GM or Ford aint going no where stop talking liek they are

 

Riiiiiight...............'cause the Germans were always our friends.

 

another thing I have noticed lately to add to the mix. The large amounts of gm rental cars. It seems the market had always been flooded with gm cars but of late it has doubled. If it isnt a chrysler pacifica then its a Cobalt or a HHr. Chevy isnt diong as well as bow tie followers would think.
When I look around at whats towing on the road I see more f-250's than chevy's and GMC combined.
I have seen a large growth on the escalade but it is to a fairly specific market group.

As far as the c-6 vette, if i am going to spend that much money i would spend a little more and get a more exotic car, (viper or the gt, maybe a used ferrari) but vette owners are a cult. I have met people who buy a vette every couple of years and wouldnt own anything else.

Ford cars are an awsome product but some have taken function so far over fasion it will be hard to sell. I drove a freestyle before I bought the ex and it was awsome. But I couldnt sell it to the wife because it was about as apealing as chocolate covererd deer turds.

They do need to cut the fat,
they do need to get some younger minds
but they dont need to worry about gm.

 

Has anyone noticed the way that anytime there is a recall or other event concerning a major automaker, it SEEMS as though the news media presents the story in a more damning fashion when the company is Ford or GM, but they seem to soft-pedal the damnation when it comes to any company with foriegn owners or control, especially any company related to Japan?

Is this just my ultra-conservative sensitivity hanging out, or am I fairly accurate here?

What are the costs of overcoming the underlying bias against Americans and American business so arrogantly displayed by the alphabet-networks?

ANOTHER THOUGHT: When all the higher paying skilled trade positions are gone and we all are employed in the lower paying service-sector jobs (oops, I almost called them trades), the only new cars affordable to most will be the Korean and Chinese brands (or maybe Indian or Russian by then). You won't be worried about options...you'll take the few you get on the one model you can afford.

Then everything will be fair and equal. And we can wear PJ's all day long.....

 

You don't think it'd ever get that bad, do you?

 

Oh yah I've noticed! I've also noticed that Ford especially gets the raw end of the deal 9 X out of 10 in pr, and gm is usually just a side note.

For the most part I also think gm gets plenty of "free(?)" advertisment on many news programs. For instance, they just reported on the insurance institute's safest vehicles. No American made vehicles made the list, however, there in all it's glory was a tahoe/yukon in a split screen demo with one having ESC and other not.

 

Yep, and it happens more often now than ever.

 

We've struck a chord here and unfortunately it is purely political.

To make a long story only a little longer, I do fear that American business-bashing will reach a fever pitch over the next couple of years, considering the outcome of the recent mid-term elections.

This is not at all by chance or pure coincidence, but a portion of a well planned program funded by a very few sources, possibly only one source.

GM did get its shareof bashing, but you are right, it does seem less lately. Ever since the Explorer/Firestone tire thing, it has seemed to be a relentless onslaught for Ford.

Sure, Ford needs to make some changes, what U.S. business hasn't had to do so? Two of our local giants have been plagued over the past decade or so and either have made or are making these kinds of changes as we speak.

Not so very long age no one would have imagined such would be the case for Xerox and much less Kodak, but we now know no business is immune...it's business as usual one week and locked office buildings and abandoned production facilities the next.

Unfortunately all of this reduces down to increased purchases from China, a country who has chosen to build up its Armed Forces with the dollars we send there. Is history repeating itself? Did we not learn the lesson well enough 65 years ago?

We are funding potential enemies as we lose more and more production capability and retire the skilled workers. It's bigger than just Ford, my friends.

 

not sure how this happened..my last appeared 3x. I wouldn't put you through it three times!

 

Moderator, you can remove this one and the one before as well.

 

It's ironic, that for years people have been telling Ford, that what they need to do, is to build the same type of cars as the Japanese car makers. Now Ford, and GM, basically do that, and those same people wouldn't dream of buying a Ford car anyway, but the people who used to buy Ford, or GM, dislike the new lineups, because they are too much like traditional Japanese cars. The biggest buzz in American pass cars, is in reality a 50's throw back (big Chrysler). Irony.

Yeah, Ford usually gets singled out for poor press, rather unfairly, more ofton, IMO.

To go back to the original post, Your XO is just a Chevy guy...He's not going to have anything good to say no matter....It's not really that bad.

 

You are quite correct- good observation. However, he is a well educated man that seems to ask some very good, probing questions about the future of Ford (and ALL American economics) that I don't readily have the answers to. Therefore, I come to my comfort zone- you guys- for some answers, and some points to counter the arguments.

 

Ford has proven it can put out cars that people will buy. Look at the Mustang 42 years after introduction an going strong. Fords new cars the 500 an Fusion are excellent cars that can beat foreign brands hands down in quality an engineering an relaibility. An Im still distressed to here that forighn brands are still gaining in market share. Now something is wrong here. Ford should be gaining market share instead off losing. I still cannot believe people are falling for all the Japan hype about there cars. Fords making great cars right now an people still are buying Toyotas an Honds etc.

Make you wonder that people think Japan makes better cars then the good old USA. Kind off makes you think that when you attend high school you root for the opposition instead off your own team. Sad to think that the actions off the people buying foreighn is closing down amercan plants putting people you know out off work. People wake up this is America not Japan. Lets get on Americas team an root for them instead off the opposition.

 

The imports from Japan were allowed into the US in the 60's (Datsun, Toyopet) with zero thoughts from our government regarding tariffs.

True then and still true today: Japanese imports can be bought cheaper here than in Japan, while any American cars exported into Japan face HUGE tariffs...the average American car sold in Japan costs double what it sells for here.

It's the old double standard...GM, Ford, AMC and Chrysler should have petitioned our government over those unfair Japanese tariffs...but didn't...simply because no one figured then that imports would ever reach more than a 10% market share.

Now it's too late.

Did'ja ever wonder how so many Toyota dealers seemed to spring up overnight around 1966-67? It's simple...Toyota sent road men nationwide targeting former Studebaker Dealers, who had no new product to sell after March 1966.

Many signed on.

There are still a few of those original Toyota dealers in the Los Angeles area, that were formerly with Studebaker. Hamer Toyota is one.

 

To the original post: Some people are still awed by the traditional reputation Chevy HAD. Yeah, I HAD some pretty good Chevys. The used to make an easy to repair, sturdy vehicle with lots of parts shared with other GM brands.

ALL the US auto producers made cars much different from what they produce today. You have to re-evaluate and make new decisions.

WE have done so. Others prefer to live in history.