And that my friend is why I am shopping for a Truck for the my wife. OMFG, the things that I have hauled in my Mazda would make your eye pop out. Room wise the rear seat layed down has more room then any other vehcle I own. And even when I do that I need to cover and protect my custom upholstery . Makes me wish I still at least had my Ford Explorer. Eve my PT has a 10lb Nitrous bottle and roll bar, so it has less room than the Mazda.

 

NO, NO, NO....never buy a pickup truck.
I had pick-ups for nearly 40 years and all I ever did was constantly move/tow things (during my off-work time) for family and friends and would only occasionally get any gas money for it.
And too often the companies I worked for did the same thing, except that I was getting paid and they supplied the gas all while my real job requirements and paperwork were piling up.

 

I have a Frontier and the CX-5. The rear seats are not great in the Nissan and the CX-5 is also pretty tight in the backseat area. I am looking for a 5 seater with more room to stretch out in back for when I do have people in town. I really would like it to be ~190in or less. The only non luxury choices I have are the Honda Passport, KIA Sorrento, Hyundai Santa Fe and Mazda CX-50 (which is not actually any bigger in back than the CX-5 and I don't like the fact it is built in the US). The '26 CX-5 also fits the bill, but I am not interested in the old NA 2.5 they are releasing it with. Not buying anything American. If I have to go over my 190 inch limit the CX-90 comes into play as the price is pretty good for what it gives and it's built in Japan, which I prefer.

 

It's not the first time owning a Truck for me. I even owned a B2200 I did a custom paint job and built a nice fair above average sound system in it. It was my parts store delivery vehicle. LOL At this point I have had to ask my sister for help with bags of sod, bricks wood, large furniture that my wife's hobby is sort of restoring etc. And that she asked for it. So 1/2 ton RWD under 120k miles and 2000-2005 . under $10k. The issue with that criterion is my location here is right where the market in this state is one of the strongest because of yard service people wanting the same thing. LOL.
But I get what you are saying..... But if the our wives don't get what they want life can suck for us!!! rolmao.

 

ya see you read to much internet BS.... This was a HOT TOPIC on a automotive parts and service forum and most every member that worked or owned and independent service shop agreed that the media built the questionable reputation of USA made vehicles and there was NO empirical data to support that claim. And the shop I work in we get more imports than USA made vehicles and servicing at least 400+ new customers each year say something?

But hey if you can find verifiable fact based information to the contrary, I would love to read it!

I am only really responding because your response about this subject tends to get moved up in the internet pop-ups and search information (maybe just saying it aloud google, or Alixia will hear it and silently place it in the media LOL ) on the subject. So, If someone looks, I want to make sure they get alternative information to consider.

 

lol you had to look hard to fine that YouTube lol

 

I can have my opinions. My comments are based on what I have experienced with friends and family over the years and with US makers. I don't need to provide data to prove my feelings. But I will say let's look at the ongoing issues with current GM 8-sp autos(https://gmauthority.com/blog/2025/03...uit-dismissed/), GM V-8's(https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a6...ive-v8-recall/) , plastic manifold issues with Ford, oil filter housing failures on the Pentastar V-6 which was never updated by Chrysler. Sure, other makers have their problems as well (i.e. the cracked cylinder head issue on the NA Mazda 2.5l), but overall I have seen/heard more issues with US brands than imports over my lifetime.

 

I worked as a supervisor in a number of US manufacturing facilities, and like most, a HS diploma was the maximum education level attained for the majority of the line workers.
I can honestly say most of those employees work ethic was money and/or "working for the weekend" with very little interest invested in the product they were actually making.
The opposite was true for those manufacturing facilities that required degreed technicians.
Yes, as in anything, there were some exceptions, but very few.
Granted, this is based on my personal observances and actual quality data from the companies I worked for and only one was US automaker.
We do know that 48% of American vehicles are not made by US manufactures.
That and the fact that in the past 25 years foreign manufactures have increased their production by 85% while US auto companies' production has decreased by 11%.
Which makes me suspect engineering and work ethic have much to do with the quality of any product being purchased and it's perceived/actual longevity.
The last US made motor vehicle I purchased was 2010 Ford Ranger and it had so many electrical issues I dumped it after a year.
Before that, I had at least one serious issue with every US made vehicle I owned, and I follow all maintenance requirements.
I've had zero issues with any of my foreign made vehicles during my ownership of them, including my CX-5 so far (recall to replace lift gate switch but I was having no issue).

 

i only buy mazda, toyota, honda and maybe subaru...have had pretty good luck with them as far as reliability and repairs (same with family and friends)...have considered a few US made vehicles in the past but don't trust them to run into higher mileage without major problems...i was looking at a used buick tourx wagon instead of a cx-5/rav4/crv but couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger for fear of issues...the cx5 is my 5th car ever at 44 (3rd new)...my aim is to keep that # owned figure as small as possible over my lifetime

 

Ok I need to hit the hornets nest for fun.... LOL

The term "NOT MADE is often not exactly accurate.
First of all there are very few known to auto makers that manufacture all of the parts for a complete model and then assemble it in one country. You would hard press to find them. Mazda is not even close to one.
Mazda has several assembly plants all over the world. Most of us just know Mexico and Japan.
Please tell me that some of you notice when you buy part from an OEM that the same part can often be bagged in different countries yet all pulled from the same part bin box. LOL.
Then there are the standardize quality controls, it really does not matter if they have a high school diploma finished high school or went to a higher form of education when employed they are taught the specific jobs at the assembly plant, and most are under strict quality control that to use MAZDA checks every hour of each day by a human if not computers for correct assembly..
Unless you tour an auto plant then you can't really get the BIGGER picture of all the checks and balances to insure a good assembled product.

And asking friend's and family and collect information about past and present owned vehicles and call it informed, well first who really honestly does that and how did you screen out all the variables of the information collected .... Not happening LOL