Putting Detroit in the Shop American automakers have to move faster to make cars Americans will actually buy. By Keith Naughton Newsweek Nov. 6, 2006 issue - Bob Wiley has always driven Detroit iron. So when the 62-year-old retired Air Force man decided this year to trade in his Ford pickup truck for a more comfortable car, he test-drove Ford and Buick sedans. But he was turned off by bland styling and worries about reliability. His son suggested he try a Toyota Avalon. Wiley was wary. "That's nothing but a damn Camry with a skirt," he said. Then he drove an Avalon. "Wow, this thing's a rocket," he said as he raced to 75mph in a blink. "And it's like you're in a crypt it's so quiet." Best of all, the Avalon gets 31mpg highway, perfect for those long trips to see the grandkids in Texas. Just that quick, Detroit lost another customer. "Detroit, are you listening?" asks Wiley. "Why can't you build me a peppy yet economical car like the Avalon?" What’s the matter with Motown? Where to begin … Full Article
Why does the cartoon show a car? Detroit is not selling cars - they are selling trucks and SUVs as male-enhancement (even to Soccer Moms). And they act as though psycho-sexual urges will overcome any pain at the pump (the apparent message in the commercials).
It's hard for me to criticize Detroit on their styling, I actually think they are finally making some great looking vehicles, that big Chrysler sedan, some of the Cadillac sports-stuff, the Mustang, the Impala. Now, if GM had only kept Olds and killed Pontiac... It's hard to imagine an Avalon beating someone else because of styling.
My own story explains it all: In late 2003 the missus and I were looking for a new (or really low-mileage used) small hatchback. We liked the look and feel of the Ford Focus ZX-5. It drove well (for us), it was comfortable, small, we really liked the sleek styling. There were two problems: For a small car it got miserable gas mileage (25/31, sorry that's just not gonna cut it when Honda Civics are getting 32/38); and it cost as much as a comparable Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla. Knowing what the awful resale value is on domestic cars, we just couldn't imagine how Ford could possibly justify $18,000 for a Focus. Sure, they had rebates, but then they had to to even sell these cars. But those rebates only brought the cars down to about $14,000. We were still not biting. Then we found out they were offering 0% long-term financing. Okay, now you got our attention. $14,000 and 0% financing and we'd buy a Ford Focus, even with the lackluster gas mileage and horrid resale value. "Oh, but it's either $14,000 or 0% financing" the salesman pointed out. "You can't have both." Okay, then, buh-bye, Ford. We wound up buying a used Subaru Impreza wagon that gets similar gas mileage as the Focus (but has All Wheel Drive), and has much better resale value (when we sold the Suby earlier this summer we actually sold it in only a week for the same amount we had paid. Now that's resale value). The problem is that the domestic manufacturers have spent decades making substandard cars (Ford Mustang II, Fairmont, Chrysler K cars, oh yes...the list goes on and on) and all along kept telling us that NOW things are different, NOW they've fixed all their quality control problems. Now their cars are just as good as the Japanese cars. I eventually came to realize that they were just full of crap. No thanks, you know the old saying: Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice,......uh...um......you can't get fooled again!* Vince *Bushism
My suggestion: Jack up the radiator cap and drive an imported car underneath. (Oh, and while we're at it, can we do something about that radiator cap?) [laughing] The situation kills me. Until his death, my Dad was an exec with Ford; it's been one long strange trip from about '76 onward. Also, the tremendous legacy labour costs that Detroit automakers face is, I think, at the root of the problem. "Foreign" companies can bring cars to market a bit faster, with better quality, yes...but it's pensions and whatnot that are really squeezing profits, in my opinion. Good product wouldn't hurt, of course... [smile]
I thought that WAS the problem, that they ARE making exactly those kind of cars, and frankly, they suck.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Nov 3 2006, 09:04 AM) [snapback]343138[/snapback]</div> Yeah, every other neighbor growning up in Texas back in the 60's and 70's had a set of wheel like this and an oil derrick in their back yard. Sadly, Garland Texas is in my back yard - proud manufactuer of the CXT pictured.
