Buying American Cars What Does It Mean?

7263 messages, Last post on May 27, 2009 at 4:31 AM

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What is this discussion about? Car Buying

With parts coming from everywhere, does "Buying American" have much meaning anymore? Is quality and price the bottom line?

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#6394 of 7263 If GM gets rid of Buick... by lemko Oct 14, 2008 (4:57 am)
...they've already lost half my business. Me buy a current Chevy? Yuck! They'd have to build another Caprice Classic Brougham or an Impala SS 409 to get my business. Well, maybe I can defect to Ford and get a Mercury Grand Marquis LS Ultimate or Chrysler for a 300-C Hemi if my Buick needs can't be met by GM. Replies to this message: circlew (Oct 14, 2008 6:46 am) tlong (Oct 14, 2008 8:37 pm) circlew (Oct 15, 2008 3:47 am) and 49 more... nvbanker (Oct 16, 2008 9:32 am)
#6395 of 7263 Re: If GM gets rid of Buick... [lemko] by circlew Oct 14, 2008 (6:46 am)
Replying to: lemko (Oct 14, 2008 4:57 am) Pretty soon, that 300C might be made by GM. The point is, Buick is a division. It's all about the car. A good car does not need a specific division. Caddy can make/sell any model Buick does. There is no need for 5 divisions any longer. If the merger goes through, consolidations are a given. Who knows what the heck we will see after the smoke clears. Regards, OW Replies to this message: tlong (Oct 14, 2008 8:37 pm) circlew (Oct 15, 2008 3:47 am) iwant12 (Oct 21, 2008 4:29 pm) and 48 more... nvbanker (Oct 16, 2008 9:32 am)
#6396 of 7263 Re: GMC [circlew] by cooterbfd Oct 14, 2008 (2:03 pm)
Replying to: circlew (Oct 13, 2008 3:59 pm) First of all, that ain't happening. You're right. Only Geezers buy from Lexus. The majority of people I see driving the Enclave are women in their 30's or 40's. As far as Caddy "taking over" the Enclave, my point is that for that to happen, it would probably have to adopt the "Art and Science" look. THAT is what could be a deal breaker, as they may like the Enclave's styling as is, but not like the Caddy styling. Replies to this message: circlew (Oct 14, 2008 4:30 pm) cooterbfd (Oct 17, 2008 12:24 pm) circlew (Oct 17, 2008 2:51 pm)
#6397 of 7263 Re: GMC [cooterbfd] by circlew Oct 14, 2008 (4:30 pm)
Replying to: cooterbfd (Oct 14, 2008 2:03 pm) You mean geezers buy from Buick, don't you? I agree...art and science is a deal breaker for me as well. The Enclave is much more pleasing to look at. Caddy would need to blend design philosophies of the Buick division. The point is you do not need so many models to compete. Regards, OW Replies to this message: cooterbfd (Oct 17, 2008 12:24 pm) circlew (Oct 17, 2008 2:51 pm)
#6398 of 7263 Enclave by m1miata Oct 14, 2008 (5:18 pm)
Don't see many of those Enclave on the Central Coast of California. Well that said, maybe I am not looking for SUVs, as they mostly all look the same. The Enclave (strange name), is pretty good looking, as box cars go. Guess the Murano started it all for SUVs with more striking looks to them. Why doesn't GM just have a GM standard, as Chevy, and a GM Premium Designs, with Cadillac.
#6399 of 7263 Re: If GM gets rid of Buick... [circlew] by tlong Oct 14, 2008 (8:37 pm)
Replying to: circlew (Oct 14, 2008 6:46 am) There is no need for 5 divisions any longer. Five? I count: Saab/Hummer/Pontiac/Buick/Caddy/Chevy/GMC/Saturn. Did I miss any? That's eight! It's beyond the absurd! My concern about a Chrysler merger is that GM picks up Chrysler and Jeep. Knowing GM they'd probably KEEP those names and have a nice round ten divisions. They've been reluctant to simplify for far too long. NEVER have all that complexity when you don't need it. You can add up the costs and say that the divisions don't cost all that much, but what about the intangibles - confusion, infighting, split