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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 (Jun 26, 2009 10:11 am) One thing that Europe does very well is maintain its highways and surface streets. Drive through Germany and you will not see the potholed, cratered roads that you see too frequently in America. The Autobahn for example is 3X thicker than any interstate in America and its surface is glass smooth. The result is that companies like Audi, BMW, Mercedes, et al, can focus much more intensley on their vehicle's driving dynamics. Where as the D3 had to concentrate on islolation and a absorbatant ride. The American versions of the German iron are actually "dumbed down" for our roads. On the super smooth autobahn surfaces everything rides well, even normally stiff cars here feel like lincoln town cars there. So any car with uncertainty in its motion, lack of body control, and float are rejected by European buyers. Also with gas north of 5 bucks a gallon a premium is placed on fuel efficiency. So the Euro middle class go for high mileage, compact cars. Often compacts there are sold with a lot of luxury features that until recently just began appearing here (Leather, navi, power seats, high end stereos etc) in that class of car. In order to compete in those markets GM, Ford and Chrysler have had to adapt and produce cars that were well engineered with a much higher level of perfomance than seen in NA. The European buyes are much more demanding about quality engineering and driving dynamics than your typical Americans, hence the greater emphaisis on quality and driving ability.
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Replying to: TIMGT5 (Jun 26, 2009 11:31 am) Although the USA is currently the only superpower in the world, some aspects of our country are trending toward 3rd world status. |
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"General Motors execs obviously won't admit it, but clearly politics played a part in their decision to build future small cars in Michigan instead of Tennessee. " Maybe Corker Should Have Corked It GM To Announce Michigan Gets Its Small Car Plant In other GM news, "General Motors North America President Troy Clarke said the automaker has yet to find a model that is suitable to build at the GM-Toyota joint venture plant in California, New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. " Nada For NUMMI, So Far Finally, the HUMMER sale is in doubt and GM To Close Louisiana Truck Plant. (AutoObserver for all links)
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Replying to: steve_ (Jun 26, 2009 12:51 pm) Keep in mind that 15 years of Cavaliers never made them a dime, its sole reason for exisitance was CAFE, if were a purely business decision that model would have either been built offshore or not at all. Same goes with the Ford Escort. If GM is forced down this path, history will repeat itself.
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Replying to: bumpy (Jun 26, 2009 11:29 am) Sounds like a self-fulfilling prophecy to me. BMW and MB don't have trouble charging a lot of $$ for luxurious cars. Buick name is just too tarnished in this country to pay that kind of money. Sort of like VW trying the Phateon. Why don't they bring those Chinese Buicks here and call them Caddys? |
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Replying to: TIMGT5 (Jun 26, 2009 11:31 am) The result is that companies like Audi, BMW, Mercedes, et al, can focus much more intensley on their vehicle's driving dynamics. Where as the D3 had to concentrate on islolation and a absorbatant ride. The American versions of the German iron are actually "dumbed down" for our roads. On the super smooth autobahn surfaces everything rides well, even normally stiff cars here feel like lincoln town cars there. So any car with uncertainty in its motion, lack of body control, and float are rejected by European buyers. I don't really buy that, as there are also a LOT more cobblestone streets in Europe and the MBs, BMWs, Audis, do just fine there, too.
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Replying to: TIMGT5 (Jun 26, 2009 1:43 pm) Now, how is this possible when Toyota builds their Corrolla on a Union assembly line in a state with some of the highest taxes in the country (California)? Do they not make money on these cars???
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Replying to: tlong (Jun 26, 2009 2:02 pm) And yes the Autobahn is far superior in construction to any public road we have in the US.
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Replying to: TIMGT5 (Jun 26, 2009 2:15 pm) 
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Replying to: cooterbfd (Jun 26, 2009 2:12 pm) The Corolla, Matix and Vibe are not classified as "B" cars. Toyota's B car is the Yaris, which is built overseas, GM's B car is the Chevy Aveo which is a rebadged Daweoo from South Korea, other cars in the B class are the Fit, The Versa, The Smart, and the upcoming Festiva from Ford, these cars slot below traditional compacts such as the Corolla, Civic, Sentra and Cobalt. If anyone has information otherwise please correct me, but I have read that GM needs at least 17K-18K at retail on any car made in Michigan to break even.
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