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Automotive News & Views GM News, New Models and Market Share
8621 messages, Last post on Dec 06, 2009 at 9:34 AM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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Replying to: wjtinatl (Apr 24, 2009 7:14 pm) As for the Solstice/Sky, even though it is larger and heaver than the Miata or S2000, it has less space in the trunk, under the hood, and in the cockpit than the other two. Just a poorly planned design all around, due to the management-imposed rush job on its development. This is also why the platform was never leveraged for other RWD compacts, or even designed for a right-hand drive option. |
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Replying to: fho2008 (Apr 24, 2009 6:57 pm) Talk to the banks |
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Replying to: sgtdevlinusmc (Apr 24, 2009 6:12 pm) I am REALLY sorry to hear that. Have you asked to drive a similar car to see if they all do that? How about another dealer? |
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Replying to: chetj (Apr 24, 2009 8:38 pm) I haven't given up on domestics, just GM's crap. One thing to consider is just because a car/truck is 100% reliable doesn't mean it's desirable. Quite frankly, I've owned several GM products over the years and they've all sucked in one way or another. Only one went 40k w/o a problem and that's my wife's 07 Grand Prix (company car), which I'd gladly PAY money to get rid of if we had the choice and it has been 100% reliable. There is a reason why you can buy a 1-2 year old GP for less money than a Civic of the same vintage. Our previous GM vehicles within the last decade are a Suburban and Impala. The Impala was OK (company car), but it was plagued by GM's piss poor engineering with engine cradle and ISS (intermediate steering shaft) issues. The 3.4 while a bit crude, had decent power for a base engine (gearing was to tall) and returned good fuel economy and was fairly comfortable, at the time I really didn't like it, but having the 07 GP has given me a whole new prospective of what a terrible car is, so in that light, the Impala has moved up a bit. My Suburban was terrible in every way. Trans failed at 45k, pitman arm at 50k, a/c compressor at 60k, fuel pump at 65k, stuck HVAC controls and 4wd selector switch  70k, had to clean the throttle body every few months or the gas pedal would stick (it would stick closed, and required effort to push the pedal the first 1/8 inch then it would break free causing you to lurch when accelerating, very annoying). None of these were cheap issues with repair bills ranging from $1800 (trans), $1200 (a/c) $800 (fuel pump), $500 (HVAC issues) etc. Plus when not in the shop I had to put up with piston slap with the 5.3, it would chatter like a diesel when first started on cold mornings (known 5.3/6.0 v8 issue that GM says won't hurt anything but sounds like hell), squeaks, rattles, and electrical issues I never attempted to fix, such as the rear window washer pump turning on any time the fog lights were on and the rear wiper would leave the parked position when the rear defogger was on. This was all on a vehicle with 45k miles on it. Just pathetic Thankfully, the 07 Expedition I replaced the Suburban with has been great. It's more comfortable, much quieter, no rattles or squeaks, the 24v 5.4 v8 is smoother and pulls my camper and boat much better thanks to having more torque at a lower rpm, plus more aggressive gearing. It never feels strained. The steering is much better and even shames the steering rack in the Grand Prix. I enjoy driving it (never thought i'd say that about a 1/2 ton BOF SUV). Best of all is no problems. At 50k miles it's still tight w/o any squeaks or rattles and no issues. So I would consider another Ford based on my ownership experience so far. But I like it enough where a few problems wouldn't bother me. Some vehicles are worth putting up with some issues in my opinion.
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I don't agree that reliability is the only deciding factor when making a car purchase. Reliability does not equate to quality or desirability. My dad has pretty much always purchased Fords. He keeps his cars a long time and his past two Fords (a '92 Crown Vic and '00 Taurus) both went 200k w/o to many issues and he liked them both. Well, he bought an '09 Honda Accord EX-L v6 a few months ago. He decided to test drive a bunch of cars and buy the one he liked the best and that is what he did. He was 100% confident a new Fusion (2010 model wasn't out yet) or Taurus had the potential to be just a reliable or even better than his last two Fords, but he didn't find them desirable when compared to the Accord and he's been extremely happy so far. The domestics may have lost another lifetime customer for good as this was my dad's first non domestic car. My inlaws are pretty much the same. My FIL is a retire iron worker from the steel mills. He's always bought domestic and their last purchase, they did the same thing. They test drove everything from a Accord to Taurus and came home with a new (back in '05) Camry. My MIL loves it and it has 95k w/o any issues, my FIL just changed the front brakes for the first time. My MIL's previous '95 Saturn was falling apart and leaking trans fluid by 50k, the odds of her buying another domestic are probably pretty slim as they are extremely happy with the Camry and how their dealer treats them.
