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GM News, New Models and Market Share

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  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,022
    Actually, I got that info off of another window sticker that I still had on file from earlier in the year. But, on my lunch break I double checked and yup, it has a "3" at the beginning of the VIN. So...
    image
  • fho2008fho2008 Member Posts: 393
    So far....56K, no and no. Fun? Oh yeah!!!!
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Yeah, but 70% American parts, so that's NAFTA at work.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Perfect example of a serious recall just popped up:

    http://f10.m5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=748042

    Stop sell on BMW M5 and M6 models for sudden loss of oil pressure and potentially severe engine damage.

    That's quite a bit different than inspecting a part for potential rust that may or may not be present.
  • andres3andres3 Member Posts: 13,928
    Yeah, just like no one was fooled with the Caliber being a Neon by another name. I'm surprised GM didn't do like their financing arm, and change names (due to bailout stigma). GMAC became Ally, GM could have become ..... whatever.

    The chance to change the name and start anew was in 2008 or 2009; they squandered that opportunity.
    '18 Porsche Macan Turbo, '16 Audi TTS, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
  • andres3andres3 Member Posts: 13,928
    I know my Neon's glass windows were all stamped with "Hecho en Mexico," but I cannot say what the VIN was with any certainty. If I had to bet, I'd say it was a 1 and only the glass came from Mexico (among some other things).

    I just don't remember a 3, but I didn't know the difference back then either.

    It doesn't really matter, they both share blame in my book. By the way, the windshield didn't have a stamp, but it did crack all the way through the middle from top to bottom down the center one day for no apparent reason. It was a hot day and I parked in the shade (no chips, no cracks, nothing), and when I got back, a big crack was there. I attributed it to structural failures (like the frame being so lame that the glass got compressed too hard and cracked).
    '18 Porsche Macan Turbo, '16 Audi TTS, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,022
    I just don't remember a 3, but I didn't know the difference back then either.

    It's also possible that the country codes were different back in those days as well, as they do change VIN numbers from time to time.

    As for glass cracking, my buddy's 2006 Xterra's windshield did that one hot day this past summer. And a few years back, my neighbor's '89 Coupe DeVille's rear window actually shattered into a bunch of little fragments, just sitting in the driveway!
  • robr2robr2 Member Posts: 8,805
    The "3" VIN for Mexico goes back to at least 1993 - the Mexican built Escort I bought that year had a "3" VIN.
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    Shoot, the glass hatch on my Dad's 2004 Outback shattered into a bunch of fragments on a hot day as well. It happens.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    My '91 Escort GT hatch was built in the US and started with a 1. I think most Tracers were Mexican made. Did you get a sedan?
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/story/19613999/2012/09/22/woman-crashes-through-wall- s-walks-away-with-no-injuries

    2 huge impacts and she walked away. Gotta love modern crash protection. You are particularly vulnerable on the 2nd impact.

    Under investigation. I'm sure the media will not follow up on the story. :sick:
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,022
    edited September 2012
    What's up with those walls though? Looks like those skinny cinder blocks sort of just snap together, and the rows sit atop one another, with no mortar. What holds them together? Looks like you could just lean against the wall and it would fall over, but I'm sure those blocks are still heavy enough to keep that from happening easily.

    Oh, in addition to block walls, it looks like they also don't make telephone poles like they used to, either! I just went outside to get something out of my truck, and noticed a fire engine blocking the road out back, outside our security fence. I could just barely see the rump of a fairly new Mustang sticking out from behind it. When the fire truck moved, I could see that the Mustang had hit a telephone pole, snapping it. But oddly, it didn't snap right where the car hit, but rather about 6 or 7 feet up. It didn't totally fall down, but was angled at a very precarious manner. And the Mustang, while apparently disabled, didn't look *that* damaged.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I think the fact that they did collapse like that help absorb a lot of energy.

    Look at the car, though, it sure did as well!
  • andres3andres3 Member Posts: 13,928
    As for glass cracking, my buddy's 2006 Xterra's windshield did that one hot day this past summer. And a few years back, my neighbor's '89 Coupe DeVille's rear window actually shattered into a bunch of little fragments, just sitting in the driveway!

    Interesting, none of my parents or older brothers Toyota's have ever had glass spontaneously combust and break :P ;)

    I'm pretty darn 100% sure there were no small starter cracks or chips in my windshield though. Can you be so sure with your buddy's Xterra? Is your buddy close to 100% sure at least? As to your neighbors back window, I know if I was a kid playing catch with a baseball and either I or a friend made an errant throw..... we'd of probably ran away (did he check under the back seat for a suspicious baseball? :shades:
    '18 Porsche Macan Turbo, '16 Audi TTS, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,022
    I'm in that Xterra on a regular basis, and don't remember ever seeing a starter crack or chip. Now, my '85 Silverado got pelted by something back in 2007, that left a few chips in the windshield. Eventually, one of them started cracking, and now it looks pretty bad.

