@MrShift@Edmunds said:
Actually I don't think any of those statements are true but let's talk about them by all means:
One cannot say the US "lost" money on GM because one has to account for all the safety net programs and money that would have been instituted to deal with this massive worker layoff and supplier damage.
I tend to agree, that GM culture is broken, but in fact, statistically, one could never prove in a million years that, per capita, more people die/are injured in GM cars as opposed to any other, apples to apples line of cars.
Passing the buck is a phenomenon that existed long before any Obama whitehouse....just say "the Whitehouse, 1800-2014"
US media does not favor the president and never has. This has been disproven time and time again, through cataloging hundreds of thousands of pro and con articles; even more surprising, the so-called "liberal media" offers the harshest criticisms that actually have substance. It is the presentation of rational pro and con arguments that suggest to some people a "bias", since such arguments are not extreme pro or con rants against GM, or the NY Yankees, or whatever.
If the Maryland School of Business dishes out MBAs, then that explains why it doesn't know how a business is run. GM is full of MBAs, and THAT'S THE PROBLEM!
@uplanderguy said:
Are problems back to 2004 in cars being recalled in 2014, really being proactive? Or, is it potential 'face saving' at the last minute; i.e., 'let's not have this GM thing happen to us; we need to get on the stick'? Hard to say of course.
Well, certainly not quickly proactive. This lends credence to the arguments that Toyota has recently been resting on its laurels and their quality had slipped as they drove for market share.
On the other hand, this also shows management deciding to do something about it. Given that there are so many unrelated to each other items in there, they must have made a decision something like "our quality has slipped; we know there are a number of problem areas.... let's recall IT ALL and deal with it rather than have lingering issues taint our brand any longer". So while I think Toyota had gotten GM disease, they are reacting far faster and more proactively than GM ever did. It would be refreshing to see Ford and/or GM do the same sort of thing - in the long run I think it sends a positive message about the way a company is going.
Should a GM car be safer than a Ford or Toyota?
Speaking only for myself, I think I'd prefer ALL cars to be equally safe.
Well, I would say that since GM is a native American brand, I would like for them to be the best. It's frankly embarrassing that this company has been so mediore for so many decades. That's why I think many people are hard on GM - they are American, and they are the biggest - they should be the BEST, not just second-rate. It's not hate, it's a desire to want to love them, but their poor behaviors don't allow for that.
I mean, really. In my college years I saw my friend's new Vega rust away (in California, not the snow belt). In the 80's and 90's I saw my SIL's Citation in the shop constantly. And in the 00's I saw the same company finally go BK. WHEN does the attitude to be excellent get serious?
@MrShift@Edmunds said:
Actually I don't think any of those statements are true but let's talk about them by all means:
One cannot say the US "lost" money on GM because one has to account for all the safety net programs and money that would have been instituted to deal with this massive worker layoff and supplier damage.
Similarly, you would have to account for the lost additional profits of Ford and other makes who would absorbed the slack, and also the added market opportunities for startups and the better "parts" of GM which would have undoubtedly found new life. So we lost all those things, too. We can't really measure either the losses or the gains because we can't run the experiment both ways. We did one thing and that is all we can really know, the rest is just speculation.
tlong, count the number of posts made here about the Cobalt recall, and step back, breathe in, and tell me that "GM hater" is an inappropriate term. I mean, really.
2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
@tlong said:
Similarly, you would have to account for the lost additional profits of Ford and other makes who would absorbed the slack, and also the added market opportunities for startups and the better "parts" of GM which would have undoubtedly found new life. So we lost all those things, too. We can't really measure either the losses or the gains because we can't run the experiment both ways. We did one thing and that is all we can really know, the rest is just speculation.
But one has to account for the fact that the auto makers worldwide are so reliant on a limited number of suppliers. A normal bankruptcy of GM would have affected automakers worldwide and possibly forced many others to file for bankruptcy.
I just finished reading a book - American Icon - about Ford during that time. Mulally went to Washington solely to ensure that GM and Chrysler received help from the government as without it, a good part of the supplier base would be affected. In fact, many automakers worked in concert to provide financial support to suppliers during that time. Ford would continue to use suppliers important to Toyota and vice versa to ensure those companies didn't shut down.
