"Ford and GM should face facts. They should "realign" their corporate culture and stop chasing niches in search of “the next big thing”: crossovers, convertible pickup trucks, pseudo-minivans, etc. They should plough all their resources into what they’ve got and get on with it. The truth is, there's no quick fix in the car business. There’s only an endless pursuit of customer loyalty. The vast majority of customers want to be brand loyal. Unlike Detroit’s ambitious execs, they want to chose once, choose wisely and stick with it. As long as Ford and GM continue to focus their energy on short-term product solutions, the Detroit monoliths are condemned to playing catch-up. It’s a fruitless endeavor that ultimately produces nothing but mediocrity."

Linky

Discuss?

 

PB, I got nothing but an empty page when I clicked on the linky. May be my 'puter. I think the US auto makers and the unions lost sight of the industry in the early 70's. The true factory hot rods were history and they aren't coming back as we knew them. They can't make an affordable mega horsepower car, the unions won't let it happen. It cost far, far too much in labor and benefits to make one. They even missed having a decent car for fuel mileage. My grandfathers old 4 door Rambler would out run and get much better fuel mileage than a Focus of today. And the Rambler didn't have high tech computerized ignition, fuel injection, etc. And it road like a dream, not like a roller skate with grossly uncomfortable seats for big folks. But those days are gone now. I have been looking for a replacement for my F-150. I am not looking at a Ford of any kind after 35 years of owning nothing but a Ford. Far too many issues with the one I have and Ford basically told me I was stupid for buying it. I'm the guy that the car makers like. I trade every 50-60,000 miles and for me thats about every 16-24 months. I never finance over 48 months so I generally am never upside down in one. I looked at a Taco 4 door. Now that's a land slug. Nice inside but I'm 6'4" and 275 lbs of bouncing baby boy- it's tight for me. I looked at a 4 door Tundra. Can't even get in it. The door is too far forward. Once inside, the floorboard is too close, not near enough leg room for my American stealthyness. Looked at a Dakota. Considering the warranty problems I had with a 2000 Dakota, I can't make myself buy one. They aren't necessarily user friendly anyway. Looked at a Dodge 1500. Can't make myself buy one of those either because of warranty issues. Brakes are a problem on them and there is NO warranty on the brake system per owners manual. Looked at a Titan. They are nice but kinda cheap on the inside. Too much plastic. I also can't afford to feed one. One of the bosses has one- 12 mpg hiway. Granted, I make a good wage but I'm not willing to run it out of the tailpipe. The Frontier is alot like the Titan, cheap inside and I have next to no headroom. So, I have a problem on what I will be buying next. Anything I pick and buy will be something I really don't want and will have an issue that I will have to deal with. If it weren't for my cousins death a few months ago, he would be rebuilding my Bronco from the ground up. He and I talked about it for his summer project. The boy was an absolute auto genius. One of the best I've ever known. So, back to the original thread, none of the auto makers are worth squat to me. They remind me of going to a basketball game or an indoor concert. Far, far too small where you sit and no matter where you are, you don't necessarily have the best view no matter how much you pay. Todays vehicles are grossly over priced, under delivered, scantily engineered, have little retained value, and just don't deliver as promised. Add that if you have warranty issues, you're screwed. Why would anybody even consider buying a new vehicle?
My .02

 

Me too, but I wholeheartedly agree with the extract you posted above.

BUT, I think they are more aligned to a continuous model (well at least here they are).
I look at Ford anyway, and here, the Falcon nameplate has stayed the same for over 40years, as has the purpose of the vehicle.
The same could be said for the likes of the Mustang, the F-Series etc. etc.

I can look over at the Toyota camp for example - I see a Supra that will probably never return (and if it does, it will not be powered by an indestructable turbocharged straight six - it will be by a NA V10), a MR2 we won't get again. A Celica thats life is questioned.
Here, the Landcruiser is slowly loosing its purpose, it once was an indestructable off-road machine that couldn't be killed if you tried.
Now they fit a less reliable V8 (compared to the striaght six of old), they have fitted IFS to some models and automatic transmissions...

I could find the same things with Honda and Nissan too...

Even the likes of Porsche have done it.

 

I'll try that link again

Link

 

hmmm... still no go, and I googled a lot of the content in that extract - still no love

 

Negative on the link.

I went to www.thetruthaboutcars.com (you'll have to type it in) and clicked the link to the article.

My opinion is that what Ford needs is some high-ranked individual with the backbone, knowledge and power to review every model the company is producing, and fix what's wrong with them. Someone with the power to tell every one else to stick it. Kinda like Bob Lutz was supposed to be for GM. (Haven't heard much about him lately...)

 

??????..........How could GM lose focus????


I thought Ford made the Focus????

