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Automotive News & Views What if you were in charge of GM?
874 messages, Last post on Oct 28, 2009 at 10:20 AM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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Replying to: dtownfb (Jan 05, 2009 11:42 am) My one car that got dumped while the loan was still going was an 80 VW Rabbit. |
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Replying to: michaell (Jan 05, 2009 1:20 pm) Your L300 only managed to produce 180Hp from 3.0 Litres. The same model year Accord had a 3.0 Litre that put out another 60hp (240) and thanks to its 5 speed autobox compared to the L300's 4 speed probably got better gas mileage to boot. The L300 was too narrow for the American market and its shape was about as anoynomous is it gets. The L300 was an "ok" car but not a class leader. Truth is if you looked at all the expenses involved, repairs, gas and resale value, you would have saved money on the Accord in the long run. The Aura is much better than the L300 but still misses the mark. It has yet to win a comparison test. The Chevy Malibu which better utlizes the same platform set has had much better reviews. The Ion consistantly rated at the bottom of the class. It does not come close to the Civic or Mazda 3 in terms of refinement, standard features, drivability or gas mileage. The Colbalt sold at the Chevy store is again based on the same platform and is a much better car. Read some reviews of both. The Vue and the Astra is the only unique products Saturn offers, as crossovers go the Vue is not bad but "not bad" does not cut it anymore. There is no breakthrough here. Nothing that wows the buyer looking for a crossover. For about the same money you can get an Equinox which seats 6. The fact is that Saturn has never turned a profit and has failed in its misson to be an affective "import" fighter. It was one of Roger Smith's really bad business decisions to spend money on creating a new import fighting brand when he could have just had the funds spent to improve the exisiting ones. As for the pricing stategy, that too is a double-edged sword. I had a friend who was interested in one of the Lambda crossovers. He checked out the Outlook and then looked at the identical GMC Arcadia down the road. The Arcadia stickered higher, but because the GMC dealer was willing to negotiate he managed to get it for a lower price. I have never really understood brand loyalty in cars, each and everytime I buy a car, I do extensive reading and research, then thoroughly test drive the top five vehicles in the class I am looking at and pick a winner based on the car's performance, features and comfort . If all Americans bought cars this way every weak brand would be gone and we would always have top notch cars to choose from and frankly the big three would not have had the problems they are having now.
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Replying to: TIMGT5 (Jan 06, 2009 2:19 am) |
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Replying to: TIMGT5 (Jan 06, 2009 2:19 am) Again, not the way to run a company. No surprise Saturn is on the chopping block.
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Replying to: bpizzuti (Jan 06, 2009 3:27 am) The SS is a different beast altogether, with some 4-5K in engine and suspension upgrades it is a pretty fearsome little track car and recently won a car and driver comparo against the Caliber SRT, The Mazdaspeed 3 and the Civic Si. Mostly based on achieving better lap times on the road course they used. The Caliber has about the worst looking interior I have ever seen on a modern car. The driving experiance is subpar as well. If anyone thinks this car drives well. Please throw it arround some curvy roads, then repeat the same exercise with a Mazda 3s Five Door. You will learn all you need to know about what works and does not work in an entry level car. The Mazda plays in a whole different league altogether. |
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Replying to: TIMGT5 (Jan 07, 2009 2:26 am)
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Replying to: bpizzuti (Jan 07, 2009 3:18 am) |
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Replying to: TIMGT5 (Jan 07, 2009 2:26 am) And people wonder why no one is rushing to a Chrysler dealership to buy cars......
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Replying to: dtownfb (Jan 07, 2009 7:23 am) |
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Replying to: dtownfb (Jan 07, 2009 7:23 am) If someone tries your entry product and does not like it it, he or she will then go elsewhere when they are ready for something a little nicer. If on the other hand you make a high quality good driving econo box, then that favorable impression will translate into that customer looking at the rest of the lineup when they seek somethng more. The Cavalier and the neon were awful cars. Ford almost had it right with the prior Focus but decided to cut costs and keep the current model on the old platform, the one that underpinned the old Mazda Protege. Meanwhile the newer version of the "C1" chasis sits under the far superior Europeon Focus, Volvo C30 and the curent Mazda3. The 2009 Mazda3 is a five year platform that still can wipe the floor with the much newer Caliber, Colbalt and Focus in a comparison test anyday of the week. Unfortunatly for all of them Mazda is upgrading the car this year (2010) and that one is going to pack features that only a few years ago belonged on high end luxo cars and interior quality looks miles ahead of anything else in the economy class. |
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