Absorbing the slack would take years. The fallacy is that it's a simple thing to just take over a plant and start making cars or increase production at will. The reality is that the auto industry - and the economy in general - would suffer for years had the government not stepped in.
The Cobalt recall is big news. That isn't hate, it's just reacting to daily revelations and news stories, especially since criminal activity may be involved. I think most people like myself are rather indifferent to GM. Except for a few vehicles, they just aren't on my radar. I never gave GM a thought when shopping for a new car. I do have a Pontiac Vibe as a utility vehicle, but I think of it as a cheaper Matrix.
About fifty posts by one person? I challenge you to present a similar situation to me during the Toyota recalls or Ford/Firestone recall (Edmunds possibly didn't exist then, I know).
If I had a photo by my name of a Honda Odyssey on fire, and my name was 'anythingbuthonda', would you say I was a hater? Just askin'.
2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
I guess I just have a hard time understanding how more folks can't see the extremism there--or can complain about my posts, but not the ridiculous extremism of some others' (more than one person). But I will never bring it up again.
2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
@tlong said:
I mean, really. In my college years I saw my friend's new Vega rust away (in California, not the snow belt). In the 80's and 90's I saw my SIL's Citation in the shop constantly.
Those examples aren't very "current" as the title of the thread implies, are they? However, they are examples of the Old GM. And are even examples of the Old Ford and Old Honda where the rusting was accelerated by just being in the air in the 70s.
@tlong said:
I mean, really. In my college years I saw my friend's new Vega rust away (in California, not the snow belt). In the 80's and 90's I saw my SIL's Citation in the shop constantly. And in the 00's I saw the same company finally go BK. WHEN does the attitude to be excellent get serious?
Hey, I'm all for having the desire for US car manufacturers being viewed (and having rightfully earned it, BTW) as the best from a quality standpoint.
I was only referencing the safety aspect. I don't think anyone wants to ride in, or among, brands of vehicles that are less safe than other makes.
@Stever@Edmunds said:
The Firestone 500 tread separation problem was in the 70s. Edmunds was around but the forum wasn't.
This is where title threading would help us know to which post you are referring. I believe I've mentioned it a couple of times, so I'll explain for the youngsters here who might not remember. Firestone stalled and stalled on actually being responsible for the treads flaking off their Firestone 500 tires. They stalled for so long that many, most, of the tires had been replaced and the carcasses junked. So the owners who had been damaged had no way to make claim for the poor tire that Firestone had produced.
The stalling was duplicated somewhat with the Explorer and tire problems in whatever year that mess occurred.
The stalling seems to be a technique for some big businesses to reduce the eventual cost of the recall/repairs needed because the problem items are long gone.
Hyperbole is hyperbolic. Goons? Really? The union has safety issues that they feel aren't being addressed. Those type of grievances are detailed in the contract. Besides, authorizing a strike doesn't mean they will go on strike. Another article I read stated that 4 or 5 more steps have to be taken before a strike could actually happen.
The GM problem over the past 3 decades is an American problem. No domestic automaker excelled while GM spiraled downward. They all lost market share---maybe this one edged that one in one year, but overall, the graph on market share heads only one way----DOWN.
To say that Ford deserves special praise for not going on the dole is very faint praise indeed, given its own historical record these last 35 years.
I have no problem viewing severe criticism of the D3, as long as the blame is equally distributed.
I bash the big 3 (particularly GM) as much as anyone. My critisims are mainly based on my experience with the products. I do like many foriegn makes, but I prefer to buy domestic. For some reason I've always had a preference for Ford (among domestics) for as long as I can remember, but I also like variety and don't like to buy the same thing over and over. That's why my list of vehicles is all over the place since being out of school. Neon, SVT Contour, Jetta TDI, Pathfinder LE, Suburban, Expedition, and Ram 1500. Those are only my vehicles, not my wife's.
Ford was somewhat lucky they made it through the recession w/o going bankrupt. Timing is often everything, and Ford's crisis was early enough to where they could get the funding before the crap hit the fan. Plus, IMO, they had the right CEO at the right time.
