[MSP]

GM exec*Lutz says proposed fuel economy*changes unfair - Dec. 26, 2006

He's basically complaining that the proposed new fuel economy standards for automakers will give an unfair advantage to the Japanese. Like the Japs have some sort of magic dust they sprinkle on their cars to make them more efficient that GM, Ford, and Chrysler don't have...

[Jishory]

i know i wont be towing a 5th wheel with a rice burner, duramax ftw

[mistawiskas]

I'm so fed up with the GMC I have. So I'm driving around Sundaydoing last minute Chrismas stuff while the wife's in Roseburg (65 miles away) and there's a thud, the brake peddal is shuddering, it pulls hard to the right, hard enough to pull the steering wheel out of my hand and the ABS alarm goes off.
I got it home and did the rest of my shopping by walking 4 miles. WTF? I have a monthly payment on a one year old truck, and I'm fucking walking in foul weather on Christmas frickin' eve?!!! The mileage quotes for [u]all[/] GM vehicles are nothing but lies. They must be alowed to get their EPA mileage ratings on a down-hill trac or something, because there ain't no way in hell the average person will achieve what they estimate. No wonder the dick wad is screaming so loud. At this moment, I hate GM.

[Justin3]

Hybirds will help reduce green house gases, and lessen are dependence on oil, though middle class familys like mine are not going to pay a big sum of money to replace the Hybird battery every 4 years, for rich people thats not a problem.
Honda now have cars that can get 40mpg with special valve timeing and systems that confuse me, while American companies now turn off cylinders. If American and japanese worked together just amagine the possibilitys......or maybe it will be the next peral Harbor.< (spelling?)

EDIT: mistawiskas your not alone, My family rented a GMC Envoy to go on vacation with a couple years ago and we were on my highway when a Relay or computer went corrupt because every light, buzzer, and beeper went on, on the dash. We pulled into a gas station shut off the Envoy and were not able to restart it..... Yet this year my Mom got a new Chevy Trailblazer the Envoy's Twin and so far we love it and we have not had any problems at all so i dont know what to say.

[Juballharshaw]

The dude has a point though. The domestic manufacturers have stayed a float in the last decade in the face of competition of the Japanese and other foreign companies through their insane mark-ups on their larger vehicles: SUVs, V8 Pickups, etc. The lastest report on the amount of profit per vehicle when Ford refinanced themselves, was that they marked up their SUVs something like 40% per vehicle.

The other problem with the domestic car makers is that the United Auto Workers is a 800 pound gorilla hanging out with them. The fact that they have to pay out retirement costs as well as employ a certain number of "skilled" factory workers adds to their operating costs by quite a bit. So any reduction in their profit margin, ie the sale of SUVs and larger Pickups, could be devastating to their company model.

That said, while most domestics are pieces of crap and I've loved the shit out of the Honda's I've owned, were I to stay in this area longer than the 6 months planned and had the money too, I'd go out and pickup a Dodge Durango or 2500. Only things that were able to drive around and pull people out of the blizzard we had on Wednesday.

[mistawiskas]

GM and rest of the 'big three' have handed the market over all by themselves by allowing/promoting shit quality and living off the fat of the land, so to speek. If it's because of the 800 lb. gorrila, they need to shoot the beast and get on with competing. there's alot of excuses they can pull out their ass, but the bottom line is, the consumer will gravitate towards the better value. If I'm looking to buy a new vehicle and have 21,000 to spend, do I want one that will be reliable and last 12 years or unreliable and last maybe 5? Do I want one that states the EPA is 21/30 and gets 21/29 or one that states 21/29 and gets no more than 16? This is why Japanese vehicles are selling and GM is going bankrupt. I'm looking at Tundras at this time, because that 800 lb gorrila is on my ass now, I'm trading it off as soon as I can.....if i can get any kind of trade in enough to pay off my contract....which I'm doubtfull.

[MSP]

Originally Posted by Juballharshaw

That said, while most domestics are pieces of crap and I've loved the shit out of the Honda's I've owned, were I to stay in this area longer than the 6 months planned and had the money too, I'd go out and pickup a Dodge Durango or 2500. Only things that were able to drive around and pull people out of the blizzard we had on Wednesday.

Yeah, no doubt. The answer is for the American auto-makers to make better, more fuel efficient vehicles. I just found it funny that rather than address the root issue - that American vehicles are gas sucking, low quality crap (generally), he opted to complain about the new rules that every manufacturer would have to follow! It's a level playing field. If they can't compete then they need new leadership and a reasonable labor source. God damned labor unions...

But yeah Jishory, there are certain classes of vehicles for which there are currently no alternative here in the United States. Which is why the American auto-makers can charge so much for them. Lack of choice generally doesn't make for a good choice...

[mistawiskas]

American auto makers have gotten addicted to quick, high percentage returns, plain and simple. Whereas, japanese auto makers look to the long term....like the 'tortoise and the hare", the quick returns run out of steam.
It all comes down to corporate philosophies.

Instead of relying on customer satisfaction, the dollar is most important. Instead of fixing the problem, their sollution seems to be finding even more ways to cut costs/corners to keep the shareholders happy. case-in-point: took my truck in to get fixed. Diagnosis: left front hub and bearing defective, R&R. Instead of going to the parts store acrost the street to get the parts that they had in stock, they used the parts from a GM distrib that took 24 hours to "rush" here. My truck (transtated: bread and butter) was out of commission for 4 days instead of two to get an "in house" part to keep the money in the company, to hell with any dollars I lost as a result. Mr. Goodwrench is a fuckhead is the message I came away with. had this been a Toyota, I seriously doubt there would have been the problem in the first place.

[Stephen]

This thread reminds me of a good program called "Jeremy Clarkson - The Good, The Bad, The Ugly ". He basically goes to America to see if there any good cars in America. His conclusion is that there is only one good car in America and that's the Ford GT although the wheels are German, the brakes are Italian, Gearbox is British, body is British, steering is British, shassy is British.
It's depressing watching it if you like American cars.