gixxerbill

I know it must be a money issue but surely gm knows the demand for this car is hot to say the least. And it's not like the dealer and the factory aren't both making top dollar for this car. So why in the hell did someone at gm decide to to use the rail? Lets go through how inefficient it is to use rail shall we?

First car sits in the holding area big parking lot I guess after it's produced. Then it has to wait for a truck to pick it up. Then the truck takes it to a train yard and drops the car off. Then the car has to wait for someone to load it on the train. Then the train goes to the drop off station. Then the car has to wait to get unloaded. Then once it's unloaded it has to wait yet again to get loaded by a truck to take to the dealer(where mine is in the insanity)

I know me posting this isn't going to get me my car any faster Hopefully if enough of us customer buying a pretty expensive toy paying again MSRP or higher complain about this nonsense, the next buyer won't have to wait so long for their car.

How long have I been waiting. Car was produced 11/1. So a WHOLE month for something to get moved a 1000 or so miles.
I also want to say my dealer has been great giving me sincere empathy on this mess calling me and texting me regularly one where the car is.

I run a business myself and I hate inefficiency so this whole thing just erks the crap out of me. I mean it feels like something our stupid govt would do.

Now if someone from GM would come on this thread and explain their decision and why makes this rail decision good business sense I'll be the first to apologize. Until then I will just hope that my car makes it to the dealer some day.

$$$frumnuttin'

heisnuts

I am sure the main reason they went to rail is the cost. It must be cheaper to move the cars across the country via rail vs truck.

Trackaholic

Shipping by rail is much more cost effective, so if you judge efficiency by cost, shipping by rail is much more efficient.

Of course that doesn't help you get you car faster. Hopefully it will arrive soon.

-T

Glen e

I understand you don't like it, but from GM'S perspective and cost analysis, it makes sense. You are aware a load carries hundreds of cars fast over long distances ?

Google "rail vs truck"

gixxerbill

Thanks. But how much cost? I mean if its a $100 is that really worth the good will lost?

punky

The difference would be more than a hundred bucks. Even if it were $100 per unit matters on their side of the fence. Multiply that by hundreds of thousands of vehicles.

HalfMoon

You keep throwing the magic number of $100 around in threads... do you have some source for this value?

And, $100 to the manufacturer is well worth it when you look at the number of units shipped. Hell, my company supplies parts that we'll just say cost the car companies $60. They quibble over 50 cents on the cost of that system.

Every dollar saved is a dollar earned on the BOM cost to them.

gixxerbill

I don't know somebody brought up that number on another rail thread. What do you think it is?

If $100 was worth it why didn't they just add another $100 to the $995 and the freak'n car to the dealer. I would gladly paid two hundred more.

Why not give a choice to the customers you can pay $995 and get your car in a month or more, have a better chance of getting your car damaged and get rail dust on your car or you can pay $1095 and get in 10 to 12 days. What delivery option would you have chosen?

HalfMoon

I have no idea what the cost is and I don't want to speculate by throwing static numbers around.

Regarding the $995, that is the settled price no matter where you live in the USA and is set based on averaging the cost and agreeing with the unions. Trying to negotiate a second concurrent transport method would likely cause a renegotiation of the fees and in this arena the union usually wins and the customer absorbs the cost.

At least your car is built. I won't see mine until at least Feb. or March. Look on the bright side and try to forget about it, you won't get this to change. At least your car didn't sit in QC for a month.... but maybe if you continue to complain someone at GM will reroute your car to QC holding.

MikeG37

R8C

gixxerbill

damn unions screw up everything. I guess your right I should just try to be patient(which I am not btw) I originally ordered a c7 at a local dealer and not getting a call for a whole month to start build decided to I was going to buy a 911 turbo instead. Then I nice poster on here told me of a spec a car a dealer had and it was built 11/1 so I instantly put money down on it. The salesman is super cool and told me it would be here in a 10 to 12 days and 1/2 way through is when gm decided to use rail and now a month later no car. I sure hope you picked the 1000 museum delivery and not have to go through all this rail mess.

vincent_esq

Mine was built 11/4 (AW non-Z51 1lt) and was shipped by rail on 11/19 for California (Boardwalk Chev). It's still not here yet, and from what I hear on this forum, if it really takes a month, I won't be able to pick up until Christmas. I will contact Tim today and see what the status is and update.

Delta88

My car shipped 11/20 I called customer service this morning they said my car is in PA rail yard waiting for a truck to ship it to Jersey.. To much driving cars on and off trains and trucks......It SUCKS

sprtplt

This has never happened, for any reason.

2 Ag R8Cs

My last two were R8Cs and this one is an R8C.

I bet that is many cases the RR may be as fast or faster than a truck.

Don't forget the truck driver is limited to how many hours he can drive, plus the truck has to deal with traffic jams road repair detours. I would love to see a race from Bowling Green to NJ with one shipment of cars on a train and the other on a truck. I would bet that if the train is not faster than a truck it will arrive within hours of the truck

jimmyb

Are all C7's being shipped by rail now or is there some distance (say 500 miles or less) where they are shipped by truck?

Jimmy

gixxerbill

your forgetting corporate bureaucracy, layovers and load times there ain't no way in hell a train with that many loads and unloads is going to beat a semi. Now if the train was right outside the plant and your dealership was at the end the train would win. But that ain't happening. Trains should be used to carry heavy stuff that can't be damaged easily like a 75 thousand dollar car.

gixxerbill

that's a good question no sure on that one.

gixxerbill

btw I just want to clarify something. I think GM has done a hell of a job on this car. Matter of fact, it woo'd me away from porsche. I was just sooo excited to get it when someone decided on this method of shipping.