GM not a complete failure???!!!

[Stevo]

I was listening to KCRW news this morning and they announced that of all the automotive plants ranked in north america the plant in Oshawa, Ontario gets top awards for productivity.

 

Also it's noted that the plant makes ... W-Bodies. The Impala and Monte Carlo. The average manufacturing time for a vehicle is 15.8 hours impressively falls short of the average 24 hours per vehicle continent wide.

 

 

The news repost went on to say that such a precident is invaluable towards closing the gap in competition against such companies as Toyota and Nissan which are currently beating out domestics.

 

Congrats GM!

 

I did a search online to try to find some media support for this.

 

http://news.channels.netscape.ca/finance/article.adp?id=20050602170409990012

 

http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2005/06/03/113402.html

[solid_raiden223]

Who voted NO? I'll Kill em!

[jdcutty]

Who voted NO? I'll Kill em!

 

 

I with you

[luminator94]

I was listening to KCRW news this morning and they announced that of all the automotive plants ranked in north america the plant in Oshawa, Ontario gets top awards for productivity.

 

Also it's noted that the plant makes ... W-Bodies. The Impala and Monte Carlo. The average manufacturing time for a vehicle is 15.8 hours impressively falls short of the average 24 hours per vehicle continent wide.

 

 

The news repost went on to say that such a precident is invaluable towards closing the gap in competition against such companies as Toyota and Nissan which are currently beating out domestics.

 

Congrats GM!

 

I did a search online to try to find some media support for this.

 

http://news.channels.netscape.ca/finance/article.adp?id=20050602170409990012

 

http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2005/06/03/113402.html

 

This is why GM products fall apart. 15.8 hrs. compared to 24? Now come on! Well, I shouldn't say fall apart. I just think if they spent a little bit more time putting stuff together, it would be a much better finished product.

 

 

Aaron

[90TGP]

They need new managers all around. GM's head is so far up it's own ass that they can't grasp the concept that the whole world knows they're going down the shitter except for GM.

[runt]

It's going to be hard for GM to keep up with the current import rage. Not to mention with all of their Legacy Costs over the past how many years, it's gonna be REALLY hard for them not to get stuck into some crazy kinda debt!

[HokemBokem]

I voted no

[ZoomZoomFan]

I hope they can, cuz I love GM. Why, I don't really know. Probably cuz I love American vehicles but Ford's and Chrysler's aren't my favorites.

 

I think if GM gets in act together and puts a lot of thoughtful engineering into a new product to compete with Honda and Toyota, it'll pull through. I'm hoping the Cobalt can help. :|

[1990lumina]

I was listening to KCRW news this morning and they announced that of all the automotive plants ranked in north america the plant in Oshawa, Ontario gets top awards for productivity.

 

Also it's noted that the plant makes ... W-Bodies. The Impala and Monte Carlo. The average manufacturing time for a vehicle is 15.8 hours impressively falls short of the average 24 hours per vehicle continent wide.

 

 

The news repost went on to say that such a precident is invaluable towards closing the gap in competition against such companies as Toyota and Nissan which are currently beating out domestics.

 

Congrats GM!

 

I did a search online to try to find some media support for this.

 

http://news.channels.netscape.ca/finance/article.adp?id=20050602170409990012

 

http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2005/06/03/113402.html

 

This is why GM products fall apart. 15.8 hrs. compared to 24? Now come on! Well, I shouldn't say fall apart. I just think if they spent a little bit more time putting stuff together, it would be a much better finished product.

 

 

Aaron

 

I agree, they should be ofcusing on Quality, NOT Quanity

[94CutlassSLCoupe]

I hope they can, cuz I love GM. Why, I don't really know. Probably cuz I love American vehicles but Ford's and Chrysler's aren't my favorites.

 

I think if GM gets in act together and puts a lot of thoughtful engineering into a new product to compete with Honda and Toyota, it'll pull through. I'm hoping the Cobalt can help. :|

 

GM comes up with some of the nicest extras for any car company...I think the real problem is the american public is oblivious to how shitty most imported cars really are. Almost no one who owns an import does all their own repairs and maintence.

