General Motors has filed for bankruptcy.

We should've bought the fucking Hummer!

I'm driving an eleven year old Subaru with 235K miles on it.  I can still get it up to 100 mph when I have to, or want to.

I won't buy an American car because it's an American car.  GM can suck it.


Phil

I drive a Chrysler concord. It's been good to me.

Kind of feel a sympathetic nostalgia to hear of GM going under.

Sandra

I drive a Sedan. Is that GM?

~Zack~

A sedan is a type of car, not a brand.


Phil

Quoted from Zack I drive a Sedan. Is that GM? ~Zack~

Chevy, Cadillac, Pontiac (being shut down), Saturn (being sold), Hummer, Buick, and Saab are all under GM.

I drive a Toyota Solara. Sorry folks, not buying American. I like a solid car that's not gonna cost me a ton in repairs or petrol.

The mileage these guys give is amazing

Being in the auto parts business for the last 25+ years, I have a pretty good idea of how good or bad some cars are and who the owners of certain brands are...

There's a reason why I don't by American cars. They're just not the best quality. They are not bad, but there are other brands that are far better and lasts longer.

I drive a LOT! My last car was a Mazda. I drove it for 300K miles then gave it to one of our employees. That was 1.5 years ago and he's still driving it! Besides normal maintenance all I ever did to it was change the clutch and and the carburator.

Now I drive a Toyota FJ. I LOVE it!


Until GM builds cars that people want to buy, they're going to continue to be in trouble. Just MHO.

Don't think however that just because something is imported it's great. One of the worst cars for maintenance and cost of parts and maintenance is actually Audi, VW, Volvo, Saab and Jaguars. Nice engineering, but...

Btw, I have a couple of friends who own Smart cars. Those puny little things and they get really bad gasmileage for what they are. About 26mpg or so. A Civic gets better than that.

The audi, VW etc are European made and hella expensive to maintain. Japanese is the way to go IMO although I like Mercedes...

No wonder Murphy is bankrupt....too many pints.

Quoted from dogglebe A sedan is a type of car, not a brand.

Haha. I'm very car dumb. It's a Saturn Sedan.

~Zack~

My mother in law passed away last friday. Her husband worked for GM. 23 years. He died 12 months ago almost to the day. I find a really wierd sense of irony knowing mom died withen a day of their (GM's) bankruptsy. Between the two of them and their illness's a combined medical bill must have amounted to over a million dollars.

I challange another company to stand behind their employees that strongly.

When they come back, GM (not the parents) this will be the price paid for a new working company. NO decent insurance, pension, or union backing. The union lost that right when they sold out the people they were supposed to defend.

It's not the cars or there quality that will be effected, but america and it's future because we sold ourselves to the greediest bidder and left our labor patrons out to dry.

If anyone here doubts this, have them ask any of the 2000 dealerships that are being closed down.

Sorry, you just happen to hit on a VERY touchy subject in my world.

Shawn.....><

  

Quoted from JamminGirl although I like Mercedes...

That's for "old, boring" people....

Judging by our customers is all...  

Ledbetter,

I hate to tell you, but one of the things bringing GM down was the Union...

People will always seek out the most BANG for the buck. American cars just don't do it. I'm very patriotic, but I'm not an idiot...

Me,
That is exactly what i said.
It wasn't the company, it was the union. when I said "The union lost that right when they sold out the people they were supposed to defend"

Also note: The union wanted the insurance to be diminished AND raise the premiums and GM said no. They also were the ones who voted NO to any pay reductions to help GM stableize and avoid bankrutpsy.

I personally feel the time for a union has long passed. Desolve and resolve and lets get americas best resourse (it's people) back on the assemble line.

Shawn......><

I am not bankrupt.  Just a bad streak at the races on the weekend, it will come back.

Living in the metro Detroit area I have seen more and more people lose their jobs, their homes.

The last I heard we had 10 percent unemployment, (It could be more) and on every block there is at least two homes for sale from foreclosure.  

When the auto industry does bad, it affects the other companies that do work for them, such as making parts or any other items that the bigger companies will need, Not only auto parts, but maybe racks, paint, not to mention the car dealers, too.

People who work for suppliers have their hours cut when the supply goes down, and sometimes they could end up without a job, too. And yes, when that happens, people get scared. They spend less money, which effects other companies around the world. People cut wherever they can, yes, even on food, entertainment.

It has a trickle down effect.

Buy whatever kind of car you want. That's up to you, but I believe whoever buys foreign cars doesn't have a right to complain about the economy.

