<VV> RE: GM nneds better cars?

[Thesuperscribe at cs.com]

Certainly GM does need better cars, but it already has some good ones. For instance, auto writers have been praising most Cadillacs for several years, and the new Pontiac Solstace has just been declared a winner by Automobile and Car & Driver. 

The Chevy Impala is a great car for the money, even if they erased the former models' distinctive styling and made it look like any other sedan. 

Recently my wife and I bought an '05 Chevy Malibu Maxx for about $21K and really like it. It's a long-wheelbase hatchback so has room to haul people and stuff. It handles well and has a 3.5-liter V6 that's fast and gives good fuel economy (in the 20s). It's quiet -- unusual for a low-priced car -- and has useful features like adjustable pedals and a tilt/telescoping steering wheel, as well as all sorts of programmable electronics (for example, you can set how the doors automatically lock and unlock, or set them to be left entirely manual). Will all that stuff keep working after 30 or 40 or 50K miles? We'll see.

Trouble is, along with the Corvair we now have two Chevies in the garage. And in spite of that and this note, I don't like giving the impression that I'm a GM fan or brand-loyal to anything. 

Because I had to buy my own health insurance for so long and must plan for my retirement on my own, I'm disgusted by the fringes that UAW workers get. And CEO pay today? It ought to come with 20 years in prison. But I do believe in giving some credit if a person or company deserves some.   

--Tom Berg

***

Date: Fri, 16 Sep 2005 15:46:53 -0400
>From: Padgett <pp2 at 6007.us>
>Subject: <VV> OT GM woes (longish rant)
>To: virtualvairs at corvair.org
>Message-ID: <5.2.0.9.2.20050916150742.0123d1a8 at mail.bellsouth.net>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
>
>
>>Profit??? Uh, just in case you haven't noticed, GM and Ford are drowning in
>>a river of red ink.  GM is considering bankruptcy and Ford just brought in  a
>>turnaround specialist who's taking Bill Ford's job.  Both have "junk"  bond
>>status now.  ("Blue chip" when we were young)  They're not making  ANY 
>>profit.
>
>When I was going to GMI, GM was worried about having too large a market 
>share. Took a decade of the 55 mph speed limit for Oriental cars to go from 
>novelty to dominance.
>
>Recently my wife needed a new car and since the Smart is not being imported 
>was looking elsewhere. With the GM "everyone gets an employee discount" 
>(not really but sounds good) we went looking. One thing she wanted was 
>really good gas milage and mentioned the 31/38 of a Scion. (are higher MPG 
>cars but the cost differential and potential maintenance down the road 
>costs for hybrids eat up the difference quickly).
>
>Went to http://www.fueleconomy.gov/ and found something called a Pontiac 
>Wave with 26/34. Quickly found out it is not sold in the US. Turned out the 
>Chevrolet Aveo (same/same) is but almost all were strippers. Are made by 
>Daewoo anyway. Offputting was the timing belt rather than chain. Even worse 
>only one equipped the way we wanted had been receiving fresh air and 
>sunshine in South Florida for eight months. Was a 2005 obviously.
>
>Since she had mentioned the Scion we had a look at an XA. Same HP but VVT 
>(chain driven) allowed 10.5:1 cr on 87 PON and significantly higher MPG. 
>Almost all the toys standard. Quick look at used values showed the average 
>2004 Scion selling for almost 50% more than a 2004 Aveo. Reliability 
>considered considerably higher. Meanwhile a 2006 Scion was less than a 
>grand more than the 2005 Aveo even with the discount. What is wrong with 
>this picture ?
>
>Fact is that GM is remarkably ill-poised for $3/gallon gasoline and the 
>death of the SUV market, something that should have been obvious for over a 
>year.
>
>Overseas, Vauxhall and Opel have many sub-2 liter vehicles that are quite 
>interesting and designed for $6/gallon gas but they are not mentioned here. 
>Instead if you click on the "advanced concepts" from the engine page on 
>http://www.gm.com/automotive/gmpowertrain/ you get a V-16 13.7 liter 1000 
>hp engine. In fact of all the cars on the "fuel economy" page, *none* get 
>over 30 mpg city. (Vibe is better than the Aveo). Have mentioned before 
>what it takes to get Really Good MPG.
>
>So why is GM in trouble ? Certainly the wages paid are part of it but it 
>might help to have a competitive and agile vehicle lineup.
>
>Padgett 
>
>