What to do?

[Paolino]

Okay, so here's what happened today. During one of my preps, this woman brought up how much she HATED her car and would never buy another American car as long as she lived. She has a 2001 Alero, and has had nothing but problems (power window motors burning out of the rarely used back windows, power door locks burning out, radio malfunctions, etc.) The topic in the conference room just became what to buy, what would you get, blah blah blah. This is basically what the poll came out to just by hearing people's responses: What they said, "Most reliable to least reliable" 1) Japanese cars 2) German cars 3) Korean cars 4) American cars So, I interjected with a few facts about American cars' quality while also explaining how there have been numerous problems with the Alero, and it was one of the problems why Olds went down. I recommended Buick (she's in her early 50's), or Chevy to her. She wanted BMW. Wouldn't even listen to try and be persuaded. Then after listening to more conversation in the room, I kept hearing stupid things like "You want a good car? Get a Jaguar." Then I pointed out to them that it's owned by Ford, and that was out of the question. So, I found myself getting REALLY pissed off quite fast, and just trying to stay silent because no matter who opened their mouth, the things that came out were getting me riled up. How would you guys have handled it? What would you have said? I realize no one was in my shoes today, but I get very adamant about people bashing GM as well as other American makes just because of the 90's as well as the biased media. No one wants to see what GM has become, nor address the incredibly high quality of a manufacturer such as Buick.

[SoCalCTS]

I would have pointed her to the Mercedes E-class which was ranked the most unreliable car ever tested by CR. I would have told her to buy and never pointed out that it is a POS. Then I would sit back and laugh my ass off.

[Black and Blue Landscaper]

ive have been in multiple situations that are quite similar. the best way is to listen to what they NEED in a car. then you name what car you think best quilifies... then you ask what they WANT from a car...it will be totally different from what they need, but most likely what they want. these people usually cannot be convinced otherwise, you can try, you can pound, you can scream, but they KNOW in their minds what they WANT is greater than what they NEED and therefore they will pick a BMW over a Buick, because its what they want that counts... best luck next time

[Drew Dowdell]

A woman in her 50s who wants a BMW simply wants a BMW for status. There is no way she's buying it for the "sport".... plus, really you live on Long Island. Can you ever actually get up past 45mph regularly anyway? She probably would be a prime canidate for a CTS or a Zephyr. Eh, let her suffer with a BMW on those awful streets..... she'll wish she got a towncar.

[z28luvr01]

When it comes to recommending cars, I smile and say "Ooooh, that's nice" no matter what they pick. I find that in most cases, people aren't looking for a recommendation...they just want to have someone validate a choice they've already made. I know it's against what I should do (and want to do), but I'm the type of person that really hates it when I say something and it goes in one ear and out the other. In your situation, how about whipping out (or at least mentioning) the JD Power reports on quality and showing them all the GM makes that appear at or near the top of the list.

[Flybrian]

There's a point at which I stop trying to convince people. Honestly, me moving certain people into a domestic would be like someone trying to move me into a Camry or Avalon (which has been tried).

[Paolino]

A woman in her 50s who wants a BMW simply wants a BMW for status. There is no way she's buying it for the "sport".... plus, really you live on Long Island. Can you ever actually get up past 45mph regularly anyway? She probably would be a prime canidate for a CTS or a Zephyr.

Eh, let her suffer with a BMW on those awful streets..... she'll wish she got a towncar.

[post="46237"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

I drive to and from work daily at 75-80mph. It's very easy to speed on the highways.

Speaking of Town Car, I'm 28 and would LOVE one (just not the last 2 generations!)

[Bimmer325]

Lately I find myself keeping quiet when clueless people discuss the automotive industry in my presence. Simply put, it makes me mad.

A friend of mine recently commented that he'd be looking into Volkswagen for their engineering and reliability. I responded with the three most recent quality surveys conducted by J.D. Power and Associates (we were on AIM). That shut him up pretty quickly.

Late last week I overheard someone in school downtalking everything FWD shortly before remarking how much they'd love to own a Cobalt. I commented that the Cobalt was actually FWD, but they insisted otherwise. Once I got into specifics like the Delta platform shared by other GMs like the Saturn ION, I noticed them nodding blankly and agreeing for sheer lack of confusion. The same person has argued that Mercedes and Chrysler never merged and are completely seperate automakers. He said something like "You know that Chrysler's are American, right?" :blink:

Something that constantly pisses me off...a kid at school INSISTS that the BMW 330Ci has a more powerful engine than the 330i. I've tried time and time again to explain that the '30' in 330 denotes a 3.0-liter engine and that the 'C' simply means 'Coupe.' Pointless.

Even worse, I overheard some guy on the train calling the Cobalt "nothing more than a re-skinned Cavalier." He went on to say "Nothing underneath's been changed."

I could go on for hours, and while most situations in my case don't involve domestic vs. import issues, they're enough to make a car nut like myself go crazy nonetheless.

[NOS2006]

I'm seemingly always in a parallel argument. Everybody will be talking down the side that I support ten times more than I guarantee any of them support their brand (or whatever is the subject). I learn to just watch and listen. Then, interject a very incisive, important fact when necessary.

[capriceman]

Autos is a very touchy subject to me. I start yelling and screaming and thorwing facts out very easily. Also tell her when she is 65 go and try to collect Social Security form Germany, Japan, or korea!!!! The U.S. will go in to a HUGE MASSIVE Depression like in the 30's if the autos is gone.

[Teh Ricer Civic!]

Autos is a very touchy subject to me. I start yelling and screaming and thorwing facts out very easily. Also tell her when she is 65 go and try to collect Social Security form Germany, Japan, or korea!!!! The U.S. will go in to a HUGE MASSIVE Depression like in the 30's if the autos is gone.

[post="46534"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

a huge massive depression.... that would be a most excellent thing! depressions create deflation... times where the dollar becomes worth MORE :) ... so well go into WW3 10 years after the depression starts and well come out as a superpower again :P

but ueah i have that problem a lot, i usually just end up smiling sheeply at them and saying "whatever". Edited November 22, 2005 by Teh Ricer Civic!