26th Mar 2007, 19:14
16:14 That's pretty funny! How hard is it to be in the top 5 automakers when there are about 6 that are competitive?
Listen up; whether you like it or not, the fact is that the "Big 3" (ha ha) are on their way out. Yeah, they still do sell a lot of cars, but Toyota and Honda are stomping them senseless. It takes a while to bring companies that large to their knees, but really it's happening fast.
I have a couple of friends that work at the GM Lordstown, OH plant that tell me what goes on there. You wouldn't drive one if you knew the truth.
And Ford? How many years can you lose almost THIRTEEN BILLION (YES: BILLION) dollars and still survive?! Not too many. You can talk about Toyota and Honda all you want, nobody cares. Those of us that drive them know we drive the best, and all of your hot air won't save GM or Ford. They made too much garbage, and now the consumers are making them pay the price.
26th Mar 2007, 19:20
Just check out the latest Ford Fusion review (it was posted today) if you want the REAL story on what smart drivers are buying. The review is titled "What a REAL CAR should be" and is written by a FORMER CAMRY OWNER no less!!! I LOVE IT!!
26th Mar 2007, 20:07
14:49 I buy a vehicle based on personal experience... I was a diehard import owner until I got socked in the wallet, Since 2004 I have had better luck with higher end domestics. Ranting and raving over politics, unions etc. is not addressing the first hand ownership with late models. The bottom line is what you have to spend out of your own pocket. Take a good look at various late model import reviews throughout this site and tell us if the majority of import vehicles are mechanically superior to those 10 plus years ago? I know as I owned them. Maybe I got a batch of lemons lately, but I switched. I have owned a lot of vehicles every few years more than one at a time. You get a good feel on repair expenditures over time.
27th Mar 2007, 08:39
No, actually those people didn't want them. The people that buy American cars these days buy ONLY on price, not on quality or any other feature. JUST PRICE. They view cars as disposable appliances, which is the way the American manufacturers have taught them.
GM, Ford, and Chrysler continue to severely lose market share, and only severe discounting keeps them from not selling at all.
27th Mar 2007, 08:41
The Camry is the best selling car for a reason and its because of the great quality.
Anyway I am sick of Ford trying to get sales by waving the American flag and sucker in all those patriotic folks. Ford has ripped off people for many years, and offered inferior products, and now they want the public to bail them out. Good luck with that Bill Ford Jr.
I have a neighbor who used to work in the Ford plant (he took a buyout) and he told me a bunch of horror stories about what management would do to cut corners on production, and after seeing all the things that happened in that plant he is not surprised that Ford is losing all those billions.
27th Mar 2007, 09:00
Yes, what a great thing for all those Mexican workers building the Fusion. Remember, the more Fusions you buy the more American workers are unemployed.
27th Mar 2007, 11:04
FORD makes "too much GARBAGE???" Have you read the 2006 CAMRY reviews??
And TUNDRA?? Well, let's just say Toyota finally decided to bury the problem-plagued first generation DISASTER and come out with one based more on the world class F-150, though still not nearly as well built.
Oh, and don't forget the underpowered, unsafe and totally unreliable HIGHLANDER, with it's sticking accelerators, defective air bags, faulty brakes, bad transmissions and haywire electrical system.
The ONLY remotely reliable vehicle in the Toyota lineup is possibly the overpriced Tacoma, which, at only 7 GRAND more than Ranger is rated ONLY EQUAL in reliability. Of course if a little "T" on the grille is worth an extra 7 grand, go for it.
27th Mar 2007, 16:28
I'd love to be there when the 'What a real car should be' guy is broken down somewhere wishing on a star that he would have kept his Toyota. It'll happen. LOL.
27th Mar 2007, 23:30
Just got word today that Ford is going to lemon law my brothers 2006 Ford Ranger. Built Ford tough!!!
