Well.. I wouldn't own either one as I really could care less about Social Status/Keep up with the Jones'. I've driven BMWs (I wonder how many people that own them actually know what the lil blue and white emblem comes from???? maybe don't even know what BMW stands for...) and was pretty much impressed with the 645i screaming down the Autobahn in Germany where the car was actually made to be driven. I've yet to see anyone in the US drive these cars like they were made to be yah I know speed limits etc.... then why own one? Status symbol like the Mercedes as well.. Vetts... well.. another status symbol... I think that they are over rated. It's nothing but a name, and pure fiberglass (these are my thoughts now...). I liked the body styles of the 60s, and eary 70s after that it went to ****. I still wouldn't own one. As far as today's Buicks I don't think that I'd purchase one. They look like everything else on the road. I'm estatic that I own my Wildcat, and it will probably be the only Buick I own. But I also know this... she'll be a well taken care of car, and I'll never get rid of it.
I was n the process of saving up money to buy a new 1988 Buick GN back in early to mid 1987 then GM in their infinite wisdom decided to stop making it. I haven't been interested in anything GM makes since then
People love to blame environmental, safety, labor, and health care costs and regulations for our inability to compete. Actually, the problem is that many of the countries we are competing against have enone of the above. Just because China uses child labor, has air so thick with pollution that you can chew it, has horrendous safety records and provides crappy health care, if any, doesn't mean we need to do the same. Just because mexico does the same doesn't mean our regulations aren't correct. India, indonesia, whatever third-world country you want to name -- same issues. Hard to compete in a day and age when all these countries are willing to destroy their lands and their people to make a profit. Did the unions make the textile industry collapse / disappear? or the steel industry? or the toy industry? Well, partly, but the real culprit is the whole "fair trade" mindset. Big business loves it -- they own the foreign subsidiaries with the slave labor and the toxic waste pits out back. But it aint too good for the American working man. What we need to do is s-can Nafta, lose the "free trade" mentality, and go back to the "fair trade" approach. Do that, we might start to actually make things in the US again. And actually have enough jobs for our children. -- Steve
I worked at "The Buick" for 35 Years and owned a Buick for every one of those years. I never had a problem with any of them. When our Son was born I told my Wife she should stay home with him and i'll go on Skilled Trades. That worked well even when our Daughter was born. We didn't have what a lot of our friends had, but we had and still have Two good kids. Without the factories and the unions there wouldn't be a middle class. It would be just like Mexico. You either have it or you don't and never will. Are we reverting back to the early 20th Century where there were no work rules and if you got sick, too bad? Also the transplant companies hired young people so thier health care is less and are not paying out much in pension costs. They are less likley to get sick so not a lot of sick leave time. On another note. I was a Tinsmith. When we got new machines in an Engineer would give me a print on how to make guards for it. I would get with Machine Repair, Millwrights, Electricians and most importantly the operator to see what they thought about the guards. Just to make it easier to get into the machine and put the guard back on without throwing it out because it took a haff an hour to get off, and back on. Those were the kind the Engineer wanted. I usually tossed the print. That happened on a lot of jobs, not just mine. A lot of Engineers could be eliminated if they knew that the Trades people had brains and knew how to use them. If I had made what the Engineer wanted, I would still be altering them. Enough. PONCH
A guy that works for me has been a loyal GM buyer for 30+ years. Has a 2007 pickup that has 15K miles on it. Has a vibration in the front end and wears out tires in about 3-4k miles. Dealers (5 of them) have worked on it. Re-aligned, 4 sets of tires, re-balanced tires and it still has vibration. I checked it out and it has bad front wheel bearing. Common problem on Chevy pickups. Replaced mine on my 2001 and 2002 Chevies 4 times each. Chevy now is refusing to work on it saying "they have fulfilled the terms of the warranty". He has asked every dealer to check wheel bearings and they have refused. Will trade it in on a Toyota. Said he is done with GM.
Sorry guys but this is why I bought a Toyota Corolla. But my 71 Skylark was one of the best cars that I ever owned. I have had it for 32 years now.
