Posted on 05/07/2006 8:14:11 AM PDT by SamAdams76
It's like watching a tragedy unfold, what's happening at the top of the auto industry. A happy ending, in any true sense, isn't in the cards. At best, after thousands are off the scene, survivors still may be standing on U.S. soil. But forget happy. The scene: bankruptcy court. No, General Motors and Ford aren't there yet, although their share prices seem to discount it, at about $20 and $8 respectively. But how grim it was for Delphi Corp, the nation's largest auto parts supplier, to ask a bankruptcy judge in Detroit to throw out its labor contracts and approve the shutdown of 21 of its 29 U.S. manufacturing plants.
(Excerpt) Read more at pittsburghlive.com ...
While the Big Three appear to be standing still in time, other more nimble companies like Nissan, Toyota/Lexus, Honda, BMW and even the once joked about Hyundai are moving forward at a rapid clip.
For a mid-price car, vehicles like the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord and Nissan Altima can't be beat. In fact, I took a 2006 Nissan Altima on a test drive this weekend (the SE model with the 3.5 V6 engine) and it put American competitors like the Ford Taurus and Pontiac Vibe to shame. The thing felt like a race car and it is solid all-around. Not content to rest on their laurels (like Ford did with the Taurus in the mid-1990s), the 2007 Altima is going to be radically redesigned and even better. And the Toyota Camry just keeps getting better and better. It almost looks like a Lexus now and still you can have one for about $20,000.
The constant refrain I hear about "Buy American" with respect to the auto industry confuses me. Which is the true American car? Those made by Toyota, Nissan and Honda in plants in the U.S.A. with non-union American workers or those made by the Big Three in Detroit by unionized workers who are driving their companies into bankruptcy with unrealistic wage and benefits packages? Not to mention the fact that the UAW is a staunch supporter of the Democratic party and funnels millions upon millions of dollars into the coffers of liberal Democrats across the nation such as Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy, and John Kerry? Not to mention the fact that the UAW "strongarms" their workers into voting the straight Democratic ticket? Not to mention that the U.S. auto companies are outsourcing as much as they can overseas to get around the high labor cost imposed upon them by the UAW?
Not that management at the Big Three are blameless victims in all of this. In return for short-term gain, they signed off the labor demands that are inevitably going to take their companies into bankruptcy.
But the bottom line is that the foreign companies just plain make better cars. I had a Nissan Maxima go 240,000 miles and the only reason I got rid of it was that the body was rusting out. The engine still ran like a top. I am now driving a 1999 Nissan Maxima with 140,000 on it and it has never broken down once. Except for oil changes and the occasional tuneup, it has had virtually zero service. In contrast, I owned three American cars in my lifetime. An AMC Pacer, an Oldsmobile '88, a Ford Escort and a Ford Tempo. All four of them were absolute nightmares. I can't count all the times I had to call AAA to have myself towed and I constantly was getting repairs to the tune of hundreds of dollars per visit. On top of that, the interiors were cruddy and cheap, doors were tinny, the cabin noise was awful and you felt every bump on the road. They were just plain miserable to drive.
I realize that some of the higher-end American cars are probably decent to drive (so long as you don't mind paying for a LOT of gas). Such as the Cadillac Escalade or the Ford "F" series pickups. But when it comes to an average everyday car, U.S. cars simply suck. The Big Three evidently take no pride in providing a quality car to the average consumer. They pour all their resources instead into the high-end SUVs and trucks and for everybody else, they are content to put out mediocre product that is "good enough."
This is why Toyota, Nissan, Honda and the rest are cleaning our clocks in the auto industry. They care about the average consumers and give them excellent quality and value in the mid-size and economy-size market segments.
If the Big Three don't watch their backs, the foreign companies are going to figure out the SUVs and trucks too and then that will be all she wrote for the Big Three. And I'm inclined to say "good riddance" at this point. I consider myself a good American but I'm at the point now where I consider car companies like Toyota and Nissan to be "more American" then Ford, GM and Chrysler.
The UAW parasite are killing the goose that laid the golden eggs for them.
I went to Honda Accords twenty years ago and have never looked back.
Soon, it will be "GM/Ford," I predict. Or maybe "Ford/GM." Personally, I'd go with just "Ford." "General Motors" is too generic a name, void of personality.
There are only two american auto makers.
The germans bought chrysler. (along with rolls royce and bently)
My neighbor bought the big Infinity SUV last year because "It was the only thing I liked actually made in America."
"AMC Pacer"
And I thought that General Patton was a brave soul...
Indeed they are. I drive a 2005 C6 Vette and love it. The gas mileage is pretty good as well for a car that is now over 500 ponies and over 400 ft/lbs of torque. With the active handling and high performance suspension, it out performs pretty much every other car on the road. (Even a Viper)
My previous car was a supercharged 2000 Grand Prix GTP including all the amenities such as the heads up display and 12 disk CD changer. It too was a great car to drive. Not all GM products are crap.
The unions are bleeding industry dry. Automotive industries are not the only ones closing their doors. The unions demand much, but give little in return, so this will continue to happen until the workers realize the unions are on the unions side and not the workers.
I will be in the market for an SUV soon. I won't even waste my time looking at Ford/GM dealerships. I will go straight to a Toyota dealership.
My SUV is a 1991 Nissan Pathfinder. 200K+ miles and running like a champ. Love it.
I bought a Suburban in 2003 for $42,000. It is worth $15,000 or so today. The cost per mile to drive a GM product taking into account fuel, depreciation and maintenance is 2X what it costs to drive a Honda Pilot.
I'll not be buying anymore big iron from GM.
GM too generic.
Ford too homosexual driven!
And the Democrats want to do for America what their unions did for the auto industry - - turn America into a Euro-style, socialist welfare state. Decades of misery and evidence that it doesn't work be damned.
No matter where they are assembled Toyota and Honda are still Japanese companies and Nissan is majority owned by Renault, which makes it French. That is who ultimately profits from your purchase of their products. I would rather keep my money here is the U.S. supporting American companies. I hope you enjoy sending your money to Japan and France.
Both hurt the U.S. What now? What now?
Today it's a different story. Even one of my uncles, who is as redneck as redneck can be, now has a gleaming new Toyota Tundra in the driveway. This is after about 40 years of driving nothing but Ford pickups. Toyota is opening a new plant up in Huntsville and everybody down there is excited about it. In fact, Alabama is very quickly approaching Detroit with respect to the scale of auto manufacturing. The same is happening in nearby states like Mississipi, Tennessee and Kentucky/Ohio.
For those still living up in Detroit, sell your house and move south while you still can.
The Toyotas, Hondas, and Nissans.
Yepper. Good compromise. Pro-U.S. and anti-union. It's a good thing.
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