PolarBear
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Posts posted by PolarBear
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good question!!
mine is:
HOW ABOUT REFUNDS FOR PEOPLE WHO BOUGHT ONE YESTERDAY?
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LAST WEEK?
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LAST MONTH?
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LAST YEAR?
Some of the cars involved are 6 years old. How long has Toyota actually known about this problem? I'm convinced they would have covered it up like any other problem they've had if people hadn't have been killed, and they hadn't have known the Feds weren't far behind.
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Victims of the Depression:
Pierce-Arrow (d. 1938), Stutz (d. 1935), and Duesenberg (d.1937) were the ne plus ultra of American luxury and the Depression killed all three of them.
Actually, Packard and Duesenberg remained profitable through the Depression. One of the Duesenberg brothers died, and it literally took the wind out of the surviving brother- he shut the operation down.
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Depends who you ask. I had a '05 F150 and a '03 Expy with the 5.4, and I thought both were slugs off the line- although they were fine once they were rolling. I suspect this is transmission gearing, since the '08 Expy (6-spd) doesn't give this impression at all.
I remember going to a Chevy ride-and-drive a few years ago, and they were running a then-new '07 Tahoe against a '07 Expedition. The Tahoe smoked it off the line, but the Expy quickly caught up. Factually, they were about equal, but the Expy sure didn't "feel" like it was.
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Current:
In-laws.
'06 Ford E150 Club Wagon. 34K miles, zero issues. Replaced a:
'97 Ford Crown Victoria. 89K miles, zero issues. Officially daughter's DD.
Our Family:
me: '01 Mercury Grand Marquis. 151,000 miles, nothing but routine maintenance and wear-out items. Had a '98 prior to this one that I sold with 130K on it- same story.
wifey: '08 Ford Expedition EL. 31K miles. Too soon to tell on this one, but seems much more buttoned-down than our prior '03. This is turning into daughters de facto DD.
(We don't really mind having a new driver with 6,000 lbs. of Ford wrapped around her).Son: '06 Ranger S/C 4X4. 94K miles. This truck has been to hell and back- multiple times. Wheelin' rig, tow rig, work rig- does it all without complaint. Has gone through 3 clutches, four sets of brakes, and three sets of tires, which should give an indication of the type of usage it gets.
Honorable mention: my '93 F150 S/C 4X4. Put 232,000 miles on this truck with minimal issues. When sold, everything worked, original powertrain, drove great. Best anything I've ever owned- shouldn't have ever sold it.
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I don't think Ford needs to be embarassed with #6. I'd like to see a model breakdown- I'd be willing to bet a beer the F150 scores higher than any of the German models.
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Good review!
Where I see Toyota's major challenges is in the SUV segments. They're offering... what... 8 different SUV models? Hell, they're filling niches that don't even exist. If you look at the sales numbers, only two of them actually are working on the showrooms (Rav4 and Highlander). The 4Runner slots between the (slightly) larger and more expensive Sequoia and the (slightly) smaller Highlander crossover. It's a truck- true- but based on Tacoma sales numbers, it appears that Toyota customers that want a truck actually buy one. Also of interest is the Taco sales numbers vs. the Tundra. It's pretty clear full-size truck buyers aren't shopping at the local Toyota store.
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Does it come with zip-ties and duct tape for the floor mats? :shades:
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The Sport/GT/Pony cars will have to live with the I4/I6/V-6 world soon. The V-8s will be limited productions in the car world and as such, that "brand" of cars will will not be the core product.
Everyone that owns a 911 or a Boxster is not a snob. :shades: They are a consumer that buys real performance and balance handling with clout.
It would be nice to see more Mustangs in the $1 million neighborhoods instead of the trailer parks. :shades: That is the consumer Ford should go after.
Boxster buyers may not all be snobs, but the Boxster should be re-named the "Chickster." It's what you buy your wife or S/O when she sez she wants a Porsche.
re: Genesis Coupe. Nice car. Who'd have believed Hyundai would build the successor to the Supra? BUT- I strongly suspect those buyers and Mustang buyers aren't the same crowd- or demographic. If Toyota's past experience still holds true, the real Supra market is when the cars are about 5 yrs old and can be bought used for a reasonable amount of money, then modded. Remember Toyota dropped the Supra because they couldn't give those mothertruckers away when they were new.
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The Taurus isn't competing against an Accord or Camry. It's lined up directly against the Avalon in price, though it's significantly bigger.
True- but that segment isn't where the volume is. My guess is Ford's trying to draw from two buyer pools: Honda/Toyota buyers moving up, and Euro-sled owners looking to move down (it's the economy stupid) but keep the sacrifices to a minimum.
BTW- I saw my first '10 Taurus the other day on the road. It's got eyeball, and got the looks in our "oh-so-jaded" import market.
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In all of the good posts, someone forgot one important point- Cadillac is still the top seller in the over $50,000 luxury car market in the US. Lexus, BMW, and even Mercedes are strongest at the lowest ends of their model ranges.
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Taurus base price for an SE starts at $25,170, and I believe it goes up to $38k+ for a SHO. That's looking like "upscale" territory for me!
And as I stated before, a Ford engineer I know that's VERY close to the small car programs confirmed reports I've seen online that the Focus is moving upscale (within reason), and the Fiesta will take over the bottom rung.
-Ovaltine
That is upscale pricing. I'll be interested, especially from a Left-Coast perspective, to see how the new Taurus sells, for two reasons. 1) This is import territory and 2) the majority of Camry's and Accord's are sold as base 4 cyl models. Be interesting to see how many of those owners "move up" to a Taurus.
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sniff sniff. I smell a "more bailout money" play.
