These boards are full of "Willy Lomans" who think they've got something in common with the corporate elitists they worship when they've got infinitely more in common with the dudes living in the 'hood or the trailer parks they disdain.
Yes, we all worship corporate elitist GM so much there is nothing they can do wrong...yet they failed. Heavens to Betsy they only have short term memory and think the dudes in the streets will blindly buy their products regardless of the market forces.
These boards are full of "Willy Lomans" who think they've got something in common with the corporate elitists they worship when they've got infinitely more in common with the dudes living in the 'hood or the trailer parks they disdain.
Having helped my dad sell my grandma's mobile home,I can say with 100% accuracy I have nothing in common with those who looked at it (call me elitist, ignorant, naive, or whatever you like). At one point a gas can and lighter sounded like a great option.
Ever ride or drive in a current Malibu..even once? Just askin'
Yes, I rented one earlier this year. I thought it was decent but not great. My butt hurt after driving it for a day. I'm sure the rentals are not as nice as more upscale models that somebody would buy, though.
I've not driven one, but I rode in a Malibu taxi a year ago. Rattling POC. Though taxi duty would thrash most cars.
The closest I've driven to a BU would be a Saturn Aura XR which I was not overly impressed with. IMO, those Auras haven't aged well as far as the exterior goes.
"To a greater extent than any other major automaker, GM enjoyed a combination of stronger demand and livable inventory levels in June. Sales rose by 11 percent to 215,358 units from 194,828 units a year earlier. Momentum was led by the continuing success of the Chevrolet Cruze compact car and by improved results for each GM brand except Cadillac. “June was fairly decent,” Johnson said, “and we out-performed the industry.” Retail sales for GM were up 16 percent over June, 2010, and the company gained market share both in retail sales and total sales, he said."
I would think you wouldn't have ridden in a current-iteration Malibu that was a 'rattling POC'. The previous one, perhaps. I have never in my life seen a current-generation Malibu taxi.
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I would think you wouldn't have ridden in a current-iteration Malibu that was a 'rattling POC'. The previous one, perhaps. I have never in my life seen a current-generation Malibu taxi.
It was definitely a current generation. This was in Vegas where you see just about everything used as taxis. I was two cabs away from riding in a current CTS taxi at the airport:( Then again, I've sat in the back of a CTS and it probably is no roomier than a Malibu.
As for rattles, I think every vehicle I've ever owned has developed them at one point or another.
As usual, you miss the point. GM is supposed to be customer centric.
"Defendant concealed the existence of the defect from class members, even those who presented their vehicles for repair of the defect," the lawsuit said of GM.
Makes me want to run out and buy a Caddy! Nice dealer network you have there, GM! Keep on shooting those dudes in the trailer parks! What do they know?
Nice dealer network? All I know is last year I got $2K worth of repairs free at my GM dealer on a five-year-old vehicle with 79K miles and no extended warranty.
2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
The brand-new 2012 Kia Optima will be the new featured model that is made here in West Point, Georgia
I was a little too early because the USA, particularly GM, made nothing even close to what I wanted. :P Best part? Non-Union!!!!
At the end of the day, if the UAW accepts fair wages and the management does not become incompetent AGAIN, perhaps future GM cars will be desirable again.
Here are the clouds someone was asking for, At Your Service! (Some are fair-weather clouds, of course!!)
General Motors Company (GM - Analyst Report) announced two tires of recall of about 10,000 pickup trucks from the model year 2011 due to problems with their automatic transmission and steering shaft.
The first set of recall is related to a faulty automotive transmission clip that could slip and show the incorrect position of the transmission gear. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the fault could cause the vehicles to roll away, leading to a crash. The recall involves 9,000 units of Chevrolet Colorado and GM Canyon trucks.
The second set of recall is related to bolts on the intermediate steering shaft that may not have been tightened to the specification. It involves 891 units of Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Silverado and GM Sierra trucks in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Automotive safety recalls were brought into focus by media after Toyota Motors’ (TM - Analyst Report) announcement of the largest-ever global recall of 14 million vehicles since November 2009.
The Japanese automaker’s recall was related to problems such as faulty accelerator gas pedals and slipping floor mats as well as defective braking systems. The Transportation Department of U.S. also imposed a fine of $48.4 million due to late recall of millions of defective vehicles.
Since the beginning of 2010, GM recalled about 3 million vehicles in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and South Korea. Among these, the largest recall was made in June last year, involving 1.5 million vehicles, in order to fix a problem with a heated windshield wiper fluid system that has been causing fire in the vehicles.
