Is GM's worst enemy the American public's cynicism?

GM has many quality vehicles now, and when they had a class leader in the Saturn L series it was a 'little' noisy nobody bit. Does GM have a bad image or does America. I am rooting for ya, and I am a Canuck Canadian.

1 year ago
Caspers, my sister is an accountant for a farm utility reseller and oversees stock control the companie's car fleet. She says when a truck blows an engine it is a Ford. Most of my vehicles have been Fords, so I am not prejudiced starting with a 65 high perf Mustang.

1 year ago
Ok Seahawk, I drive a Pontiac Vibe, same car as the Toyota Matrix. on the side from me outgrowing an otherwise commodeist interior I am 6'5" I love it. By why is it is resale price considerably below the Matrixs.' it is just not depending on fact. And about the L series, it grew long in the tooth because of poor sales, but Intellichoice.com rated it best pick in class.

1 year ago
Deadly, I got a great and cheap expanded warranty on my L series, and before we expanded it and after the original had run out we had a fix done free. I did love driving my L a four with five spd., peppy, economical but, yes, way too many repairs.

By the way above I was really referring to the S series.

1 year ago
Maria, many people complain about unions, but typically when everyone's back is against the wall as was with Chrysler cooperation is the name of the game. Besides the big three do not just suffer from big unions, they also sufferr from big management. Japanese CEOs do not make almost as much coin as American ones do.

1 year ago
Daddio, yes the mpg issue IS THE BIGGEST ISSUE. The quality gap narrowed considerably between American and Japanese. Now we're ahead of Europe, who seem to be stuck in the mud. But Volkswagen can sell cars, if they break. What gives?

1 year ago
Rigo, GM's stock soared 40% in the last three months, and you have not seen anything still. When the new merger bears fruition GM will bring lots to the table by infrastructure. But sorry about your Monte Carlo. Today they're one of GM's best made cars.

1 year ago
EY, view, as you paraphrase it, is the other half of the equation. My problem is that when GM does bring out something good we're the 1st to jump all over it. I am all in favour of improvement and thank the Japanese for lighting a fire under our butts, but when it comes we all seem to think anything less than perfection is not good enough. And do you know who invented statistical quality control an American, and just punctually parts delivery Henry Ford.

I want you people to feel guilty, that doesnt mean look the other way, because we have had Edsels also as cars that break. But it we are not part of the solution here each other, we are part of our problem.

1 year ago
Paka, an American law, made by an American who cared. This does not mean we are losers like we seem to think we're.

It's time for reflection.

This is an interesting thread. Let me interject some things to make you go "hmmmm."

Toyota increased its market share pretty significantly in recent years, but not via hybrids or fuel economical vehicles, but in big pickup / SUV sales. GM's new SUVs are class leaders in fit & finish, fuel economy, ride / handling, interior sound, etc., etc.

By the way, hybrid technology was embraced by Ford, but hybrids other than the Prius do not seem to sell well. what is up with that? Is this another view issue? GM says that the future of auto power is flex fuel. It says that over a lifetime, an Escalade running E85 will burn less gas than a Prius.

Longer warranty? I happen to know that GM is looking at rising its base warranty. But I wonder why Hyundai's resale values fall off so quickly when they offer a ten year warranty?

Speaking of Hyundai, it looks there can be some malfeasance from their upper management stay tuned on that one.

And to some silly posts: 'Liberals' drive foreign cars? .

I thik the fact that your 1979 Monte Carlo is still going at all is a testament. Do you realize it is 27 years old? How many 27 year old Suburus do you see out there? BTW, my GTO turns 40 next year

GM vehicles have more recalls than any other make, but also makes more vehicles than any other make by far. it is the same idea that all the mistakes on an office are caused by the same person the one who is working. This argument also applies to aftermarket parts sales. There are more domestic cars on the road here than foreign cars. so it's natural to sell more parts for those cars.

Ford isn't the #1 selling pickup truck once you add the Chevy and GMC nameplates. The F series is the #1 selling nameplate.

Domestic cars aren't costly, and do not essentially get worse fuel economy than their Japanese competitors. Their 'boring' designs are relative you may be able to look at designs like the new Solstice and Camaro idea as examples.

