American Cars

Back in his home state of Michigan for a final weekend of campaigning, Mitt Romney said he hoped to be the first president who was a "car guy" and showed his personal devotion to American cars by listing the ones in his own garage. "It just feels good being back in Michigan. You know the trees are the right height," he said before an audience of the Detroit Economic Club, reprising a line that was mocked by late-night comedians. "The streets are just right. I like the fact that most of the cars I see are Detroit-made automobiles.

The gig: David Gooding, 45, is president and founder of Gooding & Co. in Santa Monica, which sells classic cars - from antiques such as a 1912 Model T Speedster to hot sports cars such as a 1973 Porsche 917/30 Can-Am Spyder - typically at auctions. Hot market: "We have seen extraordinary prices and growth in our market," he said. "It is not just a few buyers driving the price up but rather many buyers from all over the globe. " Gooding's company sold 297 collector cars last year, averaging $441,218 each.

In these tough economic times, the share of the American car market held by foreign manufacturers has taken on a sense of national urgency. Foreign firms hold 36% of the American new car market, because consumers have increasingly decided they offer the best buys. But Detroit's Big Three are clearly getting better, according to several respected surveys. The surveys, by J. D.

Back in his home state of Michigan for a final weekend of campaigning, Mitt Romney said he hoped to be the first president who was a "car guy" and showed his personal devotion to American cars by listing the ones in his own garage. "It just feels good being back in Michigan. You know the trees are the right height," he said before an audience of the Detroit Economic Club, reprising a line that was mocked by late-night comedians. "The streets are just right. I like the fact that most of the cars I see are Detroit-made automobiles.

FOR MOST OF THE 20TH CENTURY, a generous portion of what was best about America and Americans was inextricably entangled in our special relationship with the automobile. The innocence and ebullience of that relationship made us seem more human, its ubiquity made us seem more democratic, and its purity made us seem more civilized. No more. When no less an authority than William Clay Ford Jr., chief executive of the Ford Motor Co.

Japanese entrepreneur Yasuyuki Nambu wants to become a big-time importer of American cars. So just weeks after the Clinton Administration waged a bitter battle to win greater foreign access to Japan's auto market, are Detroit's Big Three applauding his high-profile efforts? Don't bet on it. Nambu--who first made a big splash selling imported designer clothes at discount prices--is among the most famous of Japan's buck-the-system "parallel importers."

Toyota Motor Corp. said it has found a way to allay frictions over Japan's chronic trade imbalance with the United States--sell American-made station wagons in the Japanese market. The car maker on Monday introduced the Scepter station wagon, Toyota's first totally American-made import for sale in Japan. Known as the Camry in the United States, it is built at Toyota Manufacturing USA in Georgetown, Ky.

The moment of clarity for me came Sunday, the second night of the Gooding & Co. classic car auction. On the block was a 1971 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, as wretched and routine a hunk of Detroit iron as ever freighted down an assembly line. Spot-welded together with the craftsmanship one might expect of unsupervised political prisoners, the Monte Carlo -- with a 402-cubic-inch V8 engine and four-barrel carburetor -- was and is a sidewalk-fumigating stink bomb, with no steering or handling to speak of, and brakes that are more rumor than fact.

Rising resale values of American cars are challenging the superior reputation of Japanese cars in holding their value, a new study of automobile leasing shows. The analysis by Salomon Bros. analyst Jack Kirnan helped to substantiate other evidence that American cars are improving in quality. Although Japanese vehicle resale value is generally higher, the Americans are catching up.

June Chase (letter, April 13) thought it would be nice to have smart gas pumps that would be able to distinguish between gas-guzzling SUVs and gas-conserving cars, such as her VW. Drivers of SUVs would be charged $2.99 per gallon and those in the VW $1.49. Here is my plan. The smart pump could distinguish between American cars and foreign cars. Those in American cars would be charged $1.50 per gallon, those in German cars $3 and those in French cars would not be allowed to buy gas. Craig Bushey Van Nuys

When Hussein Khafaji opened his Chrysler showroom here three years ago, the American cars had a tough time competing in a market flooded with cheap Korean, Iranian and Chinese imports. But people still fondly remembered the Chryslers last sold decades ago: Iraqis called the model the Abu Alaiwi, after the salesman who had brought it to Baghdad in the 1960s. Khafaji had more than nostalgia on his side, however. His ace in the hole was the name he came up with for his 300C series several months later: "the Obama.

