Toyota first came out with the top of the line junk car and still can`t get it right and progressed to putting American`s in their graves like in WW2. Check your facts about the best by starting with the Shelby Snake and Cobra (427) and the Cadillac Escalade (and our Hybrids)and Toyota still can`t catch the Chevrolet Corvette and Honda has a long way to go to match the 440 Dodge Magnum Charger (1967-70) remember The Dukes of Hazzard on TV and the R/T style and lets not forget the Ford T-Bird in 1958 w/ a 430 CID pushing 350 HP back then and the Dodge Challenger is highest rated in it`s class by J.D. Powers(but what do they know) and the 1970 earth - shaking Hemi and the 440 R/T Six Pack 396 CID and the Barracuda ( 440 Cuda) Mopar Muscle Hemi powered and Lincoln Continental Mark V 1979 and today is top of the line just for starters to think about. I once had a 1968 454 CID (NOS) Charger all tricked out and no one could catch me except topfuel.
Ah yes, the fabled Lincoln Mark V; the pinnacle of American style and engineering prowess- I want one so bad...
That said, now that you've explained things so logically it all makes perfect sense...
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Besides, it isn't the people more than the leaders that cause wars...people just follow them into battle. Quite archaic anymore but it was what it was. ERGO, it isn't the same country particularly at this point in time compared to the past. I like to look at the USA from the perceptive of others around the world. We need to do a far better job of benevolence without EGO before we claim to be the best.
Now, to blindly buy American when there are better cars out there, well....to each his own. :confuse:
I do think the sins of Japan and Germany in WWII way exceed the sins of the Big Three, but it seems like folks are generally way more forgiving of the war enemies (only slightly kidding) than Detroit.
Wait 50 years and if GM doesn't go bust again. Then dial back in!
Would you apply that sentiment that the UAW members who built your Dad's lousy '85 Ford aren't the same people who build the '10 Taurus, and the management at Ford isn't the same?
I would, although I haven't been among those who have bashed the domestics for their failings of 30 years ago so I shouldn't have to say this. The next time that I'm in the market, I will certainly give the domestics - Ford in particular - serious consideration. FWIW, I am a Ford shareholder.
Fair enough?
My sister, a longtime Subaru owner (as are half of the women who live in New England) replaced her last Outback with a 2010 Chevy Equinox. She's very happy with it. I haven't driven it but I have been a passenger, & I must say that I am impressed with how roomy & well put together it is. It's a well-thought-out, tidy package. Despite my prejudice against GM for accepting a government bailout, I'll look closely at it if I decide to buy a CUV.
I do think the sins of Japan and Germany in WWII way exceed the sins of the Big Three, but it seems like folks are generally way more forgiving of the war enemies (only slightly kidding) than Detroit.
Given that most of the sinners - certainly all of the high-ranking ones - are dead & buried, I don't see why WWII should be an issue at this late date. It would be a different matter if we were having this discussion in 1970, when our old foes were just middle-aged, but we're having it 40 years later. That makes a big difference.
It would also be a different matter if we hadn't won the war so decisively, with our enemies vanquished & humiliated, their cities in ruins. (Incidentally, I'm a big believer in ending wars this way. It's because World War One didn't end with Germany in ruins that we had to fight World War Two. We should not accepted the Kaiser's surrender offer in 1918 until we had killed another couple of hundred thousand German troops & shelled a few of their cities into rubble. That would have saved American lives in the long run.)
But we won as decisive a victory as any that you'll find in history, thereby conclusively demonstrating to our enemies that getting rich through trade is preferable to expansion by force. We can't complain 65 years later that they learned their lessons too well.
Actually, the ridiculous terms of Versailles, which were pretty much the equivalent of Dr. Evil demanding "one hundred billion dollars", are the reasons we had WW2. And we enabled it. The US needs to stop aiding the British or French at all costs. They have proven themselves unfit for self-management when the going gets tough - just look at their simmering demographic problems today, makes the issues in the old USA look like a child's game.
We can say others learned a lesson, but by examining American foreign policy of the past 40 or so years, one can argue that Americans most certainly have not...but hell, at least we didn't piss away an empire in fear of German competition.
