Consider buying American!

Jeff wrote:
> Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:
>> In article <uyosj.32$dh.21@trnddc01>, Jeff >
>> wrote:
>>
>>>> Does he buy GM or Ford or Chrysler, with a track record that would
>>>> make a Russian tractory factory blush from embarassment? Or does he
>>>> buy a Japanese nameplate--where, to be sure, one could get a bad
>>>> car, but the odds are so incredibly against that?
>>> The old track record for the Michigan 3 isn't so good. But the track
>>> record for the more recent cars is good.
>>
>> But it's not NEARLY enough of a track record compared to the Japanese
>> nameplates--not nearly enough for Joe Sixpack to throw his hard earned
>> $25,000.
>
> Funny, the only carmaker to have increased sales last month was GM.

"One swallow does not a summer make"

On Feb 12, 8:37 am, wrote:
> http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23124844/
>
> GM just made it known that they lost 39 billion in 2007, the largest
> ever annual loss for a US automaker.
>
> The big three are losing money, and if we don't give them the support
> they need, they are going to go under. Consider buying an American
> car.
>
> Here are some American models recommended in the 2007 Consumer Reports
> Annual Auto Issue:
>
> Buick Lacrosse
> Buick Lucerne
> Cadillac CTS
> Cadillac CTS-V
> Cadillac DTS
> Chevrolet HHR
> Chevrolet Impala
> Chevrolet Malibu
> Chevrolet Tahoe
> Chrysler 300
> Chrysler PT Cruiser
> Dodge Durango
> Ford Five Hundred
> Ford Focus
> Ford Freestyle
> Ford Fusion
> GMC Yukon
> Jeep Liberty
> Lincoln MKZ
> Lincoln Town Car
> Mercury Milan
> Mercury Montego
> Pontiac G6
> Pontiac Torrent

Name a GM, Ford, or Chrysler model from years ago that has an imprint
on you. Where is it now? Is still being produced? Does it still retain
its unique characters somehow? I can only think of Chevy Corvette, but
it's just an expensive toy and has no practical use. Besides, i'd
rather buy a Honda NSX if i want to have some fun and have money to
burn..

And i can never get over the nightmare i used to endure, also known as
a 1984 Buick Century. A f*cking pain in the ass piece of sh*t

The truth is that the "Big Three" have no integrity, no characters and
had not produced anything good enough to hold on to. Why would you
hold on to them?

In article >,
still just me > wrote:
> >Thing I've never understood is why the American cars we get in the UK - at
> >a far higher price than in the US - have such very poor interiors. Cheap
> >plastics etc. After all UK (Euro) Fords and Vauxhalls are ok.

> I though Vauxhall was a GM brand now (?)

Has been for a very long time.

The point I was making is US cars sold in the UK are priced for the UK
market - ie about double what they cost in the US. So similar to locally
produced vehicles. But the quality is very much worse.

--
*Being healthy is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article >,
Gordon McGrew > wrote:
> >American cars are crap. Made by unionists more worried about when their
> >next coffee break is than making quality cars.

> It's not the union worker's fault. You could hire a team of Formula 1
> mechanics to disassemble and reassemble a Detroit 3 car and it would
> still be a piece of crap.

Yup. It's nice to have a fall guy though. Saves approaching the real
problems. Since I'm reading this on a BMW group the OP might like to
ponder why BMW recognises unions but manages to be one of the most
profitable car makers world wide.

