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Does America Even Need Its Own Automakers?

1788 messages, Last post on Mar 03, 2009 at 2:18 PM

You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires

What is this discussion about? Automotive News, Truck, Sedan, SUV

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Messages Page 178 of 180: 1; ...; 174; 175; 176; 177; 178; 179; 180; Prev; Next; Last

#1765 of 1788 Re: meanwhile, back at the ranch [dtownfb] by kdhspyder Mar 02, 2009 (6:08 am)
Replying to: dtownfb (Mar 01, 2009 5:35 pm) We're going to be paying for this for a long, long time no matter what happens. The fact that the big banks don't have a good sense of what their losses are is inexcusable. Just heard on the radio tonight that AIG lost $60B the last quarter and needs another $30B. Unbelievable! All this fancy accounting is going to drag the country down more than anything in the auto industry. We can fix GM all we want. If no one can qualify to buy a car, it won't matter. IMO it's all that fancy ( ficticious ) accounting that got us here in the first place. What's going on now is more basic accounting in doing the books they way that they should be done. It turns out the the Emperor wasn't wearing any clothes all this time and we just didn't see it.
#1766 of 1788 Re: meanwhile, back at the ranch [gagrice] by lemko Mar 02, 2009 (7:44 am)
Replying to: gagrice (Feb 28, 2009 8:08 pm) Funny, all these electronic nannies in today's cars. I managed to get by on snow and ice in a 1968 Buick Special Deluxe with nothing more high-tech than studded snow tires.
#1767 of 1788 Re: The Mini and Fiesta [Mr_Shiftright] by lemko Mar 02, 2009 (7:50 am)
Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Mar 01, 2009 12:50 pm) Popular cars weren't boring at one time. The 1960s Chevrolet Impalas are an excellent example of a non-boring popular car. Heck, even a plain-jane Biscayne had interesting styling.
#1768 of 1788 Re: meanwhile, back at the ranch [fezo] by lemko Mar 02, 2009 (7:53 am)
Replying to: fezo (Mar 01, 2009 6:56 pm) Funny thing is, both the new style and old style Oldsmobiles appealed to me. I thought the Aurora and Intrigue were beautiful cars though a Ninety-Eight Regency was more my style. Replies to this message: fezo (Mar 02, 2009 8:09 am) nippononly (Mar 02, 2009 8:51 am) fezo (Mar 02, 2009 9:03 am) xrunner2 (Mar 02, 2009 9:08 am) and 4 more... dtownfb (Mar 02, 2009 4:18 pm) and 3 more... Mr_Shiftright (Mar 02, 2009 9:08 am) kdhspyder (Mar 02, 2009 11:37 am) fezo (Mar 02, 2009 12:28 pm) and 5 more...
#1769 of 1788 Re: meanwhile, back at the ranch [lemko] by fezo Mar 02, 2009 (8:09 am)
Replying to: lemko (Mar 02, 2009 7:53 am) My goodness - I agree with three consecutive lemko posts! I grew up in the hills in NW Jersey and learned to drive on old, traditional RWD American cars - like a 67 Pontiac Tempest and 66 Biscayne (both nice looking cars BTW). We lived on the middle part of an s curve heading downhill and I was fine. Never had a mishap. The only people who ever did have a problem on that hill were cases of opps rather than weather - like the mailman who forgot to set his brake and ended up with a Jeep in the woods. I liked both the new and old Oldsmobiles as well. I still think if they'd given them a bit more time and kept at the concept they were developing teh new ones would have worked. Yes, GM has too many brands but sometimes I think they cut the wrong one there and aren't sure now which is why they are hedging their bets - on our nickle of course... Replies to this message: nippononly (Mar 02, 2009 8:51 am) fezo (Mar 02, 2009 9:03 am) xrunner2 (Mar 02, 2009 9:08 am) Mr_Shiftright (Mar 02, 2009 9:13 am) and 3 more... dtownfb (Mar 02, 2009 4:18 pm) berri (Mar 02, 2009 5:28 pm) and 2 more... Mr_Shiftright (Mar 02, 2009 9:08 am) kdhspyder (Mar 02, 2009 11:37 am) fezo (Mar 02, 2009 12:28 pm) kdhspyder (Mar 02, 2009 2:15 pm) and 4 more...
#1770 of 1788 Re: meanwhile, back at the ranch [fezo] by nippononly Mar 02, 2009 (8:51 am)
Replying to: fezo (Mar 02, 2009 8:09 am) Didn't Buick make Oldsmobile 100% redundant at the time? I am sure they just flipped a coin and Oldsmobile called 'tails'. Would htey have been better off planning in the late 90s to kill off Buick and keep Olds? Buick sure isn't setting the world on fire, would Oldsmobile have done so? Replies to this message: fezo (Mar 02, 2009 9:03 am) xrunner2 (Mar 02, 2009 9:08 am) Mr_Shiftright (Mar 02, 2009 9:13 am) bpizzuti (Mar 02, 2009 9:23 am) and 2 more... dtownfb (Mar 02, 2009 4:18 pm) berri (Mar 02, 2009 5:28 pm) xrunner2 (Mar 03, 2009 4:54 am) and 1 more...
#1771 of 1788 Re: meanwhile, back at the ranch [nippononly] by fezo Mar 02, 2009 (9:03 am)
Replying to: nippononly (Mar 02, 2009 8:51 am) Yeah, it was probably a coin flip and they thought Buick could make a better go of it. Heck, I would have thought that Buick had more staying power ti it than has actually been the case.
#1772 of 1788 Re: meanwhile, back at the ranch [fezo] by Mr_Shiftright HOST Mar 02, 2009 (9:08 am)
Replying to: fezo (Mar 02, 2009 8:09 am) I drove an MGA with snow tires in New York City for YEARS! Some good luck, some skill, some common sense---I got by just fine. (it was cold inside though).
#1773 of 1788 Re: meanwhile, back at the ranch [nippononly] by xrunner2 Mar 02, 2009 (9:08 am)
Replying to: nippononly (Mar 02, 2009 8:51 am) Wasn't it a combo of bad quality from Olds, declining sales and a lack of investement by GM to have up-to-date Olds models? Another part of the problem was the name, Oldsmobile. In new-age 90's, 2000, that name was a loser. No potential for getting youth to buy an old man's car that even told you it was old - Olds. Buick is somewhat beter in not sounding old fashioned, but still sounds strange when uttered, kind of like a burp. Replies to this message: Mr_Shiftright (Mar 02, 2009 9:13 am) bpizzuti (Mar 02, 2009 9:23 am) nippononly (Mar 02, 2009 9:42 am) Mr_Shiftright (Mar 02, 2009 9:51 am)
#1774 of 1788 Re: meanwhile, back at the ranch [xrunner2] by Mr_Shiftright HOST Mar 02, 2009 (9:13 am)
Replying to: xrunner2 (Mar 02, 2009 9:08 am) Of course these cars were named after their creators, before there was even the concept of "marketing". Car ads when Mr. Buick and Mr. Olds were in their prime were very straightforward. They said things like "It'll get you there" and "easy to drive, even for women"----things like that. We are talking WW I era. Buick and Olds were created in a different world. It's amazing they lasted as long as they did. Some say "Benz" is the oldest survivor, but actually Mercedes-Benz only dates from 1927. Contrary to Mr. Obama, America did not "invent" the car, but we certainly invented how to make a lot of them efficiently. An art we have apparently lost Replies to this message: bpizzuti (Mar 02, 2009 9:23 am) nippononly (Mar 02, 2009 9:42 am) Mr_Shiftright (Mar 02, 2009 9:51 am)

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