I'm likely the same way. As of yet nobody can give me something that feels and drives the same way, or has as sound of design.
No matter, the 'greatest generation' is fading away and the boomers won't be around forever either, so some of the old (and somewhat hypocritical) hard feelings will eventually vanish into nothing.
It's all the leaders, and all of the leaders are gone. Most of the few survivors left were simple conscripts fighting for their home and their lives. Hard to hold that against them 65+ years later. If we want to do that, we better not complain if the rest of the world acts likewise re: American actions of the past few generations. And it amuses me that many who do dare complain about that horrible needless war likely shop at Wally World and buy all kinds of glorified slave labor junk, while complaining about others buying things from other first world nations.
Amen, brother! I'm thinking about all those knuckleheads out there on Black Friday buying a bunch of foreign products, (most likely on credit) and sending even more of our dollars overseas. If all or most of the products they were buying were made here, it wouldn't be so much of a problem. All that holiday shopping would help dig us out of this depression, (I'll call it what it really is). Instead, we are only digging ourselves in deeper and boasting the economy of China instead. Khruschev was wrong. He won't bury us. Mao will!
I don't "blindly" buy American cars. I truly believe they are the best out there. They meet all my automotive wants and needs head on. I can't even get past the styling of Asian cars before flatly rejecting them. They are either incredibly bland or bizarre!
...but I can't buy that those poor guys in Japan and Germany in WWII really weren't that bad, and we are almost as bad.
Obviously, many Germans also weren't fond of Hitler or the [non-permissible content removed] party. There were numerous attempts at killing Hitler...one almost successful.
So, I refuse to lump all old "foes" in the same basket. Very few actually make any type of choice (intelligent or otherwise) to live under the rule of a despot. They simply don't have the means to do anything about it.
Having said that, I also view history in the context of the time it occurred. Bombing Tokyo made complete sense for the US at the time, and if I had been in line (or has a son who was) for the US invasion of Japan I would definitely have supported bombing, atom bombs....whatever.
Back to the subject.... I judge vehicles on their merit....quality, price, styling, etc.
And, no, I don't hold the quality issues if the Big 3 in the 70's and 80's against them today, but I do remain aware of them. Anything else seems foolish to me.
Actually, the ridiculous terms of Versailles, which were pretty much the equivalent of Dr. Evil demanding "one hundred billion dollars", are the reasons we had WW2.
While I largely agree with you, I also think that our accepting Germany's offer to surrender before we had inflicted a decisive & humiliating defeat on the German Army paved the way to Hitler's "stab in the back" campaign. He argued that because the war had ended with no Allied troops on German soil & with the main German armies still largely intact, Germany was defeated only because it was betrayed from within by its Jewish population. This was utter hogwash, of course, but German voters found it very convincing.
In the fall of 1918, both Pershing, the U.S. commander, & Petain, the French commander, wanted to take the war to Germany. They intended to inflict enough damage on the German Army & on Germany's industrial base so that the Germans would find it difficult, if not impossible, to rebuild their army at some future time. Unfortunately, they were overruled by President Wilson, who made it clear that he was prepared to conclude a separate peace treaty with Germany & leave the British & French to continue the fight without the Americans. At that point, the Brits & the French folded.
IMO, this was unfortunate. I can't prove it, but I strongly suspect that the western Allies would have been much better off in 1939 if they had really hurt Germany in 1918.
So in other words, commit a masked genocide in order to try to ward off a potential conflict. Sounds like a prototype to the Morgenthau Plan - and that guy was simply a pile of crap. I can't see that as making the "allies" any better than what they fought. More than enough bloodthirsty allied military types out there who would have taken any conflict far from simple military or industrial targets - it would have been Hamburg and Dresden on a nationwide scale...all so the equally evil British and French empires could survive and continue raping and pillaging around the globe without opposition or competition. We shouldn't have aided them at all.
It also would have opened the doors to the Soviet invasion of Europe - the reds had big eyes by 1920. Had the fascists not slithered their way into power, the commies would have,..and the end result would be no better.