At the end of past month, GM recalled 50,500 units of Cadillac SRX luxury crossover vehicles due to a software glitch that may cause non-deployment of airbags in case of an accident, leading to injuries to those sitting in the right rear seat
The recall affected 47,401 vehicles in the U.S. and the rest in Canada and Mexico from the 2011 model year. GM is unaware of any crashes, injuries or complaints related to the problem.
GM, a Zacks #3 Rank (Hold) stock, earned a profit of $3.2 billion or $1.77 per share in the first quarter of 2011 that increased more than threefold from $865 million or 55 cents per share a year ago. However, more than half of the profits have been contributed by one-time gain from sales of the company’s ownership interest in Delphi Automotive LLP ($1.6 billion) and Ally Financial Inc. ($300 million).
Excluding these gains and a $0.4 billion goodwill impairment charge at GM Europe (GME) resulting from a change in accounting standards and charges of $0.1 billion at GM International Operations (GMIO) related to revised tax regulations affecting the company’s India joint venture, GM’s profit stood at $1.7 billion or 95 cents per share, topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny. It was also GM's biggest profit in 11 years since earning $1.8 billion in the second quarter of 2000.
Revenues during the quarter went up 15% to $36.2 billion on sales of 2.2 million vehicles globally, up 11% from the prior year. It exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $35.2 billion.
Strong demand for its fuel-efficient lineups including Chevrolet Cruze compact and Equinox crossover helped boost the company’s sales. The automaker occupied a market share of 11.5% during the quarter, up from 11.1% in the year-ago quarter.
All I know is last year I got $2K worth of repairs free at my GM dealer on a five-year-old vehicle with 79K miles and no extended warranty.
That's great, still, you shouldn't need $2k worth of repairs at 79k. But in my experience that's par for the course when driving domestics.
I still need to take the Expedition back. I've been putting it off because I'm sick of dealing with it. The power steering has a definite assist problem and the rear tailgate has a case of the mumps as the paint is bubbling in several different areas (it's only 4 years old and the dealer has already told me Ford won't do anything about it). I guess this is what you get when you drive a $45k domestic SUV. Ford and GM are going to force me into a Sequoia:(
Since the beginning of 2010, GM recalled about 3 million vehicles in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and South Korea.
Does anybody know about the mention of "south Korea"? Recent posts in one of these forums have talked about how closed the SK market is to imports. Is this actually GM cars exported to/sold in SK, or is it something like the Aveos that are GM-branded but already made there? Anybody know?
GM Korea roots go back to the former Daewoo Group which went bankrupt in 1999. It has five manufacturing facilities in Korea as well as an assembly facility in Vietnam. In addition, GM Korea provides market and brand-specific vehicle kits for assembly at GM facilities in China, Thailand, India, Colombia and Venezuela. In 2008, GM Daewoo sold in Korea and exported more than 1.9 million units, including CKD products. GM Korea now produces vehicles and kits for Chevrolet, Opel/Vauxhall, Holden and Suzuki that are offered in more than 150 markets on six continents. On January 20, 2011, General Motors announced that GM Daewoo would be renamed GM Korea Co. "to reflect its heightened status in global operations of GM,"[2] effective March 2011. Most of the vehicles will be rechristened as Chevrolets, with plans for GM in South Korea to establish either Opel or Buick there.
How global of GM to create Korean jobs, don't you think? One of the best things I almost like about GM!
With GM having so much of their operations and growth in China and other areas of Asia - like Korea, the next time they need a bailout, we'll remember it's the Chinese and Koreans turn to give them some yuans.
That's great, still, you shouldn't need $2k worth of repairs at 79k. But in my experience that's par for the course when driving domestics.
No argument here, but they stood behind their product. I know one person with an Odyssey, an '05 model that had 70K miles and needed a complete transmission. He was out $1,800. I'd take $2K in repairs for free over a goodwill offer that left $1,800 to be paid by the customer, any day of the week.
2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
No argument here, but they stood behind their product. I know one person with an Odyssey, an '05 model that had 70K miles and needed a complete transmission. He was out $1,800. I'd take $2K in repairs for free over a goodwill offer that left $1,800 to be paid by the customer, any day of the week.
True, but I doubt goodwill repairs are the norm. I've never gotten any from Ford or GM. I got a $1,600 bill from my Ford dealer even while my Expedition was still under the 60k extended powertrain warranty and nearly $1k of it was due to Ford's faulty spark plug design. On the forums I've researched, no one is getting any relief from Ford on that issue.