 

I kind of agree with that link, but not really.
There is nothing wrong with building crossovers, a lot of people want the smooth ride of a car with the cargo room of an SUV and dont drive off-road, so for the a crossover makes perfect sense.
I think the biggest thing they need to do is to fix problems before the vehicles leave the factory. If Ford and GM proove that they can match the quality and dependability of Toyota and Honda, they will be just fine.
I also think they need to get the unions under control. It used to be that the union worked for the workers, nowdays it seems like it is the other way around.
I also think that Ford and GM need new leadership. It seems like Bill Ford and Bob Lutz have no idea what they are doing.

 

You funny...

 

While I don't really agree with the article. Both GM and Ford know how to build cars and evolve designs. All you have to do is look at the trucks, Mustang and Corvette. IMO the only problem there really have is trying to control costs.

 

I can see several reasons why it looks like both are failing. One reason in particular is the car scene itself. It wasn't too many years ago that the car seemed to be the center point of many people's existence, especially those 16-25. That worked in the American auto makers favor. In recent years it seemed to die off. In the very recent past, the gas prices might be to blame. But it started even before then...I noticed it happening in the early 90's.

The cheap muscle was gone, at least in V8, rear-drive form. Yeah, I know you could still buy a Mustang fairly reasonable after that, but gone were the days that you could pick up a brand new one for $12k. And the ownership cost with insurance and gas takes everything the car payment doesn't. And that is what GM and Ford did best. They seem to have tough time competing in the unknown, and just wander aimlessly with no direction. New generations have embraced lower cost 4-cylinder front-drives from foreign companies because that is what they build, and have built for years. It seems Ford and GM are just chasing what they can't have. Rather than building something different and exciting in the small car line, they throw cars out because they think they have to. They try something for a while then abandon it. Toyota, Nissan and Honda never tried to build a V8 muscle car. They hacked away at the small car market and grew into full sized luxury, but never abandoned the small car that got them there.

Another thing is there is really nothing to bring new buyers to you. Take Buick. It has had a core base with older people, but they have absolutely nothing to bring in anyone they don't already have. Oldsmobile suffered from this, and it finished them off. Think how many Cutlass two-doors Olds sold in the mid-80s only to be dead 15 years later. They never stood a chance when that GM body was cancelled. They tried, but they were just building carbon copies of other GM cars that they were not known for. And what does Pontiac have? The only remotely exciting thing was the GTO after they axed the Firebird. I don't care what anyone says, having cars like that sells your uninteresting cars.

 

I recall discussing this very thing with my father about 2 weeks ago.
He put it pretty simply.
"Back in my day (think 60's-70's) everyone bought American vehicles, purely because no other vehicles were as good. They were big, tough and reliable. You could have paid 4 times as much for a Mercedes - only to have it cough and die on our poor quality fuel, or a spring break on the rough roads - and get overtaken by a GM or Ford.
Japanese or Koreans makers were near non-existant. They made small flimsy models. They have obviously learnt the reliability thing - and were able to integrate it with thier better technology.
Things have turned full circle - now its GM and Ford playing catch up.

 

Those 2 companies have always thought, despite the evidence to the contrary for the last 25 years or so, that Americans would buy their crap no matter what.

Well they were wrong. Ford and GM STILL refuse to admit it.
When Chrysler built all those '78 Cordobas and Diplomats they showed sitting in the factory lots, when they declared chapter 11, they finally caught on that maybe that wasn't what the public wanted. Now they built cars with 425 horse hemis and trucks with 500 horse V10's, as well as economy cars. They are very solvent.

Ford and GM continue to build slug after slug after slug...
who on the green earth wants a Windstar van? or whatever they renamed the POS? or a Chebby Mailbu? or a Buick Lucerne? They build these slugs NO ONE wants by the thousands.. Ford 500 another good example.

They seem to want to keep their head in the sand until their respective companies die... they can't even recognise that when they get a winner they should capitalise on it. Lee Iaccoca stepped up Mustang production REAL fast when it caught on...Same at Chrysler when the original Minivan caught on... too bad no one at Ford OR GM has the same savvy anymore.

Ford's bread and butter is the F150, but despite call after call after call from here ,and other places, for a diesel engine and a manual transmission they just ignore us. They will lose out to Toyota, when they come out with what Ford truck owners want. And then Ford will be in REAL trouble.
Ford has no problem as far as coming up with innovative automobiles.
They just have a problem building them.

 

Chrysler never declared chapter 11, or any other chapter of bankrupcy. They did get government loan guarentees, which made a lot of money for the US Treasury.

I was very interested when this was going on, as my paycheck at that time had the Chrysler Pentastar on it!

 

Man Ringo your pretty tough on GM an Ford. I have to admit Ford an GM have made some mistakes but to say they screwed up completly is wrong. Both have made some great automobiles over the years that have sold well. Mustang camaroCorvette, Taurus. Fords new cars the 500 an Fusion are great cars. Far from being slugs there selling well. As far as Chrysler there answer to everything is power with the hemi engine. Which is not very fuel efficient BTW. As far as the 150 is concerned the diesel engine is coming for the 150 but the manual transmission is not. The demand for those is so small that it would not be fesible to produce them. Manual transmissions dont sell anymore.