So in other words, commit a masked genocide in order to try to ward off a potential conflict.
Not really, although I can understand why you're saying this. From a military perspective, Pershing's desire to rout & demoralize the Germans with a decisive defeat made sense. As it was, WWI ended with the German officer corps largely intact. When Hitler decided to renounce Versailles & rearm Germany in the mid-30s, it took almost no time to reconstitute the German Army. Almost all of the senior German officers who commanded divisions, corps & armies during WWII had seen action as junior officers in WWI.
It also would have opened the doors to the Soviet invasion of Europe - the reds had big eyes by 1920.
IMO, the Soviet Army at its best was no match for the Germans. If not for Hitler's idiotic micromanagement of the war on the Eastern Front, German troops might still be occupying most of Ukraine. Even with Hitler's blunders, the Soviets wouldn't have gotten as far as they did & as quickly as they did without stupendous shipments of American war matériel.
Some military scholars consider the German Army as it was on the eve of the 1941 invasion of the USSR to be the most effective ground fighting force since Caesar's legions. Even after the Japanese sank most of our Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, FDR & Churchill agreed that defeating Japan should wait until we had beaten the Germans. That made sense; German was far richer, technologically more advanced & much more dangerous than Japan.
German was far richer, technologically more advanced & much more dangerous than Japan.
In the early 1940's Hitler put the brakes on the R&D of several technologically advanced weapons, believing that the war would be over before they were needed. For example, the ME 262 was just about production ready by 1942, but Hitler insisted that testing continue with only a few prototypes. When it finally became operational in 1944 it racked up 5 to 1 kill ratios.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Worse than that, Hitler also insisted that the Me 262 be used for ground attack missions - a role for which early jets were notoriously unsuited - rather than as an air superiority fighter/interceptor. Too bad for the Germans & lucky for us, because the Me 262 would have been a game changer if properly deployed.
Another example of Hitler's moronic micromanagement: his order to kill development of an advanced assault rifle (in today's terminology - the term wasn't used then) because he didn't like the way it looked.
That's what happens when a politician starts to believe his own press releases.
I like the Caddy but I'd rather give my money to Ford.
I would definitely give my money to Ford before GM or C. I would only consider GM or C once the money was all paid back and they had a 5-10 year track record of highly competitive CARS, since I'm not looking for a truck or SUV.
No but really, the answer some seek at the end of 1918 would be to commit genocide against Germany, right? Bomb the cities into ashes, claim as many lives as possible so nothing could be rebuilt. Just as the British - perhaps the greatest genociders in western history - would do a quarter century later, and completely get away with it. We shouldn't have been meddling over there to begin with. Actions then can be directly linked to problematic conditions seen today.
When I say a Soviet invasion, I don't mean solely by military means, and I mean several years before 1939. The Poles and Finns had to hold them off right after WW1. The red plague was spreading - if Germany hadn't voted brown in 1933, red would have eventually won - and IMO the result would have been even worse, as history proves the hammer and sickle to be far deadlier than any other movement. They were damned if they did, damned if they didn't.
The limeys are lucky the krauts were stupid enough to stop at Dunkirk...and that America will do anything to keep the limeys (and some of their misguided colonial divvying up of other peoples land) sputtering along. Although maybe their upcoming demographic catastrophe won't be able to be fixed by anyone.
I'll certainly buy a German, Japanese, Korean, or American car before a British car...of course, there's really no such thing as a British car anymore anyway.
"Worse than that, Hitler also insisted that the Me 262 be used for ground attack missions"
Exactly; Hitler wanted it transformed into a bomber that he thought would repel the Allied invasion of Europe. The bomber variant finally took to the air some months after D-Day.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
No but really, the answer some seek at the end of 1918 would be to commit genocide against Germany, right?
With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, it would have been good to destroy a lot more of the military-industrial complex of Germany at the end of WWII. No telling how many millions of lives that could have saved.
In any event, none of the WWI or II situations have kept me from buying a German nameplate car, whether built in the US or any other country.