    As for my neighbor's Coupe DeVille, well we're far enough out in the boonies that an errant baseball or similar occurrence would be almost impossible. It was backed into the driveway, facing forward, so whatever it was couldn't have come from the street. And behind the car, probably about 200 feet of lawn, and then another 450 feet or so of thick forest, until you get to the neighbors in back. So, that would be one helluva a talented throwing arm!
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    http://www.autoblog.com/2012/09/25/chevy-recalling-over-4-700-sonic-subcompacts-- over-faulty-turn-si/

    The good news is it's a simple turn signal issue.

    The bad news is that nobody uses turn signals any more, so it took them this long to realize they weren't working!

    :D
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    Does anybody even use hand signals anymore, and, if so, do other drivers understand them? The brake lights went out on my Mercury a couple weeks ago. Fortunately, I wasn't far from my mechanic. I was using hand signals in lieu of my brake lights and hoping the young girl in the car behind me understood them and didn't crash into the back of me. I made it without incident and the problem was the brake light switch below the dashboard that is actuated by the pedal.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Even if they do teach stuff like that, I doubt kids truly absorb it.

    I'm biking with my kids and teaching them hand signals
  • robr2robr2 Member Posts: 8,805
    My '91 Escort GT hatch was built in the US and started with a 1. I think most Tracers were Mexican made. Did you get a sedan?

    Yes, I had the sedan.
  • bpizzutibpizzuti Member Posts: 2,743
    Does anybody even use hand signals anymore, and, if so, do other drivers understand them?

    I only use one hand signal, but everyone seems to understand it. :shades:

    At today's speeds, hand signals are worthless, you can't see them from far enough away in many cases.
  • fezofezo Member Posts: 10,386
    edited September 2012
    I remember going out riding my bike with my then may 6 (now 23) year old daughter. I taught her hand signals and we're doing just fine and I look and suddenly see her signaling a stop. (I know - following too close). Down I went to avoid hitting her. Only time I remember falling on a bike since I learned as a kid.

    The only people who would recognize a hand signal anymore probably couldn't see well enough anymore until they were parked in your trunk.
    2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
  • circlewcirclew Member Posts: 8,666
    edited September 2012
    GM executives have conceded from the start that they were losing money on the Volt, and that was before the big discounts.

    Now the losses could be even higher. It costs $60,000 to $75,000 to build a Volt, including development, manufacturing and raw materials, estimates Sandy Munro, president of Munro & Associates, a Troy, Mich., a company that analyzes vehicle production expenses for automakers. Much of the cost comes from an expensive combination of two power systems - electric and gasoline. With a sticker price of $40,000, minus the $10,000 the company pays in incentives, GM gets roughly $30,000 for every Volt. So it could be losing at least $30,000 per car.


    "It certainly wasn't a rousing success," Carter Driscoll, senior analyst for CapStone Investments who follows electric cars, says of the Volt.

    GM confirmed there are incentives on the Volt and that the company loses money on the car. But the automaker declined to give figures for the discounts or the losses. The figures exclude a federal tax credit that goes to buyers.

    GM offers big discounts on Volt

    Ah, that's GM...ever the incentive KING, the Re-Call King and "Too Big That Still Failed". :lemon:

    Regards,
    OW
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,857
    edited September 2012
    What is your take on the sales performance of the Volt, versus the Nissan Leaf? I anticipate your even-handed and thoughtful response. And as mentioned, in recent history, Toyota is most definitely the recall king.
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    http://cnettv.cnet.com/2013-cadillac-xts/9742-1_53-50131950.html

    Keep in mind Cooley is a tough critic, so this is actually a positive review. Only the voice controls let him down.

    I think that screen is gorgeous, and the hide-away bin under it is genius. Have your cake (USB charges anything) and eat it (hidden neatly, no cables).

    Beautiful car inside and out. I prefer touch screens over controllers on the center console, especially since the passenger often isn't left handed and can't use it. And the finger prints? Hey, you can store a micro fiber cloth in the hidden bay, too.

    I'd venture to say that CUE is my favorite in-car tech interface. The magic dash display is trick, I think only the Lexus LFA beat them to it.

    Gimme AWD, CUE, and that panoramic moonroof.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/In-Gear/2012/0922/Failure-Hardly.-Chevy-Volt-o- utsells-half-of-all-US-cars

    Then there are the several hybrids it beat, including the Lexus RX 400h and CT 200h, and the Toyota Highlander Hybrid.