Lastly, in places where the playing field is level, GM is trouncing the Japanese competition. look at sales numbers in China as evidence.

Conclusion? view is a big part in any equation, and GM, Ford, & Chrylser all have a credibility gap, deserved or not.

All the political liberals I know think it is more cool to purchase foreign cars than American made cars like their parents did.

I have a Chevy pickup that I have had since 1987 and it is still going great..

American mass made cars are boring and unoriginal. Plus they're typically costly and require more gas.

Truthfully The reason GM is to get such a bad wrap is because regardless what sales say FORD will generally be the no. one American auto..The F series trucks are the no1 selling automobiles for the last twelve years..There really is nothing wrong with the quality or preformance of the GM autos.But FORDS are constructed to last and built for work.9 times out of ten if a company is looking for fleet trucks non Big Rig they'll go with FORD..because ford has an broad commercial warranty.GM doesn't

HOLY CRAP. The L class did not lead anything. It was cheaply made, and did not have the room or features that were available on other, although costly, cars in its class. GM's biggest enemy looks to be the corporate culture which never had to endure the near elimination that Chrysler did in the late 70s and early 80s. It seesm that Gm worries too much about view, and not enough about production. I can't tell you the last time I went into a GM showroom, or drove a modern GM product and felt it groundbreaked and respectable of being a class leader. OK, sorry, I haven't driven the Cadillac SRX and am impressed with all I know about it. The sad part is, majority of people have a good image of GM, or worse WANT to myself included but they can not bring themselves to purchase a product that's behind the times and competition.

Perfect example: The Chevrolet HHR. This packaged and intended car is a good effort from GM, but it took five years from when it was in idea form to be greenlighted for production. In that time, we already to the second generation of PT Cruisers, a car with alike style and function. The PT is a roaring success that now needs to be followed, while the HHR seems sloppy seconds. I think GM should merge with Renault and Nissan, if only to get some new blood in there, so all three can benefit.

All American cars have bad pictures. seven of the top 15 cars that have been recalled are american cars. GM I bileev makes up about three or four of those cars. Needless to say although GM is an unluck company. With all their SUV's and Hummers to get liked gas prices increased their sales decreased. American cars offer crappy warranties because they know their stuff isn't quality and will most likely need fix some time soon.

gm's worst enemy is the U.A.W. In other words, themselves. The retirement plans, that the manufacturers agreed upon, with the union, are complete death sentences. I'll patiently wait, and watch, for a real car company purchase out my dear Ford, and poor gm.

i've sold aftermarket parts at three million dollar a year stores for 18 years.
they ALL break. the big three break the most, but are cheaper to fix typically .
imports break way less frequently. regular maintenance things like brakes and belts and hoses.
i purchase a car on a dollar per mile concentrate. the big three have a long way to go to compare to the imports.

but did you notice the mpg does not really seem to be going anywhere, with all the current debate, and the decades of research behind us now? on imports or domestics?

GM has had a history of making bad cars with shoddy materials. if they improved in recent years, it is still hard to shake the image, particularly since the company itself is teetering on bankruptcy.

One big complaint is that GM is extending itself too much. They make eight brands Chevy, GMC, Hummer, Pontiac, Saturn, Saab, Buick and Cadillac lots of times use the same engines and interchange them. This costs them lots of money, and could do so much better for themselves if they consolidated. And their comparatively lack of interest in Hybrid or alternative technologies is going to hurt them also. it is a prime example of American backwardness.

I have a 1979 Chevy monte carlo that has pretty much fallen separately. some years ago browsing casually on a chevy forum, most other monte carlo users have had the same problem with upholstery randomly falling, particularly from the roof, engine problems, electrical problems, windows jamming, it could not be coincidence.

Sjean should know that although Toyota is a Japanese company, They now employ more American workers than Ford or GM does, since they outsource their parts and labor to Mexico.

I've owned both domestic and foreign cars. Some of the foreign cars were better, others weren't. I honestly think it is a matter of taste. America does make good cars now, but that was not generally the case. Now people were used to the foreign ones.

How did the LEMON LAW started ???? American car ..