You might be onto something, Shifty. As the cookie cutter big name US school MBA has become a desired commodity for domestic and foreign business alike, the relentless shortsighted cut all costs no matter the consequences mantra has become the law of the land. All brands have complaints about cheapness or quality problems in some regard or another - even if cars are more durable (because of old tech being refined naturally over time), new problems keep popping up. Coincidence?
If the Maryland School of Business dishes out MBAs, then that explains why it doesn't know how a business is run. GM is full of MBAs, and THAT'S THE PROBLEM!
General Motors CEO Mary Barra said she has put two GM engineers on paid leave in connection with faulty ignition switches that have forced the recall of 2.6 million vehicles worldwide and are linked to 31 crashes and 12 deaths in the U.S., plus one fatal crash in Canada.
It's the automaker's first action against employees it believes are involved in problems leading to millions of cars being sold with potentially flawed switches, which can disable airbags in a crash.
As a new CEO with just a few weeks behind her, Mary Barra might offer the fresh leadership needed to solve General Motors’ recall crisis, but since she began her ascendance to the CEO’s office as a twenty year old intern, her lifer status raises red flags about her ability to evoke change in the company she now leads.
Every company has a “way”, whether or not it has been articulated and made as public as The Toyota Way and The IBM Way. We can only speculate about how much of whatever passes as “The GM Way” Barra has internalized, but surely she is a product of it. This presents a potential problem because, clearly, something at GM has to change and catalyzing change in others requires that you are comfortable with changing yourself first.
The recall is a rare piece of bad news for a plant that in many ways has mirrored the revival of Detroit-based GM. Over the past four decades workers at the Lordstown factory have experienced layoffs, worries the factory would close and then renewal when they began building the Chevrolet Cruze, a hit replacement for the Cobalt. Now the recall of 2.59 million Cobalts and other small cars for the faulty ignition switch -- and revelations that GM took more than a decade to tell the world about it -- threatens to damage the Chevrolet brand and send drivers into the arms of rivals.
Lordstown workers are focusing on making the Cruze as best they can and trying to remain optimistic.
“We’re just hoping and praying it works out,” Elizabeth Fallat, 50, a 22-year plant worker from North Jackson, said in an interview.
@tlong said:
In the 80's and 90's I saw my SIL's Citation in the shop constantly. And in the 00's I saw the same company finally go BK. WHEN does the attitude to be excellent get serious?
Well if that Citation was still around in the 1990's, be thankful, your SIL got one of the good ones! Actually by 1983, CR started rating the Citation as "average"...at least the 4-cyl models, so some of them were okay.
The most recent GM fiasco I can think of that affected someone close to me was my uncle's '97 Silverado, which went through two transmissions. First was covered under an extended warranty he bought. The second was on his dime (or, his $1860), at around the 108,000 mile mark. IIRC, even in fairly recent times, Edmund's had a test truck with that same transmission, the 4L60E or something like that, and they had a failure!
I don't think GM uses that transmission in anything these days, though. However, they were still using it in their more basic trucks right up until the most recent redesign.
I know it's only a sample of one, but I thought it was amusing, in a sad sort of way, that my uncle's '97 Silverado bit the bullet before my '85 did.
@robr2 said:
Hyperbole is hyperbolic. Goons? Really? The union has safety issues that they feel aren't being addressed. Those type of grievances are detailed in the contract. Besides, authorizing a strike doesn't mean they will go on strike. Another article I read stated that 4 or 5 more steps have to be taken before a strike could actually happen.
I'm fairly sure the UAW membership as a whole has figured out what's bad for the Big-3 is also bad for the UAW, regardless what the rabid-anti-union folks like to think.
It would be nice, however, to have a bit more detail of exactly what the issues/problems are, though, than what amounts to a 15 second "blurb" of "news".
I suspect there's a bit more to the story than what was reported in the article...
> "tlong, count the number of posts made here about the Cobalt recall, and step back, breathe in, and tell me that "GM hater" is an inappropriate term. I mean, really."
I don't see numbers of post on a topic equating to "hating", but that's just me.
While Acura didn't remove the "beak" as their new corporate face, they have tonded it down significantly since it premiered (and drove me away from the current TL). The Lexus "Cylon helmet" grille, I find as, if not more, ungainly. I wonder if it will affect sales?
