GM heading for Chapter 11?
Senior User
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 132
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From: central ny
Gm Out Of Business Soon
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Has anyone realized that GM only makes one "sports car", and that would be
the Corvette. This is all GM can come up with?? Dodge does'nt make any at
all. After all GM has cut production on Camaros totally - once one of the best all time muscle cars. Why can't they come with a car to compare to Ford Mustangs or Ford GT! I think GM is lacking in many ways - too many gimmicks on cars they do make. Examples: Avalanche & that suv with retractable roof?? What the hell is it called! I mean how many cheesy cars can one company make!
This was posted on 11/28/2004 and went on for pages!
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Has anyone realized that GM only makes one "sports car", and that would be
the Corvette. This is all GM can come up with?? Dodge does'nt make any at
all. After all GM has cut production on Camaros totally - once one of the best all time muscle cars. Why can't they come with a car to compare to Ford Mustangs or Ford GT! I think GM is lacking in many ways - too many gimmicks on cars they do make. Examples: Avalanche & that suv with retractable roof?? What the hell is it called! I mean how many cheesy cars can one company make!
This was posted on 11/28/2004 and went on for pages!
Postmaster
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 2,511
Likes: 0
From: Marion, VA
Originally Posted by landstroker51
Gm Out Of Business Soon
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Has anyone realized that GM only makes one "sports car", and that would be
the Corvette. This is all GM can come up with?? Dodge does'nt make any at
all.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Has anyone realized that GM only makes one "sports car", and that would be
the Corvette. This is all GM can come up with?? Dodge does'nt make any at
all.
Posting Guru
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 2,498
Likes: 1
From: Raleigh, NC
Originally Posted by BigF350
I think a company needs to diversify.
Its just that they need to understand the market they are heading into.
I believe Ford understands and caters for the "truck" market better than any other company at the moment.
I would have no problem with them manufacturing lawn edgers, just as long as:
They understood for the market and catered for it
It was within Fords core values (built Ford tough)
They made money from it.
The problem is, too many automotive manufacturers see a segment, and say "here is a sales oppurtunity" and they jump in and build a vehicle that isn't what people want.
Honda is a good example of how to do it:
They rarely step into a segment they don't understand.
E.g. Ridgeline, it will never be the most popular truck, but Honda knows what people want (even if those people aren't you or me), which is a truck which is easier to drive
I have no doubt they will follow Honda's core values, which are generally:
Cheap to run
Good build quality
High reliability
I am sure they will make money from it to, and thats the important thing.
Its just that they need to understand the market they are heading into.
I believe Ford understands and caters for the "truck" market better than any other company at the moment.
I would have no problem with them manufacturing lawn edgers, just as long as:
They understood for the market and catered for it
It was within Fords core values (built Ford tough)
They made money from it.
The problem is, too many automotive manufacturers see a segment, and say "here is a sales oppurtunity" and they jump in and build a vehicle that isn't what people want.
Honda is a good example of how to do it:
They rarely step into a segment they don't understand.
E.g. Ridgeline, it will never be the most popular truck, but Honda knows what people want (even if those people aren't you or me), which is a truck which is easier to drive
I have no doubt they will follow Honda's core values, which are generally:
Cheap to run
Good build quality
High reliability
I am sure they will make money from it to, and thats the important thing.
I have a Honda HT-3813 riding lawnmower. It has a dead starter, that starter costs $350 to replace. You have to pull the engine out to even get to it, which wouldn't be so hard except this one is liquid cooled and when you take the engine out, the radiator has to come out too and the driveshaft has to be disconnected as well.
I had another Honda riding lawnmower 5 years ago, it was a smaller HT-3810, it too had a dead starter, and it cost $500 to put a new starter in.
Hondas are good but they are not bulletproof--and they need to find a way to make replacement parts more affordable, otherwise there's gonna be a lot of fields and woodlines filled with dead Hondas that no one can afford (or want to afford) to fix.
Last edited by MW95F250; Mar 21, 2005 at 03:16 PM.
Posting Guru
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 2,498
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From: Raleigh, NC
Originally Posted by MofW
GM just got a little smaller by selling off EMD. They built the best locomotive but for some reason, I don't know why, couldn't out sell GE. Mismanaged most likely, so they sold it.
Actually EMD was one of GM's most profitable divisions. GM/EMD outsold GE for years on end (think 1935 to 1990) until GE's introduction of the AC 4400/AC 6000 series locomotives. The GE's are more economical and more powerful than GM/EMD's SD-90MAC series of locomotives.
However, the old GP-38's and SD-40 and 45's were hard to beat in their day. The old GP and SD-9's had the 567 series engine, that was a good one from what I've learned about them.
How 'bout those old Alco RS-1, RS-2, and RS-3's, they were real workhorses in their day too.
Last edited by MW95F250; Mar 21, 2005 at 03:14 PM.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,240
Likes: 3
From: Dallas, Texas
[QUOTE=F250Wildman]Mr. Lutz just pulled the plug on the 2008 rear wheeled drive mid-sized auto. So there may not be any new Camaro. Read this at www.detnews.com.[/QUOTE]
When are they ever going to learn. The price of gas will rise in the next 2 years to $3.00 a gallon. If those SUV's and Pick-Ups get anything close to 24 MPG on the highway with AC on good luck.
