# America makes good cars, just maintain them **URL:** \ **Category:** Cars\ **Created:** [March 31, 2025, 8:53pm UTC](https://community.clark.com/t/america-makes-good-cars-just-maintain-them/7377 "2025-03-31T20:53:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mark\_Kelley](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/community.clark.com/mark_kelley/32/3897_2.png) [@Mark\_Kelley](https://community.clark.com/u/Mark_Kelley)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 8:53pm UTC](https://community.clark.com/t/america-makes-good-cars-just-maintain-them/7377/1 "2025-03-31T20:53:00Z")
I owned a 2009 Ford Focus SES Sport with a 2liter naturally aspirated engine. Ran it 7 years and put 420,000 mi on it. Original engine, 4 speed auto went down at 290,000. Ran it 132,000 one year. Changed oil every 8,000 mi, full synthetic. All highway miles. Only car better for me, 2016 Toyota Avalon Hybrid with 218,000 when totaled by impaired driver in 2020. ---
**Author:** ![ochotona](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/community.clark.com/ochotona/32/293_2.png) [@ochotona](https://community.clark.com/u/ochotona)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2025, 4:11pm UTC](https://community.clark.com/t/america-makes-good-cars-just-maintain-them/7377/2 "2025-04-01T16:11:55Z")
My plan is to WAIT OUT THE TARIFFS. They will not last forever. ---
**Author:** ![geezerpk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f475e1/32.png) [@geezerpk](https://community.clark.com/u/geezerpk)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 7:33pm UTC](https://community.clark.com/t/america-makes-good-cars-just-maintain-them/7377/3 "2025-04-03T19:33:59Z")
That’s probably prudent for now. But if a majority of Americans take that prudent path for a prolonged period, it won’t bode well for the future of our economy… the “R” word is already in play with good reason. ---
**Author:** ![ochotona](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/community.clark.com/ochotona/32/293_2.png) [@ochotona](https://community.clark.com/u/ochotona)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 7:48pm UTC](https://community.clark.com/t/america-makes-good-cars-just-maintain-them/7377/4 "2025-04-03T19:48:22Z")
I originally thought the tariffs would be inflationary, and many will be because they are unavoidable consumption. Medical supplies for example. Food. We don’t grow bananas in the US do we? But big ticket or luxury items? If people are waiting those out … That’s deflationary. But slow down is looking more likely. And more job losses. ---
**Author:** ![geezerpk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f475e1/32.png) [@geezerpk](https://community.clark.com/u/geezerpk)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 9:31pm UTC](https://community.clark.com/t/america-makes-good-cars-just-maintain-them/7377/5 "2025-04-03T21:31:03Z")
> [@ochotona](#): > > But big ticket or luxury items? If people are waiting those out … That’s deflationary. Good point, but not enough to negate the impact of the tariffs by a long shot. I know there’s an esoteric school of thought that tariffs don’t cause inflation, but I think that thought will have a short shelf-life. ---
**Author:** ![butler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@butler](https://community.clark.com/u/butler)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2025, 1:48am UTC](https://community.clark.com/t/america-makes-good-cars-just-maintain-them/7377/6 "2025-04-04T01:48:36Z")
> [@ochotona](#): > > But slow down is looking more likely. And more job losses. A slow down is certainly possible…but the consumer side hasn’t been healthy in awhile. Credit card debt is at historic levels and the personal savings rate was at 3.3% at the end of 2024. The economy has been propped up by over leveraging for a long time… ---
**Author:** ![ochotona](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/community.clark.com/ochotona/32/293_2.png) [@ochotona](https://community.clark.com/u/ochotona)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2025, 12:02pm UTC](https://community.clark.com/t/america-makes-good-cars-just-maintain-them/7377/7 "2025-04-04T12:02:07Z")
Agreed. And there isn’t one consumer. If you divide the Americans into five buckets in terms of wealth… 0-20, 20-40, 40-60, 60-80, 80-100… the bottom 60% hasn’t been well for a long time.