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.
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?
.... Which means, the rats will do everything in their power to bail out the big three, George Bush will get the blame for all the problems, and the Republicans in Congress will roll over and play dead.
Nothing in life, short of death and the seasons is more preductable than this.
May i dissent?I have a c1500 PU/with 110k on the engine,10yrs old,and so far(knock on wood)no major problems.Just tune ups and regular oil changes.Anyways my company recently purchased Delphi's domestic battery production.Why can't they compete?Their workers make about twice per hour as ours and the add ons(pension,health,etc)make the total more than 3x our compensation.Our company would like to keep their people/facilities working,but the compensation costs are prohibitive.
"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?"
Lower wages have not translated into lower prices for the products of foreign owner auto companies.
How much of the current standard of living can be reduced without a ripple effect on every American's wage and benefit package going lower.
You think it can't happen? Just wait till someone wants to send your job overseas or somewhere where they can produce your employment for less money. Are you willing to accept a pay cut and benefit cut for the services that provide your income?
If not, then picking out select American jobs and saying it is ok to cut their pay is hypocritical. Maybe illegal immigrants will replace your job because they will work for less?
Yeah, American automakers have had some sucky cars and you picked the peel of the lemons. A little slick marketing makes you an instant convert. Just remember the bulk of your dollars go overseas even if the car is assembled in America. And don't forget how once great cities across America are deteriorating because employment opportunity was eliminated.
Everyone wants more for less. But at what point does less capitalization for Americans place the whole country in decline and not just a few cities that once produced the industrial might that has won wars in the past.
What if Mercedes-Benz had produced the jeeps and tanks that we needed to win WW2? I think that outcome could have been much different. The slippery slope of allowing off shore parts manufacturers operate assembly plants IN THE NAME OF SAVING MONEY will hurt America proper.
The common element in the American auto industry demise is the labor unions and inept management.
We do not buy any union made products...it is sad that venerable companies like Ford and GM are suffering but that is life. These companies care more about homosexual rights than making a product anyway.
They should have divorced/cut themselves off themselves from the evil spouse /cancerous tumor the UAW years ago.
Some dirty little secrets in the U.S. auto world. First, employment in the auto industry in the U.S. is at an all time high. It's in the south now and not the rust belt. Secondly, GM and Ford are owning greater and greater shares of the foreign car companies. IMHO, GM and Ford are deliberatelty letting their U.S. product lines go down the toilet in order to kill the union parasites and are investing in the Japanese companies where they don't have to be exploited by the greedy union types.
I couldn't agree with you more. I have always owned American automobiles (Lincoln, Ford, Oldsmobile, Buick). Within the last two weeks my wife and I test drove a Nissan Altima and made a purchase on the spot. This car has it all over the same sized American mid-size. It is solid, rides great and with the 2.5 engine with a Special Edition package it listed out at a price much less then a comparable American car. I have yet to speak to anyone who ownes an Altima say it is a terrible automobile. I was never one to buy American for the sake of just making the purchase. I spend my money wisely and demand I get what I want. If it is foreign made so be it. If the Big 3 don't wake up we will be going to their wake real soon. Also, this Nissan will be worth much more money down the line then a comparable American made auto. I have no sorrow for the American manufacturers. They reaped what they sowed.