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Replying to: lilengineerboy (Apr 24, 2009 8:57 am) So, poster apparently sees innovation in Aztek, SSR, Cimmaron, etc. Innovation is fine if main attributes of product are marketable and product is "Profitable". You missed "my" point. Apparently GM top management has "never" been accountable for their decisions to start production of certain vehicles that proved failure in the marketplace - Aztek, SSR retro, Cimmaron, Allante, Reatta, etc. And to lesser extent add weird goofy vehicles such as mid 90's Impala, Buick Roadmaster, Buick Riviera, 2000's Rendezvous, last gen rental favorite Malibu and on and on and on and on. To lesser extent, some other failures that Trump might have said "You're fired" could include various Oldsmobiles (Aurora, Acheivea...), Pontiac Fiero, retro GTO..... A top mgmt guy was fired at VW for sponsoring and approving the Phateon. Seems like we have never heard of any top mgmt person at GM ever being fired by the GM board. Guess the board has also been incompetent over last 3-4 decades. Hey, not a guess. GM is in bankrupt condition.
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Replying to: dieselone (Apr 24, 2009 11:55 am) There are people that just don't know any better and do not possess ability to discern differences in driving dynamics between American and foreign brands. Many of these also buy American brands out of habit and to be loyal to the U.S. |
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Replying to: circlew (Apr 24, 2009 1:08 pm) Good points in your post. Add one more element. "GM" name should be buried and 2 new companies, Chevrolet and Cadillac, should be formed. GM has been very good at burying, ditching models over the years - Lemans, Bonneville, Roadmaster, Catalina, Caprice, etc. So now it is time to ditch "GM". Their new marketting does not have to say GM name is buried, merely that 2 great new companies are being formed: Chevrolet and Cadillac. |
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Replying to: dieselone (Apr 25, 2009 5:10 am) To me reliability is one dimensional. The vehicle gets you where you are going and back without failure. My GMC Hybrid PU was reliable. It was just not a great vehicle to drive. It had a wonderful sound system with XM as long as you were parked. Out on the highway at 65 MPH the wind noise drowned out classical music unless you turned it up to over 100 decibels. You could pull on the drivers door and it went away. Yet the dealer after 3 tries could not get it to close properly. When they adjusted it tight enough to cut out the noise you had to slam the door with such force you were afraid of breaking something. The other glaring problem was the auto shut-off. If you were on the slightest hill you could not take off without spinning the tires. It was especially bad on wet streets. I'm just happy I did not take a beating selling it after a year and a half of ownership. It was unique and that was the biggest selling point. Though it took a long time on Craigslist to get my price. Which was $7000 more than the dealer offered in trade on a new Denali. I'm thankful now that I did not get what I wanted in trade. I would probably not have liked the 2007 Denali as much as the Sequoia. |
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Replying to: bpizzuti (Apr 24, 2009 6:37 pm) Whatever life brings, Pontiac drivers can approach it with Total Confidence. Starting now. Pontiac Total Confidence is a special package of services designed to keep your hard-earned vehicle investment as well as your family safe and secure. There's nothing to add or order. Nothing. Total Confidence for Pontiac vehicles includes: • Product Protection: fully backed 5-Year, 100,000-Mile Powertrain Warranty1 • Family Protection: OnStar®2 for one year on most Pontiac vehicles • Vehicle Value Protection: Finance a new Pontiac vehicle, and we'll help protect its retail value at trade-in time3 • Payment Protection: if you lose your job due to economic reasons, Pontiac will cover up to 9 months of payments (up to $500/month)4 Best of all, Pontiac Total Confidence comes with every new 2008, 2009 and 2010 Pontiac. So starting now, you're free to shop, own and drive a Pontiac with Total Confidence. R.I.P., Old GM! What a disaster! There will be no 2010 Pontiacs and here is another pitch. Perfect!  Best of ALL, we're FREE to shop ELSEWHERE! Regards, OW |
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