did ya miss it..UAW nixes bailout plan...

by hillbilly 71 Replies latest jw friends

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  Homerovah the Almighty

  If anything this will send a strong wakeup call to the Big three in their way they have operated themselves and it was not completive enough in

  the global market.. There is bound to be corrections in 2009 in the market place in the majority industries of North America as the recession has spread throughout

  world , and too it isn't all surprising that there is a huge debate going on, specially right after the enormous bail out of the banking system that just recently occurred.

  The times are a changing indeed.
• 

  BurnTheShips

  these three manufacturers produce lower quality products than imported ones, as well as products which do not match the needs of consumers.

  Do you really think so? American cars are pretty good these days, often better than foreign makes in a particular segment. Quality surveys bear this out, of course it varies from model to model. I have a Ford with 108,000 on it that has been absolutely excellent.

  BTS
• 

  JeffT

  We can't keep taking money away from successes and giving it to failures. As to all the workers lots non Big 3 car makers have plants in the US. There will be jobs somewhere. I read this morning that they pay about $10 an hour less than the companies in Detroit. I know its tough, but I'm pretty sure I could struggle along at $30 an hour.
• 

  Finally-Free

  The fact is, these three manufacturers produce lower quality products than imported ones,

  I don't know about that. I've had my share of imports; a Renault, a Toyota, and 2 Hondas. All were nightmares. I never knew whether I'd be able to drive to my destination or have to be towed there. All were very expensive to repair when compared to similar repairs on domestic vehicles. For example, I paid $350 for a starter for my Toyota van in 1988, and I had to wait a week to get it. A year earlier I paid $150 for a starter motor for an old Chrysler I had. I also got it the same day, and installed it myself. A brake job on my Honda Accord cost over $1,000. I couldn't do the work myself, because it required a "special tool" to remove the rotors according to the manual. I brought it into the machine shop where I worked, and no one could figure out how to get the damn things off short of using a cutting torch.

  My car problems ended in 1997 when I bought my first ford F150. I'm on my second one now. I'd still be driving the first except it got written off 2 years ago when some idiot plowed into me on the highway. I guess he thought speeding was a good idea in freezing rain.

  W
• 

  Homerovah the Almighty

  Do you really think so? American cars are pretty good these days

  Yes they have improved in quality but its perhaps what knd of autos were they making, for example the economy class market something that

  they really haven't kept up to in comparison to the imports such as Honda, Toyota, VW. They have constructed their efforts to produce these cars and make them reliable

  the big three have direly lacked in that segment. If you look at the way the price of gas rose in the pass few years, who do you think was winning in that market segment ?

  If they were smart they focus there production into fuel alternative vehicles and make them reliable , people are thinking Green much more than ever before and this is where they could

  come over the competition.
• 

  BurnTheShips

  My car problems ended in 1997 when I bought my first ford F150.

  I always was a Chevy man, but you can't kill those things (F-150). My wife has an Expedition, which is basically the F150 converted to an SUV. What a great truck.

  BTS
• 

  Finally-Free

  My old Renault gave me great gas milage, probably because it was hooked to the back of a tow truck so often. When my Toyota van blew a gasket even the Toyota dealership refused to work on it. Go figure. At least I was able to drive it to a scrapyard with radiator fluid blowing out of my exhaust.

  For me, reliability beats gas milage any day.

  W
• 

  still_in74

  as much as I think the big 3 deserve this, I want to see the bailout go to mfr. and retain some jobs and give them time to restructure.

  I hate unions though, they had their day but now they are too corrupt....
• 

  Homerovah the Almighty

  The ironic thing about the domestic auto makers is they have the technology at their disposal perhaps even more than the import makers so why

  haven't they been had the capability or foresight to see what was occurring in the market ?

  Short answer : Management
• 

  daniel-p

  The quality of imports vs. domestic has been narrowing, I agree, however, as the poster mentioned above, within certain classes imports are still way ahead on the cost/quality spectrum. It's not to say some import models don't absolutely suck (VW Jetta, for example), but that on average, I've found American cars to be overpriced, not to mention a lack of models the fit the needs of large portions of the population.