You mean at the end of WW1? But if it let the communists in, who can say if it would have saved lives or not. It's also fun to see that part of the reason for the German nuts of WW2 was a collapse of their forced casino capitalist economy implemented by the 1918 allies. Economics can be deadly.
Maybe part of why I won't buy a British car is because I can't...
I figure, if I knew/know vets who can get over it...that says it all.
You mean at the end of WW1? But if it let the communists in, who can say if it would have saved lives or not
Yes, I mean WWI - thanks for catching that. We can always hypothesize. I figure given the known deaths of WWII, I'd take the gamble that destroying Germany more thoroughly would have been the better course. But there is no way to know. It's a known disastrous outcome vs. an unknown, but likely (IMHO) less disastrous outcome.
The latest debacle with the Mazdaspeed has put me in the(used) market for a track-worthy replacement. Right now I'm checking out a few used 335is(RWD and manual only, of course), M3s, and M5s. The two dark horses(pun intended) are the 2007 Shelby GT and the 2008-2009 Bullitt. Nice cars for the money, but that "Built With Pride by the UAW" sticker on their quarter windows dulls my enthusiasm considerably.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
There's a saying that "Hitler was the best general the Allies ever had!" A lot of Hitler's bone-headed decisions helped the Allies immensely. If Hitler would've sat back and let his generals run the war without him, he'd have done much better.
to post this, but I sat in my friend's brand new Ford Fusion over the weekend, and I must say it was impressive...nice layout, seemed to be "tight" (initial impression) but I did not drive it...but, to me, comparing it to, say, an Escort of the past (same size, yes?) there was no comparison...the Fusion just looked well made, which I know must be impossible with UAW labor (kinda like knowing that kryptonite does not exist)...it would have been nice to drive it for a better opinion, but it was nice inside...AND, it had a hand parking brake, something I really like...
We all know that UAW and quality cannot be words used in the same sentence, but this car was nice, so far...
Ha. The Fusion is built in Mexico, and it's about the same segment as the '80s Taurus.
I just pulled the specs up from the EPA's website. Fusion has 101 cubic feet of interior volume, 16 cubic feet of trunk space. The old 1986-95 Taurus had 100 cubic feet of interior room, 17 cubic foot trunk.
I knew they'd be close, but I'm surprised that the Fusion's actually slightly larger inside than the Taurus was. It could just be a styling trick though...maybe the windows in the Taurus were larger, and that made the car feel roomier? I also remember the sides in those Tauruses curved in horribly, and if I was in the back seat, it would force me to lean inward.
I knew they'd be close, but I'm surprised that the Fusion's actually slightly larger inside than the Taurus was. It could just be a styling trick though...maybe the windows in the Taurus were larger, and that made the car feel roomier? I also remember the sides in those Tauruses curved in horribly, and if I was in the back seat, it would force me to lean inward.
I rented one of those horrible ovoid Tauri once. The engine was coarse and the interior was an endless sea of cheap black plastic. But I was surprised that the steering felt pretty good.
1. EGR valve clogged and had to be replaced(cleaning it works only about 50% of the time, and it's a pain to change)- $675 2. RR shock is completely blown at less than 72,000 miles. I wanted to replace all four dampers with either Bilsteins or Konis but either one is on nationwide backorder. The Konis might be available before the end of the year; the Bilsteins by mid-January. The heap drives its way back into my good graces and then something ALWAYS goes Tango Uniform within in the next 10,000 to 20,000 miles- the automotive equivalent of Lucy holding the football for Charlie Brown.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Your grandfather and the other guy you speak of are nothing less than hero`s to my way of thinking. But I`d rather see them in a Cadillac Escalade or they would look sharp in a Chevrolet Corvette but they have earned the right to chose the car they want. My point is lets get the United States off unemployment and back to work by not buying imports to employ overseas people and employ Americans here at home by buying American made. It could be too late as we are headed towards being the next 3rd world country if we keep this pace up.
My grandfather was not very showy, he'd have hated either of those. The last new car he bought was a Taurus - but he never really drove it, it was for my grandmother. He had a soft spot for big Chryslers, but those moved away from his tastes some time ago as he liked old fashioned RWD stuff. He usually let my grandmother choose a car, she liked Oldsmobiles. His foreign cars were for business use - but he liked them too, as they were simple and reliable.