--
*I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

wrote:
> On Feb 12, 8:37 am, wrote:
>> http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23124844/
>>
>> GM just made it known that they lost 39 billion in 2007, the largest
>> ever annual loss for a US automaker.
>>
>> The big three are losing money, and if we don't give them the support
>> they need, they are going to go under. Consider buying an American
>> car.
>>
>> Here are some American models recommended in the 2007 Consumer Reports
>> Annual Auto Issue:
>>
>> Buick Lacrosse
>> Buick Lucerne
>> Cadillac CTS
>> Cadillac CTS-V
>> Cadillac DTS
>> Chevrolet HHR
>> Chevrolet Impala
>> Chevrolet Malibu
>> Chevrolet Tahoe
>> Chrysler 300
>> Chrysler PT Cruiser
>> Dodge Durango
>> Ford Five Hundred
>> Ford Focus
>> Ford Freestyle
>> Ford Fusion
>> GMC Yukon
>> Jeep Liberty
>> Lincoln MKZ
>> Lincoln Town Car
>> Mercury Milan
>> Mercury Montego
>> Pontiac G6
>> Pontiac Torrent
>
> Name a GM, Ford, or Chrysler model from years ago that has an imprint
> on you. Where is it now? Is still being produced? Does it still retain
> its unique characters somehow? I can only think of Chevy Corvette, but
> it's just an expensive toy and has no practical use. Besides, i'd
> rather buy a Honda NSX if i want to have some fun and have money to
> burn..
>
> And i can never get over the nightmare i used to endure, also known as
> a 1984 Buick Century. A f*cking pain in the ass piece of sh*t
>
> The truth is that the "Big Three" have no integrity, no characters and
> had not produced anything good enough to hold on to. Why would you
> hold on to them?
>
>
>
>
>
You can buy detroit iron and pay for present and past autoworkers high
pay, pension and health care, or you can buy "import" and be able to
pay for your own health care and provide for your own pension. Same as
shopping at wal-mart.

Moe wrote:
<...>
> You can buy detroit iron and pay for present and past autoworkers high
> pay, pension and health care, or you can buy "import" and be able to
> pay for your own health care and provide for your own pension. Same as
> shopping at wal-mart.

Shopping at Wal-Mart is a different story. Wal-Mart has some really bad
employee practices, like not paying workers when they work through their
breaks and a history of locking in workers at night. They are very
anti-union as well.

Wal-Mart does predatory pricing on the things they buy. This forces the
suppliers to cut costs drastically. And on some products, the quality
really suffers. Plus, the only way some makers can make the products at
the prices that Wal-Mart demands is to send work out of the country.

I don't shop there.

Jeff

In article >,
Elmo P. Shagnasty > wrote:
> Hey, Jeff:

> http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ne...nG=Search+News

> "GM lost $US722 million in the December quarter and a record $US38.7
> billion for 2007"

> Tell us again the bedtime story about how GM was the only automaker
> whose sales improved last month.

Nothing unusual about improved sales *and* reduced profits.

--
*Artificial Intelligence is no match for Natural Stupidity *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

An interesting book about U.S. vs. Japanese car makers is "The
Reckoning" by David Halberstam. It compares Nissan and Ford but is
relevant to the others as well. One of the main themes is that U.S. car
makers are run mostly by bean counters looking at the short term bottom
line whereas Japanese companies are run by engineers and manufacturing
people who are truly 'car people' and more concerned with a quality
product. It was written in the mid 80's but is still applicable today.
An interesting read...

Elmo P. Shagnasty > wrote:
>
>http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ne...nG=Search+News
>
>"GM lost $US722 million in the December quarter and a record $US38.7
>billion for 2007"
>
>Tell us again the bedtime story about how GM was the only automaker
>whose sales improved last month.

Much as I hate GM, I have to say that GM has actually made money selling
cars. Most of the money they have been losing hand over fist has been in
their finance division. Of course, you can't sell cars if you can't finance
them, these days....
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

M.M. > wrote:
>An interesting book about U.S. vs. Japanese car makers is "The
>Reckoning" by David Halberstam. It compares Nissan and Ford but is
>relevant to the others as well. One of the main themes is that U.S. car
>makers are run mostly by bean counters looking at the short term bottom
>line whereas Japanese companies are run by engineers and manufacturing
>people who are truly 'car people' and more concerned with a quality
>product. It was written in the mid 80's but is still applicable today.
>An interesting read...

It is less and less applicable these days, as Japanese car makers are
falling into the same traps that destroyed American car makers and are
increasingly becoming concerned with short term profits rather than the
end product. It is very disturbing. There are an increasing number of
MBAs running Japanese car companies, and that's a bad sign.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."