The only new cars I've bought prior to this were Saturns—the last of which had a CVT transmission that GM acknowledged had a defect that made it prone to premature failure. Nevertheless, GM's offered solution when mine blew last week was to cover only 50% of a replacement transmission—the same defective type that failed, at GM's retail parts and service price—or offer me $5K toward, wait for it, a brand new GM car of my choice! My car had a higher trade-in Blue Book value than $5K, but with a blown transmission I wouldn't be able to trade it in elsewhere, let alone sell it privately. Rock, meet hard place.

I've always felt that I should buy American cars, despite the fact that they've always felt a little uninspiring, despite the fact that I was always secretly jealous of friends who felt perfectly fine about buying what they wanted rather than what they thought was best for the economy. My partner has had several European cars—current car, a 2010 GTI—all of which have had that sweet fit and finish inside and out that just doesn't ever seem to come together in sub-$30K American cars. Given my circumstances I tried to like the Chevy Cruze, but there I was in a hard plastic interior in a car that drove like a couch on wheels.

Thank you, GM, for cutting me loose. Your lack of reasonable accommodation and care has at last allowed me, guilt free, to choose the fun car over the A-to-B car. I did love my Saturns in their way, actually, but neither of them ever made me turn and sneak furtive, admiring glances when walking away from my car in a parking lot, where I've chosen a space in the north forty so as to avoid potential door dings. Yup, this is that kind of love.

Oh, it's a manual justa, total stripper, in Hot Chocolate Metallic and white. If loving her is wrong, I don't want to be right.

 

I too looked at American cars before buying my Mini. I really wanted to find an American car that touched my soul and made me feel like I had to have it. Years ago, there was talk of GM bringing back the Nomad and I was really excited about the looks, but instead, we get what's available today.

 

My husband and I have owned a total of 4 American cars and 3 of them were complete nightmares. The cars themselves as well as the service offered when there was an issue. We kept our foreign made cars in the process so we knew we would have at least one reliable car around. How messed up is that?
The last one was such a ridiculous saga that we swore off forever. We only ever bought them because we thought it was the patriotic thing to do, but we feel no loyalty to any of the US brands anymore, they obviously felt no loyalty to us (as customers) so no more feeling guilty for us.
We are now almost a 2 MINI family, so we will both be vying for the job of closing the garage doors at night and getting the last glimpse in the garage .
Annette

 

If the "Big 3" would pull their heads out and build real cars, instead of bean-counter specials, they might have a shot at my car-buying dollar. They don't so they don't. Congrats on seeing the light and getting something fun to drive and that won't go completely to s*** as soon as the warranty runs out. Yes, MINIs have their own issues, but they are minor compared to the "American" offerings.

 

Welcome Cocoa-a-GoGo!!

I know what you mean by purchasing American.

I kept my recent cars as they been good to me. Ford Mustangs and a Jeep Liberty Renegade. The MINI is in its own class right now. Lots of fun to drive.

 

When you "buy American" what you are saying is it isn't as good as what the other countries are building but I'm going to buy it anyway. What you should be doing is going out and buying the best car you can find, and it should be "American", but sadly that is not the case.

 

I knew y'all would understand. The only other cars that seriously made my short list were the Scion TC and the Kia Forte Koup SX (y'know, a 10-year warranty gets awfully enticing when you've just lost your car to premature powertrain failure). In the end, the Scion wasn't nearly as much fun to drive as I wanted it to be, and the Kia, while surprisingly responsive and well-appointed for its price point, is nigh-on unavailable in a manual transmission in the U.S., and I really wanted to return to a standard. I've missed that kind of active engagement with driving—though it does get in the way of coffee drinking (that and the teensy cup holders in the Mini). And did I mention my CVT transmission was a disaster?

Clearly I made the right choice.

 

Congrats on your MINI and welcome to NAM. In the interest of full disclosure, MINI also had more than its' share of issues with CVTs in the R52 ('02-'06). A good number of owners were left with a $7k repair bill. I'd say GM was more generous than MINI was by offering 50% replacement cost. MINI has ditched the CVT in the second generation.

Hope you enjoy your MINI for many, trouble free miles (it will definitely be more fun than your Saturn was).

 

GM only began accommodating owners after a class-action lawsuit, and then partially reneged on the settlement when they restructured post-bankruptcy. It's a byzantine saga.

Perhaps CVTs are just not ready for prime time? The Kia auto had a CVT as well, and while I love the smooth ride I was understandably leery. At any rate, I'm very happy to have a manual tranny again. I'm hoping to drive this car a good long time, and clutches cost less to replace!

 

Yeah stay away from CVTs, for now.