Sign In Join 



Do You Favor A Government Loan To The Detroit 3?

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

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

What is this discussion about? Legislation


Messages Page 105 of 397
1
...
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
...
397
Prev
Next
Last
Go To Msg #
Search This Discussion

#1035 of 3958
Re: Car Pool to Washington [dieselone] by cooterbfd
Nov 30, 2008 (9:13 am)
Reply

Replying to: dieselone (Nov 30, 2008 9:10 am)

It may be a simple set up, but the shocks were $78 for the pair, all I had to do was hook up the air lines to the new shocks.
#1036 of 3958
Re: Car Pool to Washington [dieselone] by circlew
Nov 30, 2008 (10:37 am)
Reply

Replying to: dieselone (Nov 30, 2008 7:41 am)

Damned! Forgot the A/C Compressor. Yes, that failed at 55K miles!!!!!
 
Regards,
OW
#1037 of 3958
Re: Car Pool to Washington [cooterbfd] by circlew
Nov 30, 2008 (10:39 am)
Reply

Replying to: cooterbfd (Nov 30, 2008 9:06 am)

The shock absorber was at 3,000 miles in 2003!!!!!!
 
Regards,
OW
#1038 of 3958
Re: Car Pool to Washington [nippononly] by andre1969
Nov 30, 2008 (2:05 pm)
Reply

Replying to: nippononly (Nov 30, 2008 12:03 am)

I had a chance to check these two out at the auto show this weekend, and whoa! The new Malibu is an absolute carbon copy of the Aura! I hope these two have different engines (although I don't think they do) or chassis tweaks or SOMETHING to distinguish them, because otherwise this is a blatant case of rebadging (admittedly rebadging a very good car - the Opel Vectra) which I thought GM was trying to get away from....
 
There's really no difference in engines on these cars, although the Malibu has a wider variety. It offers the 2.4 4-cyl with a 4-speed automatic or 6-speed auto, a 3.5 OHC V-6 with a 4-speed auto, and the 3.6 DOHC V-6 with the 6-speed auto. Oh, and the hybrid. The Aura only offers the 2.4/6-speed and 3.6/6-speed, and the hybrid.
 
I think the 3.5 V-6 is fleet-only though. And the 2.4/4-speed auto does let the Malibu come in at a cheaper base price. As for the badge-engineering, this is one of those cases where I don't mind it. The cars are at least different enough, style-wise, to have different identities to me. It's not like how Ford or Chrysler would often just change the easy stuff like grille inserts and taillight lenses to come up with a different car.
 
I like the rear of the Aura better than the Malibu. Something about the way the Malibu's tail just ends too flat doesn't sit right with me, and the taillights seem unfinished, somehow. And up front, the grille of the Malibu seems a bit swollen, sort of like a Camry. So with the rebadging, I guess I look at it as GM giving you a choice in style. Same basic car, but some may prefer the Malibu's style to the Aura, and vice versa. In contrast, if you shop for a Camry, Accord, or Altima, you're pretty much stuck with how they look. If you like the style, fine, but if not, you either have to deal with it, or shop elsewhere. I guess the same could hold true for GM though. You might not like the style of the Malibu, Aura, or G6!
 
As for the cupholders, I hadn't noticed. I'll have to check that out the next time I sit in one.
#1039 of 3958
Re: Car Pool to Washington [andre1969] by fezo
Nov 30, 2008 (2:14 pm)
Reply

Replying to: andre1969 (Nov 30, 2008 2:05 pm)

Yeah, they are pretty much the same car. Based on looks I like the Saturn better. But that's just me.
#1040 of 3958
Re: Car Pool to Washington [cooterbfd] by lemko
Nov 30, 2008 (3:19 pm)
Reply

Replying to: cooterbfd (Nov 29, 2008 1:37 pm)

Me too! I already intend on keeping my 1989 Cadillac Brougham forever. Who knows? I may be the only person driving a 68 year-old 1988 Buick Park Avenue by the time I pass based on the longevity of many of my relatives.
 
There will be a lot of people like us which will = much fewer new car sales with each passing year. Ironically, resale value of used domestic cars may skyrocket as there will be an increasing demand for the ones that survive as the years go on. I'd be exponentially more likely to buy a 6 year-old 2009 Cadillac or Buick versus a new Lexus or Toyota.
#1041 of 3958
Re: Car Pool to Washington [circlew] by cooterbfd
Nov 30, 2008 (3:56 pm)
Reply

Replying to: circlew (Nov 30, 2008 10:39 am)

And they didn't cover it???
#1042 of 3958
Re: Car Pool to Washington [cooterbfd] by circlew
Nov 30, 2008 (4:52 pm)
Reply

Replying to: cooterbfd (Nov 30, 2008 3:56 pm)

Yes, it was under warranty. The point is it failed and so manyproblems in under 80K miles is not first class product.
 
I purchased a bumper-to-bumper extended warranty just before the original expired and lucky I did. The only thing I was stuck with was the air bag sensor for $600...and the fluids when the A/C compressor was repaired which wasn't covered in the plan.
 
Regards,
OW
#1043 of 3958
Re: Uncle, can you spare a dime? [cooterbfd] by kdhspyder
Dec 01, 2008 (6:21 am)
Reply

Replying to: cooterbfd (Nov 29, 2008 5:08 pm)

You don't understand the first concept of the economics of capitalism. Greed.
 
'Why would they leave?', gagrice correctly asked. GREED is why they won't leave. Greed and profits are the two basic pillars of capitalism. This country needs at a minimum 10 million new vehicles annually. 12-14 million units is a 'normal' year in this new tighter environment.
 
Any company that has a multi-billion dollar manufacturing presence here and is making $Billions in profits here is not going to just up and leave....except the Detroit 3 which can't seem to exit fast enough. In fact the 'outsiders' are increasing their presence here while the D3 are shrinking their's. Why? There's money to be made here...$Billions!!!
 
As to your other point about the cost of labor, you simply have no idea of what you're talking about. With the current $ vs JY exchange rate the US labor costs are among the lowest among the developed countries.
 
I assume from your parrotted statements that you are a UAW member. Do you realize that one of the key points that the UAW wanted to happen has just occurred? Hmmmm....? It's been pushing for the JY / US$ to trade for less than 100 / 1 for years and years...that's the whole accusation of currency manipulation. Well for the past several months it's been happening. Today it's at 94 / 1.
 
The UAW should be ecstatic....except for the fact that the transplants here generally are not affected by currency issues. US$ are US$.
#1044 of 3958
Re: Car Pool to Washington [andre1969] by kdhspyder
Dec 01, 2008 (6:32 am)
Reply

Replying to: andre1969 (Nov 30, 2008 2:05 pm)

I prefer the Malibu's look and definitely the option for the 4 cyl engine which Saturn doesn't offer. Well over 50% if not 75% of midsized autos are 4cyl models. Not to offer one is a decision to marginalize onesself.
 
However... the trunk opening ( or lack thereof ) in the Malibu is a HUGE mistake. It's a big trunk it's just than you can't put anything into it that isn't near flat.
 
Other than that the Malibu is every bit a serious competitor in a very crowded market.

Messages Page 105 of 397
1
...
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
...
397
Prev
Next
Last
Go To Msg #
Search This Discussion
To POST a message, please Sign In.

New? Join Now!

Forum Tools

Please sign in.
Email Address:

Password:

Forgot Password?

Search Forums

Enter Keyword(s)

Advanced Search

Browse by Vehicle



View All Vehicles
Advertisement
Ask the Community
See What People Are Asking

Browse by Board

Browse by Topic


View All Topics

Today's Chats

Advertisement