Well, that’s about the biggest load of crap I’ve read in some time.
I would have to agree. The reason why the imports became popular about 20 years ago or so was because the american car companies were building crap. However, domestic and foreign cars are about the same when it comes to quality and reliability.
Computer Guru-
You’re correct that GM as a whole is far ahead of TMS as a whole in sales, whether you look at cars only or all vehicles or whatever. But the point is that GM sales and market share are steadily declining while TMS sales and market share are steadily increasing. Furthermore, GM sells a higher percentage of its output to commercial fleets (e. g. Enterprise Rent-A-Car) than Toyota, which indicates that individual consumers are not so hot on GM vehicles.
Chevy should be able to buy itself some sales numbers with the new 2004 Malibu (which, contrary to what the OP says, is a totally new design which shares nothing with the 1997-2003 Malibu and the 1987-96 Corsica before it) as well as the 2004 Aveo, the factory and tooling for which GM conveniently scooped up from Daewoo Motor when the latter went bankrupt after doing all the engineering and design. However, it is not yet clear whether the Malibu is going to take off against the Camry and Accord in a serious way, and whether the Aveo will hold out against the Hyundai Accent, Toyota Echo and the new Scion xA, all of which seem to have exemplary build quality.
Although GM has problems, I don’t think they are in danger of utter failure. The company that’s closest to that is Ford Motor Company, which has not put out many really new products in the last few years and is relying on aging designs. There are a lot of new car models supposedly in the works for 2005 and 2006 model years (Ford Futura and 500, Mercury Monarch and Montego) but details are still sketchy and it is unclear when these vehicles will actually hit the showrooms – at best, they are a year or two away. Ford also tends to have problems with new model launches. The 2000 Focus recently claimed the title of Most Safety Recalls, previously held by the 1980 Chevy Citation. When production of the new 2004 F150 recently began, they actually held all the trucks for the first month of production in a gigantic lot to inspect them for flaws – and it’s a good thing they did, because a welding defect was found that probably would have made for an embarrassing recall if it had not been caught. So at least Ford is doing what they have to do to correct their problems before they reach and annoy the buying public, but it remains to be seen whether they will be able to survive the next few years which seem to be a make-or-break period for the company.
-Andrew L
That 2004 Malibu is sweet.
I think the biggest thing GM probably has going right now is the 4, 5 and 6 cylinder engine that is making its way into the market. A 220Hp 5 cylinder engine has some appeal, as well as a 270HP 6.
On the other hand, I think a SUV engine made in mainland China is something that they would have a tough time selling me. Plus, the new T-bird they introduced not too long ago is destine for extinction an a year or so.(or so I read)
All things considered, If only dreams came true, I think that new Infinity G-35 coupe would fit nicely in my garage.
I wish that they wouldn’t have them as rentals.
I didn’t know it was from Daewoo. I thought that design came from Suzuki (SP?). I guess you’ll learn something new everyday
I think it will be a top seller. I’ve seen pictures and have the specs for it. It’s a great looking car with great specs.
Fords, IMO, are starting to go downhill. I think that GM is going uphill, and IMHO in about 10 or so years from now, GM will overtake the market again. That’s just my opinion.
Gang, FYI, from The Economist:
snip
Also take into account in the B3 there are 475,000 workers on pension, compared to 300,000 active workers.
My guess is The Union’s days are numbered.
One of the reasons GM’s offering 0% financing is because it’s pension fund is underfunded.
This is misleading. I worked in the service industry for ten years and the simple fact is that the majority of what we serviced was whatever brands we sold the most of.
Attrayant
I should have mentioned it is a Toyota dealership.
A busy service department can be an example of consumers voting with their pocketbooks, instead of a reflection on product quality.
Here’s the thing. Yes, Chevy is coming out with a replacement for the Malibu, which Chevy no doubt claims with be an exponential improvement in every way over the malibu. Which it may well be. But the Malibu lagged fairly far behind the “imports” in all of the quality surveys. And the thing that the Big 3 don’t seem to get is that they can’t afford to be "just as good as the Japanese automakers quality/service wise if they expect to stop losing market share. They have to be better. But to do so would mean the Big 3 would have to partially reinvent a good bit of their car-making procedures, which would cost lots and lots and lots of money, which would mean that they would have to make cuts in other areas. It would wind up being quite like a vicious circle, but the Big 3 have no one but themselves to blame.