I don't buy new, never have...so maybe my decisions aren't worth so much. Other than buying my used fascist-mobiles might keep me from buying a new domestic :shades:
The point I`m trying to make is that we need to put America back to work and not buy imports esp cars.The richest person in the world is not American anymore. He is down in Mexico and was the head of the cartel. Take a look around and see what is going on not alot of it is good. I know you see it and just maybe it`s too late. Back to cars, I own a Ford F350 PU and a Ford Focus and a Chevy SUV. I`d like to get my hands on a 1970 Dodge Challenger with a Hemi or the 390CID 6 packer.
Good for them! I'll have to check them out when I need some new warm socks for winter sailing. For the past 10 years or so I've been buying Thorlo socks, made here, and they are the cat's meow as far as socks go. They generally last me an entire year (I buy 6 or 7 pairs). At work, I walk as much as 10 miles a day, so I go through socks and shoes pretty quick. I believe that I'm getting my money's worth.
The heap drives its way back into my good graces and then something ALWAYS goes Tango Uniform within in the next 10,000 to 20,000 miles- the automotive equivalent of Lucy holding the football for Charlie Brown.
I don't think a lot of those guys were very showy. My Grandpop and my wife's father were both WWII vets. My Grandpop never drove anything more flashy than a full-sized Chevrolet and my wife's father's last car was a rather plain Impala. Both could've easily afforded a Cadillac or Lincoln.
I'm with you, gary! Our fleet consists of a 2007 Cadillac DTS Performance, 2005 Buick LaCrosse CXL, 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis LS, and a 1989 Cadillac Brougham.
but I sat in my friend's brand new Ford Fusion over the weekend, and I must say it was impressive...nice layout, seemed to be "tight" (initial impression) but I did not drive it.
I'm impressed with them too. My brother recently purchased a '10 Fusion Sport with the 3.5 v6 and decently equipped. Very nice car for the money. It's quick, quiet, and felt extremely tight. I really like how it drives, the chassis is responsive as is the transmission and steering. I am really impressed with the 3.5 v6, very smooth. His previous car was an '08 Altima and I will say the Fusion feels like a more expensive car. Granted his Altima was a 4cyl model in SL trim.
It's mighty hard dodging mainland China in so many markets. The forced recalls for health endangering products are particularly alarming. Referencing your camera shopping: I can't recall ever knowing that I was observing an American made digital camera. Asia seems to own the affordable digital camera market. My Japanese brand name cameras, likewise-- China or other Asian source other than Japan. In the car and truck markets, I settle for American brands, wherever they are made, or wherever the parts for assembly are made. I still note a difference in the dealership networks that causes me to prefer the dealers for the previous Big Three.
I can't recall ever knowing that I was observing an American made digital camera. Asia seems to own the affordable digital camera market.
Even before digital imaging replaced film, the U.S. never made serious cameras. Kodak didn't care who made your camera as long as you bought Kodak film for it.
Up until the early 1960s, the Germans made most of the really good cameras. Then the Japanese took over as top dogs in that market.
I don't know if a new American made camera exists in the triple digit range, even the Germans are way up there and some aren't made in Germany anyway...IIRC Leica digital is Panasonic.
Anyway, the camera I killed was a Canon, so I replaced it with one. The new version of the old camera is now made in China (old one was Japan), but I found one that barely cost more made in Japan. Just feels better in my mind, it's actually higher spec too. Buying first world, and not supporting such a dangerous new world competitor is enough for me.
Comments
and Honda has a long way to go to match the 440 Dodge Magnum Charger (1967-70) remember The Dukes of Hazzard on TV and the R/T style and lets not forget the Ford T-Bird in 1958 w/ a 430 CID pushing 350 HP back then and the Dodge Challenger is highest rated in it`s class by J.D. Powers(but what do they know) and the 1970 earth -
shaking Hemi and the 440 R/T Six Pack 396 CID and the Barracuda ( 440 Cuda) Mopar Muscle Hemi powered and Lincoln Continental Mark V 1979 and today is top of the line just for starters to think about. I once had a 1968 454 CID (NOS) Charger all tricked out and no one could catch me except topfuel.