Well, I did my part to save GM, I bought a new Buick last summer. I've been very happy with the car so far. I bought it with the 3.8 motor, mostly because it is the last component of the car that really was designed by Buick. The only reason why I would probably not buy another new GM car is because all one gets is warmed over Chevy crap, or committee designed engines, and I'm still a loyal Buick owner. But the workmanship is good, - better than on some of my older Buicks. My winter beater is also a Buick, it's a '93 LeSabre with 160,000 miles on it that is only now starting to think about coming apart. (It needs shocks and brakes) The truth is, GM or any of the big 3 are building better cars now than they ever did. They routinely last more than 100,000 miles with proper maintenance. Sure, GM has had problems with "Death-cool" antifreeze, and as soon as the warranty is up on the new car it's coming out, but they still are a better car than anything built during the 70s and the 80s. Another reason the big 3 are in so much trouble is the way they've allowed their dealerships to dictate prices. It used to be that if one bought a car direct from the factory it would be worth about 60% of the MSRP sticker price. I'm sure that formula hasn't changed. The only thing that has changed is the fact that I can't go directly to the factory and order up a car. I have to go through a dealer, which I hate, (I always feel like I need a shower afterwards) and get hosed on a bad deal, and get questionable service on any mechanical work. What most people don't realize is that a lot of Japanese cars are just about the same as anything the big 3 build. Their parts are all manufactured in North America by the same suppliers that build for the big 3. When one buys a Camry or a Tundra, one gets a North American designed vehicle that is built with North American parts. These vehicles aren't even available anywhere else in the world, they were purely designed for the North American market by ex-big 3 engineers who were hired by Toyota. Look at the quality control problems the Japanese manufacturers are having now, and you see a repeat of what the big 3 went through in the 80s-90s. The only reason they haven't asked for bailouts yet (and I'm sure it's coming) is because they don't have the huge pension overheads and punative labour contracts that the big 3 do. However, with new car sales down 45% in the US, it's only a matter of time before they come with hat in hand too. What people should be the most upset with is the banks and the investment/mortgage companies. Because of their short-sightedness and raw greed they've managed to kill the largest economy on earth. They're the ones to blame; - lending out money to individuals who obviously couldn't afford it, propping up a huge housing bubble, and then speculating on the worthless paper that it generated. They all deserve to go broke and their management thrown in jail. The various car company's problems are just a spin-off of the lack of credit that this whole mess has caused. American society has always lived like there was no tomorrow, buy now, worry about it later, so it was only a matter of time before this sort of thing happened. No one prepared for it. Life would have gone on without taxpayer bailouts where it not for the banker's greed, and the big 3 would have adapted to a changing market naturally, - which they were in the process of doing anyway. What GM needs to do is to go back to their original formula, - provide unique, good cars catering to every facet of the market. That way when I want to buy a Buick, I get a Buick, and not a re-badged Malibu or Impala. Sloan figured this out back in the 30s, and it pulled them out of the Depression, and it would do it again. So what would I buy to replace my new Buick? I still haven't decided that. I'm toying with the idea of totally rebuilding another 40 year old Buick sedan and then running it as a daily runner. At least I can fix that myself, and as long as fuel doesn't cost $5.00 a gallon the running costs (with the rebuild) will still be cheaper than if I went out and bought a new Toyota on payments.
My '96 Riviera has 196,000 on it, and unless you were to lean over and look at the odometer you would never know it! Exactly! :TU: I watched a good documentary called House of Cards on CNBC last week. They start at the beginning just after 9/11, and follow what happened with Wall St. and their love affair with mortgage backed securities, and the price we are now paying because of it.
98 Regal GS, 220,000, runs like new, original struts, trans, motor, exhaust, etc....yes, I did replace the alternator and a wheel bearing. ZERO rust. 28 mpg (was 30 before ethanol gas). 3.4 pulley, 14.13 qtr mile. And....NO STINKIN TIMING BELT TO REPLACE! Gets the same mileage as co-workers 2002 Accord that has half the hp (150). GM has been building good cars for some time but you have to buy the right one....not a Cavalier or a Grand Am. And....not have ones head in the sand....or elsewhere. But.....the perception exists that foreign is better especially in my area (Wash, DC). Pretty sad when 3/4 of the US government parking lots are filled with foreign cars.....and I'm considered a "freak" to be proud of my American car. Sad state of affairs...........Remember most people are not "car people" they just buy what they think is better.....and most don't care about performance.
Just for the record: There is no one, and I do mean no one, not even one member of this post that wants the U. S. automakers to succeed more then I do. If you are a "buy American" sort of person - I am on your side! I have owned a lot of cars - all American - made by each of the "big three", plus American Motors and Studebaker. The quality of American cars tanked. This is obvious. There is absolutely no reason that American car buyers would purchase a foreign car unless they felt that the (foreign) car was a better value for the money. Please don't beat me up because I bought a Chrysler product. If GM made a V8 rwd wagon in 2004 - the sale would likely have been theirs. I have had just as much trouble with GM products as I have with Chrysler or Ford. From the body quality standpoint - my '72 Oldsmobile Cutlass was probably the worst car that I have ever owned. My 1962 Chrysler went 275,000 + miles with it's original tie rod ends. The technology and materials of today are better then thay were 47 years ago. There is no excuse for parts made today to fail at about 20% of the mileage that they lasted nearly a half century ago. Please, don't tell me that GM is any better. I have replaced more steering components on GM cars then on any other make. Like (I think) most consumers, I would love to purchase American products. The TV that I watch is a 1983 made in America Zenith and it still works perfectly. If the American manufacturers make the best products I will buy them. It's that simple.
Did you know that the Corolas whos VIN # began with a 1,4 or 5 are UAW assembled in the USA all others are assembled in other countries. But that's OK I still won't own one. I'm 6'0" and 203lbs and I can't fit in it. My daughter bought one tho, I won't let her park it in the driveway, call me ol'school. Union till I die!
I don't think there is anyone that doesn't want them to succeed... it's just that some of us don't wan't to bail them out with our tax dollars. I work hard for my money and I don't believe that everyone who gets in line for a bailout due to mis-management should be entitled to reach into my pockets. The cost of doing business should be passed onto those that buy their cars, not subsidized by me or anyone else that isn't going to buy from them.
If you believe that the Whole World (as we know it) runs on Checks & Balances then you know as I do, it is going to get a whole lot Worse before it will get Better!! And Let Us Not Forget that Both CHINA & INDIA are buying up our Treasury Bonds!! Where do you think that will go? :spank: Doug <TABLE class=EC_EC_MsoNormalTable style="WIDTH: 100%" cellSpacing=3 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0.75pt; PADDING-LEFT: 0.75pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0.75pt; WIDTH: 100%; PADDING-TOP: 0.75pt" vAlign=top width="100%">How many zeros in a billion? This is too true to be funny. The next time you hear a politician use the word 'billion' in a casual manner, think about whether you want the 'politicians' spending YOUR tax money. A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into some perspective in one of it's releases. A. A billion seconds ago it was 1959. B. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive. C. A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age. D. A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet. E. A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our government is spending it. While this thought is still fresh in our brain...let's take a look at New Orleans . It's amazing what you can learn with some simple division. Louisiana Senator, Mary Landrieu (D) is presently asking Congress for 250 BILLION DOLLARS to rebuild New Orleans . Interesting number.... what does it mean? A. Well... if you are one of the 484,674 residents of New Orleans (every man, woman, and child) you each get $516,528. B. Or... if you have one of the 188,251 homes in New Orleans , your home gets $1,329,787. C. Or... if you are a family of four... your family gets $2,066,012. Washington , D.C. HELLO! Are all your calculators broken?? Accounts Receivable Tax Building Permit Tax CDL License Tax Cigarette Tax Corporate Income Tax Dog License Tax Federal Income Tax Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA) Fishing License Tax Food License Tax Fuel Permit Tax Gasoline Tax Hunting License Tax Inheritance Tax Inventory Tax IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax) IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax) Liquor Tax Luxury Tax Marriage License Tax Medicare Tax Property Tax Real Estate Tax Service charge taxes Social Security Tax Road Usage Tax (Truckers) Sales Taxes Recreational Vehicle Tax School Tax State Income Tax State Unemployment Tax (SUTA) Telephone Federal Excise Tax Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Tax Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Tax Telephone State and Local Tax Telephone Usage Charge Tax Utility Tax Vehicle License Registration Tax Vehicle Sales Tax Watercraft Registration Tax Well Permit Tax Workers Compensation TaxAd Velorem Taxes STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY? Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago.. and our nation was the most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely no national debt... We had the largest middle class in the world... and Mom stayed home to raise the kids. What happened? Can you spell 'politicians!' And I still have to press "1" for English. I hope this goes around the USA at least 100 times What the heck happened???? </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
BMW's (bump w's as we call 'em) are nothing but an overpriced status symbol. And thats coming from a guy who's half kraut! My brother is a beamer lover (he hates it when I call it that), but again, its just a status thing with him. Along with the kidney shaped swimming pool. Tell me, whats so special about a stupid kidney shaped swimming pool...can't even do laps in the darn thing. If you got enough money for a kidney shaped usless swimming pool, don't come cryin' to me(the taxpayer) for money.
Reminds me of an old joke: What is the difference between a BMW and a porcupine? A porcupine has pricks on the OUTSIDE!
I personally love the German cars.They are well engineered,but suck to work on if you need to. Porche,BMW,Mercedes,Maybach and even VW vehicles drive very well and are great cars. Excellent acceleration,handling,stopping and fuel economy. Very complicated machines with too many components,though. More importantly,they hold up well in most impacts. Much better than any Jap/Korean car would. To me,most Asian cars suck. They are tinny little deathtraps,except for the fullsize trucks,like the Tundra and Titan. The Titan is the right size. The Tundra is too big and heavy and overstyled for a truck but pretty cool looking. If I had to drive an Asian car,though,I would prefer Mazda.They seem to be the best Asian car built. The Brits make some very cool cars,too. Italian supercars,you need to be a millionaire at least,so durability wouldn't matter much. I'll stick mostly with our domestic manufacturers myself.
IMO, GM cars seem to be the only ones worth keeping for several decades. Any of the foreign stuff doesn't seem to want to last, at least for the same cost.
The only imports that I've had are Land Rovers, from a 52 to a 99. I still tell most people to stay clear of them though. They are great for true back country adventures, river crossings, and the likes but they are cramped, under powered for the road, cost a lot to work on and all around they are an expensive primitive vehicle no matter how much leather heated seats that you put in them or what ever, at heart they are an off road rig that is addapted for the road. Most rovers never see dirt and they are a poor choice for an around town rig. Now if you want to leave the road and drive through the woods and rivers, they are great.
The mayor of Lansing sez..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-nL...dlikeproductions.com/forum1/message731175/pg1
