I don't have a problem with global economy. I don't have problem with somebody who works for the same amount i do. I don't have problem with somebody who wants to make the same living i do. I do have a problem with other countries that work for less. I Do have a problem with labor unions that cost a pretty penny but do away with efficient and productive labor practices. I am not totally against unions. They set standards for labor. and stand against unfair employment practices. In this age, they are used as leverage for increased wages as much or more than anything else. This is why foriegn labor is so desirable. you do away with all of that, and gain people who want to work. Also my 94 k1500 has been great. the 98 more resembles the problems alot of peaple are complaining about. my folks have a 2000 regal gs. this car has been flaless with two exeptions. 1. crappy delco battery made in mexico 2 hvac control display went dim early on. BOTH were happily fixed under warranty. no issues there. thought shoul add that i am not actually knocking my own gm experiance.
American cars are crap!! I have a 67 GS for a hot rod, but as far as daily drivers go....i buy import. My wifes 98 Camry has 92,000 miles on it, replaced brakes twice,and changed the oil and filters-nothing else. I have a 99 Accord with 120,000 on it -same deal brakes twice, oil and filters. There are no american cars that can compete with that! GM is going under i wonder why? The GTO is a piece of junk, the Corvette is for chicks and old men, As with the Caddy. The only american car worth a damn is the Mustang! ou: For dependable cheap transpo. import- for hotrods american.......Just my two cents!!!!
Hi Guys, The NEWEST vehicle I have EVER owned is my '86 Regal and that was only as of a couple of years ago. Up until that time the newest car had been a '74 Super Bee(tle).:grin: It was my work, errand and winter car...probably close to 300,000 miles on it before I had to get rid of it. Shoot..never even changed oil in it just added a quart as needed for the entire 6+years I owned it. The brakes went out and when I went to the master cylinder...it was a giant rust "blob", like it had been down with the Titanic for years!:shock: It's also the ONLY foreign car I've ever owned. You couldn't give me a Jap car/truck...I WOULD however...take the cash equivalent to put toward REAL vehicles!:laugh: The thing that bugs me THE most about Jap cars (a close second is NOPI though:boring: ) is seeing an elderly couple driving down the road in one with a WWII Veteran's commemorative license plate.ou: I would say those who do must have definately been part of the European campaign and NOT the Japanese/Pacific. We beat them in war but they have had their "retaliation" on the economic "battlefield". It's a shame that the patriotism that all of our forefathers fought, bled and many died for, is going further and further by the wayside because of saving a few bucks here & there and (of course...) political correctness. It's a sickening feeling to drive down the road and see all the Asian cars.:rant:
Bottom line Jap cars are some of the best engineered and longest running cars on the road!! Not to mention.... for instance.... Buy a new GM car and drive it for 6 months and trade it in... You will loose your tail on it when you do... Now buy a Subaru or a Toyota and do the same and you will be surprized. The Japanese cars hold there value very well.. I have a 2003 Subaru WRX... great car! When ever I get a new car again it will be a Subaru! Or whenever I decide to get a truck it will be a Toyota. Gm need to wake up and start producing performance cars that people want. Im sorry the GTO in my opinion is a Joke. And there sales show it. If I had to pic a performance car for around or under 30K it would be 1. Subaru STI 2. Mitsu EVO 3. Ford Mustang. All above in my opinion are better cars.. Dustin
"Not to mention.... for instance.... Buy a new GM car and drive it for 6 months and trade it in... You will loose your tail on it when you do... Now buy a Subaru or a Toyota and do the same and you will be surprized." Yes - an absolute possibility. I've seen it in person. My wife destroyed her Lexus RX300 back in 2001 when it was about 10 months old. She was fine. I actually MADE money in the insurance settlement - partly because I got the vehicle for a good price from the dealer - partly because it held every bit of its value during that 10 months.
well while i 've heard some mid 80 referances to gm crap.... let me make one to suburu. the folks had an 86 subaru wagon gl-10 . Piece of s#!t. they had it from late 86 until early 90, when the best thing happened. it was totalled. that damn thing had a broken 60 - 200 dollar part every 6 damn months. No kidding. I'm being very acurrate. Never achieved better than 24mpg. Ever. mostly highway. it was to two different deallerships. nothing wrong with it other than the guttless turd couldn't handle it's own automatic transmition. What did that car wiegh? about 2500-2800?. they bought a plymouth acclaim (midsize) that got that mph in town with a v6. Tranny dropped out of it and dealer fixed it after lots of squaking from us, but it was still a step up from subaru. I rag on the acclaim at that. it was junk too. the rings went at around 70K. regular oil changes(some early). By the way, the that was a mitsubishi v6 in that car. junk.
