Mary T. Barra - I’m bored so…

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PontiacHO

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Could it be said that all the recent engine failures (6.2 bottom ends & 5.3 cam-lifters) are working in Mary Barra’s favor to push consumers closer to her beloved EV desires? These current issues really don’t seem to effect how she interacts during interviews etc.
 
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Marry knows what she’s doing the 6.2 and 5.3 issues are bad but she knows many will trade in when next Gen trucks and SUV comes out . Knowing there are many loyal GM customers 😄
 
MalibuRam65 said:
Marry knows what she’s doing the 6.2 and 5.3 issues are bad but she knows many will trade in when next Gen trucks and SUV comes out . Knowing there are many loyal GM customers 😄
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I was a diehard GM customer for 50 years but these latest failures changed my mind. Not sure what I’ll do when my GMC truck needs replaced. I don’t like how Ford pickups handle and drive. Ram-well they are Rams.
 
MalibuRam65 said:
Marry knows what she’s doing the 6.2 and 5.3 issues are bad but she knows many will trade in when next Gen trucks and SUV comes out . Knowing there are many loyal GM customers 😄
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I strongly doubt that someone as business savvy as Mary Barra would be so foolish as to rely upon the ever constantly diminishing GM loyal customer base.

The US auto market is constantly evolving. Up through the '70's, well over 70% of American car buyers were loyal to customer brands, particularly GM and Ford. That loyalty would last even through some of the bad times. But too many bad times, and an increasing market of choices has significantly diluted that brand loyalty.

Most buyers may care what mom and dad were driving for their first purchase, but after that they are persuaded by all kinds of factors, and reliability is definitely one of the biggies. Mary surely understands that better than most.
 
I was a Chevy guy for many years but after some issues with a truck, I went to VW about 15 years ago and have never looked back. I have had good, dependable service with the vehicles in my signature and two diesels before them. Maintenance and 5000 mile oil changes seem to be the key. I am really turned off by Ford, GM and Stellantis.
 
PontiacHO said:
I was a diehard GM customer for 50 years but these latest failures changed my mind. Not sure what I’ll do when my GMC truck needs replaced. I don’t like how Ford pickups handle and drive. Ram-well they are Rams.
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It's never about the brand, it's about the product, sometimes a specific year or two of the product, or even a specific feature of it. I mean take a look at Tundra, the previous gen was well built, the new one I'd never consider. With Ram, their 6 speed I'd avoid but the 8 speed is best in class. The latest hemis are quite good, but if you get a 2026 hemi you get ETorque and that ET system has been a little bit of an issue for some. GM's 2019 8 speed is terrible, their revised one seems to be much better.

You kinda have to break it down a little more than just GM or Ford or Ram and get into the details where it matters.
 
My $.02 is that she is as unremarkable, as the file cabinet guy (and even the current CEO of Ford) is to Ford.
Judging by the product coming out of both companies, as well as the quality, neither of them have any laurels to sit on.
 
hemioiler said:
It's never about the brand, it's about the product, sometimes a specific year or two of the product, or even a specific feature of it. I mean take a look at Tundra, the previous gen was well built, the new one I'd never consider. With Ram, their 6 speed I'd avoid but the 8 speed is best in class. The latest hemis are quite good, but if you get a 2026 hemi you get ETorque and that ET system has been a little bit of an issue for some. GM's 2019 8 speed is terrible, their revised one seems to be much better.

You kinda have to break it down a little more than just GM or Ford or Ram and get into the details where it matters.
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All true. Just don’t appreciate how the latest GM 6.2 was addressed. 0w40 to prolong the inevitable and keep pumping out more engines without resolving the problem.
 
PontiacHO said:
All true. Just don’t appreciate how the latest GM 6.2 was addressed. 0w40 to prolong the inevitable and keep pumping out more engines without resolving the problem.
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I truly hope GM nails this next generation of v8's. If nothing else, it should force the competition to up their game and who knows maybe we get another round of new v8's yet.
 
k1xv said:
GM has a proud history of fine engines.

The infamous Oldsmobile 350 diesel
The no cylinder liner Chevy Vega 4
The Cadillac V8-6-4
Cadillac LT-4100
The stretchy head bolt Northstar V8

They seem to have forgotten how to make reliable engines since the 1960s
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How about those late seventies Chevy 262, 267, and 305 engines. Wonderful little and weak cam and valve guide eating machines. Then the Olds 260 and 307 V8s with warped intakes. Pontiac with the thin block 301 V8. All junk. I guess I’m not as big a GM fan as I thought!
 
PontiacHO said:
I was a diehard GM customer for 50 years but these latest failures changed my mind. Not sure what I’ll do when my GMC truck needs replaced. I don’t like how Ford pickups handle and drive. Ram-well they are Rams.
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I was a devotee to "The General" from my earliest driving days in the mid 70s. We have owned two Monte Carlos, several Chevelles + GMC trucks before I switched in the late 80s over to Fords. Right away their interiors and the much better (IMHO) factory paint made me a fan quickly. Ford's 1990s 5.0 302cui fuel injected engines became a favorite. Those 302cui engines seemed bullet proof and ran like heck.

One day we were reminiscing about vehicles and the wife and I both realized that every single GM car we owned (not the trucks for some reason) we had to shell out cash to repair or replace the transmissions , mostly between 30,000 to 60,000mi. WHY? No unusual or severe service. These days, I would be in a quandary if I needed a truck. I most likely I would end up looking at Toyota or RAMs.

:( Just seems to me from internet and even BITOG, it sounds like many owners of Ford / GM trucks have lots of complaints or things they do not care for. Maybe RAM trucks too? But I just have not seen much if any gipping about the RAM trucks compared to the other two...
Strange too that there is not the same level of complaints about Ford or GM other offerings like their SUVs? Lots of them on the roads.
 
I own a 2007 Ram Laramie that has 226K on it and when I took it to the dealer for an air bag replacement recall the service writers commented as to why don't they keep making the Hemi like mine has. I also own a 93 Dodge camper van and 2 Fords, one being a 05 E450 camper and a 90 ford Ranger. We have one GMC Yukon with 5.3 without cylinder de-activation that has 223K that we tow with a lot. I am biased to Dodge because their design makes them simpler to repair and replacement parts seem less expensive. I just try to pick only the vehicles that have proved easier to repair.
 
k1xv said:
GM has a proud history of fine engines.

The infamous Oldsmobile 350 diesel
The no cylinder liner Chevy Vega 4
The Cadillac V8-6-4
Cadillac LT-4100
The stretchy head bolt Northstar V8

They seem to have forgotten how to make reliable engines since the 1960s
Click to expand...
Seems they made several hundred million - and I have had a dozen with no issues - problem is there is no actual data - just sixty million posts on the Vega (some by people not yet born then) and fifty five million posts on the Pinto - suggest you get the new Tundra …
Waiting for posts on all the work done by the 6.0L in N. America
 
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