    Even more impressive, it beat every single hybrid model sold by BMW, Cadillac, Ford, Honda, Kia, GMC, Infiniti, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and Volkswagen.

    The only hybrids it didn't outsell, in fact, were the Toyota Prius, the Toyota Camry Hybrid, and the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid.
  • bpizzutibpizzuti Member Posts: 2,743
    So it outsold all but the popular hybrids? :shades:

    Seriously, Honda isn't all that serious about hybrids, GM is getting out of hybrid trucks, Lincoln in itself is a laugh, and Porsche is not exactly a volume seller here.

    If you read the entire article....

    And granted, some of the cars outsold by the Volt are predictably low-volume models. No one expects expensive sports cars like the Nissan GT-R (849) or the Lexus LFA (29) to do better than the Volt.

    Moreover, GM executives made rash projections of the number of Volts they planned to sell in 2011 (15,000) and 2012 (45,000) they they've now had to walk back.


    Plus there is no mention of whether GM is making money on these Volts or losing our shirts (yes, ours, given that we own a portion of GM). I could sell a million cars right now if I sell them for $9.99 apiece. I'll also be bankrupt within a year, but hey, look at those sales numbers!
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Actually I was surprised it outsold the Escape hybrid. Those seem to be everywhere.

    Fusion hybrid, too.
  • bpizzutibpizzuti Member Posts: 2,743
    The 2013 Escape doesn't have a hybrid version, so I'm not surprised.

    I don't know what sort of mix Ford builds with the Fusion, but its probably less than Camry hybrids.
  • circlewcirclew Member Posts: 8,666
    The Volt is blowing the Leaf out of the trees! ;)

    Volt sales YTD = 13,497
    Leaf sales YTD = 4,228

    Not ever going to catch up! ;)

    Now Prius sales:

    Prius Sales YTD (not including the C or the V) = 164,408 :blush:

    As mentioned, Toyota has gotten GM-Disease and also GM is "Re-Call King of ALL Time". :shades:

    Regards,
    OW
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,857
    GM is "Re-Call King of ALL Time

    With thinking like that--talking about 'since 1966'--I'll start saying that GM is the "sales king of all time".
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • circlewcirclew Member Posts: 8,666
    edited September 2012
    With thinking like that--talking about 'since 1966'--I'll start saying that GM is the "sales king of all time".

    You are probably correct if the world ended in 1970. But we go on!

    1 out of 4 cars produced in the world comes from China.

    China was the world’s third-largest car market in 2006, as car sales in China soared by nearly 40% to 4.1 million units. Soon thereafter, China took the lead and became the world’s first-largest car market, as low vehicle penetration, rising incomes, greater credit availability and falling car prices lift sales past those of Japan. Furthermore, vehicle penetration in China still stands at only about 40 vehicles per 1,000 people, compared with approximately 700 vehicles per 1,000 people in the mature markets of the G7.


    BTW, Hyunkia is also getting GM-Disease (like Toyata did) but they are in early stages. Now, they sell every car they produce (unlike GM that has industry-leading high inventory) BUT they are raising their prices which will lead to the GM spiral of Death. :)

    Regards,
    OW
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited September 2012
    From a shirtsleeve estimate, Hyundai drivers appear to be unable to consistently hit the EPA mileage estimates in the real world (at a higher percentage than other makes) and it seems to me that there's been some push back for that reason. Probably just for repeat customers.

    Meanwhile the Chinese economy is dragging which sounds beneficial for the US but it's going to hammer GM's income flow. The EU's economic problems aren't helping their bottom line any either.

    The Chinese economy paragraph is number two on the top ten list of how to bash GM. The EU is number four. :shades:

    How To Bash GM - A Primer (seekingalpha.com)
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Absolutely hysterical. It reads like Fox News' playbook. :D
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,671
    Tried the Malibu out for size last evening. I placed the front seat in an appropriate driving position for myself. Then I checked the knee room in the rear seat. It felt adequate. It wasn't expansion like the LaCrosse, which reminded me of the PA or even the Sedan.

    A factor in the front seat position is that the steering column now telescopes as well as tilts. That's a new feature to me. It makes it easier to get a position for the power seat, pedals, and the steering wheel that fit me. Nice. Very nice.

    The styling looks nice in the white car on the showroom floor. White shows off the good and the bad in style.

    The visual image that the rear seat room is short is impacted by the long, long distance back that the front seats would move on their track. So a car that had been left with the seat back after cleaning or removing plastic would appear to have even shorter knee room that it does.

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Searching...Summit White, or White Diamong Tricoat?

