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Thread: Good article series on how GM “went to shit”

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    Member SecondsCount's Avatar
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    All of the American car companies have struggled to make a reliable vehicle for years. The Asian manufacturers have pushed most of the US car manufacturers to trucks and SUVs.

    GM trucks seem to hold up fairly well but I can only go by the experience of friends. I'll never own another GM vehicle based on my experience with them between 1990 and 2005. Since that time I have driven mo
    -Seconds Count. Misses Don't-

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    Vending Machine Operator
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    I would truly love to buy American and support domestic auto manufacturing, but for the last 17 years I've owned two vehicles, both Japanese. Zero issues with either, for 17 years. The amount of friends and family I've had buy Chevys, Dodge, Jeep, etc. and have them shit the bed in that 17-year span is genuinely shocking. I can't support an inferior product.

    Which really sucks because the illogical lizard brain in me wants a Camaro so bad.
    State Government Attorney | Beretta, Glock, CZ & S&W Fan

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    Good article series on how GM “went to shit”

    Quote Originally Posted by LockedBreech View Post
    I would truly love to buy American and support domestic auto manufacturing, but for the last 17 years I've owned two vehicles, both Japanese. Zero issues with either, for 17 years. The amount of friends and family I've had buy Chevys, Dodge, Jeep, etc. and have them shit the bed in that 17-year span is genuinely shocking. I can't support an inferior product.

    Which really sucks because the illogical lizard brain in me wants a Camaro so bad.
    Similar here. Our 2002 Lexus gs300 is still going strong. Being driven by my step-grandson now. AFAIK the only non-preventive maintenance issues it has ever had were body/bumper stuff from twice being rear-ended hard while at a standstill, the LCD for the sound system no longer displays, and 2 of the electronic door locks no longer work. Oh and the exterior paint on the hood and roof looks shitty now.

    Edited to add: one of the guys that worked for me until I retired did have real good luck with his bright yellow Camaro that everyone called “Bumblebee”.

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    Member Sal Picante's Avatar
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    For a minute here, I thought you meant the USPSA Classification...

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    It’s just my subjective, consumer opinion, that American car makers do alright with their muscle cars, full size vans and SUV’s, and pickup truck market. Other than that, I can’t think of a single category that I would choose domestic over Asian.
    David S.

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    That's too bad. I was under perhaps the false impression that US makers had got their act together at least pre COVID. I've had/have Dodge Durango SUV's and Ram trucks both Hemi and Diesel engines without issue since 2000 but I haven't done a 17 year span on one single vehicle. 17 years is a pretty high bar to not have any issues although on my RAM's I have confidence at least the engine and drive train would be trouble free for that long with regular PM.

    For what it is worth two mechanic friends of mine, one a diesel mech and the other anything not diesel both swear by Subaru cars/SUV's and Ram trucks with Hemi or Diesel engines. They rarely break and when they do are easy to work on. Their words not mine.

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    Site Supporter 0ddl0t's Avatar
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    GM went to shit because it was seen as a big evil corporation with unlimited pockets.

    They got punished with lawsuits for any innovation that wasn't absolutely perfect. Take the corvair - a better car than the competition, but it had a tendency to oversteer when pushed beyond the limit. Of course you would have to drive a higher speed to lose traction in a corvair than comparable Ford or Dodge, but it was *different.* Well different for a domestic - its swing axle & rear weight bias were shared by Volkswagen, but no one complained about them. So they stuck with boring, conservative designs.

    Likewise the big evil corporation could afford to pay workers more, right? UAW strikes & contract negotiations meant GM paid entry level works about the equivalent of $15/hour in the 50s, $25/hr in the 60s, $35/hr in the early 70s, ballooning to over $70/hour toward the late 70s & early 80s. When you add in generous retirement (age 58), a GM employee was costing something like $140/hour in the Malaise era. Import automakers didn't pay anywhere near this and even with import tariffs GM could simply not compete on cost for entry level cars as Japan began to match Detroit's assembly line quality & efficiency...
    Last edited by 0ddl0t; 10-13-2022 at 05:16 PM.

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    Site Supporter rdtompki's Avatar
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    My 2001 Chevy Duramax dually was near flawless save for the fuel injector recall. But, of course, this was a very basic truck. Should have kept it. Old Audi Coupe went 375K flawless miles with only the interior falling apart. Old diesel VW Jetta wagon another 375K near flaw less miles. Simple cars have a great deal going for them. We'll see how my 2020 RAM 1500 holds up but I do like the vehicle; it does have an excess of features but I have yet to experience any SW related glitches. Not so with our late model Mercedes Sprinter which now complains about low tire pressure despite display in-range pressures. I wonder about the testing associated with these relatively complex systems not directly related to safety with the cost and market timing pressures in the car/truck market.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Les Pepperoni View Post
    For a minute here, I thought you meant the USPSA Classification...
    Samesies, actually sounded more appealing that way for some reason.

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