GM temporarily closing 5 plants

[Nebroch]

http://d1arsn5g9mfrlq.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/2016_vds_rank_1.jpg

Not that bad for GM?

I wonder why they won't sell Volt Mark II in Europe, friend of mine owns Mark I (Opel Ampera in EU) and he likes it a lot.

 

[dishdude]

Originally Posted By: Nebroch
http://d1arsn5g9mfrlq.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/2016_vds_rank_1.jpg

Not that bad for GM?

I wonder why they won't sell Volt Mark II in Europe, friend of mine owns Mark I (Opel Ampera in EU) and he likes it a lot.


Thank you for bringing some facts to this thread.

 

[4WD]

Yep - changed the 3.5L belt on 2007 Chrysler 300 w/ 107k ... gave to son ... has over 160k ... it has had zero problems - none ... Elected to do water pump and flush at the same time ... car still purrs on Mobil 1 10w30 High Mileage

 

[carviewsonic]

I'm a GM (Buick) fan too, as you can see from my sig. These cars have been very reliable for us. Easy and inexpensive to maintain as well. The newer ones from Buick have a pretty good reputation too.

 

[HM12460]

If all GM vehicle's are as good as mine, well, they may be in trouble.

 

[oilpsi2high]

Originally Posted By: asiancivicmaniac
I really like most of the cars from Buick and the ATS, but I'm in my late 20s and the brand image of those cars are still what old people drive.

Maybe if Chevrolet actually made cars that don't look like the belong on a rental lot (Camaro and Corvette excepted) then maybe they would sell better. For the the longest time, their normal cars (Malibu, Impala, Cobalt, etc.) were basically anonymous blobs. Same with Ford until the last 5-6 years, when their cars actually looked good.


Dude, all of the cars from that era were cheap-looking blobs.

2006 Camry (Malibu competitor):

2007 Taurus:

2007 Altima:

2007 Accord:

The Camaro didn't exist during that time, and even the Corvette was built with bean-counting in mind. It even shared a steering wheel and various other interior bits with GM's other economy/entry-level models.

Corvette interior:

Cobalt interior:

Automobiles are seemingly higher quality now (or at least they look and feel the part), but we're paying for it.

 

[ford46guy]

In 1993 my parents rented a brand new Grand AM with stickers on the radio and 10 miles. Drove it 50 miles and it slowly emptied out the power steering fluid. GM is truly horrible quality. How could you forget to torque down a PS nut? Zero quality control. This wasn't a part failure but just poor workmanship at the plant. Couldn't pull over right away and the pump was burnt out when refilled.

 

[javacontour]

Originally Posted By: DevilsRule
Originally Posted By: crazyoildude
If GM would start building quality vehicles again and maybe give a better warranty people may start buying them again and they would not have to close.


They do build quality vehicles. People are just addicted to vehicles made by foreign companies and have been brainwashed to believe that Japanese or Korean cars are so much better even though they have never owned a vehicle from an American company. It's anti American bias championed by its own citizens. It's pathetic and disgraceful.


Or we've been burned by our domestic vehicles and, like in my case, got my first GM badged Toyota in the early 2000's and haven't gone back.

Been driving (legally) since 1981. Pretty much drove GM exclusively until the 1990s. Played with some Fords in there and the occasional Mopar.

Bought a '94 Geo Prizm with 106k miles and it was better than any GM I had owned. Fewer rattles, fewer repairs, easier to maintain. I think the only things that actually broke in the 150k I drove it was a cracked exhaust manifold, an AC compressor (Delco) and a clutch master cylinder.

Not bad for a car that had spaceship mileage. Ditto for the 2002 Camry we just got rid of. Four repairs. An axle, a starter, an ignition coil, and the drivers door handle. In just under 277k miles miles since oilBabe bought it new in 2002 until we moved it on in October.

I recall my 90 Beretta GTZ and my 87 LeSabre had more repairs on the two of them with fewer combined total miles of operation. And my ex-wife's 90s Pontiac Sunbird that ate head gaskets and managed to break the transmission input shaft in under 80k miles of operation....

Some of us are not brainwashed. Some of us lived through what GM was pushing out the door in the 1980s and 1990s and don't really want to go back because of prior experience.

Don't blame the consumer when they don't want to choose your favorite brand. It's not a consumer failure when the product doesn't appeal to the buyer.

 

[javacontour]

Originally Posted By: SeaJay
There are a lot of people around that at one time owned US made cars from the late 1980's up to the start of this century. While there were quality improvements during that time period, there were some US cars with poor quality. Often enough, these people switched to Japanese cars as a result, and have never switched back. Getting these people to switch back to US made cars, even if they are now just as good as the Japanese cars for the most part is not something that will happen easily. Many of these folks have bought Japanese cars for their kids who are now used to buying only Japanese.

Cars are a very big purchase, and once you lose a buyer because of quality issues, it is tough to get them back.


This!

The most expensive customer to win is the one you must win back.

Had GM kept me in the past, they wouldn't be in the place where the want to win back so many customers.

Again, it's not the buyer's fault GM (and others) have lost market share. I don't understand why people don't understand this.

It is harder to win back a customer you lost than win a new customer. Why do you think there are so many loyalty rebates and deals? Fear that the customer will give the competition a shot and then never come back.

 

[javacontour]

Originally Posted By: Indydriver

Just so you know, the profits from American-built, Japanese owned go back to Tokyo. I worked for a Japanese owned company for 25 years and I can tell you they don't give a flyingfornication about American workers-we are considered disposable tools.


Profits go to the shareholders.

Nothing prevents you from buying Toyota ADR shares and getting in on the profits.

Few companies care about the workers. This is not unique to Japanese companies.

Edited to add, 5 years ago, Toyota ADR shares traded in the 64.95 dollar range. Today, they are nearly double that, closing at $120.90 on 12/23/16

Any American who holds Toyota ADR in their portfolio saw their money doubled in the past 5 years.

In the same period, GM has gone from $20.27 to $35.69

You could have made money on either, but I think you would have made more on Toyota during that period.

But the point is, Americans can profit from Toyota and others doing well in our market.

 

[4WD]

That's not a great deal of data - nor does it represent 2016 - cause in reality their trucks have made some really long runs in harsh conditions ...

Bunch of folks stuck with Honda after transmission problems and still buy them today ...

 

[Mr Nice]

Yeah, no way I would buy a Honda with a CVT transmission.

 

[WhizkidTN]

Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
Yeah, no way I would buy a Honda with a CVT transmission.


I got burnt on the infamous 2002 Odyssey Minivan transmission failures (CPO w/extended warranty even, bought used), finally dying at 156K miles. Shame, cause the van was a loaded EX-L and if not for the bad transmission, I could see myself owning it for another 100K miles.