    I think my next car might be a pearlescent white.
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,671
    >I only use one hand signal,

    Is that a signal using the whole hand? ;)

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,671
    Summit White. It was not one of the premium paints. I like the premium pearlescent colors because they accent the shading on the contours on a car.

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Pearl all the way for me.

    I once had a white car, no clear coat, and it was pretty bad about showing stains from wet leaves and such.

    Not sure I'd go white again unless it was a real knock-out pearlescent one.
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,671
    White may be as hard to keep clean as black can be.

    >knockout pearlescent one...

    I see several Miatas in this area and a few other sporty cars that have had a paint layer applied that gives an iridescent color which changes according to the angle at which it's viewed.

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Crystal White was the worst color you could get on an NA Miata. I bought used so it's not like I got to pick.

    Navy blue is almost like black.

    Then again I complain, but I would never want a beige car, even most silvers bore me.

    Ford had some wild color-changing paint. At my old house the guy across the street had a Mustang Cobra in that purple/green color. Not my cup of tea, but it was a true chameleon.
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,671
    This is the kind of iridescence some have had put on as a custom after market layer...

    image

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Holy wheel gap, Batman!

    Looks like it has a 2" lift.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,022
    Navy blue is almost like black.

    Yeah, tell me about it! The "Nightwatch" blue on my '79 NYer looks great right after it's washed. But then looks dirty about 15 minutes later!

    I think beiges/cream/creamy yellow hide dirt pretty well, but one of the best colors, I've noticed, is the "Driftwood", "Sandstone", or whatever they call the light champagne/brown on my 2000 Park Ave.

    One thing I've noticed about white, from having a white '68 Dart for 16 years (17 1/2 actually, but for the first year and a half it was primer-black), is that it doesn't really scream "dirty", but it just sort of loses its luster, and turns to kind of a washed-out gray.

    I swore I'd never get another white car, mainly because of having that Dart for so long, plus my stepdad usually tended toward white cars (Mom's been having more say in the color lately though). But then, I went out and bought a white Ram. Hardly my first color choice, but they don't exactly have a Crayola-64 color palette these days!

    I also tried to swear off silver and gray, after having had a silver Intrepid for 10 years, a silver Gran Fury for a few years before that, a 2-tone gray/silver Monte Carlo, and a gray '85 LeSabre. But, before I bought this white truck, I had been thinking about a silver one down in Waldorf, but it sold by the time I called about it.

    My first color choice would be green, but I don't think that's too high on the popularity charts these days.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I like blue but I've burned out, as you did with silver.

    Next car might also be nice red. With most enforcement coming from speed and red light cams nowadays, I don't think it has the same disadvantages it had when you used to get picked out of a crowd and pulled over.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Near tie, not bad for a pre-production Caddy.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tq__8kTTbBA

    If you watch he actually prefers the Caddy. If they sort out the shifter, which could just be a pre-production issue, sounds like he'd pick the ATS.
  • bpizzutibpizzuti Member Posts: 2,743
    I'm hoping my next car will be a nice black metallic, though I'd settle for a navy blue metallic. I'm greyed out myself, every car I've owned except for two have been some shade of grey, and one of THOSE was beige, hardly an improvement.

    The other one was a nice red metallic, and while I loved it, it might have stuck out just a BIT too much.
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    White is much easier to care for than black! I had a 2002 Cadillac Seville STS in White Diamond and my 2005 Mercury Grand Maquis is a "refrigerator white." Both are much easier to keep clean than my black 2007 Cadillac DTS.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 26,022
    I think I'm a bit burned out on red, too. Not because I've had a bunch of cars with them, but that they've been with me for a long, long time. It was about 22 years ago that I bought my red and white '57 DeSoto. And while I've only had my red and white '85 Silverado for about 10 years, my Granddad bought it brand-new over the summer, so it's been in my life for 27 years! My '76 LeMans is more burgundy than red (although it's original color was "Firethorne", a metallic red), and I've had it for over 7 years now.

    I really like some of these brighter, bolder blues they've been coming out with. Plus, the more pastel, frosty hues, like what's popped up on the Cruze.
  • tjc78tjc78 Member Posts: 16,942
    Both are much easier to keep clean than my black 2007 Cadillac DTS.

    My LaCrosse is black. Buick calls it Carbon Black, it has a little "shimmer" to it. Its not as bad a pure black but still a b***h to keep clean.

    First and last black car I can tell you that!

    2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic

  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    http://www.autoblog.com/2012/09/27/opel-adam-paris-2012/

    Cute, but with Beetle, Cooper, Fiat 500, and Scion iQ, you have to think the segment is too small for yet another one of these in the USA.
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