attention of the corporate management, etc. It is a disaster. It strategically complicates and defocuses the company! And the bean counters CANNOT put a real cost on that. I can see it at the board meeting: "Well, we could give that new CUV platform to Saturn" "Pontiac is going to want something, too" "What about Chevy? We can't leave them without a new model" "Buick needs an SUV to round out their lineup, dealers are complaining" "How about we take the same basic vehicle and and we can give it to Chevy, to Buick, to Saturn, and to Pontiac? We can put the kidney grill on the front of the Pontiac version and bling up the taillights, we can advertise the Saturn version as European styling, the Chevy will be an all new American Revolution, and we could even give one to Saab and put the key on the center console and say it was born from jets...." Replies to this message: circlew (Oct 15, 2008 3:47 am) iwant12 (Oct 21, 2008 4:29 pm) circlew (Oct 21, 2008 4:32 pm) and 2 more... 1stpik (Oct 22, 2008 4:33 am) and 44 more... nvbanker (Oct 16, 2008 9:32 am)
#6400 of 7263 Re: If GM gets rid of Buick... [tlong] by circlew Oct 15, 2008 (3:47 am)
Replying to: tlong (Oct 14, 2008 8:37 pm) Well, you missed another but it's the foreign Poniac producer, Holde. It's too hard to count anymore but you got the main gist of things. It's a classic resistance to change for too long that killed GM. Now, it's sadly dying a slow death after years of insidious corporate diseases. Not one, mind you. Many, many errors and cancers. The antidote was taken too late, I'm afraid. Regards, OW Replies to this message: iwant12 (Oct 21, 2008 4:29 pm) circlew (Oct 21, 2008 4:32 pm) obyone (Oct 21, 2008 4:38 pm) iwant12 (Oct 21, 2008 5:12 pm) 1stpik (Oct 22, 2008 4:33 am) iwant12 (Oct 22, 2008 9:56 am)
#6401 of 7263 Re: If GM gets rid of Buick... [tlong] by nvbanker Oct 16, 2008 (9:32 am)
Replying to: tlong (Oct 14, 2008 8:37 pm) You missed one - DODGE.
#6402 of 7263 Dodge by m1miata Oct 16, 2008 (9:56 am)
Was looking at a Dodge Challenger yesterday. If they chopped off a foot of the bottom of that car and used 15" or 16" wheels, it would look pretty good. Oh doh! -- that be the original. Can't America design any NEW cars we have yet to see, as they did in the late 60's. Oh well, the redo of the Mustang is pretty good. For 2010 it should have a new interior and new V6, if Ford is still around. And the Camaro looks pretty good. Once again a fatter version of the original, but the side panel work on the doors helps to somewhat lessen the too tall SUV look of the new Pony car. Something which Challenger really suffers from. If the Challenger and Camaro came out in a smaller and lighter version, I think it would make more sense. And someone, please eliminate this horrible, I repeat horrible, chop top, tiny window, huge slab doors on the new cars. And if you look at Challenger, the whole car simply looks like a bloated original. And yes, the original is a beauty, so even when fat the new one is not so bad --- by today's standards.
#6403 of 7263 Re: GMC [circlew] by cooterbfd Oct 17, 2008 (12:24 pm)
Replying to: circlew (Oct 14, 2008 4:30 pm) "I agree...art and science is a deal breaker for me as well. The Enclave is much more pleasing to look at. Caddy would need to blend design philosophies of the Buick division. The point is you do not need so many models to compete. " See therein lies the problem. Caddy is doing quite nicely w/ art & science. I believe they sell more Escalades than Toyota sells Land Cruisers and LX 570's combined. You start fooling with what seems to be working, and you may turn off customers. You would, in essence, have to take the Enclave as is, and slap a crest on it to sell it as a Caddy, even if the waterfall grill is incompatible with art & science. Replies to this message: circlew (Oct 17, 2008 2:51 pm)