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
I don't care for Toyotas, so I saw no reason to spread monumental amounts of vitriol when it happened. Did one person post nearly fifty posts about it on a general thread? Uh....don't think so.
It's OK to admit stuff. I have always told my kids that. If you think someone that has posted so many, multiple things negative about GM, and has for years, and posts nearly fifty posts about a GM recall isn't a GM hater, well....there's really nothing more that can be said. I genuinely believe you really do know that.
2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
Well if that Citation was still around in the 1990's, be thankful, your SIL got one of the good ones!
We had an '81 Skylark. 4-door sedan. It was great if not perfect. I don't recall any major problems with it other than the brake pad cracking when we were in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge. It caused some gouging in the brake rotor and that had to be turned deep to remove.
Cadillac and Buick top JDP Customer Service Ratings
"Cadillac overtook Lexus to top a survey of customer satisfaction with dealership service departments, giving General Motors twin victories in a benchmark study released today by J.D. Power and Associates.
"Cadillac’s first win in the luxury category ended a five-year reign for Toyota’s luxury arm in Power’s U.S. Customer Service Index Study. Buick ranked as the top mainstream brand for the first time, joining GM’s Chevrolet and GMC among the top five in that category for a fourth straight year"
Well, it's a survey that measures service satisfaction, not reliability. But yeah, VW dealers used to have a really lousy reputation for service so that's a nice turnaround.
If MINI and VW service departments just did NOTHING all day, their ratings would have gone up. It's interesting though, that on the likely dual dealerships (mini/bmw, or chevy/gmc) that one brand outdoes the other. You'd think that same service department, same score?
@MrShift@Edmunds said:
If MINI and VW service departments just did NOTHING all day, their ratings would have gone up. It's interesting though, that on the likely dual dealerships (mini/bmw, or chevy/gmc) that one brand outdoes the other. You'd think that same service department, same score?
Is it different in other parts of the country with GMC and Chevy paired? Here it's usually, but not always, Buick and GMC stores together. The exceptions to the GMC peers seem to be from the heritage stores that didn't get whacked in the reduction in dealership in 2009.
@MrShift@Edmunds said:
If MINI and VW service departments just did NOTHING all day, their ratings would have gone up. It's interesting though, that on the likely dual dealerships (mini/bmw, or chevy/gmc) that one brand outdoes the other. You'd think that same service department, same score?
Around here, Mini and BMW stores are in separate buildings with dedicated service departments so probably no.
@robr2 said:
Around here, Mini and BMW stores are in separate buildings with dedicated service departments so probably no.
Its's the same here as well. The BMW/MINI local dealerships here have pretty good reputations, but the VW/Audi dealerships don't rate so high in local opinion..
@Stever@Edmunds said:
The Firestone 500 tread separation problem was in the 70s. Edmunds was around but the forum wasn't.
On the subject of Firestones, look what mine recently did...
Now, I have to confess, this tire is about 15 years old, so I'm not gonna blame Firestone on this. I'm just glad it happened to go flat in the garage, because I was gonna drive this car (my '79 5th Ave) tomorrow morning, and I'm sure that would have been a blowout!
@MrShift@Edmunds said:
If MINI and VW service departments just did NOTHING all day, their ratings would have gone up. It's interesting though, that on the likely dual dealerships (mini/bmw, or chevy/gmc) that one brand outdoes the other. You'd think that same service department, same score?
Yes, I mean how meaningful can that be if two brands in paired dealerships get different scores - I just don't see how that can happen! It must be a flawed survey strategy!
Comments
Very well stated!
Well, certainly not quickly proactive. This lends credence to the arguments that Toyota has recently been resting on its laurels and their quality had slipped as they drove for market share.
On the other hand, this also shows management deciding to do something about it. Given that there are so many unrelated to each other items in there, they must have made a decision something like "our quality has slipped; we know there are a number of problem areas.... let's recall IT ALL and deal with it rather than have lingering issues taint our brand any longer". So while I think Toyota had gotten GM disease, they are reacting far faster and more proactively than GM ever did. It would be refreshing to see Ford and/or GM do the same sort of thing - in the long run I think it sends a positive message about the way a company is going.
The word "hate" is a pretty strong statement. I doubt anybody here is in that category.
Should a GM car be safer than a Ford or Toyota?