While my experience with Ford goes back 11 years they are hideous on good will. They make like whatever happens is owner neglect.
While I like what they are producing now my experience with them may be equal to that of VW. My 80 Rabbit experience has kept me out of another VW over 30 years now.
2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
Just like the guy who fixed my dad's GM transmission said. Odyssey + 60-80K = a better than even chance that the transmission eats itself.
My dad's transmission lasted 11 years and about 120K. Most of that was city miles and he was not very gentle with it. $1600 installed, so it wasn't a complete disaster, cost-wise. I bet that $1800 didn't include labor.
More Dark Clouds, even if you choose to stay in the Silver Lining!
“GM’s inventory is some 40 days higher than what Ford, which has a similar product mix, is carrying. On the call GM said it was looking to exit the year at 100-110 days, which is 20-30 days more inventory than the 78 days it averaged at yearend between 2002 and 2010. Management said that it structurally needs to carry more inventories going forward because it had consolidated six plants to three. We can understand around the edges why that should result in higher inventories, plus the fact that the days’ inventory looks high due to cyclically low-end sales. But we respectfully aren’t convinced that triple-digit inventories should be the new normal. Just factoring in seasonally high sales and seasonally lower production in 2H vs. 1H, inventories should be down 15+ days. That GM intends to continue producing at elevated levels remains confusing. The net impact to the financials is that the company is pulling forward 2012 earnings into 2011. It respectfully begs the question, is GM falling into old bad habits?”
Looks good for the future. Pump up stock before Government Sale.
Something is going on, Morgan Stanley just moved them past Ford as a "buy" pick today:
"While many analysts have GM rated as a “Buy,” Jonas' target price of $50 was the highest in a FactSet survey of analysts and well ahead of the average of $43.21.“We believe GM offers a powerful combination of positive near-term earnings revisions and negative investor sentiment held up by open-ended questions surrounding the U.S. Treasury hangover, UAW negotiations and the deployment of GM's fortress balance sheet,” Jonas wrote.The analyst said he expects GM's unit sales to grow both this year and next, predicted that the automaker is working to strategically reposition its European brand and said he thinks it will also benefit from improvements to its product line up.
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They are shutting down the truck plants for two weeks to adjust inventory.
“GM is rightly being quite careful about building products into the summer months and not getting caught with an excess amount of prior model year inventories,” said Michael Robinet, an analyst at IHS Automotive in Northville, Michigan. “They’re going to be careful not to build too much of the older model year vehicles and have to discount them heavily in the face of having newer model year vehicles on the same lot.”
Mark Reuss, president of GM’s North American operations, said at a June 3 conference that the inventory of trucks was acceptable in the short term and wouldn’t prompt a surge in discounts. “We’re not going to run big incentives to clear inventory,” Reuss said on Mackinac Island in northern Michigan earlier this month. “We’ll adjust inventory on a production basis.”
Yup, and even their own people know the reason why...
"At the same time, argued Don Johnson, vice president of U.S. sales for Government Motors , where sales rose 11 percent in June from a year earlier, “Retail sales were influenced” by tight supplies of Japanese brands. “Some consumers have decided to sit on their hands and delay their purchases,” he agreed. But Johnson believes such hesitance is “temporary. We see a return to our projected SAAR trend line later in the year” and for the U.S. market still to finish 2011 several percentage points higher than a year ago, with total sales of 13 million to 13.5 million units (Edmunds.com continues to project 12.9 million U.S. sales this year).
Johnson said that the most serious constraint on the industry’s June performance was “lack of inventory by some competitors.” Both Toyota and Honda continued to face significant supply problems during the month and largely as a result, June sales by both Toyota and Honda fell by 21 percent"
Why is that? You and others on this board have repeatedly stated how every-bit-American those manufacturers are, as the Big Three. Also, why did Nissan not have the drops of Honda and Toyota? Also, why did Ford come behind GM in car sales?
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Ford is still doing just fine. They were only down 20k units to GM in June. I have no idea why Nissan didn't drop like Toy/honda, maybe their production is setup different where they weren't affected as much.
I'm still surprised how well the Corolla is selling considering it's so outclassed by the competition.
I drove at least 1k miles last week and I couldn't tell you which I saw more of between the Cruze, new Civic, and Elantra. I will say the new Civic looks better in person than in pictures.
I'm still considering picking up an extra vehicle just to run errands in and shuttle the kids around town. I was thinking something like a new Cruze/Focus, but now I'm wonder why not just get something like a 1-2 year old Camry.
