LemansBlue68

Apparently you haven't had the opportunity to read some of the articles as of late where the Japanese auto companies had been caught cheating on their SAE advertised horsepower readings. When the domestics confronted them with an opportunity to participate in the revision of the SAE rating standard, and fill some of the loopholes, they declined saying revisions weren't necessary. So when the SAE revisions were approved over a year ago, the Japanese auto companies quietly adjusted their rated power ratings downward for this year while the Big 3's ratings, for the most part, remained unchanged because they had already been following the standard.

BUGGSY1970

The biggest problem that GM has is perception. Many people think that they make gas guzzlers and poor quality vehicles. Check out this quote which makes some good points
"Check the quality surveys, short- and long-term. J. D. Power's latest Vehicle Dependability Index (VDI), which polled owners of 2002 vehicles on three full years of experience, has three GM brands (Buick, Cadillac, and Chevrolet) above Industry Average, the first two better than all Japanese brands except Lexus. And Saturn, Oldsmobile, GMC, and Pontiac barely below average (by .003-.008 problems per vehicle) yet ahead of all Japanese brands except Lexus (1st), Infiniti (6th), Toyota (7th), Honda (9th) and Acura (10th).



Check EPA economy ratings (not CAFE, which reflects a company's sales mix, not the efficiency of vehicles within that mix). GM cars and trucks are either first or among the top few in virtually every class, and 20 of them are rated 30 mpg or better."

Sure GM makes big gas guzzlers but 1 year ago that was what everyone wanted. Why do you think that Toyota, Honda, Mercedes all got into the SUV market for? They make big hulking gas guzzlers also just GM makes them better.

Unfortunately due to the current administrations ties to the oil industry we are being held hostage by gas prices just like we were back in the 70's. We were just coming to the rebirth of the muscle car and now they are dead again, thanks to the price of gas. Cars will once again revert back to styleless econoboxes with no imagination or fun factors. God help us.

BUGGSY1970

By the way you can read the whole article at:http://www.thecarconnection.com/Auto...192.A9638.html

big_G

Excuse me? The only one's responsible for the high prices are the oil companies. To raise gas prices 20 cents the day after Katrina hit is not the administrations doing. Oil companies raping us by charging excess profits on already refined oil is just wrong. The 5 major oil companies are all together on their price fixing, and we will continue to pay as long as there are no affordable alternative fuels. Rant is over.

Robd

HOWEVER, their styles stink; sure we see really cool curvaceous designs at the various industry auto shows. Only to see the very few that do make it to market is so watered down it hardly resembles the car that my have gotten rave reviews at the show in the first place.

Frankenvette

I think the next big thing is biofuel. It is renewable, made in the good ol USA and the price per gallon is dropping to be more comparable to regular gas. I would love to use a fuel that is not foreign dependent and takes money away from those countries that do not support the US and possibly funnel funds to the terrorist.

As for the price fixing by the oil companies, I agree to a certain extent. Don't forget, oil is traded as a commodity thus the price per barrel is subject to the traders. I'm not an economist, so I can't get to technical but there are a lot of people and companies that stand to gain when prices are high.

Kid Vette

I hope all the GM bashers are happy now. Hopefully some of the 30,000 people without jobs now will be their friends or relatives.

Good article.

Granted the unions have got way out of hand and their benefits need to be brought back in line with everybody else. Thats not a good reason to blindly bash GM's products.

Rottenrob

Every mechanic I have talked to has always counseled avoiding buying American cars like the plague- with the exception of one who thought that Jeep Cherokees were reliable. I've seen them drive Toyotas and Hondas.

I'm 29, but I remember when Chrysler got bailed out. Dodge Viper... exciting concept cars, good reviews in Car & Driver.. It was an entire shift in the company’s philosophy or so it was marketed to the public. This stuff really seems to come in cycles. Weak American dollar against the Japanese Yen, Pres. Bush Sr. barfing in the Japanese Prime Minister’s lap. Now President W. Bush in China and that trade imbalance- unable to exit his news conference as quickly as he would have liked.

I would like to express my patriotism through my buying power, if that was really what I was doing. In reality I would just be helping maintain the status quos, and shooting myself in the foot with mechanics bills down the line.

Chrysler got bailed out and woke up. Ford needed the whole Explorer/Tire business. GM on the other hand still has some work cut out for it, despite Cadillac, and the Corvette as luminaries. I just drove by a dealership last night actually, and checked out the Colorado- another miss IMO. GM is just not responding quickly enough. My friends and contemporaries like the bang for the buck of Nissan's products of late, slightly less in quality (at least perceived quality) than Toyota or Honda as evidenced by resale value, but exciting and modern.

As my spending power increases, and I begin to have the ability to seriously consider different new cars and trucks I am going to be motivated to buy from a company that I feel is tapped directly into the heartbeat of America, with more than just a rousing jingle for a reminder. I hope GM gets its act together. I had high hopes for the Colorado, but am now leaning towards a Tacoma.

Sprzout

I DID read that, and it applied to Mazda, who got their hands slapped with the RX-8. Nissan wasn't hit with that problem. And I'm referring to articles by semi-reputable car magazines. Road & Track, Car & Driver, Motor Trend...All magazines are biased by the advertisers, but when they're comparing real world numbers and a 350z is right up there in testing with a Corvette, it kinda makes you wonder what's so special about it.