Ah yes, the fabled Lincoln Mark V; the pinnacle of American style and engineering prowess- I want one so bad...
That said, now that you've explained things so logically it all makes perfect sense...
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Now, to blindly buy American when there are better cars out there, well....to each his own. :confuse:
Regards,
OW
I'll remember that for real long time. So will many others
Sounds remotely like the Command of Pearl Harbor way back then.
GM=Pearl Harbor...hmmm....
Regards,
OW
Wait 50 years and if GM doesn't go bust again. Then dial back in!
Regards,
OW
I would, although I haven't been among those who have bashed the domestics for their failings of 30 years ago so I shouldn't have to say this. The next time that I'm in the market, I will certainly give the domestics - Ford in particular - serious consideration. FWIW, I am a Ford shareholder.
Fair enough?
My sister, a longtime Subaru owner (as are half of the women who live in New England) replaced her last Outback with a 2010 Chevy Equinox. She's very happy with it. I haven't driven it but I have been a passenger, & I must say that I am impressed with how roomy & well put together it is. It's a well-thought-out, tidy package. Despite my prejudice against GM for accepting a government bailout, I'll look closely at it if I decide to buy a CUV.
I do think the sins of Japan and Germany in WWII way exceed the sins of the Big Three, but it seems like folks are generally way more forgiving of the war enemies (only slightly kidding) than Detroit.
Given that most of the sinners - certainly all of the high-ranking ones - are dead & buried, I don't see why WWII should be an issue at this late date. It would be a different matter if we were having this discussion in 1970, when our old foes were just middle-aged, but we're having it 40 years later. That makes a big difference.
It would also be a different matter if we hadn't won the war so decisively, with our enemies vanquished & humiliated, their cities in ruins. (Incidentally, I'm a big believer in ending wars this way. It's because World War One didn't end with Germany in ruins that we had to fight World War Two. We should not accepted the Kaiser's surrender offer in 1918 until we had killed another couple of hundred thousand German troops & shelled a few of their cities into rubble. That would have saved American lives in the long run.)
But we won as decisive a victory as any that you'll find in history, thereby conclusively demonstrating to our enemies that getting rich through trade is preferable to expansion by force. We can't complain 65 years later that they learned their lessons too well.
We can say others learned a lesson, but by examining American foreign policy of the past 40 or so years, one can argue that Americans most certainly have not...but hell, at least we didn't piss away an empire in fear of German competition.
No matter, the 'greatest generation' is fading away and the boomers won't be around forever either, so some of the old (and somewhat hypocritical) hard feelings will eventually vanish into nothing.
Obviously, many Germans also weren't fond of Hitler or the [non-permissible content removed] party. There were numerous attempts at killing Hitler...one almost successful.
So, I refuse to lump all old "foes" in the same basket. Very few actually make any type of choice (intelligent or otherwise) to live under the rule of a despot. They simply don't have the means to do anything about it.
Having said that, I also view history in the context of the time it occurred. Bombing Tokyo made complete sense for the US at the time, and if I had been in line (or has a son who was) for the US invasion of Japan I would definitely have supported bombing, atom bombs....whatever.
Back to the subject.... I judge vehicles on their merit....quality, price, styling, etc.
And, no, I don't hold the quality issues if the Big 3 in the 70's and 80's against them today, but I do remain aware of them. Anything else seems foolish to me.
While I largely agree with you, I also think that our accepting Germany's offer to surrender before we had inflicted a decisive & humiliating defeat on the German Army paved the way to Hitler's "stab in the back" campaign. He argued that because the war had ended with no Allied troops on German soil & with the main German armies still largely intact, Germany was defeated only because it was betrayed from within by its Jewish population. This was utter hogwash, of course, but German voters found it very convincing.