I know, it's boring as hell, but they are very reliable, fuel efficient, and I can find several low mileage 1-2 year old models for well under $20k. IMO, it seems like a used Fusion or Camry would make more sense than buying a new compact.
I looked on Jd power regarding long term dependability and the Fusion and Camry were rated far higher than the other midsize cars. The Malibu was given 2/5 the same as a Passat, even on powertrain dependability.
I'm still surprised how well the Corolla is selling considering it's so outclassed by the competition.
Man, the Toyota Corolla is the biggest POS out there and people are tarded enough ta keep buying it? I don't get it. Oh, well. It's their funeral I guess. What an ugly, uninspiring looking car. The Mitsubishi Lancer rocks its socks off. Hell, the Honda Civic even looks better than the Corolla. For a Company like Toyota you'd think they could design a better looking rig, I mean, Toyota's done a great job with their upcoming Scion FR-S. That is a gorgeous car, if they made it a 4-door I'd consider trading my Lancer GTS in and buying one. But it doesn't look like it will be offered in 4-dr. form, only in a Coupe.
You and others on this board have repeatedly stated how every-bit-American those manufacturers are, as the Big Three.
I have? :confuse: I think you're confusing me with someone else...
My argument is that for a company like GM who has manufacturing operations in more than a dozen countries all over the world, in my eyes those products are not any more "American" than the products from companies from Korea, Japan or Germany who have set up shop here in the states...
Less so IMO. :surprise: But that's not really pertinent right now so I digress...
As far as Nissan goes, maybe they were not as affected as the others (and FHI/Subaru btw) because they are partially owned by Renault, in France... so maybe they have alternate sources for parts? :confuse: I don't really follow them, but maybe they're inventory levels were higher than H/T as well before the quake hit...
And regarding Ford, the same link explains their hit as well.
Ford Motor Co. also dealt with “low inventory of our most fuel-efficient vehicles,” said Ken Czubay, the company’s vice president of U.S. sales. “Many owners are delaying purchases until the Ford model they want becomes available,” he said. Still, Ford managed an 11-percent boost in sales for the month over June, 2010, as there were ample inventories of many vehicles in its lineup.
GM's biggest challenge is right now? I mean, they've been bailed out of bankruptcy and have recovered. Is it the life-draining continuous sucking of the UAW's? Should we resurrect that thread again?
The Chevy Cruze is selling well for them. Of the domestics I really like what Chrysler is throwing down now. The new Grand Cherokee from Jeep is awesome. The 200 is somewhat tolerable though it resembles the old Sebring too much and doesn't have a strong enough identity of its own. The new Chrysler 300, however, have the intestinals to move forward in to the New World Order and join the new Caliber replacement due in 2012 and sell in droves. Watch Chrysler take off, fellow car nuts. They're rising faster than Aunt Nellie's summer bread.
I haven't seen A Malibu taxi of any sort. Most taxis around here are still Crown Vics. Still, a Malibu must be tough enough to be pressed into taxi service.
I'm extremely happy with my Cadillac dealer. I bought my last two new cars from them and from the same salesman. My wife bought her car from their Buick affiliate. I plan on going back there the next time I'm in the market for a new car.
For whatever reason in Vegas they use a wide range of vehicles for taxis. The day I rode in the Malibu, I also rode in an Explorer taxi. You can hale a limo as easily as a cab, which if you have a large group makes a lot of sense.
I really like what Chrysler is throwing down now. The new Grand Cherokee from Jeep is awesome.
I agree. Now I don't have any use for the 200, but the 300, Grand Cherokee, and Durango are sweet.
If I was in the market for a premium sedan the 300c would be one of my choices. RWD, big power, clean looks, what's not to like (well, other than being a chrysler).
You talkin' to me....you must be talking to me! Well, parts produced in Japan are used in the NA plants.
Japanese makers, working with suppliers hard hit by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, have been pushing to get their assembly lines rolling as quickly as possible and now expect to be back up and running more quickly than earlier projections.
Also, why did Nissan not have the drops of Honda and Toyota?
I remember this being discussed on the news several weeks after the tsunami. Nissan was largely unaffected by the tsunami as their plants were located mostly in Southern areas of Japan, hundreds of miles from the earthquake and tsunami.
Around Seattle there are the normal Panthers along with Chargers, Civrollas and Camcords, many Prius, some varied minivans. Haven't seen any Malibus or Impalas that come to mind. FWD must be more able to take abuse than in the past.
