Deja Vu
on 04/24/2007 at 06:04 AM
"Buy a Dodge, get a check. Buy a Ford, get a wreck”
US Automakers have not done nearly enough to win back American consumers.
When I see a new Ford, I still see a Maverick.
When I see a new Chevy, I still see a Vega.
When I see a Dodge, I still see a Dart.
The big three have not learned that they cannot just dump crap on the American consumer.
Maybe this will be their wake up call?
Kuso is right, sorta. But writing in from Japan, where American car imports are almost unknown, (and I’ve heard the law over there is you have to buy a new car every 5 years??) how would he know?
Today’s cars run better and last longer but they still don’t feel like quality products. Detroit has had THIRTY SIX YEARS to build a better car, yet it feels like they’re still offering up the same old crap. The seats suck, the dashboards look like recycled rubbermaid plastic and the engines ... oh my. The base GMC engine is the 3.8L V6, which is merely the old 305 V-8 with 2 cylinders sawn off. Iron block, 2 valve heads. The same design that’s been around since 1962. Try and find an iron engine on any foreign car the world over. Chrysler’s latest offering is the 5.7L Hemi, which is the 360 from way back in the 60s only with fuel injection. None of them can make a good little car so they sell mongo whale SUVs that get 12mpg. Exactly the same mileage they got in 1968. So it may feel like the early 70s again, but this time around at least we’ve got some horsepower. Of course, with no other choice than automatic slushbox transmissions and all wheel engine and brake control (for your own good cuz you suck at driving) its pretty hard to actually use that power, but what the hell.
With all the crap we’ve heard for decades about alternate fuel, computerized assembly, higher efficiency yadda yadda, Detroit should be selling BMW 3-series cars for the price of a Chevy Geo. Instead we get ads telling us to buy a Buick because you can plug your iPod into it. Big. Frickin. Deal.
On the other hand, there’s the new Saturn Aura. Built like a Saturn, 24 grand, rock solid, and inside it looks like an Audi A-6. Sweet.
Drew,
I make frequent trips back to the United States where I rent various makes and models of cars, some foreign, some domestic so your ad hominem attack carries no weight.
There is no such law in Japan that a person must purchase a new car every five years. You are probably confusing the Japanese habit of replacing their vehicles with a new one every three years when the re inspection period rolls around. The used car market is alive and well and I can assure you there are plenty of older model cars still on the road. My Subaru is 8 years old and runs like a top.
Japanese like American SUV, so its not uncommon to see Yukon’s, Explorers and Jeeps around town. It is rare to see American cars except for an occasional Cadillac or Corvette. Interestingly, BMW, Mercedes, Audi, VW and Porsche have no problem selling cars here.
The decline in US automaker success is not with its inability to sell its vehicles in Japan but with US automakers inability to sell cars at home. The problems are systemic and US manufacturers still think they can sell cars that pale in comparison to the engineering and reliability of imports. Sorry boys, even patriotism has its limits. I’m not letting Ford, GM and Chrysler down, they are letting me down.
04/24/2007 at 06:35 PM