Cindy
Surviving in the ruins

I drive Ford.  I also owned GM products.  I owned one Suzuki due to money desperation for awhile, and won't do that again.

I don't complain about the economy.  I'm sad about the economy.

Quoted from CindyLKeller It has a trickle down effect.

I don't think it's as black and white as you make it out to be Cindy. The trickle down effect you mention also works left and right - across the Atlantic and the Pacific. With GM gone, one would assume that there will be an influx in the sale of Japanese and European cars. That in turn will generate more money on either side which usually leads to an increase in import (including US products), so at least some of the money lost here will find its way back to the US.

Quoted from CindyKeller Buy whatever kind of car you want. That's up to you, but I believe whoever buys foreign cars doesn't have a right to complain about the economy.

The only ones that doesn't have a right to complain about the economy are, in my opinion, the ones that are saving up for a rainy day. While I can totally understand why someone would do that, it simply hurts the economy. The only way to get through this crisis is, for us as consumers, to spend spend spend. That's the trickle "up" effect (obviously, it helps if you have a job). It's of course sad that we were even brought to this point but we're here now and we have to deal with it.

I understand what Cindy is saying. Like I said, I'm in the auto business myself. In my town we have seen in the last six months the Ford, Volvo, Mazda, Saab and Cadillac dealers close! But should I feel sorry for people losing their $70/hour jobs? Hell no! No wonder the Chinese are taking over!

Btw Sniper, bankruptcy does not mean they are gone... It means reorginazation while protected from creditors.

Anyway, don't you all feel better now when a 30 year old from Yale without any experience running a business is going to "save" GM???

It's a fucked up world my friends. 2012...here we come!  

Quoted from Grandma Bear That's for "old, boring" people.... Judging by our customers is all...

I'm actually hoping for a Mercedes AMG CL65 one day.  

I do like German cars.  

Quoted from Grandma Bear Btw Sniper, bankruptcy does not mean they are gone... It means reorginazation while protected from creditors.

And that usually leads to what...?

Drumroll

...gone'ness.

Maybe Toyota will buy em up, move the production to Japan, either way it's bye bye. I saw Obama is looking to save GM, which is comendable, but the only way they can get that to work is to reduce cost - and the fastest way to cut cost is, unfortunately, to fire people.

Quoted from Grandma Bear But should I feel sorry for people losing their $70/hour jobs? Hell no! No wonder the Chinese are taking over!

That's not entirely fair, Pia. I understand where you're coming from and all but the cost of living in the US, or anywhere else in the west really, is vastly higher than it is in China. I hear a bowl of rice will get me a new pair of soccer boots.

Quoted from Grandma Bear Anyway, don't you all feel better now when a 30 year old from Yale without any experience running a business is going to "save" GM???

Anybody who can add and subtract can save GM - that's not the problem. The problem is, how do you save GM without laying off everybody?

Quoted from CindyLKeller Buy whatever kind of car you want. That's up to you, but I believe whoever buys foreign cars doesn't have a right to complain about the economy.

I use to believe that, too. Cindy.  But, after owning both American and import cars, I feel no loyalty to American cars.  If Ford, GM and Chrysler want my loyalty they have to earn it by making a better car than other countries.


Phil

Sniper,
Other countries still import more vechicles here than what they take from us. I'd hate to see it get worse.

This import stuff makes me nuts. Like China poisioning the dog food, and the paint on children's toys...

I can't trust them. I'll buy American.

I just wish that Americans could keep working, like they want to do,
no matter how much they are paid. If it is the right job for them, and they accept the money, great for them. It's better than begging on the streets.

Pia,
I also believe that if you work on commision, and you're a good salesman who earns $70 an hour, and lost your job, it's a damned shame.

That person won't be spending money for a while either... And multiply that by how many people??? All of those people who have lost their jobs will cut back on spending.

Phil,
My daughter feels the same way. I'll tell you what I told her. "You gotta do what's right for you. If that's what you like, well that's what you like. "


Cindy

There's a little more to it than that, Cindy.  When someone buys a foreign car, he tells the American auto industry that he's not happy with its product.  I don't need to buy a Ford to prove I'm American.


Phil

Just thinking back on things, I realize that I have never owned a foreign car.  I currently have an 07 Jeep Compass (Chrysler) and an 05 Saturn Ion (GM).  My previous cars were a 2000 Chevy Cavalier (never any problems and my sister in law still drives it) a Ford Taurus, Ford Ranger, Chevy Tracker, and a Pontiac 6000.  Outside of the Pontiac 6000, which was about 15 years old when I bought it (for $900), I've never had any major mechanical problems with any of them.

