Buying American easier said than done, car lovers say
By ERIK ORTIZ, Staff Writer, 609-272-7253 | Posted: Monday, June 8, 2009 3:10 am – PressOfAtlanticCity.com
WOODBINE – The Gentilini Ford dealership’s annual antique car show Saturday was a display of brand loyalty to American automakers, as cherry red Chevrolet Corvettes mingled with Ford Model T’s from the 1920s.
“Made in the USA” signs hung from windows. License plates were adorned with red, white and blue. Car owners were eager to proclaim that they had never bought a foreign model.
Then there were people such as Rita Polhamus, of Vineland, who said she was proud to buy American but reluctant to admit otherwise.
“She had a Toyota,” said Polhamus’ husband, Fred, as onlookers admired their 1964 Chevrolet Spyder at the car show. “Returned it after a year.”
“I never wanted to tell people I bought it,” Rita said. The couple now owns a GMC Yukon, an SUV made by General Motors Corp.
The Polhamuses said they would rather stick with American manufacturers, a patriotic sentiment, but one that needs to translate into new-car buying if the three major U.S. automakers are going to recover from their collective financial failings.
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Tags: advertising, Economy, hyundai, jeff bridges, Politics