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Washington - US drivers who own a car made overseas are more likely to be satisfied with their purchase than domestic car owners, a poll showed on Tuesday.
Seventy-seven percent of poll respondents who own a foreign car said they were happy with it versus 69% of American car owners.
Owners of US-made cars were also less likely than those who own imported vehicles to think the manufacturer of their car will still be in business in three to five years.
Almost nine in 10 - 87% - of foreign car owners who responded to the poll by Harris Interactive said they thought the company that makes the vehicle they drive will still be in business in three to five years, while among owners of US cars, only 70 percent thought so, the poll showed.
Harris Interactive surveyed 2 401 US adults between April 13-21 for the poll and made the results public on the eve of a bankruptcy court hearing for Chrysler, one of the big three American car dealers together with General Motors and Ford.
General Motors, meanwhile, is looking at a looming deadline of June 1 to come up with a viability plan to present to the administration of President Barack Obama, which has threatened to cut off emergency cash for the auto giant if it fails to produce an acceptable game plan.
The biggest of the US car makers, GM is widely expected to follow Chrysler's lead and file for bankruptcy protection.
Only Ford has not sought a loan from the US government loans to help it weather the current economic downturn.
Both Chrysler and GM have announced plans to close several thousand dealerships between them.
The Harris Interactive poll showed that just over half - 54% - of domestic car owners in the United States believed their primary dealership will still be around in three to five years' time.
Among owners of foreign-made cars, nearly three quarters thought their dealership would still be in business a few years down the road.
And of those who plan on buying or leasing another new car in future, import owners were more likely to stick with the same brand than US-made owners - 61% versus 54%.
Just 53% of American car owners said they thought the company that made their vehicle is moving in the right direction, against 72% of imported car owners.
- AFP