Time to cut Detroit a break

[malorn]

[quote=Zythryn;689468].
On fuel efficiency they just can't compete. quote]
They compete and in most cases win in most categories. I agree they don;t have an answer for the Prius, but even in its best months the Prius has never accounted for even 10% of Toyota's sales.

[Zythryn]

Of course it hasn't. But that is because they don't produce that many.
This year they could have sold twice as many IF they had them available.
The domestics can't match the fuel efficiency of the Prius.
When they can compete with the best fuel efficiency, I will take a look at one (what ever it may be).

[McShemp]

How many people does GM believe will be purchasing a $72k hybrid Escalade just to get 20/21 mpgs?

[malorn]

Originally Posted by McShemp

How many people does GM believe will be purchasing a $72k hybrid Escalade just to get 20/21 mpgs?

I'm thinking they are chasing some of the Lexus LS hybrid customers who are forking out $104,900 to get a sedan that gets 20/22.

[mingoglia]

Originally Posted by McShemp

How many people does GM believe will be purchasing a $72k hybrid Escalade just to get 20/21 mpgs?

The Escalade's never really appealed to me but if they did I'd consider paying it for a fullsize luxury SUV. I was very very close to spending about that on a diesel GL series. To me it would be worth about $65k though so they'd have to come down a bit on the price.

Granted at that mpg I wouldn't drive it nearly as much as my Prius but on the trips where I want to haul the family as well as my Jeep or quads on a large trailer up north I'd use it much like I used my Navigator. Other times, it would most likely sit.

Here's the GL series for those that don't know what it is:

[FBear]

Originally Posted by malorn

The ads I have seen have been touting the gas-mileage of the entire lineup not solely suv's.

Talk, talk, talk thats all GM does, their line up is still a joke and they promise the Volt by 2010 but at what price? They still have a predominance of lower mileage vehicles. GM has a few low end vehicles that are in the 30 mpg range the rest are in the 20-25 range nothing that competes competantly with say the 4 cylinder Camry or the 4 cylinder Honda Accord. GM's line up of cars, is as far as I'm concerned in this day and age a joke when it comes to gas mileage.

[jayman]

I see no reason to cut Detroit or any other domestic manufacturer a "break" or to help our economy. Once you filter out all the bulls*** Patriotic appeals, the simple fact is that domestic companies (Automotive, industrial, chemical, petrochemical, pharma, etc etc) can and DO outsource every chance they get

Although domestic companies pretend to "support" local jobs and local business, they could give one s*** about that. As long as the various CEO's and Board of Directors have their gold-plated renumeration and bailout packages, that is all that counts. I think "backstabbing" applies here

Since I had to bust my hump and work for everything I have, I really see no need to support unions, big business, etc, as they certainly didn't give one s*** about me. I had a job for about 4 months at a Union shop, before I joined the Army. The only way to advance there was Seniority, and if you tried working harder, you were put down on the spot

I've never seen any sense in rewarding semi-illiterate laborers with salaries once reserved for professionals. True enough, my income is a vague dream, compared to most Union laborer positions. That took 20 years of hard work, +12 hour days, no vacations, constant skills upgrading, and several university degrees

As far as purchasing products, parents of a guy I went through the Army and university with, recently purchased a Hyundai Sonata. After having a string of bad luck with various GM, Ford, and DC products, they said Screw It and got the Hyundai. Very happy with it too, priced lower than a comparable Honda or Toyota

So when you have people who used to only buy American, suddenly jumping ship, that is a bad sign for domestic car makers. I'll agree that if you want a full size pickup or SUV, the Big Three lead.

If you want a decent fuel efficient small to midsize car, they come up short. Which is odd, because GM can hold its own in Europe, so can Ford. Yet here in North America, they appear brain dead

[malorn]

Originally Posted by FBear

Talk, talk, talk thats all GM does, their line up is still a joke and they promise the Volt by 2010 but at what price? They still have a predominance of lower mileage vehicles. GM has a few low end vehicles that are in the 30 mpg range the rest are in the 20-25 range nothing that competes competantly with say the 4 cylinder Camry or the 4 cylinder Honda Accord. GM's line up of cars, is as far as I'm concerned in this day and age a joke when it comes to gas mileage.

2009 Chevy Malibu 4cyl 22/33
2009 Toyota Camry 4cyl 21/31

Is that competitive enough for you?

[JackDodge]

Originally Posted by malorn

I apologize, I thought I detected sarcasm.

no, like qbee I live in Detroit 3 country and have no desire to see them go out of business. Things are so bad around here that I want to give them some business but I just got my HiHy less than a year ago and would lose money big time on trading it in so I'm pretty much stuck with what I have.

You have to be careful reading too much in to text because you can't see emotion in it unless it's fairly dripping. I also don't reference Business Week articles with sarcasm in mind. Their articles are always well-balanced, articulate and their viewpoints make me think which is why I share them with everyone.

[malorn]

Originally Posted by JackDodge

no, like qbee I live in Detroit 3 country and have no desire to see them go out of business. Things are so bad around here that I want to give them some business but I just got my HiHy less than a year ago and would lose money big time on trading it in so I'm pretty much stuck with what I have.

You have to be careful reading too much in to text because you can't see emotion in it unless it's fairly dripping. I also don't reference Business Week articles with sarcasm in mind. Their articles are always well-balanced, articulate and their viewpoints make me think which is why I share them with everyone.

I have spent some time in Detroit this summer and the area is certainly in bad shape. If i was a gambler it might be a good time to buy a bunch of houses at 40-50 cents on the dollar. It is very sad what is happening to this country, Detroit is just a compacted view.
I wish I saw a light at the end of the tunnel but I don't think we are even close to hitting bottom economically.