18th Jun 2009, 17:35
" (really need to mass produce a 425 hp 40,000 dollar CAMARO right now??? to take just one example) "
No, they don't NEED to, but with over 22,000 of them pre-sold at prices up to $10,000 OVER invoice it WILL help their bottom line and the profits of struggling dealers. High interest cars bring high dollars. A friend of mine at a Ford dealership recently told me that they had sold one Mustang GT500 at $12,000 over invoice. When the more sensibly priced and more fuel-efficient Camaro V-6 goes on sale in the $20,000 range my guess is that Chevy will have a runaway hit on their hands.
As for GM quality, it is good... VERY good. The Buick has toppled Lexus from its lofty perch atop the J.D. Powers list in customer satisfaction, the Corvette outranks European sports cars costing 4 times as much, and the Cadillac CTS is the fastest production sedan on the planet. It is also a VERY high quality, well-built car.
We greatly prefer domestics for their greater reliability and higher build quality. We currently own a 9-year-old Pontiac and a 7-year-old GMC SUV. Both could pass for new, and the only repair either has required is a headlight bulb. We also own a Mustang and a Fusion. The Fusion is INCREDIBLY well built (much more so than the Mustang). Neither Ford has ever required a single repair.
I think we should be proud of the accomplishments of Ford and GM in recent years. I would take a GM or Ford product over a BMW or Mercedes any day (and my family has had those brands as well).
10th Aug 2009, 15:02
"At this moment every car company in the world is looking at bankruptcy."
No, only Ford, GM, and Chrysler are looking at bankruptcy. And GM and Chrysler did go bankrupt. Honda and Toyota are doing just fine, probably because they build quality vehicles and don't overpay their executives.
24th Sep 2009, 15:15
I want to get a hold of the person who left that comment on 4/1/09 regarding CTS engine blowing up. About a month ago... the SAME thing happened to me with my 2006 CTS. And they told me the same things about the oil level. That's BS! I am now fighting with GM to cover it. Did you get your car fixed?
11th Jun 2009, 09:59
QUOTE: "And the Pontiac division would require a whole other book to be written to document its ridiculous designs, subpar build qualities, and poor reliability."
^ Two more recent cars under the Pontiac division that I drove that I felt did NOT have those qualities (although not everyone felt their styling was inspired enough) were the newer GTO and the new G8. But ironically both of them are actually Australian-designed & built, and therefore one can sense a good dose more 'Euro' in their interiors & overall feel -- far different from, say, a Grand Prix or a Vibe or that downright silly Aztek.