Speaking only for myself, I think I'd prefer ALL cars to be equally safe.
Well, I would say that since GM is a native American brand, I would like for them to be the best. It's frankly embarrassing that this company has been so mediore for so many decades. That's why I think many people are hard on GM - they are American, and they are the biggest - they should be the BEST, not just second-rate. It's not hate, it's a desire to want to love them, but their poor behaviors don't allow for that.
I mean, really. In my college years I saw my friend's new Vega rust away (in California, not the snow belt). In the 80's and 90's I saw my SIL's Citation in the shop constantly. And in the 00's I saw the same company finally go BK. WHEN does the attitude to be excellent get serious?
Similarly, you would have to account for the lost additional profits of Ford and other makes who would absorbed the slack, and also the added market opportunities for startups and the better "parts" of GM which would have undoubtedly found new life. So we lost all those things, too. We can't really measure either the losses or the gains because we can't run the experiment both ways. We did one thing and that is all we can really know, the rest is just speculation.
tlong, count the number of posts made here about the Cobalt recall, and step back, breathe in, and tell me that "GM hater" is an inappropriate term. I mean, really.
But one has to account for the fact that the auto makers worldwide are so reliant on a limited number of suppliers. A normal bankruptcy of GM would have affected automakers worldwide and possibly forced many others to file for bankruptcy.
I just finished reading a book - American Icon - about Ford during that time. Mulally went to Washington solely to ensure that GM and Chrysler received help from the government as without it, a good part of the supplier base would be affected. In fact, many automakers worked in concert to provide financial support to suppliers during that time. Ford would continue to use suppliers important to Toyota and vice versa to ensure those companies didn't shut down.
Absorbing the slack would take years. The fallacy is that it's a simple thing to just take over a plant and start making cars or increase production at will. The reality is that the auto industry - and the economy in general - would suffer for years had the government not stepped in.
The Cobalt recall is big news. That isn't hate, it's just reacting to daily revelations and news stories, especially since criminal activity may be involved. I think most people like myself are rather indifferent to GM. Except for a few vehicles, they just aren't on my radar. I never gave GM a thought when shopping for a new car. I do have a Pontiac Vibe as a utility vehicle, but I think of it as a cheaper Matrix.
'24 Chevy Blazer EV 2LT
About fifty posts by one person? I challenge you to present a similar situation to me during the Toyota recalls or Ford/Firestone recall (Edmunds possibly didn't exist then, I know).
If I had a photo by my name of a Honda Odyssey on fire, and my name was 'anythingbuthonda', would you say I was a hater? Just askin'.
So that's one person, not fifty. You know what that one person thinks, and we know what you think. Then there is everyone else.
'24 Chevy Blazer EV 2LT
I guess I just have a hard time understanding how more folks can't see the extremism there--or can complain about my posts, but not the ridiculous extremism of some others' (more than one person). But I will never bring it up again.
The Firestone 500 tread separation problem was in the 70s. Edmunds was around but the forum wasn't.
.
Those examples aren't very "current" as the title of the thread implies, are they? However, they are examples of the Old GM. And are even examples of the Old Ford and Old Honda where the rusting was accelerated by just being in the air in the 70s.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Hey, I'm all for having the desire for US car manufacturers being viewed (and having rightfully earned it, BTW) as the best from a quality standpoint.
I was only referencing the safety aspect. I don't think anyone wants to ride in, or among, brands of vehicles that are less safe than other makes.
This is where title threading would help us know to which post you are referring. I believe I've mentioned it a couple of times, so I'll explain for the youngsters here who might not remember. Firestone stalled and stalled on actually being responsible for the treads flaking off their Firestone 500 tires. They stalled for so long that many, most, of the tires had been replaced and the carcasses junked. So the owners who had been damaged had no way to make claim for the poor tire that Firestone had produced.
The stalling was duplicated somewhat with the Explorer and tire problems in whatever year that mess occurred.
The stalling seems to be a technique for some big businesses to reduce the eventual cost of the recall/repairs needed because the problem items are long gone.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Hyperbole is hyperbolic. Goons? Really? The union has safety issues that they feel aren't being addressed. Those type of grievances are detailed in the contract. Besides, authorizing a strike doesn't mean they will go on strike. Another article I read stated that 4 or 5 more steps have to be taken before a strike could actually happen.
