The Cars Were Never Better — But It Probably Doesn’t Matter

NMA ^ | 12/24/08 | Eric Peters

[DugwayDuke]

“I think it would have been in their best interest to have a broader product line.”

I don’t think it would have helped. There were plenty of high (32+MPG) cars on the dealers lots. The problem was that no one wanted to buy the gashog trade-in.

BTW, about the only thing that GM was making a profit on was the ‘gashogs’, those 40K+ cars. They were at best breaking even on the high mileage cars.

So you were faced with tightening credit, reduced trade-in value, and an inability of the dealers to lower prices on their high mileage/low profit margin vehicles.

A different mix of models on the show room would not have affected any of that.

[allmendream]

Any article about the failure of US auto makers that doesn't mention the out of control collectiv(ist) bargaining agreements they are obligated under to labor unions; is woefully inadequate.

[Sir Francis Dashwood]

The Pinto wagon with a stick was actually a great little car.

I won’t say the same for the other model.

[nina0113]

I used to have a 68 ragtop with a straight six. Oh, how I miss that car, even with its flaws. The guy I bought it from thought he was Young Tom Edison and had rewired everything, NOT to factory spec, which made for some interesting troubleshooting. That might have been what led me into electronics and (after some long and scenic side roads) computers.

[joesbucks]

I went to JD Power to check on the "quality" of the 2008 cars. They report the ranking by nameplate. If you take out the luxury cars, the list would look like this:

1. Toyota

2. Mercury

3. Honda

4. Ford

5. Chevrolet

6. Hyundai

7. Pontiac

8. Buick

9. Acura

10.Kia

5 of the top ten name plates are US branded plates, with a Ford product as #2 and GM having 3 of the top 10.

Here's the complete list with the luxury or high end cars included:

1. Porsche

2. Infiniti

3. Lexus

4. Toyota

5. Mercury

6. Honda

7. Ford

8. Jaguar

9. Audi

10. Cadillac

11. Chevrolet

12. Hyundai

13. Pontiac

14. Lincoln

15. Buick

16. Acura

17. Kia

18. Nissan

19. Volvo

20. BMW

21. GMC

22. Mazda

23. Volkswagen

24. HUMMER

25. Subaru

26. Scion

27. Dodge

28. Chrysler

29. Mitsubishi

30. SAAB

31. Suzuki

32. Saturn

33. Land Rover

34. MINI

35. Jeep

[troy McClure]

We had a AMC Pacer wagon as the Family runabout. Put 200k miles on it. No problems at all. They had the same drive train as a CJ Jeep minus the FWD.

[Sir Francis Dashwood]

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.

That Subaru WRX is an awesome machine.

The only new American car I like is the Corvette and since I am getting robbed to pay for it, I want to go pick one off the lot... the rest of them can rust, I'll never buy one again.

[editor-surveyor]

They were popular with real estate agents for some reason.
The 440s were hot, but pointless with the softer suspension.

[NY.SS-Bar9]

I disagree.

While domestics have caught up when “quality” is used as a metric, they still lag when measured using more subjective criteria.

Design and “feel” drive the emotional part of the purchase decision and domestics are seriously outclassed.

[FroggyTheGremlim]

“American cars are every bit as good as foreign cars. “

Indeed. I have an almost 2-year-old Dodge Caliber. I love it. Good mileage. Lots of room for hauling things. Handles nicely. A little slow on the acceleration.

But I’d buy another Caliber when I need a new car.

[joesbucks]

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.

Items under A are required by every manufacturer who sells in the US. This is not a competitive advantage or disadvantage for the manufacturer whether domestic or foreign nameplate.

[WayneS]

True.

A) makes ALL vehicles too expensive, but B) makes U.S. made stuff even more expensive.

[depressed in 06]

In 1998,I bought a 1999 Alero, my first new car, after a strike, 0% interest. It was a great car, a tad underpowered, 200 would have been better. I got 32 mpg on the highway. But, you had to know there was one, it had a very annoying wind noise from the drivers door. Once, it was off the lot the dealer would do nothing to fix the problem. The other low point was I had to replace the battery three times. And, when the battery went there was nothing you could do. The dealer gave no help on the batteries either.

I now drive a Toyota RAV4.

[meatloaf]

I remember. It made made for quite a few jokes.

[Lancey Howard]

I thought that was Volare?

[decimon]

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?

Disagree. He says - "The truth is most of today’s middle-large sedans don’t deliver much better fuel economy than trucks and SUVs. About 5-8 mpgs or so better. Big whoop."

Well, that is a big whoop. From 15 MPG to 20 MPG is 33 percent better. From 20 MPG to 25 MPG is 25 percent better. It's at the higher MPGs that 5 to 8 MPG becomes insignificant.

[Chickensoup]

What killed the Pinto was $.35 a gallon gas.

What killed the Pinto was that little problem they had when blowing up with rear impact crashes.

[Chickensoup]

HMMM, I had a 74 Duster (318) that had 170k on it and a friend of mine had a mid 70’s Fury (225 Slant-Six) that had over 200K on it.

Was that back in the day that you could work on your own car?? I knew lots of guys who could keep their beasts running. Not today, though.

[WayneS]

How did a dealer get away with refusing to fix problems with a brand new car? GM offered 36 month 36,000 miles in 1998, didn’t they?

[woodbutcher1963]

FYI,
If you subscribe as I do to Consumer Reports you will receive an annual survey of automobiles, appliances etc. that you own to fill out and return. This is how they come up with their ratings of new and older vehicles and other consumer items.
I agree GM and Ford have improved their quality/reliability over the last 10 years. However, they alienated so many customers like me in the 80’s & 90’s that I now on my 2nd Toyota Tacoma and my wife has a Honda Odessey.
Honda and Toyota including Acura and Lexus are the best cars made IMHO. Subaru are better than average. However, I would not buy a Mercedes, Land Rover, Mitusbishi, Suzuki, Kia, Volvo or Saab.