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The Corvette was never really that affordable. It was always a relatively pricy car. My dad's '69 Stingray was $4900 new, and that wasn't even optioned out with a big block or things like A/C and power steering. That was about 30-40% more than most V8 Mustangs and Camaros available at the time -- a ratio that holds pretty steady to today.
Just as it was when it came out 50+ years ago, the Corvette can still kick the crap out of almost anything from Europe for far less money. Try picking up a new Ferrari or Maserati for under $60K.
Exactly right. Back in the day, a $5,000 Corvette could kick the crap out of a $17,000 Ferarri 365GTB. Today, you have to spend many times the $100,000 sticker price of a ZR-1 to get something with comparable performance.
And to answer the question- I can't imagine GM without Pontiac. Of course, I couldn't imagine them without Oldsmobile either- amazing how things slid downhill.
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Yeah, but the interior enhancements and powertrain improvements have made these vehicles competitive again. The exterior may not be all that different but the designs have aged well.
For looks, yes. but their reliability still sux bigtime. I'm soooo glad Ford got out of this mess (and Jaguar).
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Anyone else old enough to remember Buick's Opel line in the 60's and 70's? It has been done before... didn't work any better that time either.
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The EU is allegedly backing a much bigger financial package for Opel. BUT Opel have been told that to qualify not a cent must go to the US parent company. In addition any money GM took out of Opel must be repaid in full. I believe the Germans think GM owe Opel 2 billion dollars.
The thinking is that the German Gov't is planning a takeover by the back door. In essence they will loan Opel billions of dollars but they will want Opel to provide securities. Then they will insist on getting the 2 billion dollars back. If GM is unable to pay up the Germans government will seize control of Opel and probably flog it to BMW or Daimler who both need to reduce their co2 emmisions across their range of cars. It's unusual for the EU to back state aid, it's even against their own rules. But the EU apparantly wants to "protect strong companies" like Opel (by making them European). So you see the political pieces are being manouvered into position now....
Actually, it's not unusual at all. Every major European manufacturer except Daimler Benz has been rescued at one point in time or other by their respective governments. Renault, VW, BMW... among others... would have been history long ago if they hadn't have been rescued. To this day, their manufacturers get preferential tax and loan treatment, not to mention government funded pensions and healthcare plans.
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This is a riot:
"Look for the classic truck-based sport-utility vehicle to completely vanish from the American landscape over the next 24 to 36 months. — Paul Lienert, Correspondent"
... even though GM will sell close to 250,000 of them this year, in this miserable market climate. You bet- real brain-trust there.
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Or... GM joins the "too big to fail club" the .gov seems to be forming right now. GE and AIG are already in it, outside of the usual financial-related suspects. Why not a car company too? Serious.
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Just bumping for any updates.
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The report's correct, but we're talking medium-duty trucks (Kodiak's and Topkicks), not Silverado's.
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If the little Aveo only gets 34 mpg, how the hell is the bigger Cruz going to get over 40mpg. I don't get it. A 6 speed auto gives you about 7% better gas mileage and a more areodynamic shape maybe 5%. GM must be going to a very small displacement engine to have any chance for 40mpg. The Yaris and Fit get nowhere near 40mpg, and the new Fiesta is reputed to get 39mpg maybe. The Cruz is a C segment vehicle, not a B segment vehicle like the Fiesta. GM is making a big claim and I hope they can back it up when the Cruz does come out.
Supposed to have a 1.4L direct-injection turbo. The Cobalt's already at 37 hwy EPA (better than the Aveo, actually), so 40 shouldn't be that hard a target to hit.
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The WSJ is now reporting that GM and Ford are effectively quitting leasing at least trucks and SUVS by making payments "depreciation proof"...meaning that they'll be so high that most people won't do it.
I see this as straw that break's GM and forces them into bankruptcy. 40% of their sales are leases. Apparently only 20% of Fords are so maybe Ford can weather the storm. What this is REALLY saying, however, is that much (most?) of GM (and to a lesser extent Ford's) product is now obsolete. They are depreciation monsters that the free market can no longer support thru leasing (the manufacturer takes the almost-sure hit in 3-4 years) or buying (the consumer takes the hit).
No, I do not get enjoyment out of seeing the demise of the US auto industry. I am SOMEWHAT ambivalent, however, because they've had 30 years to establish a reputation for quality in small cars AS WELL AS IN TRUCKS (where quality is excellent but they're now obsolete) but never really took the small car market seriously. The irony is that there ARE some good products now from the Big 3 in the small car department, but TOY/HON are eating that lunch since they built an entire reputation on that while Americans remember Vega/Pinto and even Contour/Mystake. But I get no enjoyment, yet I do predict that Chrysler or GM will soon be forced to Chapter 11. The end of the easy lease means the end of volume sales.
I don't see where you're getting "40% of GM sales are leases." The numbers I get internally are more like 15%. :shades: In any event, even BMW is writing down 100's of millions because of lease-loss reserve, so this problem isn't unique to the domestic brands.
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Very interesting, eh?
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Recently read in USAToday that Hyundai only accounts for 4% of total U.S. automobile sales. I find that so hard to believe because I see so many of them around here. For example: I work in a hospital where we have a huge four level parking deck. There are so many Hyundai and Kia products there that it is looking strange. There always appears to be quite a bit of inventory turning over at the two local stores here (1 for each). The roads are really loaded with them. So if they sell just 4%, how does it appear to be so much more? Year to date sales:236,500
Think regional here. Their market share on the West Coast is much higher than 4%, ditto the East Coast.
Weakest car you ever owned
in Ford Motor Company Discussion Forum
Posted
'74 Chevy Vega
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