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Do You Favor A Government Loan To The Detroit 3?

3958 messages,  Last post on Oct 02, 2009 at 4:52 PM

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What is this discussion about? Legislation


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#1005 of 3958
Re: Uncle, can you spare a dime? [bumpy] by cooterbfd
Nov 29, 2008 (4:02 pm)
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Replying to: bumpy (Nov 29, 2008 3:47 pm)

And that's fine. My point is that GM, through the DAT division can build products for the Japanese market. The Aveo is LHD, but the Barina is RHD. The Astra, which is an Opel, is also made in RHD. But none of them sell because not of tarriffs, but Japanese red tape.
#1006 of 3958
Re: Car Pool to Washington [bumpy] by gagrice
Nov 29, 2008 (4:03 pm)
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Replying to: bumpy (Nov 29, 2008 3:51 pm)

When I bought my Suburban it was June of 1998. I hit a deer in Sun Valley Idaho and traded my wrecked 3/4 ton Chevy truck on the Suburban. I was lucky to find a dealer that had any Suburbans as the GM strike had just started. Mine was a 1999 built in April 1998. They told me GM had reached its limit and had already started building 99 models in the Spring of 1998. Something to do with CAFE I am sure. I called around to other dealers and they were all sold out. The dealer in Hailey did match the deal I could get from a fleet manager friend in Seattle, where I had bought the truck. I would have bought the diesel model if I could find one. I was kind of pressed for time being on vacation.
#1007 of 3958
Re: Uncle, can you spare a dime? [gagrice] by cooterbfd
Nov 29, 2008 (4:08 pm)
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Replying to: gagrice (Nov 29, 2008 3:56 pm)

"....Some are kept out with crazy safety regs and crash tests. Some are kept out with emission laws that are designed to keep out competition in especially the high mileage cars."
 
Yes, but those regs are meant to protect you and me. Even GM can't sell some of their own products here (Euro cars w/ small diesels). So, in essence those regs hurt our own companies as well. BTW, do you think Japan would allow GM, or any other company to build a plant in Japan???
#1008 of 3958
Re: Uncle, can you spare a dime? [cooterbfd] by gagrice
Nov 29, 2008 (4:15 pm)
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Replying to: cooterbfd (Nov 29, 2008 4:08 pm)

do you think Japan would allow GM, or any other company to build a plant in Japan???
 
Why would we want to? It has the most expensive land on earth. The most restrictive laws. GM cannot make money here. What makes you think they could do any better if they tried in Japan. Now Japan is up against Korea and China. At least we have a presence in China. They are going to pass up our buying in just a short few years. There GDP has already passed Japan and Germany. India is just about to pass Japan for the number 3 spot. Your love for America is wonderful. Where were you when we gave away all the Electronics & appliances in the 1960s and 70s? Automobiles are the next to go. We should be thankful that we have some foreign nameplates willing to build in the USA.
#1009 of 3958
Re: Uncle, can you spare a dime? [gagrice] by cooterbfd
Nov 29, 2008 (4:24 pm)
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Replying to: gagrice (Nov 29, 2008 4:15 pm)

"Why would we want to?"
 
Because that's the only way in.
 
"....Where were you when we gave away all the Electronics & appliances in the 1960s and 70s?"
 
In diapers and Little League.
 
"...We should be thankful that we have some foreign nameplates willing to build in the USA."
 
And when the big 3 go, so will they, as there will be no incentive to remain.
#1010 of 3958
Re: Car Pool to Washington [lemko] by elroy5
Nov 29, 2008 (4:28 pm)
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Replying to: lemko (Nov 29, 2008 8:02 am)

Twelve years on your Honda? Well, that's cool. My Buick Park Avenue and Cadillac Brougham are 21 and 20 years-old respectively and both still run very well. Heck, my Grandpop's 1989 Chevrolet Caprice Classic Brougham is still with our family.
 
Yes, well my father has a 71 Impala, and it still runs pretty good. Still runs good, is about all you can say good about it though. The A/C never did work for very long, and he finally gave up on that. He barely drives it any more, because whenever he does, something else needs fixing. Just finished repairing the exhaust last week. In 2001 he bought a Malibu, against my better judgement, and has had more problems with it in 3 years since the warranty ran out (manifold gaskets, brakes, electrical problems galore), than I had with both my Accords combined over 17 years. I certainly wasn't going to buy a Malibu after his experience. He has now seen the error of his ways, and will not buy another GM car. It takes some people a lot longer to learn. Maybe one day you will get it too. Hard to teach an old dog new tricks.
#1011 of 3958
Re: Uncle, can you spare a dime? [cooterbfd] by gagrice
Nov 29, 2008 (5:01 pm)
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Replying to: cooterbfd (Nov 29, 2008 4:24 pm)

And when the big 3 go, so will they, as there will be no incentive to remain.
 