In the fall of 1918, both Pershing, the U.S. commander, & Petain, the French commander, wanted to take the war to Germany. They intended to inflict enough damage on the German Army & on Germany's industrial base so that the Germans would find it difficult, if not impossible, to rebuild their army at some future time. Unfortunately, they were overruled by President Wilson, who made it clear that he was prepared to conclude a separate peace treaty with Germany & leave the British & French to continue the fight without the Americans. At that point, the Brits & the French folded.
IMO, this was unfortunate. I can't prove it, but I strongly suspect that the western Allies would have been much better off in 1939 if they had really hurt Germany in 1918.
It also would have opened the doors to the Soviet invasion of Europe - the reds had big eyes by 1920. Had the fascists not slithered their way into power, the commies would have,..and the end result would be no better.
Not really, although I can understand why you're saying this. From a military perspective, Pershing's desire to rout & demoralize the Germans with a decisive defeat made sense. As it was, WWI ended with the German officer corps largely intact. When Hitler decided to renounce Versailles & rearm Germany in the mid-30s, it took almost no time to reconstitute the German Army. Almost all of the senior German officers who commanded divisions, corps & armies during WWII had seen action as junior officers in WWI.
It also would have opened the doors to the Soviet invasion of Europe - the reds had big eyes by 1920.
IMO, the Soviet Army at its best was no match for the Germans. If not for Hitler's idiotic micromanagement of the war on the Eastern Front, German troops might still be occupying most of Ukraine. Even with Hitler's blunders, the Soviets wouldn't have gotten as far as they did & as quickly as they did without stupendous shipments of American war matériel.
Some military scholars consider the German Army as it was on the eve of the 1941 invasion of the USSR to be the most effective ground fighting force since Caesar's legions. Even after the Japanese sank most of our Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, FDR & Churchill agreed that defeating Japan should wait until we had beaten the Germans. That made sense; German was far richer, technologically more advanced & much more dangerous than Japan.
In the early 1940's Hitler put the brakes on the R&D of several technologically advanced weapons, believing that the war would be over before they were needed. For example, the ME 262 was just about production ready by 1942, but Hitler insisted that testing continue with only a few prototypes. When it finally became operational in 1944 it racked up 5 to 1 kill ratios.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Another example of Hitler's moronic micromanagement: his order to kill development of an advanced assault rifle (in today's terminology - the term wasn't used then) because he didn't like the way it looked.
That's what happens when a politician starts to believe his own press releases.
God help 'im if he posts that here!
If I do, I'd look at some domestics: the Lincoln MKX & the Caddy CTS wagon, for example. I like the Caddy but I'd rather give my money to Ford.
I would definitely give my money to Ford before GM or C. I would only consider GM or C once the money was all paid back and they had a 5-10 year track record of highly competitive CARS, since I'm not looking for a truck or SUV.
When I say a Soviet invasion, I don't mean solely by military means, and I mean several years before 1939. The Poles and Finns had to hold them off right after WW1. The red plague was spreading - if Germany hadn't voted brown in 1933, red would have eventually won - and IMO the result would have been even worse, as history proves the hammer and sickle to be far deadlier than any other movement. They were damned if they did, damned if they didn't.
The limeys are lucky the krauts were stupid enough to stop at Dunkirk...and that America will do anything to keep the limeys (and some of their misguided colonial divvying up of other peoples land) sputtering along. Although maybe their upcoming demographic catastrophe won't be able to be fixed by anyone.
I'll certainly buy a German, Japanese, Korean, or American car before a British car...of course, there's really no such thing as a British car anymore anyway.
Exactly; Hitler wanted it transformed into a bomber that he thought would repel the Allied invasion of Europe. The bomber variant finally took to the air some months after D-Day.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, it would have been good to destroy a lot more of the military-industrial complex of Germany at the end of WWII. No telling how many millions of lives that could have saved.
In any event, none of the WWI or II situations have kept me from buying a German nameplate car, whether built in the US or any other country.
Maybe part of why I won't buy a British car is because I can't...
I figure, if I knew/know vets who can get over it...that says it all.
Yes, I mean WWI - thanks for catching that.
