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The Cars Were Never Better — But It Probably Doesn’t Matter
NMA ^ | 12/24/08 | Eric Peters

Posted on 12/24/2008 7:19:49 AM PST by XR7

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Anyone remember the Chrysler Cordoba with Ricardo Montalban and the "rich Corinthian leather"?

Did you actually buy one?

1 posted on 12/24/2008 7:19:49 AM PST by XR7
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To: XR7

I remember, but I wasn’t even old enough to drive at the time.


2 posted on 12/24/2008 7:21:57 AM PST by ZirconEncrustedTweezers (The crux of the biscuit is the Apostrophe)
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No one’s buying anything — because no one can afford to buy a damn thing. Gas mileage is a bogey...the problem is we’re tapped out. We can’t afford gas because we can’t afford anything.

Agree or disagree?

3 posted on 12/24/2008 7:22:28 AM PST by XR7
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To: ZirconEncrustedTweezers

Ditto.


4 posted on 12/24/2008 7:23:34 AM PST by Army Air Corps (Four fried chickens and a coke)
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To: XR7
The Cars Were Never Better...

He's 100% correct about that.

5 posted on 12/24/2008 7:23:34 AM PST by WayneS (Respect the 2nd Amendment; Repeal the 16th)
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To: XR7

You know, I don’t remember the actual car, but I do kinda remember the commercials. I was actually considering buying a new American car (my very first!), until Obama got elected. I’m not willing to take on new debt in the face of the Depression I expect. And now that they’ve gotten that bailout, I’m not buying anything new from the Big Three EVER.


6 posted on 12/24/2008 7:26:13 AM PST by nina0113 (Hugh Akston is my hero.)
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To: XR7

“Trillions in hopelessly unrecoverable debt is going to have to pass through the economy’s colon first.”

Under serious consideration for new tag line.


7 posted on 12/24/2008 7:26:31 AM PST by pappyone (New to Freep, still working a tag line.)
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To: XR7
The Caballero.

I am a man who knows who I am.

The Caballero is a car for the man who knows who I am.

8 posted on 12/24/2008 7:26:39 AM PST by willgolfforfood
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To: XR7

I think it would have been in their best interest to have a broader product line.
If they had more high MPG cars during the gasoline price spikes they could’ve ramped up production on those pretty quickly and help mitigate the losses they sustained.
As it was they had a bunch of $40,000+ SUVs that got less than 18 MPG while we had $4.00/gallon gas.
They took a major hit from that swing in consumer buying.
They have to hedge against wild price swings like that.


9 posted on 12/24/2008 7:30:09 AM PST by Brett66 (Where government advances, and it advances relentlessly , freedom is imperiled -Janice Rogers Brown)
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“The Cars Were Never Better...”

Cars are better, but in Consumer Reports Annual Auto Issue, Honda, Toyota and Subaru have the least problems while Ford GM and Chrysler are near the bottom. Ford is mid-pack.

Why should I spend my hard earned money on a LESSER quality vehicle? That's the real issue.

10 posted on 12/24/2008 7:30:15 AM PST by Leo Farnsworth (I'm not really Leo Farnsworth...)
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To: WayneS

Yes he is. I have a Ford Fusion that has been a great car, an Explorer that has been extremely reliable and I got rid of a Ranger no too long ago that had over 325,000 miles on it and was still going.

The quality of U.S. cars have improved much, but it’s hard to shake the ghosts of the past (Pinto, Citation, Vega, etc.) Once people get bitten on a major purchase like a car, they don’t just forgive and forget.


11 posted on 12/24/2008 7:31:23 AM PST by reagan_fanatic (Resist the Obamination!)
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To: XR7
Anyone remember the Chrysler Cordoba with Ricardo Montalban and the "rich Corinthian leather"?

lol!

I remember that.

My dad owned a Chevy Vega at that time. He often said that on a cold, quiet winter night you could hear that car rust.

He also wondered if one winter morning he would walk outside and find the car completely rusted away, with the only surviving piece being that worthless aluminum engine.

12 posted on 12/24/2008 7:32:00 AM PST by earlJam
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To: ZirconEncrustedTweezers

Same here. 44 years old now.


13 posted on 12/24/2008 7:32:29 AM PST by Monsieur Poirot
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To: reagan_fanatic

I had a 1978 Camaro with a Small Block 305. I can hear Highway Star playing in my head.


14 posted on 12/24/2008 7:33:42 AM PST by massgopguy (I owe everything to George Bailey)
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To: reagan_fanatic

Yes. And they ARE expensive. Two factors account for most of that: a) government interference vis-a-vis “safety” and excessive pollution control devices, and especially b) Union greed.


15 posted on 12/24/2008 7:34:32 AM PST by WayneS (Respect the 2nd Amendment; Repeal the 16th)
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To: XR7

This is the first, and most honest, story about the Big Three in recent times.

The liberal press is solidly in the pocket of the foreign automakers, slavishly reporting how great they are while ignoring massive recalls and defects. At the same time, the same media exaggerates any Detroit defect into certain death for millions of motorists.

This is the same media that hates America, so hating American manufacturing goes hand-in-hand with that.

It’s easy to pick on American iron, so many people do it.

The domestic manufacturers did deliever lousy quality in the past. As conservatives, we despise the UAW and other unions by what they have done to manufacturing in this country.

However, the truth is indisputable.....American cars are every bit as good as foreign cars. The quality ranking are so close that the differences are statistically insignificant.

Of course, the media does not portray it that way and those that have had bad experiences with American cars eat it up gladly.


16 posted on 12/24/2008 7:35:53 AM PST by Erik Latranyi (Too many conservatives urge retreat when the war of politics doesn't go their way.)
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To: Leo Farnsworth

“Cars are better, but in Consumer Reports Annual Auto Issue, Honda, Toyota and Subaru have the least problems while Ford GM and Chrysler are near the bottom. Ford is mid-pack.”

I have to say, I think part of that is due to the impression American cars are crap. I knew people who had major problems with their new Honda, but it was “just a fluke”, as they would say. I cannot imagine them saying that if it was an American car. I think people are harder critics of American cars because any little thing that does go wrong is expected due to their past track record.


17 posted on 12/24/2008 7:37:20 AM PST by Londo Molari
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To: earlJam
My dad owned a Chevy Vega at that time.

LOL...right up there with the Pacer and Pinto

18 posted on 12/24/2008 7:39:52 AM PST by Las Vegas Ron (The tree of liberty is getting mighty dry)
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To: XR7
the unpleasant legacy of Pintos past, so to speak

I didn't think the pinto was all that bad of a car.Put a Boss 302 or a 300 horse 289 in it and you had a street beast!

Actually the 1971/72 pintos where pretty good cars. What killed the Pinto was $.35 a gallon gas. Why buy a little car when you could buy a Mustang or a LTD.

19 posted on 12/24/2008 7:39:57 AM PST by painter
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To: WayneS

My company just got me an ‘09 Chevy Impala. This is a very nice car, much nicer than any car I have personally owned.


20 posted on 12/24/2008 7:42:45 AM PST by Newtoidaho (Liberals to America: "Drop dead!")
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