Edmunds.com | Inside Line | Auto Observer Your Account | Help | Directory
You are here:
![[F]](http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/townhall/webxicons/site.gif){kind=small}
Forums
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
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
|
|
|---|---|
|
Replying to: nippononly (Dec 01, 2008 4:17 pm) I agree, but I do think that Mullally has made a few more moves towards "righting the ship" than Wagoner and his bunch of cronies. Look at the truck side of things for instance. When was the last time you saw a commercial for the Expedition? How much advertising do you see for the the Navigator? Even the Explorer and Mountaineer have been without advertising for well over 2 years at least. Now, the Explorer is expected to go crossover (kinda pointless but maybe they know something I don't) the Mountaineer may not survive, the Expy/Navi have no remodels in sight leaving the F-series (which Ford relies heavily on to pay the bills) as the lone gas guzzler in the stable. And here, they have new "Scorpion" diesels in the works to broaden the appeal. They also made the tough (well maybe not so) choice to let go of their dead weight like Jag, LR and AM  . These brands took needed funding away from Fords core. Now, in no way am I saying that Ford is in the clear for the future. Quite the opposite actually. But when I look at the current portfolios of it compared with GM I feel a lot more confident of my support for Mullally and Ford. |
|
|
Replying to: anythngbutgm (Dec 01, 2008 1:01 pm) That's why Ford is going to be OK...they've begun factoring that in with all their models around the world. That means it costs less to "federalize" vehicles for multiple countries. Design for one country, use in all the rest, save a bunch of money, and we get the Fiesta. 
|
|
|
Replying to: elroy5 (Dec 01, 2008 4:46 pm) Uh, Ford is currently selling a midsize sedan called the Taurus. Japanese 3 are starting to get serious about the light truck segment. Yeah, right! The Tundra and Titan were serious efforts. The Tundra is an "almost full-size" truck with an interior straight out of a 1970 Dodge and the Titan is so flimsy I could tear its interior apart with my bare hands.
|
|
|
Replying to: chikoo (Dec 01, 2008 4:53 pm) Chrysler for Walter P. Chrysler Dodge for John and Horace Dodge Buick for David D. Buick Chevrolet for Louis Chevrolet
|
|
|
|
|
Replying to: lemko (Dec 02, 2008 6:07 am) Nissan is dropping the Titan after just one generation, the only possibility being selling rebadged Rams as the Gen II, which is looking unlikely with Chrysler's current woes. Titan sales have been terrible, as was the quality of this vehicle the first couple of years. bpizutti: GM has been doing the same thing for a couple of years now - consolidating vehicle design and planning for world cars. Both it and Ford were a solid 20 years late in starting this process, and in neither case is it anywhere close to coming to fruition. The Fiesta is the first model that will come from that effort at Ford, and it will be a decade or more before there is a diversity of models available that are a product of that process. I can't give Ford any more kudos than GM in that regard.
|
|
|
Replying to: lemko (Dec 02, 2008 6:22 am) If he could not make GM profitable when the rest were making big profits he is not the man to head GM. If they cannot pull out of their mess on their own, throwing good money at them will not help. It is not just about creating jobs. It is about building profitable companies that can make a go of it on their own. GM seems to have run out of time. Let them die and the others will pick up the pieces. |
|
|
Replying to: gagrice (Dec 02, 2008 6:50 am) You could also include GMC as it stands for Grabowski Motor Company - an early truck manufacturer. Daimler is for Gottlieb Daimler. |
|
|
Replying to: nippononly (Dec 02, 2008 6:49 am) True, they hadn't discovered that hard plastic had so many uses yet, back in 1970!  In those days, it was the good old fashioned exposed metal, where if you got in an accident, they'd just hose your remains off before selling the truck to the next buyer! Here's an old ad for a 1971 Dodge pickup, in a guzzied up trim level. They were trying to make it more civilized and car-like...so even back then they were trying to push off trucks as alternatives to cars! |
|
|
Replying to: lemko (Dec 02, 2008 6:07 am) Your lack of knowledge is showing. Ya might try to move out of the 70s and 80s to this century. In fact the Tundra is HUGE in comparison to the F150 and Silverado/Sierra. The Toyota and the Nissan engines are far more powerful than anything Ford has below a 3/4 ton diesel. In the normal configurations that most buyers choose both Nissan and Toyota out pull and go faster than anything either Ford or GM can provide. Those are the little kids on the block now. Hey come join us in the 21st century.
|
|
|
Replying to: gagrice (Dec 02, 2008 6:50 am) Didn't GM/Olds ultimately get the Aurora right? Then, they killed it. But, didn't the Aurora not have the "Oldsmobile" name shown anywhere on the body? But, Oldsmobile name sounds stodgy. Just like Buick. These names don't have the cachet of names such as Lexus, Infiniti, Acura. Toyota, Nissan and Honda were brilliant in creating these luxury brand names. Congress should not give a loan unless Big 3, especially GM, present well detailed plans of cutting costs, getting rid of redundant vehicles, etc., that are ready to be implemented early next year. All salaried and hourly costs will have to be cut drastically for the near term. Union needs to cooperate and be willing to rewrite contract. But, still the problem with too many dealerships. Will GM ask Congress for some kind of relief to allow them to modify their agreements with dealers?
|
|
You are here:
Forums
Automotive News & Views Do You Favor A Government Loan To The Detroit 3?
New? Join Now!
Forum Tools
Search Forums
Browse by Vehicle
Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
Today's Chats