I'm glad you brought this up. Back in 1978, my wife bought a Toyota Corolla because American small vehicles were far and few between. I drove it to work one day and my boss came out and just kind of stared at it for a moment. He asked me if it was a Japanese car and I said yes. I knew he was a WWII vet but he never talked about any specifics. He then asked me if I knew of a company called Mitsubishi. I didn't at that time. He then said that he worked for them in Japan, during the war, as an American slave laborer working at an aircraft co. He was a POW from either the Philipines or Bataan. His eyes welled up a bit and he never mentioned it again. What they couldn't do to us militarily, they will do to us economically. The trade playing field still is not level. After years of dumping products and creating market niches at the expense of US manufacturing, the time will come soon when the pipers will want to be paid. These foriegn corporations and countries hold so much US currency that when they decide to call all that cash in, we as a people will go bankrupt. And do you really think that just because they employ Americans to build their products that they really care about us. It's a business decision and when it becomes bad business, they'll abandon us and we'll have no world class manufacturing left to compete. Japan and Korea started it and the Red Dragon will finish us off. They will become the main target market and we'll become a second rate economy. I noticed a lot of people on this thread taking brutal potshots at GM. What's really ironic is seeing the proliferation of Asian cars here in the Detroit area which economically would fold up like a wet noodle if GM or Ford were to fail. Take a look at all the money given to non-profit foundations by the big two. The Asian car makers couldn't even fall in line behind GM, Ford and Chrysler until many days later after the 9-11 attacks. GM and Ford give millions to the public universities such as MSU and U of M yet drive through the faculty parking lots and 80% of the vehicles are Asian and European. Also, to make a blanket statement that GM builds junk is ignorant at best. As a part time auto invester and business owner, I've owned no less than 50-60 cars and trucks in the past 22 years, includeng VW's and several Toyotas. I can give you the ups and downs of all these vehicles but I've already used up too much time and space. I'll just say that the degrees of difference aren't that great anymore, at least not to justify sending any more US currency overseas.
my dad has a 98 f250 ext cab. bought it for $6000. the only thing he had to replace was a 50 dollar tranny sensor. and at 233k he had to replace the upper ball joints. we use it for all our pulling and when we go hunting. good strong truck. driving from vail colorado to Canon city colorado we averaged 24mpg. and thats doing 70mph, and going up and down mountains. weird design on the ball joints tho. u have to replace the entire Aarm. but hey, for $45 thats easier than having to drill out the rivits like on the old cars!
gto and corvette are for old people and chics? lol this coming from some1 with a honda and a camry... atleast kids these days dont rice out a corvette or gto like they do with a honda...
another i just thought of it but u know what a really big pos is that ive seen lately? the dodges with the mits 3.0. EVERY 1 i come across with 70k is blowing blue smoke. or the trannys are slipping. its a real bummer when u find a good looking car, start it and it just pours out smoke like an old steam train. and when you do find a good 1, u take it for a ride in the mountains and find it guttless. In my opinion, EVERY car manufacturer turns out a bad egg. ive been reading up on the new mazda rx8's and they are having huge computer problems and fuel problems. this guy replaced the main computer 8 times b4 it went bad again and he sold it. and it only had 20,000 miles! im not a big ford fan but my dad as ive said earlier bought a 98 f250 with triton 5.4 v8 3 years ago and its only cost him about $500 in parts since then. hell he hit a 400lb bear a few months back. good thing ford still uses real bumpers and not that plastic crap! we just pulled it out with a winch and its fine. the only thing hes complaining about now is having to replace to door light sensor every 30k. some how they get worn out and the inside lights and truck bed light stays on. but like i said. every car company throws out a bad egg and that includes buick.. remember the alum 215?
