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As GM, Ford, and FCA continue to lay off thousands of people, America needs to find a way to save its own carmakers. Here are the two things we need to do:
1. Show everyone you know that quality has improved by leaps and bounds:
Yes, American cars WERE, back during the oil shocks of the 1970s and 1980s especially, absolutely terrible. But that isn't the case anymore. Almost ALL Big Three automobiles nowadays are AT LEAST class-competitive, with some models even being among the best that you can buy!!! Yet, VERY FEW people seem to realize that! Even here in import-heavy California, I know PLENTY of people who have or have had various sorts of American cars, some dating back to the early 1990s, that did NOT go straight to the junkyard once they reached 50K miles, instead, they drove them to or WELL past 200K miles!!!
For example:
My Dad's 2006 GMC Sierra Duramax just crossed 200K (most Duramax, Power Stroke, and Cummins engines can reach a MILLION miles if you do all the scheduled maintenance, which most people DON'T)
A family friend just sold his 1999 F-250 diesel after 235K
Another friend owns a 2002 Suburban and a 2007 Cadillac CTS, with the Suburban at 215K and the Caddy just crossed 200K
I know someone from high school whose parents own a 2001 Suburban with 220K
A lady at my old high school has a 2003 Malibu and a 1997 Chevy Cheyenne pickup, with the Malibu at 255K and the truck at 240K
The auto shop teacher at that same school owns a 2001 F-150 with 260K
I know many other people who have American cars/trucks who have driven/are still driving their machines to over 200K, but for the sake of length, I won't list them. So that means you should not believe ANYTHING Consumer Reports says, as they sold themselves out to the Japanese and later Koreans years ago, and failed to even EXPOSE the above!!!
2. Show everyone you know that American made means GM/Ford/Chrysler, but NOT a Toyota/Honda/Nissan/Subaru/Hyundai/Kia/Mazda/etc. put together in the States:
I DO understand that some Big Three cars/trucks are built outside of American borders, BUT, let me tell you this: GM/Ford/FCA EACH, within all their divisions and subsidiaries, own MORE factories IN AMERICA than most foreign car companies COMBINED!!! And who do they employ?! AMERICANS!!! And before you go to the dealer to purchase your Civic/Corolla/whatever, read the following. Buying a foreign branded car, EVEN IF it is built in America, will send AT LEAST 75% of your hard-earned US dollars to Tokyo/Seoul/wherever, Mod cut.
So, if you are considering buying a foreign branded automobile, REGARDLESS of where it was made and where the parts are sourced, READ THIS!!!
Last edited by PJSaturn; 12-03-2018 at 06:18 PM..
Reason: Bigotry; off-topic hate speech.
Their strategy of producing and marketing trucks and SUVs seems to be working...for now. Yes the F-150 is the best selling model in North America, but what about abroad? Large pickups have little to no appeal in certain key markets (*cough* China).
Also Ford is focusing on SUVs, but some of them are crap! The EcoSport is underpowered for American tastes and doesn’t really do anything that an HR-V or Kona can do.
Oh dear... TWO Tokyo Roses have struck within an hour!!! As far as the Ford EcoSport being complete crap, I wholeheartedly disagree. Yes, it may be underpowered, but if you live in a city or are elderly, YOU WON'T NEED THE POWER!!! Subcompact SUVs are NOT meant to be treated like any Camaro would be, as far as speed.
And, WHY would you want an HR-V or a Kona?! Or MOST Japanese/Korean vehicles? The aforementioned two, along with the C-HR, CR-V, Cube, Soul, Element, Leaf, any Acura with that "beak" grille, any recent Lexus, etc. are HIDEOUS to look at!!! But the two WORST offenders are the Prius and god forbid, the Nissan Juke. Yes, I know some of these vehicles have gone out of production, but still, good god!!!
As for the big sellers i.e. the Accord, Civic, Camry, Corolla, and the like? Yes, some would qualify as ugly, but most of those are more boring than ugly. "Camry" should be in the Oxford dictionary as another term for "dull".
Their strategy of producing and marketing trucks and SUVs seems to be working...for now. Yes the F-150 is the best selling model in North America, but what about abroad? Large pickups have little to no appeal in certain key markets (*cough* China).
Exactly. Although when you say working, it is only working for the US, and the few other countries that crave pickups and large SUV's. The rest of the world has been programmed for many years now to drive the little sedans, estates and mini trucks.
This is one of the reasons Ford and more recently GM has made some major changes in trying to restructure their companies and move more into the direction of what the Global market wants.
Their strategy of producing and marketing trucks and SUVs seems to be working...for now. Yes the F-150 is the best selling model in North America, but what about abroad? Large pickups have little to no appeal in certain key markets (*cough* China).
They sell different vehicles in those other markets. Ford makes a slew of small cars in other markets. They are only discontinuing sedans for THIS market.
If the economy or fuel situation changed, they could easily bring back the small cars they sell elsewhere.
Interestingly enough, even those other markets are shifting away from cars to CUVs and small to medium SUVs, too, though. You are seeing a lot more CUVs and SUVs in Europe, these days, for the same reasons they are taking over here: the form factor is simply the most practical of any other than a minivan. And no one wants minivans.
