Do we really need to get into a Ford vs. Chevy debate? You wanna talk Ford products:

I got burnt by Ford with our Mercury Sable wagon. Went through four (4) transmissions over the period of three years. One time it broke down on us on the side of Interstate 95 just outside of Boston with two small kids in the car. Ford knew about the problem for years and never did anything about it, and would not provide any assistance or even admit it was a problem. I don't give second chances either, that's why I bought a Chevy. I am not alone.

A buddy's F150 went through U-joints like they were going out of style.

Another friends 5.0 Mustang broke in half (literally) when he slid and hit a curb (pretty hard) because the factory cut too much of the roof out when they designed their T-tops. With the tops out, you could see the whole chassis flex and water leaked into the interior of a brand new car.

I just hope GM successfully emerges and the more people that keep their job the better. Hopefully we get a good % of our tax dollars back at some point and they remain a part of our manufacturing landscape. We'll be much better off with GM than without. -UAW will take a beating. I could care less about the UAW frankly....or the executives for that matter.

 

I won't be buying GM any time soon, only because I haven't had good luck with my GMC 2500HD Crew Cab. I've spent thousands on this truck on non-maintenance items. I also don't want to be a co-owner of a failed company either. But, I won't have a choice will I? I think it is the most idiotic thing to buy out a company that fails. Let them file for bankruptcy and then reorganize without the government (meaning your and my money) getting involved. On the foreign/domestic warfront. I have a GMC that was made in Canada (if I'm not mistaken), a Ford F350 that also was problematic made in Canada, an Isuzu made in Japan, a Toyota 4Runner made in Japan, and a Nissan 4x4 pickup made in Tennessee. Right now Honda makes many of their cars in Ohio and send them abroad, Nissan has plants in Tennessee, Toyota in Indiana and elsewhere, etc. I'd rather buy a Japanese designed product made in the United States than an American vehicle made in Mexico or Canada.

 

Nice, looks like a chinese company is set to buy Hummer.

 

Ford can compete no problem, because if you read the bylines of the government agreement GM has to pay back that money and buy the government back out. The 60% will dwindle a little each year until it is 0%. This bailout is a loan, not a stock grab.

Ford was smart, because they saw this coming and started making their cuts several years ago. It caused their stock to plummet while GM stayed high. There were rumors about Ford being dead etc...etc.....

But those cuts Ford made 5 years ago are already reaping benefits as we can all see. Ford dumped Mercury in cost in 2005, and started converting the lines. They stopped the duplicate car trend when the killed off the Mystique and Sable, then they killed Mercury altogether.

GM was stupid, they kept making more cars, most of which were basically the same vehicle. Chrysler was doing the same thing with for far too long. Neither of them saw it coming, while Ford was making moves to head it off at the pass. If GM and Chrysler had listened to what the Ford execs were saying at the auto show pre-launch meetings most of this mess could have been avoided. But GM felt that Ford was in a panic and were in more financial trouble than they were leading on.

Just like with the banks, these companies were all too greedy. In the case of the automotive industry, the unions saw the companies get greedy, and they went and got greedy too because they wanted their share of the fortunes. But the bubble burst and killed everything.

 

I was saying that I know that you ARE an American! I did think you were saying that I was not! Just a misunderstanding! I was NOT attacking you! "Well except for your differing political point of view!"
And LOL, I do drive an F series But I will not ever, if at all possible, buy any GM product until all of the money that was borrowed is paid back in full + interest! Probably not even then!

 

I think the one thing Rancher55 and Funride can agree on is the quads they ride.

 

OK. I did misunderstand that. Sorry.

I really like my new Silverado. It's so much nicer than the 2001. I regularly get 18 mpg with a 300+ hp V8. Simply no comparison to the old rig. Everything from the head liner to the door handles is superior. Also love the Corvette.....next on my list. Cadillac is a bit much for me, but the cars are nicely built it seems. The rest of the vehicles, I don't know about. One seems to pay attention to what one likes.

GM is a freakin' mess and they have dug themselves into a serious hole. I just don't want this massive icon of (once) American dominance to disappear from our economy. It's too important. It would be a sad day to see all the dealerships boarded up. Maybe they need to make something else, aside from cars.

The new F150 is a beauty. Love it too. Would be happy to drive one. Others disagree, but I would never buy a foreign truck.

 

We both drive American made trucks....

 

Not sure if this is true, but I've read that for every 100 cars sold in the US, GM, Ford, and Chrysler equals 25 jobs, for the Japanese companies it is less than half...It must be ll the parts made here.

 

I decided to give Ford a try. Had Chevy trucks for the last 10 years. Intake manifold gasket failed 3 months out of warranty. Local Chevy dealer ADMITTED they knew it was a problem, but refused to even help out a little bit. Not that Ford is perfect, but I decided to try something else. I like my F150 4x4 more than my old Silverado.