They already are.
They already are.
Next Reds manager, second shooter. --Confirmed on Redszone.
Last Chevy I owned was 69 Camaro, last Ford was 73 Cougar.Originally Posted by 15fan
German and Japanese since...
They aren't, really. It's the trucks that are still keeping Ford and GM from crashing on the rocks, entirely.
I give that about five years, by which time Toyota will have taken that market, too.
The thing that is so stupid about GM even thinking about taking on Chrysler is that they are actually on the verge of turning things around (relatively speaking...they have a long uphill climb, nevertheless).
GM should stick with the program- keep improving initial quality, offer 10year/100k full warranties (and actually honor them, which would also be a turn around for GM dealers), and drop the duplication from their auto lines.
The problem with GM is that they can't afford to get too small because they have so many benefits to pay out to retirees. They feel that they need all those cars just to keep the revenue up. Toyota, on the other hand, has far fewer models, but is outselling the (former) big three in everything but the pickups. So, while GM has to support factories to make all those superfluous models, Toyota has lower manufacturing overhead.
Next Reds manager, second shooter. --Confirmed on Redszone.
They already are.
Go Gators!
I have a 2002 Ford Focus that I drive for work and I have put 162,000 miles on it. I haven't had to have a single major repair yet, I haven't even changed the thermostat. It's paid off and I'm thinking of driving it until it needs one and then buying something new. When I was in highschool I bought an '88 Oldsmobile 88 for $500 from my friend's dad and figured it would last maybe a year. I drove it through college and it was nearing 300,000 miles when it finally quit running.
Having said that it's getting near time for both my wife and I to get new cars (whenever I decide the Focus has done enough, for me) and she is getting a Nissan Xterra and I think I am going to get a Jetta or maybe a Passat. So much for Ford/GM/Chrysler.
"I know a lot about the law and various other lawyerings."
Hitters who avoid outs are the funnest.
Last Wednesday, I met my father-in-law up at the BMW plant in Spartanburg SC where he was taking delivery of a new car. Among other things, we got to tour the plant where they build Z4s and X5s. They'd just sunk $100 million into retooling the entire production line. The combination of automation & precision was just amazing. What I found most impressive, though, was that they don't have separate production lines for different models. They manufacture the cars in the order that the invoice is stamped "paid". So the line can build a yellow X5 without a sunroof, then a blue Z4 hard top, then a black X5 with a sunroof, then a white Z4 soft top, etc.
(At one point, the tour guide casually mentioned that there are no unions at the plant. Meanwhile, both Ford (Hapeville) and GM (Doraville) are shuttering plants here in Atlanta...)
From a business / economic standpoint, I think it would be fascinating to compare the Big 3 US automakers with the big American Airlines to see which has been more poorly managed in every sense for the past quarter century.
And I'm with woy. We've only owned Japanese cars in our house. If we had more $, we'd look at some German models. I can't imagine even considering anything else.
About 5 years ago, my wife looked at the Passat, a Volvo S40, and the entry level Infinity. For a variety of reasons, she went with the S40. Haven't looked at those cars since then - we sold the S40 2 years ago & she got a Honda Pilot. At the time, the warranty on the Passat was only 2 years / 24,000 miles, which was a major turnoff.
Having said that, we have a neighbor with a Jetta and she loves it. We have another neighbor with an Audi A4 (which from what I can tell is an over-priced Passat) and he loves his car, too.
I own an Explorer, Ranger and a Mustang. All three are pretty nice, IMO. I've owned Japanese/German cars in the past, but typically stick to the Big 3.
I drive a Chevy 2500HD, and my wife drives a Rendezvous. We looked at the Honda SUV's and went against them this time, next time around my wife will probably be behind the wheel of a Honda Pilot. Toyota is going to have to come out with a 3/4 or 1 Ton truck before I will even give that option the time of day. Ford's Superduty trucks, have too wide a turn radius for my taste, you might as well be driving a boat, and Dodge has the transmission trouble. Chevy can't figure out their fuel, emission, and brake systems
Hugs, smiling, and interactive Twitter accounts, don't mean winning baseball. Until this community understands that we are cursed to relive the madness.
I have had terrible luck with my 2002 Toyota Camry. It already has a new engine in it (even though I religiously maintained it with regular maintenance) and I've had to have a slew of other unusual repairs done that do not fall under the guise of "wear and tear." It was my first Toyota and will probably be the last.
My mom owned an Audi 80 once and my sister owns a Passat. Not the best repair histories for those two cars, but man those German cars are fun to drive, especially with a 5-speed manual transmission. Some day I'd like a BMW. May not do better than my Camry on repairs, but it sure will be a lot more fun to drive.
Wear gaudy colors, or avoid display. Lay a million eggs or give birth to one. The fittest shall survive, yet the unfit may live. Be like your ancestors or be different. We must repeat!
Translation: I live in Michigan. If I even thought about buying something other than a Ford / GM / Chrysler vehicle, my house would get vandalized, my important mail would mysteriously disappear, my kids would get beat up every day at school, and I'd generally be treated like a second class citizen.
I had a 2000 Focus- it was junk. And that is the difference between Ford and Toyota/Honda. With a Ford/GM/Chrysler, what do you think about when you hear "1st model year"? More than likely, you would stay away from that car until they have had another year or two to work out the kinks. That's not the case for a Honda or a Toyota.
My Focus had thirteen recalls. I'm finished with Fords (and I've owned about ten).
Next Reds manager, second shooter. --Confirmed on Redszone.
My good friends come from a "Ford Family," with generations of the men in the family working at the local Ford plant. After issues with a Ford Focus they bought in its first model year, they used their A plan credits to pick up a Volvo and a Mazda. Of course with Ford owning a good percentage of each of those companies, it's not surprising in the least if you lift the hood and find a Ford logo on some of the components.Translation: I live in Michigan. If I even thought about buying something other than a Ford / GM / Chrysler vehicle, my house would get vandalized, my important mail would mysteriously disappear, my kids would get beat up every day at school, and I'd generally be treated like a second class citizen.
Wear gaudy colors, or avoid display. Lay a million eggs or give birth to one. The fittest shall survive, yet the unfit may live. Be like your ancestors or be different. We must repeat!
The only thing in my Focus that was worth a crap was the drive train, which came from Mazda, IIRC.
Next Reds manager, second shooter. --Confirmed on Redszone.
This is actually very true. When I first moved to Michigan I bought a VW not knowing the stigma. My car was egged within days.Translation: I live in Michigan. If I even thought about buying something other than a Ford / GM / Chrysler vehicle, my house would get vandalized, my important mail would mysteriously disappear, my kids would get beat up every day at school, and I'd generally be treated like a second class citizen.
Posting Permissions
|
Board Moderators may, at their discretion and judgment, delete and/or edit any messages that violate any of the following guidelines: 1. Explicit references to alleged illegal or unlawful acts. 2. Graphic sexual descriptions. 3. Racial or ethnic slurs. 4. Use of edgy language (including masked profanity). 5. Direct personal attacks, flames, fights, trolling, baiting, name-calling, general nuisance, excessive player criticism or anything along those lines. 6. Posting spam. 7. Each person may have only one user account. It is fine to be critical here - that's what this board is for. But let's not beat a subject or a player to death, please. |
Reply With Quote