truth about domestics

Jaime Case and Chris Hodges decided to get married in a rather unusual fashion.  They decided to take a road trip and visit around two hundred of their friends and family and then get married at the end of the trip.  Ford Motor Company got wind of their plans and donated a 2010 Ford Fusion for their trip.  Since they didn’t want to take either one of their last names, they decided to chose a new one.  After much debate, they came up with “Ford” as their choice.  I love cars…but even that’s a stretch for me.  ”Stephen Corvette”…hmmm…no…”Stephen Cadillac”…not so much…”Cadillac Stephen”…hmmm that might have some potential.  Head on over to the Detroit Free Press for the full story.

(Image source: The Detroit Free Press)

Thanks in large part to the success of the government’s Cash for Clunkers program, Ford has announced production increases for the F-150 and the Escape and Mariner.  The increases will put another 10,000 F-150′s and around 2,400 Escape/Mariners on dealer lots.  For the full details, head on over to Autoblog.

The other day we posted a story about Toyota RAV4′s having a minor programming issue that can lead to a major transmission failure, and the fact that Toyota was not doing a whole lot about it.  Well today we bring you an actual Toyota recall that leaves me a little puzzled.  Word has come from Toyota that they are recalling 95,700 vehicles for brake issues that could lead to poor stopping power at low temperatures. 

Sounds great right?  Except for the fact that the recall is only for cold weather states.  As Autoblog so succinctly points out, “It’s not like a Corolla or Matrix can’t cross state lines during winter, and nobody deserves to be met with brakesicles when they try to stop.”  I couldn’t have put it better myself!  I see this leading to lawsuits as the faulty Corollas and Matrixes flood the used car market and are moved around from warmer states to colder ones.  For the full story, head on over to Autoblog.

Man up Toyota!  Take full responsiblity for your design flaws and fix all of the cars affected, not just the ones in cold states!  How would the public react if they found out that the American 3 were doing this?  They’d have a fit!  It would be all over the news, but because it’s Toyota, they get a free pass.  Makes me sick!

(Image source: Toyota)

I am personally glad that I do not have the job of selecting the 10 best American-branded cars.  I don’t even know where I’d begin.  Ok so I do (Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, Cadillac CTS-V, Mustang GT, Ford Fusion Hybrid, etc.)  That’s not the point of this article.  No, it’s to showcase the 10 best that MSN has selected.  Click the link here to head over and see if you agree or disagree with the list.

(Thanks for the tip Megan!)

(Image source: GM)

Jay Leno has a new show starting September 14th at 10 p.m. on NBC, and part of the show supposedly is a Green Car Challenge.  Jay will have celebrity guests competing against each other while driving Ford Focuses.  Sure Ford is probably paying for the cars to be there, but at 35 mpg, its hard to find a competitor with better highway fuel economy (except the also American Chevrolet Cobalt rated at 36 mpg.)  For more details, head on over to Autoblog.

(Image source: Ford)

Ever wonder how cars are tested for water leaks?  Well, now you can watch video of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt undergoing testing in a water leak chamber.

Here at Truth About Domestics, we don’t normally pick on the foreign car makers.  It just doesn’t look good, people discredit the rest of your site, or, like most of the Internet, people start to brush you off as being full of garbage.  When I saw this article though, I just had to take a break from my day and post it.

A recent post in the New York Times says that numerous Toyota RAV4 owners are coming forward saying that they spent thousands to repair their transmission, when Toyota was aware of the problem.  They continue by saying that, had Toyota let them know about the issue, it could have been corrected at a much lower cost.  Not to mention a failing transmission could be very dangerous, as one woman experienced while trying to merge onto the freeway.

A quote that put a smile on my face from Dianna Radford of Albuquerque, New Mexico, who had to pay about $4,000 for a repair on her 2002 RAV4.  “I have owned Toyotas for 12 years and I will never buy another one, the way I was treated,” she said.

For more, head on over to the New York Times.

(Image source: Weblogsinc)

If you have been watching any TV for the past 5 years or so, then chances are you’ve seen Mercury’s ads featuring the beautiful and talented Jill Wagoner.  Well, Autoblog found out that she is a bit of a car nut and decided to interview her.  Click here for the full interview as well as some official photos.

While I’m not normally a fan of how a car looks with its convertible top up, the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro (which will be a 2011 when the convertible arrives) actually looks pretty good.  The roof line doesn’t look as awkward as some of the aftermarket kits that I have seen.  Head on over to Camaro5 for the original shots.

That’s right folks.  The little “GM” badge that has appeared on all GM vehicles since 2005 will be removed starting with 2010 models.  I didn’t mind the badges, and they seemed necessary when GM had 8 brands ranging from Chevrolet, to Saab to Hummer, it was hard for people to know who was what.  Now that the General is down to just 4 brands, it should really be so hard anymore.  For the full story, head on over to The Detroit News.

(Image source)