I've been watching the GM thing pretty closely, as I hope some buys the Saturn brand and continues to manufacture it.  They make really good cars.

I've noticed too that certain cars are more popular in certain parts of the country.

American cars are a lot more prominent up north. Down here they are not. Except for trucks...

Besides, a LOT of "foreign" cars are built in the US such as Honda, Toyota, Mercedes, BMW which employs a lot of Americans.

In NYC, one out of every 20 cars seems to be a Subaru.  Once you get fifty miles out, where there's small towns and country roads, it becomes one out of every 10, if not more.  The cars are great in bad weather.


Phil

What kind of fuel consumption do you get on your Subaru, Phil?

Right now, about 22 mpg.  Keep in mind that it's a wagon and has about 236K miles on it.

I've had this car for about three years and put about 50K miles on it.  Aside from routine maintenance, the only major repairs I've had to do on it was replace the transmission, about 30K ago.


Phil

Quoted from dogglebe Right now, about 22 mpg.

Dammit, now I have to convert miles to kilometers and gallons to liters for that to make any sense to me. Why can't the US use the Goddamn metric system - and A4 paper while we're at it

The point I was trying to make here is that US made cars are - at least perceived to be - gas guzzlers, while Japanese and European cars are not (whether there's actually any truth to this - I don't know). So when gas prices go up, customers are obviously gonna go for the cars with as low fuel consumption as possible and I think that also hurt GM.

When gas prices were $4.50 a gallon in the US, people were still buying Hummers.  I have yet to see anyone drive one of those things filled with people and/or cargo. Usually it's one or two people and it's driven by someone who can't handle a vehicle that big.

I was hoping the big vehicles would've disappeared by now.


Phil

Looks like the Chinese bought Hummer...

Quoted from CindyLKeller Living in the metro Detroit area I have seen more and more people lose their jobs, their homes. The last I heard we had 10 percent unemployment, (It could be more) and on every block there is at least two homes for sale from foreclosure.

In fairness, Cindy, the Real Estate industry is more responsible for the failing economy than the automotive industry. That coupled with really bad governmental fiscal policies.

That said, what right does a mega manufacturer has to demand loyalty from a single mother of four, trying to make ends meet? Just because she's American, like the company? She should subsidize their inefficiency?
Well she already does because, with imposed duties, it's more expensive to buy a foreign car. But guess what, it lasts longer and is way cheaper to maintain. So instead of buying that poorly made american car brand new, she buys a used foreign one that still has a longer life. You blame her?

I suspect that GM's policy was to deliberately make crap cars that run out every ten years so that folks keep buying.

Quoted from Grandma Bear Looks like the Chinese bought Hummer...

WTF???  They can barely see over the wheel of a regular vehicle!


Phil

I'm sure all the assembly line workers can find some other 25 dollar an hour job, attaching screws to something.  They'll bounce back.


Phil

Quoted from dogglebe WTF???  They can barely see over the wheel of a regular vehicle! Phil

lol!
I shouldn't laugh. That's not even nice.

I've always admired America for its resilience, and pride in the face of adversity. In the long-term, this could be a blessing in disguise, 'cos the fall of GM is hardly a surprise - but American innovation can bring about the type of reversal in fortunes that is desperately needed. I am sure some savvy, intelligent people see this as an opportunity to develop alternative sources of fuel for cars, and will be hard at work to replace GM with a new standard of US cars.

Andrew

It's NOT the Chinese that took over the Hummers from General Motors.

Who took over the Hummers is...







PARIS HILTON

Quoted from cloroxmartini It's NOT the Chinese that took over the Hummers from General Motors. Who took over the Hummers is... PARIS HILTON

I just knew Paris Hilton was behind this somewhere!

Quoted from dogglebe WTF???  They can barely see over the wheel of a regular vehicle! Phil

Tell that to Yao Ming, the 7' 6" Chinese center for the Houston Rockets.  

The hummers that Paris Hilton is involved with has nothing to do with cars.


Rimshot!


Phil

Quoted from Grandma Bear Looks like the Chinese bought Hummer...

So instead of a little boy standing in the way of a bunch of tanks in Tiananmen square, it's gonna be a little boy in a Hummer?

Quoted from sniper So instead of a little boy standing in the way of a bunch of tanks in Tiananmen square, it's gonna be a little boy in a Hummer?

Perhaps.  But it will be a f**king Hummer with the DriveBy™ kit!

Fucking-A!