Why would they leave? The Germans, Koreans and Japanese have a US work force that are building good cars at less cost than at home. Within a year we are going to have at least another 12 million once illegal immigrants that will be legal and looking for a job like the Japanese and German car companies are offering. If Ford can get through to the thickheaded UAW that building state of the art manufacturing in the USA is a good thing. I don't think GM has the management that knows how to handle success. It has been too many decades since they were successful. At least 40 years of poor leadership.
#1012 of 3958
Re: Uncle, can you spare a dime? [gagrice] by cooterbfd
Nov 29, 2008 (5:08 pm)
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Replying to: gagrice (Nov 29, 2008 5:01 pm)

"...Why would they leave?"
 
Where are all the electronics manufacturers??? They don't build them here. No incentive to. They don't have to go home, but they can go where the labor is cheap. That is, unless labor isn't as big a deal as we make it out to be.
#1013 of 3958
Re: Car Pool to Washington [lemko] by andre1969
Nov 29, 2008 (5:11 pm)
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Replying to: lemko (Nov 29, 2008 8:02 am)

Heck, my Grandpop's 1989 Chevrolet Caprice Classic Brougham is still with our family.
 
Really? Hey, if he ever wants to get rid of that car Lemko, you should try to snatch it up! It would make a nice replacement for your '88 Park Ave, although you'd probably feel guilty driving that Caprice downtown and into bad neighborhoods and such.
#1014 of 3958
Re: Car Pool to Washington [elroy5] by andre1969
Nov 29, 2008 (5:34 pm)
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Replying to: elroy5 (Nov 29, 2008 4:28 pm)

Yes, well my father has a 71 Impala, and it still runs pretty good. Still runs good, is about all you can say good about it though. The A/C never did work for very long, and he finally gave up on that. He barely drives it any more, because whenever he does, something else needs fixing. Just finished repairing the exhaust last week.
 
When I was a kid my grandparents had a 1972 Impala, 4-door hardtop. Forest green with a white vinyl top. I loved that car. I vaguely remember, around 1978, asking them to hold onto it, because when I reached driving age, I wanted that car! Mom and Granddad both laughed at that comment, and explained to me that there was no way in hell that car would still be around when I turned 16, which was 1986. It ran well, but was rusting out pretty badly. They kept it until 1982, when it had a little over 100,000 miles on it. Sold it to some friends of the family for $600. They kept it a year, put a new vinyl top on it, and sold it for $700.
 
I'm sure it would've still been driveable by the time I got my learner's, but it would've been a rust bucket. Still, I thought it was a neat car.
 
He has now seen the error of his ways, and will not buy another GM car. It takes some people a lot longer to learn. Maybe one day you will get it too. Hard to teach an old dog new tricks.
 
Oh it'll be a cold day in hell when Lemko turns his back on GM! In his defense though, he's never been burned by a GM car. He tends to go for the bigger GM vehicles though, and bigger cars is something that GM still knows how to do, for the most part.
 
I'll admit, I've had a few GM cars that were less than stellar, but when you're talking $800 '82 Cutlass Supremes and $400 '69 Bonnevilles, so at those price points, I can't really hold GM too much at fault!
 
The only car I ever bought new was a 2000 Intrepid. It was pretty reliable up until 2007 and 130,000+ miles. That's when it started needing suspension work and the a/c started to fail. And then in 2008, around 140,000 miles, it needed a new camshaft and crankshaft sensor. So it hasn't been ultra-reliable, but it hasn't soured me to Chrysler. If anything has soured me to Chrysler, it's their current lineup! I don't like the Avenger/Sebring. The 300 is a bit too blingy for my tastes, which some might find shocking considering some of the pimpy 70's cars I've had. I do like the Charger, but don't like its cheap interior or fuel economy. But then, who buys a car like this for fuel economy!
 
If I were in the market for a new car, I'd consider something like an Accord or Altima...not because the domestic experience has soured me, but more because the Japanese are getting really good at building decent bigger cars. I'll admit though, that I'd also consider a Malibu or Aura. And I want to see what Ford's doing with the 2010 Fusion. Supposedly they're improving the 4-cyl model considerably.

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