As GM, Ford, and FCA continue to lay off thousands of people, America needs to find a way to save its own carmakers. Here are the two things we need to do:
1. Show everyone you know that quality has improved by leaps and bounds:
Yes, American cars WERE, back during the oil shocks of the 1970s and 1980s especially, absolutely terrible. But that isn't the case anymore. Almost ALL Big Three automobiles nowadays are AT LEAST class-competitive, with some models even being among the best that you can buy!!! Yet, VERY FEW people seem to realize that! Even here in import-heavy California, I know PLENTY of people who have or have had various sorts of American cars, some dating back to the early 1990s, that did NOT go straight to the junkyard once they reached 50K miles, instead, they drove them to or WELL past 200K miles!!!
For example:
My Dad's 2006 GMC Sierra Duramax just crossed 200K (most Duramax, Power Stroke, and Cummins engines can reach a MILLION miles if you do all the scheduled maintenance, which most people DON'T)
A family friend just sold his 1999 F-250 diesel after 235K
Another friend owns a 2002 Suburban and a 2007 Cadillac CTS, with the Suburban at 215K and the Caddy just crossed 200K
I know someone from high school whose parents own a 2001 Suburban with 220K
A lady at my old high school has a 2003 Malibu and a 1997 Chevy Cheyenne pickup, with the Malibu at 255K and the truck at 240K
The auto shop teacher at that same school owns a 2001 F-150 with 260K
I know many other people who have American cars/trucks who have driven/are still driving their machines to over 200K, but for the sake of length, I won't list them. So that means you should not believe ANYTHING Consumer Reports says, as they sold themselves out to the Japanese and later Koreans years ago, and failed to even EXPOSE the above!!!
2. Show everyone you know that American made means GM/Ford/Chrysler, but NOT a Toyota/Honda/Nissan/Subaru/Hyundai/Kia/Mazda/etc. put together in the States:
I DO understand that some Big Three cars/trucks are built outside of American borders, BUT, let me tell you this: GM/Ford/FCA EACH, within all their divisions and subsidiaries, own MORE factories IN AMERICA than most foreign car companies COMBINED!!! And who do they employ?! AMERICANS!!! And before you go to the dealer to purchase your Civic/Corolla/whatever, read the following. Buying a foreign branded car, EVEN IF it is built in America, will send AT LEAST 75% of your hard-earned US dollars to Tokyo/Seoul/wherever, [snip]
So, if you are considering buying a foreign branded automobile, REGARDLESS of where it was made and where the parts are sourced, READ THIS!!!
Sorry, but the last Chevy I owned, is the last American car I've owned, will be the last as well. A 1994 GMC Jimmy 4 door SLT, that every time it rained, water would pool up in the middle of the headliner and drip down from tip to tail. And water pumps, power steering pumps, alternators, etc all going bad right after the 3/36 warranty expired and slightly before 50k miles. Sorry, never again after that. But that's just me, I get it.
However, as a car buyer, I can tell you without hesitation that when I see advertisements to sell a Silverado with over $12,000 knocked off the price in general, it makes me wonder (1) how over inflated is that price to begin with and (2) why would it take that much to sell it?
I'm just not a fan of the big 3 at all. Ford's and their Microsoft screw-up with their infotainment nightmare. Chrystler with their weird issues - my folks have a 2018 Pacifica, fully loaded, has been a piece of crap and they're getting rid of it as we speak. They went out to start it over the summer, would start, then smelled gas and got out. Opened the hood, and the entire engine was covered in gasoline - the gas line broke and was spraying the engine with fuel...12,000 miles. Dash gone out. Battery died 3 times, and on and on.
Ford....Firestone....Exploder... Nope. Not happening for me. And remember when some where just catching fire in people's garages a few years ago? Say what??
Ugly? Have you seen the Impala? It's like they designed it in stages, and gave Kim Kardashian the trunk area to design. Seriously, from the side, the front looks good. The side looks good. And then right past the rear door, boom, kardashian butt syndrome. It's like they did 2/3 of the car and just gave up. I like the Cruze a lot! I think it looks superb. Was thinking about buying one back in 2012.....until I heard about the recall when the damn steering wheel itself could come off in your hands! Are you kidding me??
I've got a 2013 Toyota Highlander with 100k miles on it. The friggin' wheel shot off the front of it a year ago while going down the highway (thanks to a Mr. Tire error) and took the fender, hub, bearing, rotor, bushings with it. Fixed by Toyota (on Mr. Tire's dime), and it's just fine the first time. Straight as an arrow, quiet as a church, smooth as butter. The...friggin....wheel!!
Sorry my friend, but the Big 3's problems in my book, has been one too many cheap / cost cutting mistakes to ever get me back.
And I say all of this as a VW owner for the past 10 years too. VW - the car that everyone knows someone who saw Ferris pass out at 31 Flavors last night in a Jetta that fell apart and exploded into a million pieces and killed a bunch of spot owls who were trying to save baby seals, all because of overly complicated german engineering.
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