That’s a big hurdle. That’s why in my mind it’s either the UAW goes or the Big 3 will go the way of the Edsel.
Tuckerfan, any word from PT’s heirs on the subject?
I have a '97 Taurus and its held up well considering all the crap I put it through. It also has well over 100k miles.
What’s wrong with the big 3? In my opinion, some quality issues are still there. But overall, and especially with GM motors, is that all their different stuff still looks the same. Last time I was at an auto show, the biggest thing that bothered me is that interiors for many GM/US cars are so UGLY, not all that ergonomic, and all look the same. Too many exteriors look the same as well.
I agree with much that is being said here. The big 3 are in decline and probably won’t stop dropping until some fabulous cars start hitting the streets. The power of the big 3 is generally the whole “built in the US” thing (although not really true, the Ford Windstar for example is built in Windsor, Canada).
I figure the big 3 are getting the back lash from selling poorly built/designed vehicles to the last generation. My first car was my dad’s 1992 Voyager which made me vow never to touch a Chrysler again, then came my 1988 bonneville which turned me off from GM.
I now own a Toyota Matrix (and had a chance to take a tour of the factory - really cool) which is (IMO) a Canadian car. Built in canada with canadian parts except for the transmission (built in japan) the rest is made and assembled here in Cambridge.
The thing is, my first purchase was a Toyota at 23 (I’m 25 now) and I’m probably going to buy 10 new cars in my life, all of them are going to be Toyotas (with the exception of the 350Z for my GF). If I had a good experience with an american car, I would buy american but after all the problems with them, I just don’t trust them. And I’m not prepared to try my luck with a $35K purchase even if the big 3 have cleaned up their acts.
I drive a '98 Ford Contour that I absolutely love, just paid off, and would tend to want to keep until it dies.
I recently did some car shopping and found that Ford now has no car even remotely like the Contour. There’s the Focus which seems completely overpriced and is butt-ugly. Then there’s the Taurus which is out of the price range I wanted to spend.
I would have gone back to Ford, but that isn’t an option if I would end up with a Focus.
Grr.
Julie
I’ve not heard anything about them discussing Rickenbacker. From my miniscule contact with the family, they seem happy just having people remember who PT was. They are, however, quite proud of what he tried to do, and one of his grandsons owns a sub sandwich shop which offers one called the “Tucker Torpedo.”
One of the reasons, is that GM, Ford, and Chrysler have been laying off thousands of american workers(who like and drive american cars) and replacing them with foreign workers from India or other H1-B and L-1 visa people, who seem to prefer japanese cars.
Also, from what I have seen, most of the recent immigrants coming into our country, particuarly from asia, seem to prefer asian cars. Its no coincidence that Asian cars have done very well in California for a long time, ever since they have been trying to get more and more asians to come live there.
As the United States becomes more diverse, there increasingly will be less and less loyalty/reason for most people living here to buy “American cars”, why should they?
Um, no.
First, I’ll be looking for the cite that the big 3 have been using foreign workers in U.S. plants. What they have been doing is sourcing some components (and sometimes even final assembly) to foreign countries (notably Mexico).
Second, you do realize, don’t you, that many (most? I’ll look it up) “Japanese” cars are assembled in the United States.
“Asian” cars do well in California because Japanese car designers make more flexible designs (sensible, given the relative size of the domestic market there and the potential export markets) and can comply with California emissions requirements more cheaply and more reliably than cars from U.S. designers.
And there’s no specific reason why Americans should buy “American” cars, diversity or none. They should buy the car which provides them with the best utility and value.
I disagree. It was the quality. Though I’ll concede that that Lincoln-window/oval stuff was a doozy of ugly. In '91 or thereabouts, not only was the Taurus the best-selling sedan but it was way up the charts on the J.D. power reliability survey. By the mid-nineties, it was back down in the teens, rank-wise. Ford had taken its eye off quality (again).
Earth calling Susanann. Earth calling Susanann.
You scare me dude. Does reality EVER enter your world, or do you simply live on a sustained diet of Doritos and the Xenophobic Channel?