Didn't anyone watch Gung-Ho?

So the wife's Volkswagen is in the shop, and she took my car to drive to work, leaving me to pick up a rental car. This is now the fifth rental I've had the "pleasure" of driving over the past month which has given me ample opportunity to appreciate the failures of the modern day American car.

First up, exhibit A: The Chevrolet Malibu. With a name like Malibu, I think of sandy beaches, cool ocean breezes, California girls like the Beach Boys always sang about, or a pleasant drive up the PCH. Inspiration like that should invoke designs of smooth lines and refined engineering, but instead I get this shocker of an automobile that reminds me of a granny going to a podiatrist to have her bunions looked at.



Next, I present to you exhibit B: The Dodge Caliber. The Caliber is marketed to sell in the new cross-over segment which I'm still trying to understand. SUV? Compact car? Hell, it's both all wrapped up into one. Built by the Chrysler Corporation when they were still owned by the Daimler Group, you'd think the Caliber would steal some design cues from the likes of their more respected partners at Mercedes-Benz. Alas, I guess American stubbornness to reject all things European stopped that idea in its tracks, leaving us with the car I'm driving today that looks like a full-sized SUV that got stuck in a trash compactor and folded up like an accordian. If a Dodge Durango (a pretty ugly vehicle in its own right) is a .44 Magnum revolver, the Dodge Caliber is a pellet gun. Not surprising that Daimler was more than eager to sell Chrysler off as quickly as they could just a month or two ago.



Perhaps the saving grace of the American auto industry is exhibit C: The Pontiac G6. Styling-wise, this car doesn't look half bad. It's curvy, sleek, sporty, and even has a model name that sounds pretty fast. And running through some windy roads through the mountains on Highway 17 from San Jose to Santa Cruz with this car earlier in the month was actually a lot of fun. It's quick, responsive, and handled some aggressive driving well. The downside? The interior feels like it's made of cheap plastic that's more suited for the old Star Wars toys in my parents' attic than a car. I suppose I can feel comforted by the fact that the interior components would completely vaporize in a collision, as I almost felt it would break every time I simply pushed the A/C button in the console.



Yup, if this is the level of quality we should get accustomed to from domestic automakers, I'll be giving my business to the Japanese for many years to come. Even if I was in the market for a pickup truck, I'd be more inclined to buy a Toyota Tundra right now. Seems kind of silly to me, though. How hard could it actually be to build something at the level of all the imports coming into this country. Heck, I'm almost tempted to wonder if Hyundai is building better cars.