This will be when people will stop buying gas suckers, That only carry a few bags of food and a 2.3 kiddies. Then where will they be looking, In there magic bag of dumb ideas, And nothing else to offer but a Front wheel Drive nightmare!
When are they ever going to learn. The price of gas will rise in the next 2 years to $3.00 a gallon. If those SUV's and Pick-Ups get anything close to 24 MPG on the highway with AC on good luck.
This will be when people will stop buying gas suckers, That only carry a few bags of food and a 2.3 kiddies. Then where will they be looking, In there magic bag of dumb ideas, And nothing else to offer but a Front wheel Drive nightmare!
Post Fiend
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 6,610
Likes: 2
From: Northwest, Arkansas
Muffinman, you make a great point. Now is not the time to be putting your resources into the trucks and SUV's. With gas prices climbing the sales will fall. Bad timing will bite their but again plus now they will be behind on developing new vehicles that do good on gas.
Mountain Pass
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 182
Likes: 0
Originally Posted by MW95F250
Actually EMD was one of GM's most profitable divisions. GM/EMD outsold GE for years on end (think 1935 to 1990) until GE's introduction of the AC 4400/AC 6000 series locomotives. The GE's are more economical and more powerful than GM/EMD's SD-90MAC series of locomotives.
However, the old GP-38's and SD-40 and 45's were hard to beat in their day. The old GP and SD-9's had the 567 series engine, that was a good one from what I've learned about them.
How 'bout those old Alco RS-1, RS-2, and RS-3's, they were real workhorses in their day too.
However, the old GP-38's and SD-40 and 45's were hard to beat in their day. The old GP and SD-9's had the 567 series engine, that was a good one from what I've learned about them.
How 'bout those old Alco RS-1, RS-2, and RS-3's, they were real workhorses in their day too.
At the time of the sale, Jan 12, GE was out producing EMD 4 to 1. GM also sold the "truck and bus diesel engine divisions and those producing earth-moving equipment, batteries, aerospace products, and air conditioning."[Trains Mag April 2005 Vol.65,NO. 4 pages 22-23]
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Senior User
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 367
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Originally Posted by osbornk
I would have sworn that the Dodge Viper was a real sports car!
Best as always.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,240
Likes: 3
From: Dallas, Texas
Originally Posted by Musclecar_Fan
The Viper is America's ultimate performance car. It qualifies as a Sports car beacause its a two seater. By looking at the pricetag, you'd think it were more on the exotic side of things. Its a sports car that can run, and in some cases putrun a 250+K exotic car. Its the ultimate musclecar of today. Gobs of power, and no bells and whistles.
It don't mean a thing if it don't have that lean!
Post Fiend
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 6,610
Likes: 2
From: Northwest, Arkansas
Originally Posted by Muffinman
Yep and a 12k motorcycle will eat one alive and give change back.
http://www.allpar.com/cars/concepts/tomahawk.html
It was a little more then 12K though
Posting Guru
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 2,498
Likes: 1
From: Raleigh, NC
Originally Posted by MofW
I didn't know that the GE made a loco more powerful than the 90MAC. Isn't the 90MAC 6000hp? I thought anything above that would pull the draw bars out of the cars. I love seeing the old SD40-2s still in service on the Class 1s. And they have the 645 engine if I'm not mistaken, 3500hp. From what I've read the 567,645, and 710 engines are for the most part bullet proof.
At the time of the sale, Jan 12, GE was out producing EMD 4 to 1. GM also sold the "truck and bus diesel engine divisions and those producing earth-moving equipment, batteries, aerospace products, and air conditioning."[Trains Mag April 2005 Vol.65,NO. 4 pages 22-23]
At the time of the sale, Jan 12, GE was out producing EMD 4 to 1. GM also sold the "truck and bus diesel engine divisions and those producing earth-moving equipment, batteries, aerospace products, and air conditioning."[Trains Mag April 2005 Vol.65,NO. 4 pages 22-23]
The GE AC 6000 makes 6000hp, however the killer for GM was the GE got better fuel consumption.
The sad thing is that it took GE so long to get things right with the 'U-boats' (U-23, U-36B, etc.). The later years for the 'U-boats' were the best.
Post Fiend
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 9,176
Likes: 4
From: Western Central NV
The thing to remember is that if GM goes so will the industry. Look at the trouble the airline industry is having, only the small companies are doing OK, Southwest being the main one. Things like this are bad for all, competition are good for us they keep prices in check.
Posting Guru
Joined: Jun 1999
Posts: 2,404
Likes: 1
From: Everett, Wa
Originally Posted by Muffinman
When are they ever going to learn. The price of gas will rise in the next 2 years to $3.00 a gallon. If those SUV's and Pick-Ups get anything close to 24 MPG on the highway with AC on good luck.
This will be when people will stop buying gas suckers, That only carry a few bags of food and a 2.3 kiddies. Then where will they be looking, In there magic bag of dumb ideas, And nothing else to offer but a Front wheel Drive nightmare!
This will be when people will stop buying gas suckers, That only carry a few bags of food and a 2.3 kiddies. Then where will they be looking, In there magic bag of dumb ideas, And nothing else to offer but a Front wheel Drive nightmare!