65coupe

The only way to work is not allow them in here....the same as Japan has done for years to protect their industries.

65coupe

There is no way to compete against [substandard] low wage assemblers. Would you work for $2.00 per hour or less?

65coupe

It's no more boring than a Camry. IMO GM makes great cars. The impala is not a vette. There problem is perception which is obvious from your post.

GCD1962

I wasn't comparing it to a Corvette. The car simply has no "pop" to motivate enough people to buy them. Good car as I said, but too much like everything else

nassau66427

Its going to get real interesting when Malcolm Bricklin and Chery Motors gets here. Anybody up for a $4000 car? Anybody remember the Bricklin, the Subaru 360, or the Yugo?

jrs 427

At 10k a copy can you imagine the stampede to the nearest dealer. I bet the first year production is sold out before the plant is in full operation. Then to top it off they will throw in one of those measely 100,000 mile ten year warranties on the drive train. The US wanted free trade .... and it will open the doors to bankrupcy. Bet the UAW is just sick !!!!!!!

JWD01

GM's problem is they have a mediocre product (that includes Corvette) and when a problems arise, they deny that it exists. I'm the biggest Chev. fan around and have owned over 20 Corvettes and Chev. muscle cars. Since the 80's, their quality suks (and that includes the C5 I bought new). There is no way I would consider buying another new Corvette.

hatdragracer

I agree.......I have never seen a steering wheel go through the roof in one of these tests!..I am an engineer but certainly no expert in crash dynamics

Rair67

YIKES!!!!!!!! That's enough to stop anyone from buying one!

The Chinese just bought 70 Boeing 737's, at least they are buying something from this country.

I hope they're not going to try to copy them and then sell them around the world. However, I wouldn't call them out on anything in the future, they are the Japanese of the 21st century.

mercoupe50

I agree,
I think it is about time that we decide to support our own economy and by American. Volume makes a huge difference in manufacturing costs.

NINETNINEVETT

I agree buy American thats why we all have old vetts.

G.M had the volume but not the quality and that is why they are going in the tank. I wont spend my money just to buy American if the quality is not up to standards. Compare what G.M. makes. Tahoes vs Toyota Highlander, Honda pilot, Cadillac vs Lexus. so on and so on. Americans are not stupid They have spoken but the big three have not listened.
G.M has more recalls than any other company in the world. When I see how many engineers are on this forum They should get together with G.M. and help them fix their problems.
I own a fair amount of G.M. bonds which are now at junk status. As the old saying go as G.M. goes so goes the country. Hope that is not true.

SPLITRAY

With money not being an issue, I shopped GM, Ford, Kia, Toyota for the wife's new SUV. (Didn't consider Chrysler as I have yet to see on that doesn't leave a smoke screen after 2 years on the road).

I had the Explorer and at 34K miles it was hemorrhaging from every orifice in the drive train (coolant, oil, trans fluid) and Ford wouldn't stand behind it.

I didn't think the asthetic quality was there in the GM. The Kia was just CHEAP! It was obvious that the seats would break down in 1 year along with the carpet.

Toyota was far and above the rest of the products and the customer service to this point is unparalleled. So this was my first import. American dealer customer relations suked!

I always bought american but I don't know if there is really such a beast anymore? When I get rid of my 02' Superduty with 18K miles on it it will be for a Toyota P/U. With 18K on it I figure it's got a good 3K left before it goes T.U.! The plastic overhead console has already been changed as it was desintigrating! And yes Ford would not stand behind it!

65coupe

Do you get a "pop" from the foreign "basic people mover" makes?
I don't know what you expect.
The domestics are getting great reviews from "J.D.Powers" and in the Wall Street Journal they published their top ten best and top ten worst of 38 carmakers based of on 2005 Sales Satisfaction Index. This index is based on owner responses. There were no Domestic car maker in the Bottom Ten and in the Top ten were five domestics: Buick, Mercury, Saturn, Cadillac, Lincoln. I think we are being to critical of domestics. I travel as part of my job and rent quite a few cars. All the domestics cars were excellent. The foreign makes were good to except for Hundai and Kia.

I suggest we all support the domestic carmakers while they are still here.

65 goldline

65coupe I couldn't have said it better. After everything the U.S. has been through the last several years I don't know why anybody would even consider buying a foreign vehicle.

Brucets11

The issue of foreign vs import is quite interesting. How about buying a Saturn Vue which has an engine built by Honda. And, when Saturn added the Honda engine to the Vue, Saturn actually increased their domestic content for the Vue. The previous engine was an import while the current Honda engine is built in Anna Ohio.

Or, how about a PT Cruiser? The Toyota Avalon has a higher domestic content than the PT Cruiser which is built in Mexico.

Then there's the Chevrolet Avalanche — 61 percent U.S.-Canadian content, built in Silao, Mexico. And the Chevrolet Aveo with 6 percent U.S.-Canadian content. It's built in South Korea.

Finally there's the GTO built in...

GCD1962

I don't buy foreign. Besides the Corvette, I really see no other U.S. car (and again I don't buy foreign) that I would buy. Excepting some of the Chrysler models, which all have ugly squashed roof lines and high sides, the rest of the U.S. cars pretty much all look the same. I do not like any SUVs, Crossover, or Pickups and don't own any. My everyday cars are the 90s Ford Thunderbirds, not the most technically advanced, but have been unbeliveably reliable. They don't make them anymore, so when I next need a daily driver, I'm seriously considering just buying older restored #1 cars like 62-64 Chev SS, maybe 55-57 Chev, Maybe an Olds Starfire from 62-63. I figure even if you pay 30 grand, you could drive it for a few years, sell it and get most of your money back - try doing that with a new car, you'd be lucky to get back 1/2 of what you spent!

red67

Hi guys, new here. Kinda odd place for a first post, but here are some facts for you.

82% parts in the average GM car or truck are domestic content
At Honda, it’s 49%
At Toyota, it’s 41%
Nissan? 38%
BMW? 11%

GM/Ford/and DCX provide 23.4 jobs per 100 vehicles sold in the United States

The Japanese competitors? 13.3 jobs per 100 vehicles sold in the United States

GM’s capital investment in the United States from 1999 thru 2003 was $20Billion.
Toyota’s capital investment from 1980 thru 2003 was $10.7Billion. Nissan’s? 2.8Billion from 1980 thru 2003.
Honda? $5.6Billion – ’80 thru ’03.

GM’s contribution to the U.S. Gross National Product (GNP) is 4 times that of Toyota

Every Day, over 1 million North Americans earn their living by helping GM build and sell cars in North America. – Every month, 457,000 retirees and their spouses count on GM for pension checks. More than 1.1 Million people receive health care benefits from GM.

kobi67

Red67, Great info.. I see the domestics building some nice quality cars these days.. One post spoke to the J.D. Powers report that spoke to that "fact"..
We as Americans need to support American products.. If GM/ Ford tube out, we will all be paying the pensions for those workers.. These companies are going thru some real pain, trying to fix assembly worker pay/pension/healthcare, that was too high. We all better hope they make it..
I buy American when ever I can, even if it costs more. You won't ever find rice-built in my driveway...

GCD1962

Excellent set of facts Red