What was wrong with the 215?? o No: That engine was and still is a great design that was YEARS ahead of it's time. Remember, Rover bought the design rights to it and used it up till a few years ago. Can't be all that bad to get that kind of longevity. :grin: We could only wish GM still had the creativity and design excellence that they had back in those days. :ball:
I will not and refuse to give up my 71!!!It has been my daily driver since I got it in 98'.I get some crap every now and then from people but I tell them at least I don't have to take it to a dealership when something goes wrong with it.I can listen to it or feel it while I'm driving it and it tells me what it needs.I LOVE OLD STEEL!!!!!I will not have a new car,and I use the term "car" very lightly!!!!! :blast: :blast: Most of them are disposable transportation,not works of art like they used to be!
Indeed, I to have several Subaru stories. My advice, buy the best Subaru warrenty you can, I know people that did not and had to pay thousands out of pocket. :af: Do not make the assumption you can put Subaru in the same quality group as Toyota (or Honda), just may family and friends experience talking here, good luck.
GM con't Guess everyone's experience is different. Having never owned a foreign car, can't really comment on that, but my GM experience started off rotten, but got a lot better. Bought a couple of Z-28's in 80 and 81. (both 4 spds, both 350's) The 80 I didn't have long enuff to have any experience with whatsoever (thanx to $383/mt payment that I couldn't make) but the 81 spit 2 cams on warranty within 8 months.The second came apart hard enuff to clog the oil screen, killing the oil pressure. (bad 305 cam cores, I was told) Dealership refused to inspect, let alone replace, bearings and the rest of the rotating assy. As luck would have it, someone else wanted it, so down the road it went. I should also mention that there had to be at least 3 areas of this car that showed evidence of body/scratch/paint repair. Swore I would never buy another GM! Years later, in 86, I bought a brand new 305/TH 350 loaded 1/2 ton. I had 389,000 kms. on it before I replaced the original engine! Truck never missed a beat in 11 years; when I finally totalled it (again!) in 97, it had been thru 38 states, 6 provinces, 2 writeoffs and was showing 540 K. It was bought off the insurance company, repaired again, and lasted 2 more years and 20K before being written off for the 3rd time by the second owner...my everyday driver right now is a 94 sunbird (3.1/5 spd) that my sister bought new and I got with 259km showing...it now has 345km and has never once failed to start. Well, did have to replace the rad, and 3rd & 4th gear disappeared, necessitating tranny replacement last year...now all I have to do is stop the doors from rusting...and that spot on the trunk...hmmm...looks like I'm 2 for 3...
Kerry, what brands are you talking about? Do you mean Kia's and Hyundais? Toyotas and Hondas cost MORE than the domestics with the possible exception of the trucks. Not trusting Mazda, Mitsubishi, or the others I can't say what their prices are. I will say anyone who buys a new car entirely or even primarily on price is nuts. The same goes for brand. For those of you who have had such great luck with your GM vehicles, that's great. Too bad you seem to be the exception percentage wise rather than the rule.
play big box mart :shock: http://www.jibjab.com/Home.aspx uzzled: reminds me of Walmart.... the new industry of America uzzled:
Sorry, but your claim that GM doesn't produce junk does not jibe with my own experience. Now if you mean the that the claim GM produces nothing but junk isn't accurate, that I can agree with. Let me explain what I have used to determine that GM's vehicle quality is not where it should have been since 1990-2005. Personal/1st hand:This includes GM Cars I, or members of my familly have owned. 2nd hand: When a co-worker, neighbor, or friend complains about a problem with their car I ask them a few questions. Make, model, year, mileage, what the problem is, have they been to the dealer, if so how many times, and how was their experience. My car obsession demands that I do this. Besides, I've been able to help a few of them. Major recalls: Sorry, but Toyota and Honda wins hands down here. Many of the major recalls for them have been for minor things. The domestics... BTW, let's hold off on the personal attacks on people or types of cars (Corvettes are for women, Hondas are for ricers). One thread being deleted for that type of thing is enough. For the person who said we needed to stop buying the cheap GM stuff, why should we have to spend 30K or more to get quality? 20K isn't chump change either. I spend that much on a new Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla and I won't have to worry about major issues for at least 5 years, if not longer. Besides, not all of us are rolling in the dough.
:shock: gee ......I wonder why.......... o No: maybe if you supported American products instead of bashing them.....you would have a better paying job :spank:
