Stay away from GM in its death spiral

Yeah, I think I'd cough up the extra $500 (difference after tax credit) for a Malibu hybrid. It only gets 2 mpg better than the ICE Malibu but with gas prices being what they are, it'd probably be worth the extra $500 over the long haul.

True, but it can also be had for a whole lot less money, too. I've seen the things advertised for $9k. That comes real close to being half the price of a Honda Fit. Of course, an Aveo that cheap is going to be really stripped (doesn't include A/C).

To be sure, the Fit is the class leader in terms of quality and efficient packaging, but for someone on an extremely tight budget (pizza delivery guy or Wal-Mart employee), a cheap, stripped Aveo would probably be good enough.

However, loading up an Aveo does take the price up to near that of a Honda Fit. At that point, the choice would be obvious.

 

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If you're speaking about the Cologne-built Capri sold by Mercury dealers from 1970-1977, yeah, although it was certainly nothing to write home about in today's world, in the seventies, compared to what else was available in small cars, the Capri was okay (albeit maybe a little pricey for what you got, especially the first ones with the severely underpowered 1600cc engine).

 

True the Vega I drove didn't last even 20000 miles before the aluminum engine blew, the 'k' car (was it a Citation?) was a rattling, smoking POS, but if GM were to start over, and design only a few cars from the ground up that not only competed with Honda and Toyota but put them to shame, they could eventually win back some shell shocked purchasers. They'd have to beat the Japanese in quality, longevity, price, fit and mileage. They would have to design and build every part in America and be persistent for say a quarter century. Notice I didn't say compete with H&T, but Beat them. Why would I buy a car that only competed when H&T have LT reliability? It's kind of like those ads which promise 'we'll meet our competitors prices', why wouldn't I automatically go to the competitor in the first place instead of going to you who were hoping to hose me, but I knew better? In those instances I always shop the competitor and spend my money there as a reward for them going the extra mile in the first place.

My idea of beating H&T would take a long-term outlook and reek of short term losses, but they could do it. Many American buyers still regret we can't spend our hard earned bucks on American products, but when push comes to shove, our dollar MUST buy quality first and loyalty second. All it would take is a young CEO with a guaranteed long term contract who would agree to base pay on profitability. This person would make less than $100000 for most of their working career, but when they were finally successful they could reap their rewards big time later in life, making up for all those early years of 'shortfall'.

OTOH, the damage is already done, and the American automakers by and large have already made their own bed by chasing the ST profits at the expense of their loyal customers, and most of their workers (along with the steel makers, tire makers, etc.) have already been laid off and hopefully have gone on to other careers. Perhaps it is better to take the lesson as learned, lay that dog to rest, and find 21st century industries to master and re-tool in that direction. Let's face it, auto making is a very polluting endeavor anyway. It seems to me better to aim for the future than chase the past.

 

No not all Pontiacs are Australian and I can tell you now, GM wont be promoting the G8 as Australian but I have no doubt there will be white stars on a blue background and red stripes on a white background on the promotional material.
The car is made for the American market so there wont be any surprises like a gum tree growing in the dashboard or a slab of VB(only foreigners drink Fosters, yuk) in the boot. I think the only Australian thing about the G8 is the ute, I don't think you have a vehicle like it currently on the market but I stand to be corrected. A small high performance V8 truck.

If OnStar is GPS then I can tell you there are Australian voices available for most makes of GPS but none will say "that's not a knife, this is a knife." and I don't think distance will be in stubbies of beer and the time in smokes (cigarettes).
(Stubbie is a small bottle of beer half the size of a long neck or 375ml.)

 

hey, that is a "minor detail"

 

It also means that there is no reason to go out and buy one of those new big trucks because you will be able to find a nice used one when the owner realizes that the gas is too expensive. So you will be able to get a bargain on a used one - which won't help GM sell the new ones.

 

It's worth noting that the original Honda Civic was introduced to the US market in 1973. H/T have managed to maintain their quality control for a period of over 35 years; they did not garner the huge amount of US market share they have today overnight. The point is, just as H/T took decades to get where they are today, so, too, will it take Detroit decades to win back the customers they so frivolously took for granted and squandered over the same period of time.

Even if the new Malibu is a legitimate competitor to H/T products, sustaining a Japanese-level commitment to quality over 35 years is a huge hurdle which I seriously doubt anyone in Detroit is up to overcoming. Detroit's corporate culture is just too ingrained to be altered in a meaningful enough way.

I mean, they've had 35 years do to it already with no success.

 

Fosters - Australian for dog piss.

 

good point, indeed!

 

Genuine dog piss.....contains no dingo piss.

 

Patsparks... what beer do REAL Australians drink? Imported Coors? Our Outback Steakhouse had a big poster advertising Cane Toad Beer-- I wanted to try a bottle but apparently that's a small brewery that does not export.

When I was a teenager I wanted an AMC Gremlin... boy are teenagers dumb! I think GM has dug themselves a grave that it will be difficult to dig out of. Their perception of stupid American consumers could only go so low... they have exceeded their possible expectations, and are in a world of hurt.

 

There is hope for GM, but it isn't in their North American division.

Take a look at the Saturn Astra. Great little car, made in Germany, and they're giving it away at 15k or so. In France it starts at 17k... Euros that is!!!!!!

Opel makes great cars....

Too bad that the N. American division has been in la la land for too long.

Wagoner has to go. He's a freaking idiot.

 

As much as I hate GM for everything it stands for and for the way they screwed the American people by dismantling public transportation, I will buy a Volt if it is the first to market to do what they claim it will.

They could win me back overnight if they are the first to build the car I want.

 

Well it is a big country with many and varied tastes.
I think the best selling beer is VB or Victoria Bitter then Carlton Draught which is made from beer must be up there, in Queensland they drink XXXX because they struggle with spelling beer, hell they struggle spelling XXXX! After a dozen or so they refer to it as the beer with 8 crosses!
Tazwegians seem to like Cascade, their local drop, Top Enders or those crazy buggers who live in Northern Territory drink anything with alcohol in, I think even petrol because E10 has more alcohol v/v than beer but I think VB is pretty popular there, Western Australia, who cares, they are like another country anyway and in South Australia we have the best beer of all, well we have a couple but I think Coopers Sparkling Ale or Coopers Original Pale Ale if you like a traditional beer brewed in the bottle!!
Coopers also make a range of Home Brew kits and concentrates. I believe they are exported around the world because they are the best! You can buy them through Coopers Microbrewery Kit | Beer Making Kits , in the US, see we share our good stuff. Coopers is the largest family owned brewery in Australia and exports globally.

 

What about Lutz? He's a lieing incompetant.

 

I will start with the on-topic subject....

I have always been of the opinion that one of the issues with all American products is that everything is looked at short term. If a company announces a quarter-end loss, their share price immediately goes south. The fact that they are gearing up for a new market in a year's time has no bearing on the matter. So GM and Co have continuously only looked for the short term cash flow and impact on their bottom line.

However, the Japanese have always looked at a long term perspective, so everything is geared up to reaping the rewards in the longer term, and this is exactly what has happened.

It is not just trying to change Detroit's corporate culture, it is changing the US corporate culture that needs to happen. Maybe if American business can struggle out of the sub-prime driven mess (yet another example of quick bucks in the short term with no regard for the longer term), it will change, but I seriously doubt it.

Now, onto the off-topic subject....

What about NSW??? There are a number of great NSW beers - Tooheys Old and Hahn come immediately to mind, but like most Australians, we drink any local drop, as long as it is not Fosters.

The weird thing is that Fosters was a a pretty good drop in the UK. It can hold its head up against most largers, although the Europeans are now sending a lot more competition into the UK, so its popularity is fading.

 

Wow. Quadruple Eckes! I think the most we have around here is Dos Eckes.