One must wonder where the Malibu "Classic" (old style) ended up on that list, and also apparently they lump V6 and 4-cyl. Malibus together for powertrain. I don't know if any of the other cars offered two distinct powerplants. The Altima isn't standing real far out on that list either.
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Haven't seen any Malibus or Impalas that come to mind. FWD must be more able to take abuse than in the past.
I think, to a degree, it can, but a bigger factor might just be that as the older RWD cars get used up, there just isn't much supply of newer ones to pull from.
I'd think an Impala would actually make a pretty good taxi, provided the driver isn't so tall he has to put the seat all the way back! They make a police version of the Impala, so as those get retired, I'd think they'd make pretty good taxis, as they'd have beefed up suspensions and such.
The last time I had to ride in a taxi was back in January, in DC. Took two of them that day. The first was a Lincoln Town Car, but I'm forgetting the vintage now. I want to say around a 1999 or so? The second was a '92-96 era Camry! Both were looking pretty beat, but the drivelines, at least, weren't emitting any sounds of impending doom!
Man, the Toyota Corolla is the biggest POS out there and people are tarded enough ta keep buying it? I don't get it. Oh, well. It's their funeral I guess. What an ugly, uninspiring looking car.
Well, remember there's a lot of people who bought Corollas in the past, and were perfectly happy with them, and based on that experience will probably go out and buy another.
Back in 2008, one of my coworkers bought a new Corolla. I didn't ride in it, but sat in it. At the time, I thought it was a decent car. I think it was the "S" model, so it was trimmed a bit better than your typical rental-class model. Its interior blew the doors off of my uncle's '03 Corolla, but his is just a basic "CE" model.
I actually don't mind the styling. Yeah, it's hardly exciting, and isn't going to inspire too many wet dreams, but I think it's a handsome small car, in a conservative sort of way. I like its styling a lot better than the 2003-2007 style, which was more rounded, had oversized headlights, and sort of an egg-shape overall.
I think the biggest problem with the Corolla isn't that it's a bad car, but just that the competition has moved on. Funny, but usually that's something that gets said about a GM product...they're actually competitive at first, but then a year or two later everybody else redesigns, and the bar is raised. Happened with the first Saturn S-series, 1997 Malibu, and countless other cars.
The 2008 Corolla also wasn't "new" enough, IMO. Even though it was supposedly an all-new car, initially I mistook it for simply a re-skin of the 2003-2007 model.
Comments
Regards,
OW
Having helped my dad sell my grandma's mobile home,I can say with 100% accuracy I have nothing in common with those who looked at it (call me elitist, ignorant, naive, or whatever you like). At one point a gas can and lighter sounded like a great option.
Yes, I rented one earlier this year. I thought it was decent but not great. My butt hurt after driving it for a day. I'm sure the rentals are not as nice as more upscale models that somebody would buy, though.
The closest I've driven to a BU would be a Saturn Aura XR which I was not overly impressed with. IMO, those Auras haven't aged well as far as the exterior goes.
Industry Sales Momentum Downshifted In June (AutoObserver)
Sure, now there's a ton of red ink in the warehouse that GM has no use for, and they're down to a 28 day supply of green.
It was definitely a current generation. This was in Vegas where you see just about everything used as taxis. I was two cabs away from riding in a current CTS taxi at the airport:( Then again, I've sat in the back of a CTS and it probably is no roomier than a Malibu.
As for rattles, I think every vehicle I've ever owned has developed them at one point or another.
"Defendant concealed the existence of the defect from class members, even those who presented their vehicles for repair of the defect," the lawsuit said of GM.
Makes me want to run out and buy a Caddy! Nice dealer network you have there, GM! Keep on shooting those dudes in the trailer parks! What do they know?
Regards,
OW
The brand-new 2012 Kia Optima will be the new featured model that is made here in West Point, Georgia
I was a little too early because the USA, particularly GM, made nothing even close to what I wanted. :P Best part? Non-Union!!!!
At the end of the day, if the UAW accepts fair wages and the management does not become incompetent AGAIN, perhaps future GM cars will be desirable again.
Regards,
OW
General Motors Company (GM - Analyst Report) announced two tires of recall of about 10,000 pickup trucks from the model year 2011 due to problems with their automatic transmission and steering shaft.
The first set of recall is related to a faulty automotive transmission clip that could slip and show the incorrect position of the transmission gear. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the fault could cause the vehicles to roll away, leading to a crash. The recall involves 9,000 units of Chevrolet Colorado and GM Canyon trucks.
