Who sells the most cars and trucks in America?

If it is dealers you are looknig for, then it is probably Dave Smith in Kellog, ID.

 

Doh! I voted for Ford and just saw the answer shortly after. It was an unfounded, completely eenie-meenie-miney-mo sort of guess between that and Chevy.

 

I think it goes to show that people still would rather buy American cars/trucks.

Problem is, American companies fall a bit short of giving people what they want, and this is where everyone else comes in. I think the American car manufacturers are bull-headed and slow to make changes, whereas the Japs are more open to change and can pivot quicker to implement said changes. For example, it STILL amazes me how 2005 Chevy trucks have friggin' cheap-o dot matrix-esque displays under the speedo, whereas, for example, my mom's '04 Accord has just about the COOLEST speedo cluster with cool looking multi colored lights. Sometimes, it's little things like that...

I also think the Japs manufacture more aesthetically pleasing vehicles.
I mean let's face it, who wants to drive a car they think is ugly?

I think American car companies have the potential to really 'lay the smack down', but it's going to take time...

 

oooo low blow, silver :lol:

 

I might guess one of the exotics... Ferrari, Lamborghini Just taking a shot in the dark here, as they may be subsidiaries... except for Ferrari, don't think they're a subsidiary...

 

GM is the largest auto manufacturer in the world. Close to half of its sales are in the US.

But GM splits it's sales into 'brands', and as such has been beat by the 'Ford' brand by a little bit in recent years on a brand by brand basis except this year, when they came out a few thousand up. The significance of this ? Not a bit. Zilch. Unless you care to argue that Ford is going down the tubes a bit faster than GM. I doubt it, but they do take turns in the lead ..

What is significant is that GM's net worth is NEGATIVE. It is not by chance that no one has forked over the 10 billion in market capitalization that would buy one of the biggest companies in the world -- it is not worth a penny, because it is riddled with debt. On average they lose about $1000.00 on every vehicle sold, and yet year after year after year, lose market share. From a peak US market share of ~ 60% 3 -4 decades ago, they are down to ~ 25%. If you care to download and read an xcel file, here is GM's historical market share. There are three constants in the GM universe: One, they have not successfuly competed against asian imports in the car category since the 70's; two, every year, less people buy their products; and three, it is always someone else's fault.

I should probably add #4: They are too stupid/blind to realize that gasoline will increase in price as time goes on, changing consumer preference. No wait, I know: they will compete against Toyota and Honda with a DAEWOO.

OK, #5: every warmed over, same old POS is 'exciting'.

I was reading the other day that Detroit has discovered the benefits of market manipulation the way the repub party does it, so we can expect more attempts like this one by malorn to disseminate 'talking points' with xenophobic FUD and redneck patriotism as the underlying rubric. Malorn is using this forum to brush up on his pitch.

 

I know exactly how you feel. How DARE Toyota sell outstanding vehicles, advance the tech state of the art, and profit at the same time.

Why, why .. it is outrageous !!**!8!

 

Yawn

 

I have really bad news for you, malorn.

An HSD-Camry is coming out this year. I'm sorry to be the one to bring the tidings.

 

That would be work. You would have to reimburse me my hourly rate of $100/hr.

And, in a spirit of honesty, even if I thought the drive was more pleasant in one of your choices, there is no way I would /ever/ consider buying it. Mixtures of crappy fuel economy, dirty emmisions, and miserable reliability are just not my cup of tea.

 

Yes, I suppose those cars most likely won't fall apart after the first 200 miles. :lol:
But seriously, let's point to something quantitative or even qualitative about something specific about the superiority of the Buick, Malibu, Imapala, and Fusion, over the Camry. Last time I checked, ConsumerReports didn't have a "You Know What I Mean" category to evaluate cars. Saying something like that is so typical of a salesman who doesn't have anything substantial to back up his product.

 

I think malorn is referring to the deafening "putt putt putt" that is supposed to tell you what a beast you are driving.

Power, baby. Ya know what I mean ?

 

Prove it.

Five year reliability stats, minimum. Ten years would be best.

As for CR, if you know of better data, I'd like a lead to it. Noooo .... the three year JD Power's data does not interest me at all.

Actually, you might know and be willing to share -- if GM sells a 100K, bumper to bumper warranty on the cars you are mentioning, how much does it cost ?

 

I think the real problem with trying to convince import buyers to go back to domestic brands is that we've heard it all before. We used to own domestics, and see no reason to buy a domestic brand. Over and over, we hear that "this time it's different."

Well, I'm no Charlie Brown. Lucy is gonna take that football and I'm going to be flat on my back.



Those domestic buyers who got lucky and didn't experience the breakdowns on their cars are still loyal, as are the rednecks, of course, as well as the "in" crowd, those who work in the domestic vehicle industry.

No amount of "convincing" is going to get me to buy a domestic car anytime soon.

Answer me this, does Chevrolet still have that stupid rear main seal design that requires removal of the crankshaft? How about that idiotic differential that needs to have a PLATE removed to get the fluid out? (Drain plug, please!) Has every single bolt and thread been converted to one of 5 standard metric sizes? (Like Toyota?) or are they still using every size, domestic and english, under the sun? How about an oil filter as well built as Toyota's?

How about non-integrated turn signals? IN AMBER?

Can I get knobs and switches that have the nice feel to them? Or is everything still clunky?

How about front brakes? Have you seen Toyota's caliper? Can I get a pair of those on the front of a Ford (With the nice slider guide pins in weather boots instead of exposed to the elements?)

There are so many, many reasons why not to buy a domestic, mostly outdated engineering. The new Tahoe will be worlds above the old one, I'm sure, but is that any reason not to buy an Armada or a Land Cruiser? Not likely.

The problem with winning back the import buyer is that the domestics believe that we looked up some reliability number in consumer reports, and blindly went down and bought the car with the most red dots. The domestics believe if only we could convince them that Consumer Reports is tainted, THEN they'll come back! Well, I have news for you. We LIKE the cars we currently have. We HATE the cars we USED to have.

Go back to the drawing board, fix the fundamentals, the underlying design, the assembly process, the quality control. Do what Saturn did, but don't stop and declare success as soon as it starts to work. Keep going, even when the going gets good.

Until then, every domestic buyer is an import buyer who hasn't been converted yet.

Nate