Modern GM Interiors

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

GM used to be number one by a long shot. Oh, and GM used to own Isuzu, but had to sell off much of it's share to pay it's mounting losses. The only thing in GM that makes money some years is the financial division ( GMAC) which owns the mortgage company Homecomings Financial. Expect that profitability to disappear now too as the B/C credit borrowers they catered to default on their loans. I know that when I was considering a new car, no American car company was on my shopping list. The cars are too ugly and unreliable. Many people feel that way, and so the market swings more to Toyota, Honda and Nissan ( Renault) and away from GM, Ford and the horror that is Chrysler.

 

[srercrcr]

Maybe you missed my point......you better spend your money here, otherwise YOUR job will be threatened.

 

[Munkey B]

i've owned more mopars than i count. old/new. i can say this.
the newer versions i've owned have all been incredible vehicles. the only exception is my current Cherokee. i've replaced more things on this vehicle than i have the last 4. before the jeep, i owned 2 ford trucks (only fords i've owned) and they were better than the jeep but not the mopars.

my personal opinion is that i will never own a foreign vehicle.
one of these days the big 3 will realize that it's not how many vehicles you sell that make you a success. it's the quality. sure, this will eat at your bottom line but you will retain a life long customer. so in essence, you will still get that money, just farther down the road.

the big 3 are crazy for having or even using a "days supply" of vehicles.
they should also require their suppliers to have higher standards in the parts they supply.
most of the items that are going bad on vehicles are not built by gm/chrysler/ford but an outside company.
we as americans need to take more pride in our work.

 

[Tony_SS]

Maybe you missed my point......you better spend your money here, otherwise YOUR job will be threatened.

I 100% agree. I will go completely out of my way to buy an American made product. And the only way I would consider buying a foreign car was if it was in fact made here. As Americans we need to support our labor force.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

My Nissan WAS made here, at the New Smyrna Tennessee plant, as were both of my Sentras. Japanese market Honda Accords are built in Ohio and shipped to Japan, Hyundai's are made in Alabama, etc. Most Japanese brand cars come from local factories, not Japan no matter what country you live in. They have factories in Africa, South America, Europe, Australia, etc. to make their cars for those markets. The best thing is none of the workers belong to some filthy Marxist union, and the quality is better. Plus, my job is in no way threatened by foreign imports. I am a pizza delivery driver. So, I need quality, low price and low operating costs. I have said it before and I will say it again; If American companies want my business, they will not renew their union contracts, and move all of their factories to right to work states then blacklist their old workers. Seeing the death of the UAW or the AFL CIO would make me very happy.

 

[Munkey B]

i agree, in todays day and age, unions are worthless. during the early to mid 1900's i can see their usefulness. today there are so many laws governing the job market, i can't see the true purpose of unions.
from what i've seen ALOT of people like to try and hide behind a union.
their in business to make money just like any other, regardless of what they would like you to believe.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Big Labor, Big Business, Big Government, Environmentalists, etc. are all things to be feared. None of them has your best interest at heart. The only one you can trust is yourself.

 

[HFX]

most of the items that are going bad on vehicles are not built by gm/chrysler/ford but an outside company.

This has been the problem with American cars for a long time.

 

[dougfather]

most of the items that are going bad on vehicles are not built by gm/chrysler/ford but an outside company.

This has been the problem with American cars for a long time.

The truth is fewer and fewer parts are being made by the respective manufacturer of a car. This is called a "global supply chain". I work for an electronics company with an Electrical Engineering degree, but I do mostly supply chain management these days (I have my APICS CSCP certification). I see this all the time. Parts that do not make brand differentiation can, and in most cases should, be outsourced to a third party, foreign or domestic. The scale of economies and pricing pressure require this to happen.

Case and point, what did GM F-Body and Ford Fox body have for a 5 speed? The Borg Warner T5!!! Pop the hood of a Toyota and Chrysler and you will find a compressor from Sanden. The Mazda 6 and Ford Fusion share the same Duratec V6. New Venture supplies transfer cases to GM and Chrysler, and possibly others. Aisin-Warner AW4 automatic was in Jeeps and Toyotas. AMC, I won't even go there. I'm sure there are many more. I'm just surprised no one got together to make a standard radio (well, the Japanese cars were at one time).

As for the American vs Foreign, what does that mean anymore? That line is so blurred. So what is a Chevy Aveo, has an American name, built in S. Korea? Ford Fusion, built in Mexico, with US and foreign parts? The Saturn Astra, built in Belgium? Toyota Tacoma, made in Texas? Pontiac G8, built in Australia? Go a step further and look at the country of origin of all the parts. "Japanese" brands even use some US, Canadian, and Mexican suppliers. On certain models, the "Japanese" brands employ more American works directly and indirectly than some "American" models.

Some Japanese brands still come from Japan. Usually the smaller cars that have been traditionally less popular here. If they do become popular in the US, then oftentimes a factory is setup to build them here. The Toyota Prius is one such case.

As for pride in work, all I will say is that if Americans were truly worthless and lazy, the Japanese would have never bothered building plants here. Where is the UAW in a Honda, Toyota or Nissan plant? Why don't those workers want to unionize?

 

[Uncletruck]

My Toyota Tacoma was built by Americans in California. It has an engine and transmission sourced from Japan. It is a combination of things with the big 3 that are the problem- management being number 1, the UAW being number 2, too much global sourcing from poor suppliers being number 3, and so on. GM, Ford, and Chrysler sold off their parts divisions because they had to, those divisions needed to sell on the global market to be competitive. American Axle, Visteon, Lear, Delco, Motorcraft, Harrison Radiator, among many others used to be divisions of the big 3 but no more. If a manufacturer doesn't keep a close eye on the quality levels from is suppliers or specify quality parts to begin with, the resulting cars will be junk. All manufacturers source parts from the global market, the assembly plants move those parts to the lines and assemble the cars just like giant model kits. The Japanese found the keys to quality assembly with precision made parts and dedication to quality assembly.

-UT-