Todays' auto industry news.

[gaijindabe]

......some newspapers reported on Thursday that Bill Ford had called Carlos Ghosn, who heads both Renault SA (RENA.PA) and Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (7201.T), to discuss a possible alliance.

The reports said Ford had recently called Ghosn to say that if ongoing alliance talks among Nissan, Renault and General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM - news) faltered, Ghosn should consider talking to Ford instead of GM.

Limited teams of GM, Renault and Nissan executives are currently studying the possible benefits of an alliance and are expected to report back to Ghosn and GM CEO Rick Wagoner by mid-October.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060824/bs_nm/autos_ford_dc

[kach22i]

"The family is willing to look at anything,"

And they should.

[speeder]

Some day there will be only one really big car company. And crotchety old guys will reminisce about the good old days when a Porsche wasn't made by GM.

[john70t]

http://199.79.180.163/cars/problems/tsb/ (technical service bulletins)
This is why Toyota is top dog now, plus they're made in Kentucky,Cali and soon Mich--while GM sent the factories south.

Why would anyone buy one?
All GM vehicles now have manditory OnStar---GPS tracking, remote door unlocking, and built-in microphones. Sorry, but when I buy a car, it's my own and that umbilical cord is cut.

[kaisen]

Toyota has had some of the largest recalls in recent history and is undergoing criminal investigation in Japan for hiding problems that should have been recalled. Every manufacturer has lots of TSBs.

If you don't like OnStar, unplug it. But 99% of the population may benefit from it.

OnStar statistics (monthly):

9.5 million hands-free phone calls (through Verizon)
383,000 calls for routing/directions
43,000 calls for remote unlocking
27,000 calls for remote vehicle diagnostics
23,000 calls for roadside assistance
16,000 emergency calls
5,000 good samaritan calls
900 automated airbag deployment calls
400 stolen vehicle tracking calls

[widebody911]

So basically, you're saying that thousands and thousands of GM owners are locking themselves out of their cars, can't get them started, are getting lost, but only 400 were stolen...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Mxmvhpxmq1I

Originally posted by kaisen
9.5 million hands-free phone calls (through Verizon)
383,000 calls for routing/directions
43,000 calls for remote unlocking
27,000 calls for remote vehicle diagnostics
23,000 calls for roadside assistance
16,000 emergency calls
5,000 good samaritan calls
900 automated airbag deployment calls
400 stolen vehicle tracking calls

[kaisen]

Originally posted by widebody911
So basically, you're saying that thousands and thousands of GM owners are locking themselves out of their cars, can't get them started, are getting lost, but only 400 were stolen...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Mxmvhpxmq1I

Each month, yes. Many stolen vehicles are recovered before OnStar is contacted. And, perhaps, OnStar may thwart some theives from trying.

E

[serge944]

If it's insured and doesn't get recovered in 31 days - by all means - a good thing!

[scottmandue]

Luke... come to the dark side...

[svandamme]

Originally posted by speeder
Some day there will be only one really big car company. And crotchety old guys will reminisce about the good old days when a Porsche wasn't made by GM.

lol,

the way Porsche buys huge chunks of VW with cash , you might even end up with a conglomerate named P-GAG

Porsche Global AG

where folks reminis the days when Porsche didn't make GM level cars

[Christien]

Originally posted by john70t
Sorry, but when I buy a car, it's my own and that umbilical cord is cut.

John,

I understand exactly what you're saying, and agree, but remember that the vast majority of new cars "sold" are really only leased or financed - i.e. someone other than the driver has an interest in them. For a $500 gizmo, they can track you and disable your car, in case you're late with a payment, or just decided to abscond with a leased vehicle.

[widebody911]

Originally posted by kaisen
Each month, yes. Many stolen vehicles are recovered before OnStar is contacted. And, perhaps, OnStar may thwart some theives from trying.

More likely it's the GM badge that cuts down on thefts...

[kaisen]

Originally posted by widebody911
More likely it's the GM badge that cuts down on thefts...

The Cadillac Escalade was the #1 stolen vehicle from 2003 through 2005.

I would guess that smart thieves steal only the vehicles that have a market for the parts. It would follow then that cars that sell well (so there is a larger market for stock parts), and/or have 'special' parts (HID, fancy stereos, fancy seats, special engines, etc), are the ones that get stolen.

Joyriders might still cars that are cool or fast, but more likely just cars that are 'easy' to steal.

E

[widebody911]

Originally posted by kaisen
The Cadillac Escalade was the #1 stolen vehicle from 2003 through 2005.

How much does GM pay you to shill for them on the boards?

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/search.php?action=showresults&searchid=2237372&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=descending&exactname=yes&searchuser=kaisen

[kaisen]

I'm free to share my opinion, and I'm careful to also quote the facts. If anything, I find it an interesting to diffuse the 'conventional wisdom' that domestic products are still inferior to import products (dollar for dollar) given evidence to the contrary.

I wouldn't think that posting statistics about OnStar usage is cutting down another manufacturer. Honda and VW both offer OnStar, for example.

Thom, why do you care? Does it make you angry or insulted?

E