An earthquake recently cracked the Washington Monument. Billionaire Warren Buffett wants to pay more taxes. Volkswagen is building a big-ol' American car. If you're a believer in the apocalypse, this may be a good time to replenish the canned chili in your Y2K bunkers. But whether or not you think it foretells of the end of days, VW's all-new 2012 Passat is the car they've never built for a segment they've never appreciated. Until now. The midsize class now holds Volkswagen's attention because it wants to be the world's No. 1 automaker by 2018.

Song Myoung-geun is a hard-driving car dealer pushing Fords to South Korean buyers. He's so good at his job that last year he ranked third nationwide in personal sales for the U.S.-made vehicles. The bad news: He moved 72 cars in 12 months, a rate that surely would win no awards in the United States. By comparison, the top Hyundai salesman here sold 357 vehicles and the maker's third-place finisher sold 264. Song's plight shows the challenge of selling foreign-made automobiles with their added taxes in a nation determined to peddle homegrown brands.

Ford Motor Co. unveiled what it boasted was a "world-beating" next-generation Ford Focus at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on Monday and announced its intentions to sell an all-electric version of the vehicle starting next year. The company said the electric version of the Focus would be built at a factory in Michigan that previously manufactured sport utility vehicles, which Ford President of the Americas Mark Fields observed was an example of how quickly the auto industry and consumer tastes were shifting.

The moment of clarity for me came Sunday, the second night of the Gooding & Co. classic car auction. On the block was a 1971 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, as wretched and routine a hunk of Detroit iron as ever freighted down an assembly line. Spot-welded together with the craftsmanship one might expect of unsupervised political prisoners, the Monte Carlo -- with a 402-cubic-inch V8 engine and four-barrel carburetor -- was and is a sidewalk-fumigating stink bomb, with no steering or handling to speak of, and brakes that are more rumor than fact.

"Henry Ford: The Car Man" Carin T. Ford Henry Ford's invention created a new American industry. When Henry was young, he learned how steam engines worked while watching a teakettle boil on the stove in the kitchen. When the steam escaped the teakettle, Henry would stare at it and become very interested. He thought, "What if I made my own engine by steam?" After studying hard and watching teakettles, he made his first car, the Quadricycle. His interest in the car led up to his famous Model T.

I'm sick and tired of reading so much about the superiority of the Japanese automobiles and that American cars have not caught up on quality. I for one feel the design and quality of the big three are as good as any foreign make. I've come back to buying American cars; I bought an '89 Mustang convertible last year and recently traded my Nissan for a Ford Ranger truck. I've come back--I wish everyone would. JACK D. GILLESPIE Diamond Bar

In "The Drive to 'Buy American,' " Peter Brown, editor of Automotive News, states that patriotism will not work to increase sales of American cars. He may be right. Americans need to be challenged to buy American cars out of self-interest. Since one out of six jobs in the United States is related directly or indirectly to the auto industry, it is vital that Americans realize that they can end the trade surplus with Japan and increase employment by the simple expedient of buying an American car the next time they are in the market.

A dozen Obama administration Cabinet secretaries and top officials are fanning out across the Midwest in an unusual marshaling of government firepower to tell people in communities hit hard by the bankruptcy of General Motors Corp. that Washington will help with short-term relief and long-term plans to reshape the U.S. auto industry.

Oops, it seems that many on President Obama's team, including those seeking to save the American automobile industry, do not actually drive vehicles from the American automobile industry. According to a study by the Detroit News and a White House parking lot survey by Politico.com, neither do Obama's White House staffers. Before leaving for Europe (where the Secret Service had pre-placed Obama's new armored Cadillac), the president dished out rhetorical tough love to U.S. automakers.