Opinions on Our Domestic Auto Industry

[Raskolnikov]

I'm just curious, who on this forum is a hard core fan of General Motors/Ford/DCX?? If so , why?

On the other hand, are there any of you that want to see our Domestic (term used loosely for DCX) automakers fail? If so , why?

Personally, I am a fan of our industry but also highly critical. I want to see them survive, thrive, and beat the pants off of their foreign competitors. Look at the Corvette, new Tahoe, Impala SS, Fusion, F-150, 300 C, ....and you know we can. But then look at Lacrosse, 500, Stratus.....and then I wonder.

Anyway, give me your opinions.

[SLSduke82]

I love domestic brands, but until they resolve union issues, they'll be going no where fast.

I think it's the Z06 that does it for me. Simply sick, and the price!

[Sp00ner]

Never owned anything but a GM... never will... I guess I'm just a fanboi...

[vandy0419]

I'm definitely a big domestic fan, mainly GM though. Ford is okay, but when Ford took over Jaguar I was ticked. They turned an amazing car company where owning a Jaguar was a symbol of what class you are in. Now you can buy one for $30k? Back to GM though...GM has done some amazing things lately and some things they shouldn't have. The HHR is a neat idea but a few years too late for the market. The PT Cruiser craze is pretty much over, even though I have seen the HHR modified with a LS7, but thats a ton of money for something like that.

GM releasing the DOD in the Impala SS and the Tahoe and a couple other vehicles was a great idea. There aren't many divisions where they don't offer something to every person. Whether it is economical, class or out right sporty. The V series for Cadillac...damn, I would take any one of those, especially the CTS-V!

GM also giving some big beef with the import hybrid cars with their new engine in SUV's where it can be straight gasoline or a mixture of 15% gas and 85% ethanol. Granted the gas mileage may not be as high as the hybrid cars but oh well. GM offers many cars with great gas mileage with hp to back it up also. Yeah yeah, some people have their older civics saying I get 34mpg and blah blah blah but they have the 115hp engine when the ION and Cobalt getting 32mpg but with 140hp ECOTEC.

Hybrids won't save you money for long because in WA they are testing out a tracking device where they will tax you on how many miles you are driving since you are keeping from paying taxes on gasoline. I think GM made a wrong move business wise with dealing with all the union junk. My friend's dad worked for GM here in Moraine, OH and they had to pay $3 for a prescription! My mom is a teacher and she pays $10-15. No offense to anyone who works at GM or any union job, I have a lot of family with Delphi and GM, but some of the people on the floor made too much.

One of my friends just lost his job with GM and he said on a bad day the guys on the floor would have over a grand cash in their back pocket and on good days they would be walking around with 5 grand! Some people go there right out of high school making $16 an hour. I'm in college, almost have a degree and I'm making $11 working for one of the nation's top mortgage companies.

GM will be in a lot of trouble if Delphi shuts down because they are responsible for all retirement pensions of those who retired while GM controlled Delphi. GM also ran into trouble when late last year they released info that they overstated their income by millions in their 2002 filings and possibly a few other years.

All-in-all, domestic companies are offering lots of competitive vehicles to fight back against the foreign market, but they're all stuck in a bad spot right now where it is hard for them to climb out.

[Raskolnikov]

Over the years my family has owned various cars/trucks from:

GM
Ford
Chrysler (Jeep)
Audi
VW
Isuzu
Saab (pre-GM)

The mainstream GM brands have been the overall best (ie Chevy Impala, Pontiac Grand Prix, Cadillac Deville) for us.

Is there anyone who was strictly import but came back to GM for the RL?

[Freakazoid]

Originally Posted by Raskolnikov

Over the years my family has owned various cars/trucks from:

GM
Ford
Chrysler (Jeep)
Audi
VW
Isuzu
Saab (pre-GM)

The mainstream GM brands have been the overall best (ie Chevy Impala, Pontiac Grand Prix, Cadillac Deville) for us.

Is there anyone who was strictly import but came back to GM for the RL?

tibbett, that european fruit

jk

[Ahriman]

like i said in that thread about the Beetle....


RedLine > imports

[BigBrother]

OMG, I so don't have the energy for the 10,000 charactor (edited down to fit) rant that I feel compelled to write just now....

*sigh*

Ford is a lost cause, end of story. Chrysler failed for good in the '80's, the government bailed them out. They started a comeback, then failed again. Daimler buys them out (My bad - it was a "merger of equals" - right?), and now they're.... Sorta getting better. 300c shows what they CAN do, Caliber indicates they'll still screw up from time to time, lol. Which brings us to GM.

Lately, fewer and fewer mistakes to go along with the good moves. And the good moves are getting better. I think they're slowly pulling their heads out, and I think that the results are going to be amazing once they're back on track. Much will depend on where things go with the unions. Which brings us to unions.

They just need to go. They were a great idea back in the day when the robber baron company owners regularly screwed over everyone dumb enough to keep working there. Nowadays, companies know that it's in their best interest to take care of their employees, and unions (for the most part, a few industries excepted - maybe) are nothing but huge parasitic organisms sucking corporations dry whilst collecting money from the members. Nowhere is this more evident than at General Motors. I could go on for PAGES on this, I'll leave it here for now.

*sigh*

[Raskolnikov]

Originally Posted by BigBrother

OMG, I so don't have the energy for the 10,000 charactor (edited down to fit) rant that I feel compelled to write just now....

*sigh*

Ford is a lost cause, end of story. Chrysler failed for good in the '80's, the government bailed them out. They started a comeback, then failed again. Daimler buys them out (My bad - it was a "merger of equals" - right?), and now they're.... Sorta getting better. 300c shows what they CAN do, Caliber indicates they'll still screw up from time to time, lol. Which brings us to GM.

Lately, fewer and fewer mistakes to go along with the good moves. And the good moves are getting better. I think they're slowly pulling their heads out, and I think that the results are going to be amazing once they're back on track. Much will depend on where things go with the unions. Which brings us to unions.

They just need to go. They were a great idea back in the day when the robber baron company owners regularly screwed over everyone dumb enough to keep working there. Nowadays, companies know that it's in their best interest to take care of their employees, and unions (for the most part, a few industries excepted - maybe) are nothing but huge parasitic organisms sucking corporations dry whilst collecting money from the members. Nowhere is this more evident than at General Motors. I could go on for PAGES on this, I'll leave it here for now.
*sigh*

Well said. As a GM employee, I see examples of union backwardness every day. The shop union reps spend their time either campaigning for reelection or fighting battles for employees who are missing work, drunk, or running scrap. Basically the good employees have no real need for the union today. True, they fought for safer workplaces, higher pay and better benefits back when they had to, but now that they have all that, what else is there for the union to attain?
Bottom line, at GM the UAW no longer NEEDS to exist. They've done some good things/some bad, but they've lost their relevence.

[Raskolnikov]

Originally Posted by Ahriman

like i said in that thread about the Beetle....


RedLine > imports

Your Beetle thread got me thinking about this topic.

Thanks