I'm sorry but I have to say that gflo has a lot of very good points. Buut.. he also has some points that I don't nessicarily agree with as well.
Coming from a girl who went from being all american when it came to cars, to having her eyes opened [if you will] to the world of imports as nice cars, I guess it's easy for me to see where everyone is coming from.
I'm not biased. haha
V8's- IN MY OPINION- sound a lot better than a four Cyl. Maybe it's all the rice that floats around, but I don't like that lawn mower racket most 4 Cyl. put out. However, if a 4Cyl is done right, it can sound really good, so I am not bashing either.
In all reality, I think it is a bit easier to work on an American car. The set up isnt as complicated and if you are dealing with a carb. you will have a much easier time working on them. DSM's seem a bit more complicated. Um, Hello? Intereference engine? Never had to deal with that on my boyfriends '82 Mustang.
I don't nessicarily agree that they are better than DSM's are better in the long run. For what you want the car for, yes, I do agree. But if you plan on driving some what lightly, American cars are good. But imports are also good cars. I've seen them run over 200k. And actually, now that I think about it most American cars won't last that long. DSM's still break though. Haha.
And he's right. By the time the cars of today are classics, I'm sure most of the DSM's will be in the junk yard. Deffinately not going to be considered a true "classic," but I am also not saying they won't be worth anything. DSM's are going to be very rare by then. I'm sure they will be worth something.
Domestics and Imports all have their share of problems and I honestly think it would be unfair to hold either superior to the other. Come on now. They both can [IMO] look great, sound great and perform great. And some can even compete against each other. Neither are superior, both are great. My advice is do what you can afford!