The second set of recall is related to bolts on the intermediate steering shaft that may not have been tightened to the specification. It involves 891 units of Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Silverado and GM Sierra trucks in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Automotive safety recalls were brought into focus by media after Toyota Motors’ (TM - Analyst Report) announcement of the largest-ever global recall of 14 million vehicles since November 2009.
The Japanese automaker’s recall was related to problems such as faulty accelerator gas pedals and slipping floor mats as well as defective braking systems. The Transportation Department of U.S. also imposed a fine of $48.4 million due to late recall of millions of defective vehicles.
Since the beginning of 2010, GM recalled about 3 million vehicles in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and South Korea. Among these, the largest recall was made in June last year, involving 1.5 million vehicles, in order to fix a problem with a heated windshield wiper fluid system that has been causing fire in the vehicles.
At the end of past month, GM recalled 50,500 units of Cadillac SRX luxury crossover vehicles due to a software glitch that may cause non-deployment of airbags in case of an accident, leading to injuries to those sitting in the right rear seat
The recall affected 47,401 vehicles in the U.S. and the rest in Canada and Mexico from the 2011 model year. GM is unaware of any crashes, injuries or complaints related to the problem.
GM, a Zacks #3 Rank (Hold) stock, earned a profit of $3.2 billion or $1.77 per share in the first quarter of 2011 that increased more than threefold from $865 million or 55 cents per share a year ago. However, more than half of the profits have been contributed by one-time gain from sales of the company’s ownership interest in Delphi Automotive LLP ($1.6 billion) and Ally Financial Inc. ($300 million).
Excluding these gains and a $0.4 billion goodwill impairment charge at GM Europe (GME) resulting from a change in accounting standards and charges of $0.1 billion at GM International Operations (GMIO) related to revised tax regulations affecting the company’s India joint venture, GM’s profit stood at $1.7 billion or 95 cents per share, topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny. It was also GM's biggest profit in 11 years since earning $1.8 billion in the second quarter of 2000.
Revenues during the quarter went up 15% to $36.2 billion on sales of 2.2 million vehicles globally, up 11% from the prior year. It exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $35.2 billion.
Strong demand for its fuel-efficient lineups including Chevrolet Cruze compact and Equinox crossover helped boost the company’s sales. The automaker occupied a market share of 11.5% during the quarter, up from 11.1% in the year-ago quarter.
Champagne, anyone??
Regards,
OW
That's great, still, you shouldn't need $2k worth of repairs at 79k. But in my experience that's par for the course when driving domestics.
I still need to take the Expedition back. I've been putting it off because I'm sick of dealing with it. The power steering has a definite assist problem and the rear tailgate has a case of the mumps as the paint is bubbling in several different areas (it's only 4 years old and the dealer has already told me Ford won't do anything about it). I guess this is what you get when you drive a $45k domestic SUV. Ford and GM are going to force me into a Sequoia:(
Does anybody know about the mention of "south Korea"? Recent posts in one of these forums have talked about how closed the SK market is to imports. Is this actually GM cars exported to/sold in SK, or is it something like the Aveos that are GM-branded but already made there? Anybody know?
Regards,
OW
GM Korea roots go back to the former Daewoo Group which went bankrupt in 1999. It has five manufacturing facilities in Korea as well as an assembly facility in Vietnam. In addition, GM Korea provides market and brand-specific vehicle kits for assembly at GM facilities in China, Thailand, India, Colombia and Venezuela. In 2008, GM Daewoo sold in Korea and exported more than 1.9 million units, including CKD products. GM Korea now produces vehicles and kits for Chevrolet, Opel/Vauxhall, Holden and Suzuki that are offered in more than 150 markets on six continents. On January 20, 2011, General Motors announced that GM Daewoo would be renamed GM Korea Co. "to reflect its heightened status in global operations of GM,"[2] effective March 2011. Most of the vehicles will be rechristened as Chevrolets, with plans for GM in South Korea to establish either Opel or Buick there.
How global of GM to create Korean jobs, don't you think? One of the best things I almost like about GM!
Regards,
OW
Regards,
OW
No argument here, but they stood behind their product. I know one person with an Odyssey, an '05 model that had 70K miles and needed a complete transmission. He was out $1,800. I'd take $2K in repairs for free over a goodwill offer that left $1,800 to be paid by the customer, any day of the week.
True, but I doubt goodwill repairs are the norm. I've never gotten any from Ford or GM. I got a $1,600 bill from my Ford dealer even while my Expedition was still under the 60k extended powertrain warranty and nearly $1k of it was due to Ford's faulty spark plug design. On the forums I've researched, no one is getting any relief from Ford on that issue.
