My memory is a little foggy on the details, but it seems that recently I read that GM has something like $50B in cash reserves. Now, granted, if they lose $3B/year, they can't last for ever, but are they really that close to filing for bankruptcy now?

Dan

1978? What about the POS 1998 Dodge Dakota that I bought new that had 8 things go wrong with it in 40k miles?

What about all the transmissions that have gone bad in minivans?

What about the two week wait at the dealership to get "small warranty" repairs done. Ever compared the amount of cars sitting at a Toyota dealership vs a Dodge dealership waiting for service. I have, and now I own a Tacoma instead of POS Dodge.
Never Never Never Never Never Never Ever Again!!!!!!!:mad:

Its Mangeament 101
Blame for failures is delegated by management to just about anyone else... and then once the amount of blame delegated starts to exceed the amplitude of failure the result is gauged as a success & management award themselves with riches for their exemplary performance.

I'm not saying they didn't make mistakes, but they were fighting a losing battle from the outset. Pay some hungover lacky $70k a year to spin on oil filters, another $20k a year in benefits, and then after 20 years pay him a 70% pension and full benefits till he dies (another 40-50 years!!!!)??????? Is this a fukcing joke? Does this actually make sense to you guys? You think they can make quality cars at competative prices with this structure? Wake the hell up.

And we need GM a lot more than they need us, moving forward they have emerging economies all around the world to sell to, demand won't be a problem I assure you. Thank your union fathers/grandfathers for mortgaging YOUR and your childrens future so they could extort more than they ever deserved and cut these sweetheart deals. Shameful in my mind.

I wonder how many of the people that bemoan the unpatriotic car buying habits are of the same ilk that defend outsourcing jobs to 3rd world countries. You see, buying a Honda actually is actually good for America, because it frees up a American to find a better job! (Yes, that's a common argument in defense of tech outsourcing)
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I'm against outsourcing anything except very unskilled labor, and even then I'm not quite in favor of it. I'm not worried about Happy Meal toys being built somewhere else. Beyond that, I'm for keeping jobs here.

Chrysler was bad for years, this thread is about GM. :p

Anyways, I mentioned a while back about Lexus and Acura transmissions going bad, the RMS problems in the 996, etc. The only reason those companies don't suffer the negative image of a recall is because they fix the car and quietly show the customer the back door. GM, with the possible exception of Cadillac, can't afford to do that on such a large scale. If someone have a problem with your foreign car, I also think they would tend to say "eh, it's still better than domestic." You'll probably say that the next time something breaks on the P-car.

The Prius is (very intelligent) PR BS that you seem to buy hook, line, and sinker. They still advertise it as getting ridiculous mileage when it gets about 45 highway.

Other than that, what do they have? The Echo and Corolla, which have pretty much been stagnant in terms of improvements in fuel efficiency. Most Corolla varients struggle to get 35 highway. Maybe the quality (*snicker*, check the rankings) Scion tC, with the 4.xx gearing (BTW SoCal, with similar gearing, my bastard 944 would smoke it), will save the day? I'm sure that's absolutely fantastic on the highway. Like I said, GM's old-school pushrods that everyone bemoans seem to do better than the competition's V6s in terms of gas mileage.

Consider that Toyota has 5 SUVs in their line (3 fullsize), and is rolling out a new Tundra that will probably compete with the American fullsize trucks, i.e. offer a diesel HD line. Also see the Honda Ridgeline, Nissan behemoths, etc. Also, Nissan sought a CAFE exemption for the Titan, NOT Ford or GM. Forward thinking, baby!

I have a feeling that our future as a country is slowly getting darker. Not a good feeling when you're 18. Blame Dubya, blame whatever you want, but GM is a symptom, not a problem. I want jobs here, I want industry here, I want self-sufficiency put before globalization on our priority list. I don't want isolationism, but it's time we take care of our own and make sure we remain a superpower. Before anybody calls me silly or racist, do you think Japan, China, or any other nation wouldn't act in their best interest if they were in our position? That's why I get riled up over the "I simply won't buy a domestic car" issue. I plan on a domestic for my first new car purchase, and the Porsche/foreign car can take a rightful place as a weekend car later on.

Make sure you buy your new UAW built car from a dealership w/in walking distance because each dealership cannot give out 200 loaner cars a week for their thriving warranty repair business. (Also be prepared to not have your car for weeks at a time because for some reason these dealerships have to fix way more new cars than they have time for)

Also while you are enjoying your rapidly depreciating UAW built POS, try to avoid friends who wisely purchased foreign cars because it will make you feel stupid.

Also make sure to pick up some vaseline for when your warranty expires, you will need it.