For those of you who drove a Japanese import in the 60’s/70’s/early 80’s, did you get any heat from family/friends/coworkers/general public about your choice of car? How bad was it? What were some of the consequences and what was the most extreme example you’ve seen or heard of?
This question applies to americans as well as some western europeans, whose auto industries were also in decline with the exception of germany.
This discussion might also be a good predictor of what will await the first owners of chinese cars when they do arrive in north america.
Grew up on the east coast. After spending a lot of money on their first new car, from AMC, and having nothing but problems with it from the start, my parents sold it and bought a Subaru. My dad was a Pacific Theater WWII vet but apparently that was not an issue for him (while Japanese and German cars were a huge issue for his WWII vet brother).
I don’t recall anybody ever catching any crap for having it, though it was not easy to service and it had its Japanese quirks (like the defroster clearing the passenger’s side of the windshield first because that’s where the driver sits in Japan). My dad drove that car until somebody in a Cadillac failed to stop at a red light and the car was totaled. Then my folks went out and bought another Subaru which they drove for years. By then the public was catching on that Japanese cars were well built and economical even if they didn’t exactly scream “status” to the neighbors.