I haven't been in the market for another car for a while, and still aren't, so I haven't driven anything much besides my or my family's vehicles. None of them were GM or Toyota, so I didn't have any input on them. In recent days however, the company I work for replaced their worn out Taurus company car with a Chevy Impala and a Toyota Camry. The old Taurus had something like 300,000 miles on it, and had been rode hard, but was still in fair shape and ran like a scalded dog [don't ask how I know ]. So in the past few days, I got to drive both the Camry and the Impala, and boy, what a difference! They are both hand me down exec cars from the parent company, both have about 190,000 miles on them, but that is where the simularity stops. The Camry is tight, smooth, quiet, rides great, the inside looks almost new. It has plenty of power. The inside panels and controls fit and work flawlessly. Outside, the paint looks good, it shines and the doors, hood, and trunk all fit like they should. It could be a new car except for the miles on it. The Impala though, is a different story. Nothing fits quite right. The seats are worn thin [both have cloth], as is the carpet. It is noisy inside. It is sluggish and won't hardly get out of it's own way. It darts and pulls. The paint is getting thin in spots. None of the plastic body panels align properly. It looks as if it is much older than the Toyota, but it is the same year model! Now I know that I don't know the history of these two cars, but I do know that the Toyota has aged much better than the Chevy. The old Taurus was a great car and held up good, but the Toyota may even out do it. I suspect the Chevy won't make it much past 200,000 before it is a total pos. It's no wonderGM is in trouble, putting out junk like that.
Camry easily beats Impala no contest. I drive a 95 Geo Prizm(Toyota Corolla) and it drives and handles superbly. Not really fast but it will hit 70 easily and it runs quietly while getting 30mpg average. It has no issues other than the door handles are worn out and the headliner fell. I cut out the headliner cloth so it is now solid and the door handles are $15 a set at U-Pull-It off of maybe 12 Corollas and Prizms they have. None of which are there for mechanical reasons, all wrecks. The entire engine is $300 locally with 60K on it. Mine has 190K on it now and I would be surprised if it didn't have at least that left in it. No rust, A/C blows cold, radio works, airbags. I paid less than $3K for it. My daughter is 11, it will be her car in 5 years.
My sister has a 08impala and the paint on it is really crappy. The power is ok, it is a I4 after all.
I run a body shop for a Toyota dealership. There is no doubt in my mind why they are outselling them. Resale value is much higher too. The guys in my shop would rather work on the Toyota rather than other cars...especially GM products. I've had my wife in Toyotas since 97 and doesn't look like that will change. The American manufacturers are getting a real wake up call right now.
I have an H2 Hummer and I am amazed at how many electrical problems this car has. It drives great but I have been to the dealership 4 times already and gotten stranded and needed a jump start 2 times.
I have a 89 Ranger 4x4 with a 2.3 4cyl that I bought new. It just turned 336,000, my step dad said boy you messed up when I brought it home. He has had 2 Toyota's(both automatic transmission problems) and a S-10 since I have this truck. I have always had Ford products with no major problems so I guess I will stick with them.
My uncle has a 2000 F150 with 400,000 on it! He bought it used in 2001 with 6,000 miles on it. It just left him stranded for the first time ever, transmission went out completely, wouldn't pull itself in any gear. So he just put a new trans in and finally replaced the clutch for the first time ever. The engine has never been touched in it, still runs great, burns absolutely no oil. Has a 4.2 V6/5 speed.
I worked for Toyota for a spell and they are easy to work on. 10mm and 12mm and 14 mm nuts on most everything, easy. Quality parts you can feel. My mom bought a 94 Corolla DX (has moon roof also) that I ended up taking the payments on after she had it for about 5 months. I had it for like 4 years. I took care of that car and it now has nearly 300k. Only failures have been RF hub bearing (things happen when you drive 95-100 for about 1 hr straight ), starter, batteries and motor mounts. She has that car and said I would get it back when she passes. Our family has had many cars, mostly GM. The Toyota, at least the Corolla, is by far the best car our family has owned. Not that it has the same ride or space, but it will not fail you. But i'm not going to go out and get a Tundra because of it either .