We can always hypothesize. I figure given the known deaths of WWII, I'd take the gamble that destroying Germany more thoroughly would have been the better course. But there is no way to know. It's a known disastrous outcome vs. an unknown, but likely (IMHO) less disastrous outcome.
The latest debacle with the Mazdaspeed has put me in the(used) market for a track-worthy replacement. Right now I'm checking out a few used 335is(RWD and manual only, of course), M3s, and M5s. The two dark horses(pun intended) are the 2007 Shelby GT and the 2008-2009 Bullitt. Nice cars for the money, but that "Built With Pride by the UAW" sticker on their quarter windows dulls my enthusiasm considerably.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Regards;
OldCEM
48 Chevrolet Fleetmaster 2Dr. Town Sedan
Uh oh. Now what?
We all know that UAW and quality cannot be words used in the same sentence, but this car was nice, so far...
I just pulled the specs up from the EPA's website. Fusion has 101 cubic feet of interior volume, 16 cubic feet of trunk space. The old 1986-95 Taurus had 100 cubic feet of interior room, 17 cubic foot trunk.
I knew they'd be close, but I'm surprised that the Fusion's actually slightly larger inside than the Taurus was. It could just be a styling trick though...maybe the windows in the Taurus were larger, and that made the car feel roomier? I also remember the sides in those Tauruses curved in horribly, and if I was in the back seat, it would force me to lean inward.
I rented one of those horrible ovoid Tauri once. The engine was coarse and the interior was an endless sea of cheap black plastic. But I was surprised that the steering felt pretty good.
1. EGR valve clogged and had to be replaced(cleaning it works only about 50% of the time, and it's a pain to change)- $675
2. RR shock is completely blown at less than 72,000 miles. I wanted to replace all four dampers with either Bilsteins or Konis but either one is on nationwide backorder. The Konis might be available before the end of the year; the Bilsteins by mid-January.
The heap drives its way back into my good graces and then something ALWAYS goes Tango Uniform within in the next 10,000 to 20,000 miles- the automotive equivalent of Lucy holding the football for Charlie Brown.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
I don't buy new, never have...so maybe my decisions aren't worth so much. Other than buying my used fascist-mobiles might keep me from buying a new domestic :shades:
imports esp cars.The richest person in the world is not American anymore. He is down in Mexico and was the head of the cartel. Take a look around and see what is
going on not alot of it is good. I know you see it and just maybe it`s too late. Back to cars, I own a Ford F350 PU and a Ford Focus and a Chevy SUV. I`d like to get my hands on a 1970 Dodge Challenger with a Hemi or the 390CID 6 packer.
Sounds like a Charlie Foxtrot to me.
What's good for the UAW is good for America... :sick:
link title
I'm impressed with them too. My brother recently purchased a '10 Fusion Sport with the 3.5 v6 and decently equipped. Very nice car for the money. It's quick, quiet, and felt extremely tight. I really like how it drives, the chassis is responsive as is the transmission and steering. I am really impressed with the 3.5 v6, very smooth. His previous car was an '08 Altima and I will say the Fusion feels like a more expensive car. Granted his Altima was a 4cyl model in SL trim.
Well, over the last 60 years, what's good for the UAW has been BAD for America.
They've played a huge part in the failures of GM and C, and almost killed Ford, too.
41% look to buy "American" first, while 44% look for the best deal. Only 12% look "foreign " first.
41% believe that American built foreign brands are as American as the Big 3, while 42% did not.
59% believe that the Big 3 are only "American" car companies.
I recently had to buy a new digital camera due to my own negligence killing the old one...guess what I looked at first.
Even before digital imaging replaced film, the U.S. never made serious cameras. Kodak didn't care who made your camera as long as you bought Kodak film for it.
Up until the early 1960s, the Germans made most of the really good cameras. Then the Japanese took over as top dogs in that market.
Anyway, the camera I killed was a Canon, so I replaced it with one. The new version of the old camera is now made in China (old one was Japan), but I found one that barely cost more made in Japan. Just feels better in my mind, it's actually higher spec too. Buying first world, and not supporting such a dangerous new world competitor is enough for me.