.
Steve, I'm talking about Explorers and Firestones, not the Firestone 500 tread-separation thing.
That was between 1990 and 2000. And that mess also involved tread separation.
There's several Wiki articles about Firestone; this one focuses on Firestone and the Ford tire controversy.
Amazingly, a recalled tire was on the shelf of a used tire store in Atlanta just last November being sold as new.
The GM problem over the past 3 decades is an American problem. No domestic automaker excelled while GM spiraled downward. They all lost market share---maybe this one edged that one in one year, but overall, the graph on market share heads only one way----DOWN.
To say that Ford deserves special praise for not going on the dole is very faint praise indeed, given its own historical record these last 35 years.
I have no problem viewing severe criticism of the D3, as long as the blame is equally distributed.
Ford was somewhat lucky they made it through the recession w/o going bankrupt. Timing is often everything, and Ford's crisis was early enough to where they could get the funding before the crap hit the fan. Plus, IMO, they had the right CEO at the right time.
I'm sorry but no way does this thing look good. And certainly not if they seriously trying to compare it to the LR Evoque...
http://www.leftlanenews.com/lexus-nx.html
yuck!
Ford almost ate it big time in the 1980s. No one running any of the D3 has ever been able to breathe easy these many years.
You might be onto something, Shifty. As the cookie cutter big name US school MBA has become a desired commodity for domestic and foreign business alike, the relentless shortsighted cut all costs no matter the consequences mantra has become the law of the land. All brands have complaints about cheapness or quality problems in some regard or another - even if cars are more durable (because of old tech being refined naturally over time), new problems keep popping up. Coincidence?
General Motors CEO Mary Barra said she has put two GM engineers on paid leave in connection with faulty ignition switches that have forced the recall of 2.6 million vehicles worldwide and are linked to 31 crashes and 12 deaths in the U.S., plus one fatal crash in Canada.
It's the automaker's first action against employees it believes are involved in problems leading to millions of cars being sold with potentially flawed switches, which can disable airbags in a crash.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2014/04/10/gm-switch-engineers-leave/7540951/
As a new CEO with just a few weeks behind her, Mary Barra might offer the fresh leadership needed to solve General Motors’ recall crisis, but since she began her ascendance to the CEO’s office as a twenty year old intern, her lifer status raises red flags about her ability to evoke change in the company she now leads.
Every company has a “way”, whether or not it has been articulated and made as public as The Toyota Way and The IBM Way. We can only speculate about how much of whatever passes as “The GM Way” Barra has internalized, but surely she is a product of it. This presents a potential problem because, clearly, something at GM has to change and catalyzing change in others requires that you are comfortable with changing yourself first.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/In-Gear/2014/0410/For-General-Motors-is-Mary-Barra-a-problem-or-the-solutution
The recall is a rare piece of bad news for a plant that in many ways has mirrored the revival of Detroit-based GM. Over the past four decades workers at the Lordstown factory have experienced layoffs, worries the factory would close and then renewal when they began building the Chevrolet Cruze, a hit replacement for the Cobalt. Now the recall of 2.59 million Cobalts and other small cars for the faulty ignition switch -- and revelations that GM took more than a decade to tell the world about it -- threatens to damage the Chevrolet brand and send drivers into the arms of rivals.
Lordstown workers are focusing on making the Cruze as best they can and trying to remain optimistic.
“We’re just hoping and praying it works out,” Elizabeth Fallat, 50, a 22-year plant worker from North Jackson, said in an interview.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-09/gm-workers-who-built-defective-cars-fret-about-recall.html
Tell me that's a leftover April Fools joke...
Well if that Citation was still around in the 1990's, be thankful, your SIL got one of the good ones!
Actually by 1983, CR started rating the Citation as "average"...at least the 4-cyl models, so some of them were okay.
The most recent GM fiasco I can think of that affected someone close to me was my uncle's '97 Silverado, which went through two transmissions. First was covered under an extended warranty he bought. The second was on his dime (or, his $1860), at around the 108,000 mile mark. IIRC, even in fairly recent times, Edmund's had a test truck with that same transmission, the 4L60E or something like that, and they had a failure!
