No Wonder GM is in trouble

enjenjo · July 26, 2010, 10:45:02 AM

I read an article last night, 8 out of 10 new vans are made by Ford. Doesn't leave too many for GM and Chrysler.

slocrow · July 26, 2010, 04:36:06 PM

Quote from: "enjenjo"I read an article last night, 8 out of 10 new vans are made by Ford. Doesn't leave too many for GM and Chrysler.

Or the importers. Leaves me with mixed emotions, somewhat.............

phat46 · July 26, 2010, 07:28:42 PM

Quote from: "enjenjo"I read an article last night, 8 out of 10 new vans are made by Ford. Doesn't leave too many for GM and Chrysler.

You must be talking full size vans, I can't turn around here without see a G.M. or Chrysler minivan.

enjenjo · July 26, 2010, 08:04:10 PM

Quote from: "phat46"
Quote from: "enjenjo"I read an article last night, 8 out of 10 new vans are made by Ford. Doesn't leave too many for GM and Chrysler.

You must be talking full size vans, I can't turn around here without see a G.M. or Chrysler minivan.

Yes, full size.

UGLY OLDS · July 26, 2010, 08:28:26 PM

Wait until you see the Fiat that will replace the Freightliner ..oops... Dodge..Oops ...Back to Freightliner again ..Oops ..Now Mercedes Sprinter ...2011 is supposed to be the last year for the Sprinter as we know it ...

THANK GOD :!: :!: :!:

Bob......

Crosley.In.AZ · July 26, 2010, 10:37:04 PM

Gubmint Motors does have some problems.

Odd how the problems with Toyota cars disappeared from the media over night or it seems like that

Carnut · July 27, 2010, 12:05:42 AM

Yeah, that Toyota Hysteria problem went away fast. Hard to believe they got all those cars fixed so fast.

Actually there have been news articles recently where the govmt researched the problem and it turned out to be the drivers and not the cars. They didn't get a whole lot of play.

Was just mass hysteria and jumping on the court case bandwagon like what happened with the Audi's.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703834604575364871534435744.html

taxpyer · July 27, 2010, 02:51:09 AM

I got the feeling that either they stopped chewing on Toyota or the whole company was about to go in the toilet

,,,,,,,,,,, Dammmm not even one case of hairycarey

............. Got rid if my mazda headache though,,,,,, I gave, yes, gave the truck away when yet another problem with it popped up. It felt good then and it still feels good now. Got a problem,,, get rid of it!

Carps · July 27, 2010, 04:03:24 AM

Don't worry Taxpayer, the company aint about to dissapear down the gurgler. In fact it's on the way back, stronger than ever and with a level of resolve that will ensure once all the existing 'issues' are sorted there'll never be such problems again.

Crosley.In.AZ · July 27, 2010, 08:32:22 AM

Quote from: "Carps"Don't worry Taxpayer, the company aint about to dissapear down the gurgler. In fact it's on the way back, stronger than ever and with a level of resolve that will ensure once all the existing 'issues' are sorted there'll never be such problems again.

that reads like a press release from the gubmint.

Was it last week a report came out that closing all the dealerships was a bad idea, not thought through and took away thousands of jobs related to the operations of the dealerships , vendors and local economy around the dealership.

Hysteria , Toyota and the news media? Goes hand n hand I guess

papastoyss · July 27, 2010, 11:01:48 AM

I'm sure Toyota was thankful for the Gulf oil spill. I t took them off the news.

unklian · July 27, 2010, 11:41:11 AM

Quote from: "papastoyss"I'm sure Toyota was thankful for the Gulf oil spill. I t took them off the news.

The same way Tiger Woods was happy that
Toyota took him off the front page.

jaybee · July 27, 2010, 05:50:57 PM

Not too worried about Toyo, they have a quality culture that goes back decades, just got lost for a bit.

I'm not surprised if the unintended acceleration cases mostly or entirely turn out to be feet on the wrong pedal. That's been the case with every unintended acceleration case up to this point.

Ford seems to be on a roll and it's entirely due to having car guys at the helm again. I rode in a new Taurus last week. While it's a pretty good sized car it's very well built and well appointed. The owner loves it. The AWD SHO version might even help them preserve the police market that'll go away with the Crown Vic if they'll put the good mechanicals in a police-utilitarian package for price.

GM is a sad case. They invented, production-perfected, or popularized so many technologies over the years. After 1964 every CEO came up through the Accounting ranks. No wonder they starved and almost died. I believe strongly that you can't build an outstanding product if you don't have a passion for the industry.

I'll never understand why the Chrysler/Daimler Benz marriage didn't work. Seems like a no-brainer. Use last generation MB chassis to build new Chryco products. The engineering would certainly be adequate for a moderately priced offering, compromise some on the materials and redesign some of the expensive bits to keep the cost down, wrap it in a style Americans can understand. Should work. I think the cultures just didn't mesh properly.

Cerburus is simply comprised of criminals. They bought an empty shell from Daimler Benz for the express purpose of selling a pig in a poke to someone else. No product development infrastructure, aging products, and the need to make a bunch of money flipping the property. They're the piece of the auto industry bail out I have the biggest problem with. The US taxpayer has more or less made Cerburus whole for their investment. I wish Fiat the best, it would be a shame to see even more names with history hit the dustbin.

Carps · July 28, 2010, 02:07:27 AM

FOMOCO has certainl;y been the quiet achiever over the last couple of years.

They identified and admitted to themselves their problems then set about a program of fixing them.

Developed & introduced a great product then made the tough calls on marginal lines and brands.

Got rid of the fat and unprofitable low volume stuff and used the profit and learnings from Mustang to develop the next generation volume sellers.

As for their trucks, they stuck with Henry's tried and well proven philosophy, if it aint broke, don't fix it, just make it better.

It's a shame they've not been applauded by the gummint, but hey I guess it's tough to say nice things about the competition.

chimp koose · July 28, 2010, 02:23:11 AM

I think some of the success at ford has been due to buyer confidence. They did not go for a bailout . This might instill a little confidence in the buyer who may otherwise question whether or not a company will be around to honour a warranty.Also the buying public may be more inclined to support a company that is not being propped up by their tax dollar as a reward for handling their own problems.