GM, Ford Sales Fall As Asian Brands Gain- : ( guess Mustang is a bust

yahoo ^ | June 1, 6:31 pm ET | Dee-Ann Durbin

[patton]

[Buckeye Battle Cry]

The unions are killing the American auto industry. They take about $3 grand from each car to cover retiree obligations.

In order to compete with the Asian models on price, they must compromise quality. While Asian vehicles have tight finishes and nice interiors, GM and Ford crank out rattle-boxes with cheap plastic interiors that squak and groan over every jot and tittle in the road.

For Ford and GM to provide that level of quality, they will overprice the cars for the market.

AND, when they come up with a winner (T-Bird and that new sport pick-up from Chevy) they WAAAAY overprice them. If they priced the T-Bird at $30 grand instead of $45 grand, they'd still be making them.

[isthisnickcool]

I'd pay full sticker for a Mangnum, 300 or a Charger SRT-8 if I could find any of them. Any SRT-8. But they are just not available yet or they are price gouging on the 300 SRT-8. *sigh*. Supply and demand:)

I drove a Caddy CTS-V but they did not design the rear end correctly and the wheel hop is horrid. But it goes fast once it gets moving. So, I'm going for either the Mercedes C55-AMG or BMW 545i.

[Captain Peter Blood]

I saw the ad they put together with Steve McQueen. I imagine he helped sell a few of those Mustangs.

[isthisnickcool]

Another really hot seller will be the Saturn roadster. It's supposed to be under $25K.

[GreenHornet]

From what I can see, the new Mustang seems to be one of the few bright spots in their lineup (along with their trucks). They should give some serious thought to putting the Aviator concept into production (not the rebadged Explorer that they're selling now, but the concept vehicle they've been showing on this year's auto show circuit).

[danmar]

they are price gouging on the 300 SRT-8. *sigh*. Supply and demand:)

No kidding...I have seen the Moroni's and the Dealer tacks 12-15k on a SRT-8 Charger.They are just coming out for the past 2 Days.
We had a 300C-SRT-8 on the lot for about 30 Minutes....gone!

As a top Tech i get to drive ALL the cars on the lot...let me tell you something...the SRT's ROCKS big time.

[elmer fudd]

It would take some real convincing to get me to try a Chinese car. I've dealt with a lot of their products and unless there's a foreign company supervising the manufacturing their quality control leaves very much to be desired.

Their products still can be a good value if you're willing to take them apart, inspect them and fix the problems, but who in their right mind wants to do that with a new automobile.

[The KG9 Kid]

Chrysler needs to cram a the 425hp version of the Hemi (SRT-8?) into a rear wheel drive Sebring coupe and put a 5 or 6 speed manual in there with it in front of a heavy duty rear end from their truck division out back with 4:56 gears. They should box the frame rigidly with a subconnector.

Then, they need to strip all options from the car -- radio delete, convenience package delete, sound deadening, etc. -- except for traction control and a cold-air induction box mounted behind a functional 'Air Grabber' scoop.

Lastly, they need to market it as the 'Hemi GTS' with two unique paint options exclusive to the model: Nuclear Fireball Orange and Petty Blue.

Result: 12.10@121mph in the 1/4 mile.

[HitmanLV]

Still I find it funny that they were trying to convince me that $33,000 was cheap for some kind of tricked out truck. That's more than my second house cost! And twice as much as my first.

Yea, and VJ Day sure was one big party, too. ;-)

[isthisnickcool]

You have seen SRT-8 Chargers? The dealers locally don't seem to have a clue when they are coming in. One told me later this year. I've found out one thing, usually the people selling the cars don't know anything about them. As far as the Chrysler/Dodge dealerships.

Like I said, I'd like to buy any of the SRT-8's. Preferably $1,000 over sticker but that isn't going to happen. I'd pay the Moroni but not over it.

The Bimmer 545i and the C55-AMG are awesome but for the price of one of those I should be able to get any of the SRT-8's and have a lot of change left over.

I have to admit. I'm a car nut.

[isthisnickcool]

Correction: $1,000 over INVOICE. Not sticker.

[RonDog]

I saw the ad they put together with Steve McQueen.

Click HERE:

www.fordvehicles.com/cars/mustang/launch/

Choose connection speed...

Then click Gallery, and then click VIDEO gallery...

Then click VISIT video gallery.

[isthisnickcool]

Great idea! You should see one of my GM SUV's. Cold air, cat back, etc.

[danmar]

You have seen SRT-8 Chargers? >

No, I have driven them and they are awesome.
As a matter of fact I have driven one yesterday;...it smokes the tires, plus they are coming with this nifty thing for the rear seats; a LCD TV!...all bells and whistles, satellite, GPS, Maps at all.
Beats Mercedes hands down (no electrical issues).

The irony is that the car is/was designed by Mercedes engineers, with Mercedes technology.

[Abogado]

"Another really hot seller will be the Saturn roadster. It's supposed to be under $25K."

Yeah, the better half is drooling over the supercharged one due out mid 06.

[motzman]

In a pinch, maybe a Grand Marquis or Monte Carlo but that's about it.

Just picked up a "new for me" '93 Crown Vic today. Why anyone would drive any other sedan is beyond me. Why anyone would "buy" a new car is also beyond me (super-rich and business write off is understandable).

I also have a 91 Crown Vic, which I will sell for about a grand. It's like driving the living room couch down the road, which (to me) is a great thing.

Super dependable, easy and cheap to maintain, no super complex systems to break. Has never stranded me.

My Nissan did
My Honda did.

Some American cars are great, just gotta know which ones...

[PAR35]

he New Ford Five-hundred(what's up with this name anyway?)

Don't you remember the old Galaxie 500? It was pretty much the bottom of the line full size car from Ford in the 1960s. It would run ok for about 2 or 3 years, and then it would need to be replaced.

It isn't a name that I would have chosen to resurrect. They should have gone a decade older and just called it the 'new Edsel' if that was the market they were trying to recover.

[F-117A]

"guess Mustang is a bust"

Read the article!

Ford's Mustang coupe had its highest May sales since 1980, up 47 percent from last May.