I don't think GM uses that transmission in anything these days, though. However, they were still using it in their more basic trucks right up until the most recent redesign.
I know it's only a sample of one, but I thought it was amusing, in a sad sort of way, that my uncle's '97 Silverado bit the bullet before my '85 did.
I'm fairly sure the UAW membership as a whole has figured out what's bad for the Big-3 is also bad for the UAW, regardless what the rabid-anti-union folks like to think.
It would be nice, however, to have a bit more detail of exactly what the issues/problems are, though, than what amounts to a 15 second "blurb" of "news".
I suspect there's a bit more to the story than what was reported in the article...
BMW was feeling left out so they've join the recall bandwagon:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/10/us-bmw-recall-idUSBREA3919120140410
I don't see numbers of post on a topic equating to "hating", but that's just me.
While Acura didn't remove the "beak" as their new corporate face, they have tonded it down significantly since it premiered (and drove me away from the current TL). The Lexus "Cylon helmet" grille, I find as, if not more, ungainly. I wonder if it will affect sales?
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
Speaking of Corvettes....
http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/us/2014/04/10/mxp-final-corvette-pulled-from-sinkhole.cnn.html
LOL, heck the Toyota Accelerator Pedal problem got it's own flipping thread!
Only managed 174 pages of discussion...
I don't care for Toyotas, so I saw no reason to spread monumental amounts of vitriol when it happened. Did one person post nearly fifty posts about it on a general thread? Uh....don't think so.
It's OK to admit stuff. I have always told my kids that. If you think someone that has posted so many, multiple things negative about GM, and has for years, and posts nearly fifty posts about a GM recall isn't a GM hater, well....there's really nothing more that can be said. I genuinely believe you really do know that.
Yep, it's amazing what behavioral changes $BILLION fines can induce...
Well if that Citation was still around in the 1990's, be thankful, your SIL got one of the good ones!
We had an '81 Skylark. 4-door sedan. It was great if not perfect. I don't recall any major problems with it other than the brake pad cracking when we were in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge. It caused some gouging in the brake rotor and that had to be turned deep to remove.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Cadillac and Buick top JDP Customer Service Ratings
"Cadillac overtook Lexus to top a survey of customer satisfaction with dealership service departments, giving General Motors twin victories in a benchmark study released today by J.D. Power and Associates.
"Cadillac’s first win in the luxury category ended a five-year reign for Toyota’s luxury arm in Power’s U.S. Customer Service Index Study. Buick ranked as the top mainstream brand for the first time, joining GM’s Chevrolet and GMC among the top five in that category for a fourth straight year"
http://www.autonews.com/article/20140409/RETAIL05/140409816/cadillac-buick-top-service-satisfaction-rankings-for-1st-time?cciid=email-autonews-blast&r=3337D2762912F4W
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Wow! I was surprised to see MINI and VW ranked so high...
Well, it's a survey that measures service satisfaction, not reliability. But yeah, VW dealers used to have a really lousy reputation for service so that's a nice turnaround.
If MINI and VW service departments just did NOTHING all day, their ratings would have gone up. It's interesting though, that on the likely dual dealerships (mini/bmw, or chevy/gmc) that one brand outdoes the other. You'd think that same service department, same score?
Is it different in other parts of the country with GMC and Chevy paired? Here it's usually, but not always, Buick and GMC stores together. The exceptions to the GMC peers seem to be from the heritage stores that didn't get whacked in the reduction in dealership in 2009.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Around here, Mini and BMW stores are in separate buildings with dedicated service departments so probably no.
Its's the same here as well. The BMW/MINI local dealerships here have pretty good reputations, but the VW/Audi dealerships don't rate so high in local opinion..
On the subject of Firestones, look what mine recently did...
Now, I have to confess, this tire is about 15 years old, so I'm not gonna blame Firestone on this. I'm just glad it happened to go flat in the garage, because I was gonna drive this car (my '79 5th Ave) tomorrow morning, and I'm sure that would have been a blowout!
Yes, I mean how meaningful can that be if two brands in paired dealerships get different scores - I just don't see how that can happen! It must be a flawed survey strategy!
We had Firestone 721's I believe on a Mercury and they had problems as well. We also had the notorious Firestone Wilderness on an Explorer.