9th Nov 2008, 17:27

Domestic trucks don't last? Tell that to these owners with 1 million miles on their trucks and the original engines and transmissions:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_Ou5vRTW90

http://www.knfilters.com/news/news.aspx?ID=157

http://everyjoe.com/work/frank-oresniks-million-mile-chevy-silverado-for-sale-on-ebay/?utm_source=everyjoe&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=b5hubs_migration

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/02/04/another-million-mile-vehicle-97-ford-e-250-set-to-roll-its-odo/

9th Nov 2008, 20:24

22:50 since the number 1 spot is how you perceive best quality, then explain how GM has held the number 1 worldwide sales spot for over 76 years? 6.7 million vehicles compared to 7.05 million vehicles in 2008; is this the wide gap you are mentioning?

Why not double the Toyota warranty based on how superior the logic of needing no service to 300,000 miles? Wouldn't cost more, or would it?

One mechanical failure out of pocket on your next vehicle purchase, say $4-5,000, may quickly change your viewpoint on warranties. Feel lucky this has evaded you so far.

I also feel badly when someone works very hard, maintains a vehicle and then gets a major mechanical issue at low miles. If it were not for this very issue, there would be another new Japanese sedan in our driveway.

Why offer zero financing on new imports to stimulate sales? Toyota recent sales are down 32% from a year ago. How come the G6, Aura, Malibu sales are higher than the Camry? With increased production, quality better remain or customer retention will likely lose many of us. You can have new customers, but some of us have bought many new cars and are only loyal to a point.

I know some diehard import owners refuse to believe in consumeraffairs.com, but it's there for a reason. I also believe in Carfax including "new" vehicles with more than a handful of miles on the clock. I also believe in driving more than 1 brand and comparing them. I'll do it again and buy on more than a name, only it has to have great drivability, features, benefits and a decent warranty on as much as vehicles cost today. Everyone should have the same warranty, what's the big deal? It was a big factor in keeping us and buying a new vehicle again.

10th Nov 2008, 12:15

"I know where the money goes when I buy a Toyota. Overseas"

This is sad. The commenter must be one of the very few Americans NOT affected in some way by our current economic crisis. At this time, with my job prospects very uncertain and many of my friends and neighbors out of work, there is simply no way I could justify the destruction of an industry that employees over 12 million Americans. If the U.S. auto industry should fail, we would be facing a crisis on a par with the great depression of the 30's... LITERALLY. Even if imports were BETTER than domestic vehicles (and there is evidence to the contrary) I could never justify buying one at this time.

To be willing to destroy the U.S. economy, as well as do serious damage to the world economy, just to hold onto an ingrained prejudice based on one bad experience with a 20-year old used domestic vehicle is not easily justified. What good will your Toyotas, Hondas and Nissans be to you if we cannot afford to keep roads repaired to drive them on or if we are unable to work and can't buy gas?

Every 7-Series BMW purchased is equal to one year's income for an American auto worker. Every Camry or Accord is equal to the yearly income of the average employee of an auto parts store or jobber. I WON'T be sending my money overseas. It will stay right here where it can benefit me, my friends and my neighbors.

10th Nov 2008, 22:27

12:17 You misunderstand. I didn't make your point, I proved it untrue. I made my point.

Here's another way to look at it: I see two cars on a sales lot, close in price, a GM and a Toyota, sitting next to each other, and I'm going to buy one... why would I buy the Toyota with the shorter warranty instead of the GM? Because I know that the Toyota is the far better car, and while GM may have the longer warranty, I'd rather just buy the car the will get me to work every single day and NOT have to worry about towing my GM, with the long warranty, to the garage.

And this is what is happening in reality. Toyota and Honda cars are THE top sellers in the United States. Have been for about a decade and a half, and will continue to be. With a shorter warranty period. Because people want a good car, not a warrantied piece of junk.

11th Nov 2008, 07:52

12:15 Your 'patriotic' pleas don't mean much. First, the auto industry comprising only a very small (tiny) part of the U.S. economy. GM going under isn't going to collapse the U.S. economy. If you want to buy that crap, feel free. And if GM were so high and mighty, they wouldn't be building cars overseas (like the Korean Aveo as just one example) when they could be employing American labor.

Second, if GM were to actually build a decent vehicle, people might buy them right here in America and not be forced to look to Japanese automobiles to find something of quality.

As somebody who goes to work everyday and contributes to the economy, my paycheck is hard earned. And in those times every several years when I shop for a vehicle, I'm spending my money on the best product I can get my hands on for the money. And it's never a Ford, GM, or Dodge when I can buy a much better Honda, Toyota, Nissan or Hyundai. Many years of driving experience have proven this to me. I know which ones are built right and which ones are built cheaply. And which ones cost me money and break down and which don't. My Toyota's never broke down. All my domestics did. Repeatedly.

11th Nov 2008, 10:39

GM's problems are complex. In many ways, it comes from decades of running a company with bloated upper management and totally inefficient systems developed back in the industrial age when doing business in the US was totally different. I also agree that they have way too many brands and do way too much badge engineering. They also seem to have a talent for coming out with the totally wrong types of vehicles at the wrong time - like bringing out crossovers and advertising the heck out of them during the fuel crisis.

The second part is that they simply built sub-par cars and trucks for years on end. They had no reason to improve because their sales were still very good. The SUV/Truck craze gave them even less incentive to improve.

A good analogy would be Budweiser. Their beer is bland, tasteless, and cheap. Nobody drinks it because the stuff is "good". They drink it because it is cheap and simply sufficient. Then comes all the small microbreweries. At first they didn't care. They were still the biggest/baddest beer company on the planet. But slowly and surely, companies like Fat Tire, Sierra Nevada, and Sam Adams grew and became popular with primarily younger, more demanding Americans. Sure - good ole' Dad might still drink nothing but Budweiser, but the the future generation hates the stuff. Hence Budweiser is losing sales and as of last night, I saw their new "American Ale" on TV, which like GM - is a simply a catch-up product that they should've come out with years ago. Now they simply look like a cheap imitator and the younger generation will heed them no attention.

The story of GM is like a lot of older companies. They grew into a sleepy dinosaur, and ignored the changes happening around them. But despite this, I wish them luck. They are part of our national identity, and the sooner they can get back on track, the better.