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Automotive News & Views 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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Replying to: elroy5 (Nov 29, 2008 4:28 pm) 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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Replying to: andre1969 (Nov 29, 2008 5:34 pm) Hey, if I wanted cars the size of the one lemko likes I'd be buying GM, too! Makes perfect sense for him - and they are the things that GM does consistently well. I'm with you on the Chrysler lineup. Chrysler always had - even when their mechanicals weren't great they still looked great. Now they aren't great mechanically AND they aren't attractive.
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Replying to: fezo (Nov 29, 2008 5:54 pm) I wouldn't mind getting ahold of one of those old beasts, especially a convertible. Heck, if I could find one that's in good shape, and just use it as a fair weather car, it would probably last forever!
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your talking about Amererican cars just reminded me of a rig that is All-American that I love. The 1964 Ford pickup. Yep, if I were to step out of reality for a while and want to buy a pick-em-up truck, it would be this one. Simple, great design that looks good every time I see one. For me the same goes if I were to buy a new pickup truck. It would have to be a Ford pickup truck. Although I would look closely at a Chev pickup before I bought Ford. Doesn't matter, though, I'll probably never buy a '64 Ford pickup or a 2009 Ford pickup. Good thing I'm not the one to decide about loaning billions of dollars of cash to the Big 2 1/2...I might just along with it. 
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Replying to: andre1969 (Nov 29, 2008 5:34 pm) 
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Replying to: iluvmysephia1 (Nov 29, 2008 6:28 pm) Every once in awhile, I get the idea of buying a new (or newer used) pickup to replace my aging '85 Silverado. But then last week I finally broke down and decided to put some money into the thing. It's in the shop now, getting the power window on the driver's side and radio fixed. And as soon as he has the space in his shop for it, my mechanic is going to fix the one serious rust spot that it has, on the lower passenger side rocker. So, it'll probably be with me for the indefinite future. But unfortunately for the domestics, that means I won't be buying a new truck from them anytime soon. Although I gotta admit, I'm starting to feel this unhealthy attraction to the 2009 Ram!
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Replying to: lemko (Nov 29, 2008 8:02 am) I've known Honda owners who just got their car back from a 100,000 mile checkup that cost them $1200 and then they said that nothing has ever gone wrong with it. All the 150k+ mile Hondas I've rode in were falling apart where the drivetrain attaches to the frame. I'v kept GM cars to 19, 22, and 22 yrs and sold them in great running condition.
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Replying to: andre1969 (Nov 29, 2008 6:18 pm) One of my great regrets was seeing a light green 73 Impala convertible back when it was maybe 4 years old and not jumping on it. Oh, well... |
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A Japanese company and an American company decided to have a canoe race on the Mississippi River. Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race. On the big day the Japanese won by a mile. Afterwards, the American team became very discouraged and morally depressed. The American management decided that the reason for the crushing defeat had to be found. A "Measurement Team," made up of senior management was formed. They would investigate and recommend appropriate action. Their conclusion was that the Japanese had 8 people rowing and 1 person steering, while the Americans had 1 person rowing and 8 people steering. So American management hired a consulting company and paid them incredible amounts of money. They advised that too many people were steering the boat and not enough people were rowing. To prevent losing to the Japanese again next year, the rowing team's management structure was totally reorganized to 4 steering supervisors, 3 area steering superintendents and 1 assistant superintendent steering manager. They also implemented a new performance system that would give the 1 person rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder. It was called the "Rowing Team Quality First Program," with meetings, dinners and free pens for the rower: "We must give the rower empowerment and enrichment through this quality program." The next year the Japanese won by 2 miles. Humiliated, the American management laid off the rower for poor performance, halted development of a new canoe, sold the paddles, and canceled all capital investments for new equipment. Then they gave a High Performance Award to the steering managers and distributed the money saved as bonuses to the senior executives.
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Replying to: tlong (Nov 29, 2008 10:44 pm) 
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