Ford More Likely to Default than GM

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quote:

Originally posted by Vortec_4300:


Don't buy Ford, or GM, or whatever you don't want to buy because of the way you feel about their product. But don't get mad because they've already accounted for that.


They are doing a good job of accounting themselves into bankruptcy.
 
quote:

Originally posted by XS650:

quote:

Originally posted by Vortec_4300:


Don't buy Ford, or GM, or whatever you don't want to buy because of the way you feel about their product. But don't get mad because they've already accounted for that.


They are doing a good job of accounting themselves into bankruptcy.


Exactly. I had a long reply written to address Vortecs points, but what more can one say -

"How's that management technique working out for GM anyway?"

lol.gif
 
Vortec, your line of thinking was what caused Ford's management to make the conscious decision to let people burn to death in Pinto fires and pay off their families instead of fixing the problem early. I think you'll find that kind of decision-making will cause a good many people to become 'petty' with you. We should all take care that our specialization and skills do not overshadow all else.
 
Wow, I always thought that the old "bean-counter" argument was mostly anecdotal... something that people think is happening but in reality the whole thing is somewhat blurred. But here we have a real live breathing accountant telling us that's exactly his criteria! I realize he's just following orders, but in this day I can't believe the shortsightedness of this!!! Like someone said, they're doing a good job of accounting themselves into bankruptcy.
 
I think we all make "bean counting" decisions in our own personal financial lives, whether or not we like to admit it.

It should be easy to see from that that businesses are faced with the same choice.
 
As much as I hate to say it, if something major has to happen at Ford, I bet they close down Mercury. For the most part, Mercurys are just re-badged Fords, with minor cosmetic changes. As the proud owner of a Mercury Marauder, I would hate to see that happen, but it seems to me to be the "lesser of the evils"...
 
quote:

Originally posted by brianl703:

quote:

Originally posted by toocrazy2yoo:
SUV's that roll over with certain tires?

That's the direct result of selling them to tards who got them confused with sportscars and/or couldn't have been bothered to check the tire pressure.


LOL! Right on, brian!
 
I don't recall the rollovers being attributed to the drivers.
If that's the case, please post the data.
Otherwise, it's more b-s to cover failing companies.

Scott
 
Why do we now have mandatory tire pressure monitors?

What I recall of the problem is that the tires were underinflated, leading to failure and a potential roll-over.

Neglecting your tires is one thing. Driving in a manner that will cause a roll-over should one of them fail is another.

I could drive an Explorer with those original Firestone tires till they reached the legal wear limit and not have a problem (well, ignoring the fact that those tires would be so old that they would be unsafe for that reason alone).

[ June 26, 2006, 05:38 PM: Message edited by: brianl703 ]
 
I'm not arguing with you, Brian. I had a '92 XLT that was fine, but if it was OWNER neglect/misoperation, Ford/Firestone would not have taken so much heat I'm sure.

As for mandatory time pressure monitors - is that true? I have it in my Scion, and I like it, but I also have a nice gauge in the trunk. Since the days of "service stations" has long gone, I doubt 90+% of all car owners even check it, let alone know what the pressure should be. (I know, the stickers are right there...)

I'm seriously curious.

Scott
 
I'm not so sure about that. Things often get hyped and distorted.

As far as tire pressure monitors, they're not here yet, but will be in about a year:

"April 8, 2005

WASHINGTON – A light on motorists' instrument panels will soon warn them when a tire is underinflated.

The safety regulation, issued by the government yesterday, has its roots in the Firestone tire recall of 2000. It requires new vehicles to have tire pressure monitoring systems in place by the 2008 model year."

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050408/news_1b8tires.html
 
Well, I hate the dummying-down of society, but I think this one is good and will help.
I am pretty anal about my vehicles, and I know I sometimes forget tire pressure checks.
One more light to ignore maybe...
 
Ford needs to sell the following interest:

Jaguar
Land Rover
Aston Martin

Ford also needs to eliminate Mercury while focusing on Ford as their core mass market brand. Mazda needs to continue in the direction of making sporty cars that appeal to young car buyers while Lincoln is left as is.

GM needs to sell the following:

Vauxhall/Holden/Opel
Any minority interest in other manufacturers

GM also needs to eliminate Buick, Pontiac and GMC. Chevrolet needs to be marketed as as the core mass market brand. Saturn needs to make a transition into a sporty entry level brand geared toward younger buyers while Cadillac continues as is.


What do I know? I'm just a car buyer...
 
GM needs to bring more of the Holden / Vauxhall /Opel products to the US. They are superior to most everything that GM is making and selling here today. Ford should do the same with the Australian Falcons and utes.

I have always said that GM was crazy to sell the Chevy Corsica, and Ford the Tempo. I know a lot of people who bought those pieces of junk and will not buy another car from GM or Ford.
 
and oh yeah. why does the rest of the world get a cool new Focus and we are stuck with the old one? Why can I not buy a Ford Ka in America? There are some really sweet rides on the other side of both ponds that need to be sold here.
 
Why do people buy the old Focus? Until Americans quit buying junk imports will continue to fill my garage.
 
Sadly, things are not that simple. Internationally though, things are very different.

Selling Jag? it sells well internationally, outsells Lincoln easily. So what lincoln does well in the US, nobody cares about it in most other parts of the world.

Land Rover? nope, same thing as jag. Aston Martin isn't great, but at the same time, it's still showing a much smaller negative number than Ford itself. Also, Ford is loosing money in the US market, but it does well in other parts of the world as well. I am in no place to say what ford should do, but it's certain that the problem has nothing to do with their brands, but the stuff they are chugging out.

Same thing pretty much for GM. Corvette aside, Chevy and GMC has been known for their trucks. In a few years when gas is 6 dollars a gallon, these two brands will naturally go down. Focusing on these two brands is suicide. Get rid of pontiac? Sporty Saturn?

things just isn't as simple as most people thought.
 
quote:

Originally posted by brianl703:
I'm not so sure about that. Things often get hyped and distorted.

As far as tire pressure monitors, they're not here yet, but will be in about a year:

"April 8, 2005

WASHINGTON – A light on motorists' instrument panels will soon warn them when a tire is underinflated.

The safety regulation, issued by the government yesterday, has its roots in the Firestone tire recall of 2000. It requires new vehicles to have tire pressure monitoring systems in place by the 2008 model year."

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050408/news_1b8tires.html


We can thank the safety nazis at Public Citizen for this new cost adder of minimal usefulness. The previous ruling allowed indirect monitors that used the vehicles wheel speed sensors to determine if a tire was low. Other than the cost of the "low tire" lamp, all the work would have been done in software.

Sorry, not good enough for people who want to save you from personal choice and keeping too much of your money.

The new systems require active pressure sensors on each wheel. They claim it will only cost $48-$70 for the manufacturer to install these, but what they seem to miss is that a $70 increase in cost of goods at time of manufacture translates into about $350 additional at retail. So like "low cost" airbags they also helped shove down our throats, I'm sure it's going to cost more. Lots more.

And what about cheap steel wheels a lot of us buy to run in the winter in the salt and rust belt? Public Busybody is still complaining that the systems won't work with replacement "tires" so I'd expect them to continue to pursure this until they're no longer allowed.

Man, I *really* hate these people. They're worse than the gossiping old woman down the block when you were a kid that always had her nose in someone else's business. At least you could ignore her..

[ June 26, 2006, 10:57 PM: Message edited by: jsharp ]
 
American made cars are garbage. The american laborers are not to blame. It's the companies and the unions that are to blame. It's time for Ford, GM and the unions to go. When their value goes low enough Toyota or VW will buy them.
 
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