While I like what they are producing now my experience with them may be equal to that of VW. My 80 Rabbit experience has kept me out of another VW over 30 years now.
My dad's transmission lasted 11 years and about 120K. Most of that was city miles and he was not very gentle with it. $1600 installed, so it wasn't a complete disaster, cost-wise. I bet that $1800 didn't include labor.
“GM’s inventory is some 40 days higher than what Ford, which has a similar product mix, is carrying. On the call GM said it was looking to exit the year at 100-110 days, which is 20-30 days more inventory than the 78 days it averaged at yearend between 2002 and 2010. Management said that it structurally needs to carry more inventories going forward because it had consolidated six plants to three. We can understand around the edges why that should result in higher inventories, plus the fact that the days’ inventory looks high due to cyclically low-end sales. But we respectfully aren’t convinced that triple-digit inventories should be the new normal. Just factoring in seasonally high sales and seasonally lower production in 2H vs. 1H, inventories should be down 15+ days. That GM intends to continue producing at elevated levels remains confusing. The net impact to the financials is that the company is pulling forward 2012 earnings into 2011. It respectfully begs the question, is GM falling into old bad habits?”
Looks good for the future. Pump up stock before Government Sale.
Regards,
OW
"While many analysts have GM rated as a “Buy,” Jonas' target price of $50 was the highest in a FactSet survey of analysts and well ahead of the average of $43.21.“We believe GM offers a powerful combination of positive near-term earnings revisions and negative investor sentiment held up by open-ended questions surrounding the U.S. Treasury hangover, UAW negotiations and the deployment of GM's fortress balance sheet,” Jonas wrote.The analyst said he expects GM's unit sales to grow both this year and next, predicted that the automaker is working to strategically reposition its European brand and said he thinks it will also benefit from improvements to its product line up.
“GM is rightly being quite careful about building products into the summer months and not getting caught with an excess amount of prior model year inventories,” said Michael Robinet, an analyst at IHS Automotive in Northville, Michigan. “They’re going to be careful not to build too much of the older model year vehicles and have to discount them heavily in the face of having newer model year vehicles on the same lot.”
Mark Reuss, president of GM’s North American operations, said at a June 3 conference that the inventory of trucks was acceptable in the short term and wouldn’t prompt a surge in discounts.
“We’re not going to run big incentives to clear inventory,” Reuss said on Mackinac Island in northern Michigan earlier this month. “We’ll adjust inventory on a production basis.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-0...ew-models.html
"At the same time, argued Don Johnson, vice president of U.S. sales for Government Motors , where sales rose 11 percent in June from a year earlier, “Retail sales were influenced” by tight supplies of Japanese brands. “Some consumers have decided to sit on their hands and delay their purchases,” he agreed. But Johnson believes such hesitance is “temporary. We see a return to our projected SAAR trend line later in the year” and for the U.S. market still to finish 2011 several percentage points higher than a year ago, with total sales of 13 million to 13.5 million units (Edmunds.com continues to project 12.9 million U.S. sales this year).
Johnson said that the most serious constraint on the industry’s June performance was “lack of inventory by some competitors.” Both Toyota and Honda continued to face significant supply problems during the month and largely as a result, June sales by both Toyota and Honda fell by 21 percent"
link title
I'm still surprised how well the Corolla is selling considering it's so outclassed by the competition.
I drove at least 1k miles last week and I couldn't tell you which I saw more of between the Cruze, new Civic, and Elantra. I will say the new Civic looks better in person than in pictures.
I'm still considering picking up an extra vehicle just to run errands in and shuttle the kids around town. I was thinking something like a new Cruze/Focus, but now I'm wonder why not just get something like a 1-2 year old Camry.
I know, it's boring as hell, but they are very reliable, fuel efficient, and I can find several low mileage 1-2 year old models for well under $20k. IMO, it seems like a used Fusion or Camry would make more sense than buying a new compact.
I looked on Jd power regarding long term dependability and the Fusion and Camry were rated far higher than the other midsize cars. The Malibu was given 2/5 the same as a Passat, even on powertrain dependability.