27th Mar 2007, 23:34
Just look at the crash test scores for the Fusion!! They completely cut corners in this respect and now you want to recommend it too many Americans. I'd be safer in a Honda Fit or Civic. Give the NHTSA a whirl and then slug comments at me!!
28th Mar 2007, 08:21
Yeah, I'm waiting for Ford to take the Chrysler route and name its vehicles and features after good ole American things like the Jeep Patriot with Freedom Drive.
28th Mar 2007, 15:44
"No, actually those people didn't want them. "
Uh, okay, so people spent 10's of thousands of dollars on cars they didn't want. I can see it all now: "Let's see, should I pay 30 grand for this beautiful, powerful, comfortable, luxurious Chrysler 300C that I don't really want, or should I jump at the chance to buy this crappy Camry? What to do, what to do?" Right.
28th Mar 2007, 18:57
It's funny that I keep seeing all these "your Ford will break down" comments from Toyota fans, such as comment 16:18 referring to the latest Fusion review. If you'll check out the CAMRY reviews, you'll find that this guy's Camry DID break down... LOTS. That's why he got a reliable Fusion. His previous Taurus made 100,000 miles without a problem, so I hardly think he's worried about problems with the even more reliable Fusion.
In our case, the ONLY car that has ever broken down and left us stranded on the side of the road (TWICE) was a Toyota. Not one of our Fords (we've owned about a dozen) has EVER broken down (nor has any of our GM or Chrysler vehicles).
29th Mar 2007, 08:41
Must be that superior Mexican quality that makes the Fusion so good. Too bad the American Camry can't compete.
29th Mar 2007, 17:24
I'm going to enlighten some of you guys that make up stories about how good Fords are. Here are some actual facts, read this for yourself at consumeraffairs.com:
"Not only are Ford's complaints more frequent that other brands, the complaints are major- ruined engines, disastrous fires and ignition lockups being common".
Also MANY Fords (about a half a million or better, trucks and SUV's) between the years of '97 and '02 have faulty heads on the engines. The threads for the spark plugs are tapped incorrectly, and the Ford motor will actually spit out a spark plug while you are driving it. This has caused MANY fires in Ford vehicles.
Here's a comment from a guy named Bennie Fowler, who happens to be Ford's vice president of quality control;
"One of the hardest things is living down things that may have happened in the past. We have to start by taking one step".
Sounds reassuring doesn't it? Ford's VP OF QUALITY CONTROL is telling you that Ford's suck!
Here's some information for you guys that brag about F-150 sales (from New Car Test Drive);
"The '07 Tundra is simply the smoothest, quietest, most sophisticated truck we've EVER driven".
In case you don't understand, that means better than all the Ford's, too.
And for those Chevy fans that will brag about the Silverado being 'truck of the year' by Car and Driver, I guess you missed the part where the other best SUV's were a Mercedes, 2 Honda's, and a Toyota. So I guess you got beat 3 to 1 there.
And by the way, something else you guys must have missed, Consumer Reports said their latest auto. reliability rankings find overall DOMINATION by Japanese manufacturers.
Oops. Guess you can stop quoting Car and Driver now. The articles about the Ford fires and such went on to say how they were dodging the problem, and waiting for accidents and fatalities to occur before issuing a recall. Watch the video where the Ford truck burns to a crisp because of this.
No one who is capable of doing any simple research such as I have done will buy a Ford or Chevy over a Toyota or Honda. It's that simple. If you want a slightly cheaper vehicle, and are willing to sacrifice reliablity and safety, buy a Ford or Chevy. But don't think that it can compare to any similar style of Toyota or Honda. That's absurd.
26th Mar 2007, 16:14
"GM and Ford's problems stem from the fact NO ONE wants their cars."
Then why do ford and GM still sell millions of vehicles every year? I guess those millions of people didn't want them? Don't tell me about predictions and analysists tell me about the sales numbers. And if you hadn't noticed Ford and GM are still firmly in the top 5 automakers, but that means no one wants them right?