I've learned that most auto manufacturers quote HP/Torque numbers that aren't realistic (GM quoted the Saturn ION Red Line as having 200 ft/lbs of torque and 200 hp; turns out it's 170hp) and the only real ways to tell what actual horsepower output is from a car is to slap it onto a dyno or use one of those GTech meters.

Garys 68

GM cutting jobs, maybe bankrupcy? Not a big surprise.
I see a lot of comments about styling, etc. I've bought GM cars/trucks my whole life. Most I've driven over 200,000 miles. Until the last GM SUV. That was all I needed to convince me GM now builds crap.
Bad styling in cars can be changed, but having one cost you more than it's worth will sour you on a company forever.
I'll keep my 68 vette, but I'll NEVER buy another GM vehicle. Looks like a lot of other people feel the same way.
Gary

Scottys78

They could start saving money, if they stopped sending me all this crap mail. All the promotions of other cars, and junk. Uuummm I just bought a new truck from you….I’m not going to buy another vehicle in less than a year!

VETTEROOKIE75

fauxrs2

Decidedly not.. however this IS NOT the fault of GM bashers, but is the fault of GM management for being unable to change and keep their customer base...I think its safe to say that most of us here would love to see GM return to its hey day....but if they continue on the path they are going it sure as hell aint my fault.


No its not... A good reason would be poor quality, uninspired designs and a desire to milk the SUV craze for all its worth at the cost of everything else....

ngcolby

GM will go bankrupt. Writing is on the wall. The Delphi thing is going to come back and bite them in the a$$. I doubt they will save as much as they think they will on healthcare with premiums taking double digit leaps each year. They sell fewer cars each year. And the biggest thing that pretty much makes a bankrupt GM a sure thing? They aren't producing cars that people want to buy, and that doesnt look to be changing anytime soon.

The GM fanatics here can wave their flags and do their little chants and whatnot, but your average american, mr./mrs. joe blow, has purchased a GM product in the past, driven it, evaluated that experience, and decided that next time he would buy something else.

Maybe it is true. Maybe GM did build some pretty good cars in the last 2 years. Maybe not. But Joe Blow is buying a car to replace that GM Yugo that either fell apart, died early, or went to the shop once a month for something other than an oil change. Joe Blow has a sour taste in his mouth and wants to try something else.

Cars aren't like fashion. Fashion is something so ugly that they change it every 6 months. Cars are bought and driven for years. GM is experiencing the backlash from the garbage they had put on the road 5, 10, 15, or even more years ago.

Other than the C6, and possibly a Caddy, what vehicle does GM offer that says "come drive me, we'll have some fun"? None. At best they say, "Come on, lets get to work. We'll stop on the way and get an espresso." At worst, its a walking avertisement for boredom. At least all the squeeks and rattles will keep you from falling asleep at the wheel.

That all said, my next purchase will be a vette, and I currently drive 2 GM vehicles. The vette will be some flavor of C3, its what i grew up drooling over. I drive a Corsica with the 3.1 manifold gasket eating V6, and the wife drives a pontiac minivan with the tranny that has forgotten it's manners 3 times already.

After the vette? Next DD will be a foreign make probably.

1969c3mandy

I've only owned GMs my whole life. I can't bring myself to buy anything else.

This will change, however, the minute some jack off in MI puts a stingray logo on a c6....and it is coming...

Kid Vette

I just bought a new Canyon this past summer. I paid $13,000 for it and am averaging 24 mpg driving to work and back. Let me know how you do with your Tacoma.




Show Solstice

Production Solstice

You're right! They hardly resemble each other!



See Solstice above.



Not even close.

0 to 60 mph
Corvette 5.0 sec.
Nissan 350Z 6.2 sec.

45 to 65 mph
Corvette 3.4 sec.
Nissan 350Z 4.4 sec.

Quarter mile
Corvette 13.4 sec
Nissan 350Z 14.8 sec.

And the Corvette gets better mileage too. 21 compared to 20 for the Nissan

Glass Act

Well GM made the announcement today, 30.000 jobs ending 2006 Plants marked for closure for the end of 2006 are...

Portland Or.
Pittsburg Pa.
Oklahoma City
Lansing Mich.
Baltimore
Maryland
Doraville Ga.
Ontario, Canada

Closing plants will save them money, but the root of their problem is still there. Unless they fix that issue, what plants will be next and which families will be next to feel hardships. I bet it's not the top exeutive family.
Let's face it, 30.000 plant jobs really means 130.000 as it trickles down the suppliers chain.

gh78

can anyone one here say BUY AMERICAN? Stay the F--- out of wallymart and lets bring shet back to america

Kenny Bonnell

I used to be a GM only person, then I got a company car that was a Ford Escort in 1995. I drove the crap out of it and it was still going strong with 175,000 miles when they traded it for a Windstar van in 98. I then drove that for 248,000 miles with very few problems. I am now a loyal Ford owner, both the Escort (which really surprised me) and the Windstar had very comfortable and usable interiors, and the paint and fit on the body was far superior to any GM product I have owned. I think that is where GM has failed, they relied on repeat customers, and many found there are better cars out there. Two of my friends have since bought Ford pickups since riding in mine.
I will NEVER get rid of my Corvette, but the next new vehicle I buy probably won't be a GM product. It's too bad because GM used to stand for quality.

David Ey

Anybody have an idea why GM and Ford continue to produce cars with orange peel paint? Even the top line car's paint looks like crap. Even Corvette.