Man, the Toyota Corolla is the biggest POS out there and people are tarded enough ta keep buying it? I don't get it. Oh, well. It's their funeral I guess. What an ugly, uninspiring looking car. The Mitsubishi Lancer rocks its socks off. Hell, the Honda Civic even looks better than the Corolla. For a Company like Toyota you'd think they could design a better looking rig, I mean, Toyota's done a great job with their upcoming Scion FR-S. That is a gorgeous car, if they made it a 4-door I'd consider trading my Lancer GTS in and buying one. But it doesn't look like it will be offered in 4-dr. form, only in a Coupe.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
I have? :confuse: I think you're confusing me with someone else...
My argument is that for a company like GM who has manufacturing operations in more than a dozen countries all over the world, in my eyes those products are not any more "American" than the products from companies from Korea, Japan or Germany who have set up shop here in the states...
Less so IMO. :surprise: But that's not really pertinent right now so I digress...
As far as Nissan goes, maybe they were not as affected as the others (and FHI/Subaru btw) because they are partially owned by Renault, in France... so maybe they have alternate sources for parts? :confuse: I don't really follow them, but maybe they're inventory levels were higher than H/T as well before the quake hit...
And regarding Ford, the same link explains their hit as well.
Ford Motor Co. also dealt with “low inventory of our most fuel-efficient vehicles,” said Ken Czubay, the company’s vice president of U.S. sales. “Many owners are delaying purchases until the Ford model they want becomes available,” he said. Still, Ford managed an 11-percent boost in sales for the month over June, 2010, as there were ample inventories of many vehicles in its lineup.
The Chevy Cruze is selling well for them. Of the domestics I really like what Chrysler is throwing down now. The new Grand Cherokee from Jeep is awesome. The 200 is somewhat tolerable though it resembles the old Sebring too much and doesn't have a strong enough identity of its own. The new Chrysler 300, however, have the intestinals to move forward in to the New World Order and join the new Caliber replacement due in 2012 and sell in droves. Watch Chrysler take off, fellow car nuts. They're rising faster than Aunt Nellie's summer bread.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
I don't doubt that, but what really surprised me in Vegas was seeing a new CTS taxi. Can't say that is normal, as I only saw one.
I agree. Now I don't have any use for the 200, but the 300, Grand Cherokee, and Durango are sweet.
If I was in the market for a premium sedan the 300c would be one of my choices. RWD, big power, clean looks, what's not to like (well, other than being a chrysler).
Regards,
OW
Japanese makers, working with suppliers hard hit by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, have been pushing to get their assembly lines rolling as quickly as possible and now expect to be back up and running more quickly than earlier projections.
Get ready for the return of Godzilla! :shades:
Regards,
OW
No doubt, I'd definitely check out the Focus too.
I remember this being discussed on the news several weeks after the tsunami. Nissan was largely unaffected by the tsunami as their plants were located mostly in Southern areas of Japan, hundreds of miles from the earthquake and tsunami.
I think, to a degree, it can, but a bigger factor might just be that as the older RWD cars get used up, there just isn't much supply of newer ones to pull from.
I'd think an Impala would actually make a pretty good taxi, provided the driver isn't so tall he has to put the seat all the way back! They make a police version of the Impala, so as those get retired, I'd think they'd make pretty good taxis, as they'd have beefed up suspensions and such.
The last time I had to ride in a taxi was back in January, in DC. Took two of them that day. The first was a Lincoln Town Car, but I'm forgetting the vintage now. I want to say around a 1999 or so? The second was a '92-96 era Camry! Both were looking pretty beat, but the drivelines, at least, weren't emitting any sounds of impending doom!
Well, remember there's a lot of people who bought Corollas in the past, and were perfectly happy with them, and based on that experience will probably go out and buy another.
Back in 2008, one of my coworkers bought a new Corolla. I didn't ride in it, but sat in it. At the time, I thought it was a decent car. I think it was the "S" model, so it was trimmed a bit better than your typical rental-class model. Its interior blew the doors off of my uncle's '03 Corolla, but his is just a basic "CE" model.
I actually don't mind the styling. Yeah, it's hardly exciting, and isn't going to inspire too many wet dreams, but I think it's a handsome small car, in a conservative sort of way. I like its styling a lot better than the 2003-2007 style, which was more rounded, had oversized headlights, and sort of an egg-shape overall.
I think the biggest problem with the Corolla isn't that it's a bad car, but just that the competition has moved on. Funny, but usually that's something that gets said about a GM product...they're actually competitive at first, but then a year or two later everybody else redesigns, and the bar is raised. Happened with the first Saturn S-series, 1997 Malibu, and countless other cars.
The 2008 Corolla also wasn't "new" enough, IMO. Even though it was supposedly an all-new car, initially I mistook it for simply a re-skin of the 2003-2007 model.