overseas companies in Germany and Japan manufacture cars in the US using parts from all over the world. Business and trade is global, and many companies are multinational.

Yes, it was this part of your explanation that I was getting at. I mentioned "American automaker" in my OP (but probably should have used that language more consistently and in the poll question, too) hoping that would bypass the issue about where cars are manufactured, and the extent to which their parts are US made.

 

[EinSV]

I sold my last car from a US-based manufacturer in 1983, so the Model 3 will be my first American car in 35 years. Since 1983, my cars have been from Nissan, Toyota, Subaru, Honda, Audi and Porsche. I believe the Subaru was manufactured in the US.

 

[juanmedina]

For me yes the Tesla M3 will the first American car that purchase. I own Toyota's, Honda's, Subaru's and Lexus all manufactured in Japan. There reason I bought them quality, reliability and resell value compare to their American counterparts.

 

[llngoc]

S was my first. Previously I have owned mostly Japanese. My wife has a Volvo now.

Model S was my first American built car but I see it as a Silicon Valley car. Have always been a German car fan for the past 15 years until now. Only Tesla so far and foreseeable future. (Unless wife let me get a LP580-2)

 

[328GTS]

I haven't owned an American car for at least 25 years. I have an Acura and a Ferrari in my garage now.

 

[purplewalt]

My Model S is my first American car since 1970 (used '56 Chevy was first car).
Since then all cars have been mostly German and one Swedish car (Volvo).
Model 3 will be my third American-made car.

 

[SW2Fiddler]

made in Mexico and Canada.

Which ain't Europe and ain't Asia... so... American!

 

[S3XY]

This will be my first NEW American car. I bought a used Monte Carlo when I was a kid. For the last 35 years or so I've bought Toyota, Honda, Lexus, Acura, and most recently leased a BMW. It's funny though. Up until this point I never really thought of my future Tesla as an American car.

 

[N5329K]

It's been a while. I owned a 58 Mercury Monterey and a 66 Impala. My youthful dabbling with Detroit iron ended in the 1970's, and it's been German, Swedish and Japanese ever since (until I got bored and bought a Triumph). That sorted the boredom problem pretty fast.
Robin