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Automotive News & Views Can GM make Cadillac the standard of the world Again?
6098 messages, Last post on Aug 14, 2009 at 4:43 PM
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Replying to: louiswei (Dec 25, 2007 3:05 pm) why is that? Lexus has done the German car copy theme for the last 18 years. I see no reason for Cadillac to do the same. If Cadillac went conservative and copied the GErmans people would complain. If Cadillac comes up with their own aggressivem unique style then German car fans are turned off because they feel all luxury cars should look the same. For those that hate GM and the American auto industry there is nothing Cadillac can do to win their favor.
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Replying to: laurasdada (Dec 25, 2007 6:08 pm) the Catera was an import from Germany. Lets not get into anecdotal stories because I can name two long lasting domestic vehicles for each of your horror stories. Naturally I suppose you have NEVER heard of a foreign car with reliability issues. I find this is always the case with people who swear all american cars break down at 50k miles. I dont have to look hard to find accounts of imports that have been less than perfect. BTW, the 90s started nearly 18 years ago- a lot can change in this industry in 18 years. I don't know if I would buy a GM product in 1990, but I would now. marketshare? It is simplistic to relate all of GM's marketshare losses to quality. You have to ignore an awful lot of facts to make that claim. In the 80s companies like MB and BMW mainly competed on the high end, especially MB. In 2007 almost every foreign automaker has a full linuep from compacts to pickup trucks. This wasnt the case in the 70s and 80s and part of the 90s. Detroit had a lot of share by default until the competiton entered every single niche in the automarket. On top of that brands like Scion, Hyundai and Kia didnt even exist 20-25 years ago. The marketshare of the leaders is going to decline when new companies enter the marketsplace giving the customer more options. GM has far more share in the US than MB has in Europe. If MB and BMW quality is so superior I would love to know why those brands dont command a 20% or 30% share in their home market. competition leads to a fractured market which is what they have in Europe. "But that recall I (and others have) noted here, to most folks is SNAFU for GM. And that has to stop. " Here is the thing, in spite of GM's stumbles they sell more vehicles than anyone else. They are still ahead of Toyota in the US by more than a million units which is significant considering how much Toyota has grown. I wouldnt say that "most" people believe that GM cant make a quality vehicle. At the end of the day far more people chose not to buy MB, BMW or Honda than chose to not buy a GM product. Toyota has 16% share which means that 84% of Americans dont want a Toyota. I doubt you would say that stat means that most Americans are skeptical about Toyota quality and engineering. |
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Replying to: laurasdada (Dec 25, 2007 6:08 pm) In the period of time around 1980, GM did make a number of blunders that lowered quality. The Catera was a German import though. The reliability of the Mercedes 600 was noexistent - it was/is a total unreliable car, when it is working (for a day or so at a time), it is a wonderful car, but it is worse for repairs than an old Jag. When the Japanese started to invade the US market, they knew that the American impression of Japanese products was that of the carnival trinkets. They knew that if they were to be successful they were going to have to have a quality product. GM's management foolishly thought noone could possibly catch up, and it took about two decades (from about 1975 to 1995) for GM to actually decline enough to get serious attention. The Ford Pinto fuel tank was probably the worst for endangering peoples lives. |
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Replying to: mrsyj (Dec 26, 2007 5:32 am) "For those that hate GM and the American auto industry there is nothing Cadillac can do to win their favor. " "For those that hate GM and the American auto industry there is nothing GM can do to win their favor." ****************************** ****************************** ****************************** To wit the statements here that GM has had nothing but bad cars for 30 years. Gimme a break.  Let's see: 1977 Cutlasss Supreme Brogham (Tan over dark brown) 350 4-barrel, great car 1980 Cutlass Supreme Brougham (Black w/ burgundy interior cloth) 260 V8 more economical 1981 Skylark 4-cyl 1985 Skyhawk OHC 4-cyl 1987 Century 4-cyl 1989 Century 3100 V6 1993 leSabre 3800 V6 1998 leSabre 3800 V6 Series II, much different motor for those who say GM used the same motor for 50 years 2003 leSabre 3800 V6 Series II, will buy another one
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Replying to: mrsyj (Dec 26, 2007 5:30 am) Just because "everyone" is recalling makes it OK for GM to have them also. Kinda reminds me of that old saying; if your friends jump off a bridge would you do it also? Recalls for the 2007 model is NOT a good thing. That's the last year of the product cycle and they were still having problems with it? The logic is the 1st year or 2 of the new style has quality issues, and the last year should have all the kinks worked out. There's no excuse for the 2007 model to have any issues.
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Replying to: trimaster (Dec 26, 2007 9:44 am) I really do not think that this recall proves anything.
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Replying to: mrsyj (Dec 26, 2007 5:28 am) Do U have any links to back up your sales claims? Don't get me wrong, I LIKE the CTS. I think it's a great looking car. I see the car everywhere here in my area.
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Replying to: sls002 (Dec 26, 2007 9:56 am) That's my point. GM doesn't need anymore bad publicity. Hopefully this won't sway buyers who are on the fence from buying a GM product.
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Replying to: trimaster (Dec 26, 2007 9:44 am) Spare me. Most recalls these days are for issues that havent even caused any accidents. You're acting like the recall is for failed brakes. Again, Toyota has recalled more vehicles than GM in recent years but I doubt you would hesitate to purchase a Lexus. Recalls come from nearly every manufacturer in the US market, they are hardly unique to GM nor does GM lead the industry in recalls. Problems are not unique to 1st year vehicles and a quick look at CR's detailed results in their auto issue will comfirm that. Problems may decrease after the first year but they do not disappear. If that were the case all 3rd year vehicles would be 100% reliable across the board and that isnt the case. |
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Replying to: trimaster (Dec 26, 2007 10:01 am) for those who really dont want a GM product any "bad news" will convince them to stay away while similar news from MB or Lexus would barely get their attention. I love it when people say foreign brands can "afford" to have bad quality news because they have such reputations. Bad news is bad news. Toyota has had numerous issues in recent years (some havent yet led to recalls) and yet there is no one calling for consumers to abandon them. I fail to see how its more tolerable for a company like Toyota or Mercedes to have declining quality just because they used to have top notch quality and yet people have so little patience with domestic products even though every reputable source says American quality continues to improve.
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