[topless94style]

I said no, becuase they need some new people working there. The way they are headed is the wrong damn way. A couple retro style cars, rear wheel drives, a sports car that people who want them can afford. Look at the old GTOs, a basic ass car, hardly any options, and it goes fast. I think thats how they should make the camaros/trans ams. Make them basic as hell so more people can buy em and drive em like they should be. Of course leave a nice list of options for those who have more money can spend it. Who needs leather seats, 400watt stereo/subs, A/C, plastic up the ass, HUD and all that crap when alls you want is a go fast car.

 

I do see the Redline and Cobalt helping out though, they should help the younger crowd buy American.

[90TGP]

GM needs to make cars people want, not cookie cutters that they want the people to want.

[1990lumina]

Well all I'll say is when I went to the GM dealership the other day all I saw was ugly assed shit...that new design of the Malibu is ugly as hell. Nothing there jumped out at me as being nice, or even decent. Hell they even fucked out the design of the Crapaliers. The only thing keeping GM alive around here is their truck line. I've only seen a couple of GMs cars on the road around here....it used to be different.

So, basically they need to redesign all their stuff to make it more appealing, and might need some new leadership to get it done.

 

And about the Cobalt -

If GM wants me to buy a Cobalt then they'll have to fix the roof line...something about the side view of that car doesn't work...they should have the doors close inside the roof line instead of against it, so the roof line looks cleaner.

 

All of this is my own opinion, take it of leave it

 

- Jeff L.

[Prospeeder]

well, hyundai can pull itself out of the hole, and is convincing people they are now into making better quality, and are, im sure GM can too. But if they get rid of pontiac, im going ford, i cant stand chryslers

[z34_nut]

All of you complaining about quality, they got top honers, over, yes, toyota this year.

 

nuff said

[Turbo231]

<start rant>

GM has been trying making a comeback since the late 70's. They'll never attain their original 50% market share, or whatever it was. There are way too many car companies putting out way to many good cars for GM to ever be the big king it was. It doesn't matter if GM starts putting out perfect cars, many people, actually most people, don't work on their own cars, were screwed by GM in the late 70's and 80's, and will never touch anything GM or even domestic again.

 

Now, it used to be that GM cars were DIRT CHEAP to work on, and in our case, a lot of that is still true. However, you'll noticed that on newer GM cars, things are very pricey...they don't carry the cost advantage of DIY work they used to over other brands. While places like GMPartsDirect are nice, it's just another reason why people shy away.

<end rant>

 

If you want the real scoop on GM and the other domestics, there is a book, which I believe I have plugged before (out of print), that explains GM and why the sucked in the 80's and how they fixed it, or at least tried. It's called "COMEBACK - THE FALL AND RISE OF THE AMERICAN AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY" written by Paul Ingrassia and Joseph B. White. Very good info is in that book. Check it out and steal it from your library. I don't read many books, but I've read this one 3 times.

[1990lumina]

So basically this book says how the big three went from good to bad, and then made a turn around? Sounds like a very good read, and something I'm actually interested in Thanks for pointing this book out, I might buy it.

 

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0684804379/ref=pd_sxp_f/002-0043852-0620022

[Guest Anonymous]

Right now, I would but a new mustang over every GM vehicle except the XLR.

[Guest Anonymous]

<start rant>

Now, it used to be that GM cars were DIRT CHEAP to work on, and in our case, a lot of that is still true..

 

I wouldn't exactly call our 3.4 cars "dirt cheap" in labor to work on...

[THe_DeTAiL3R]

Although GM's new designs may not be eye candy like before, I'd have to say that the "fit and finish" looks much better than the 90s. The 04+ GP interiors look much better than the 90-whatever-03.

 

I think they will improve their product, it's just a matter of time until they start making exciting cars that will SELL.

[1990lumina]

Although GM's new designs may not be eye candy like before, I'd have to say that the "fit and finish" looks much better than the 90s. The 04+ GP interiors look much better than the 90-whatever-03.

 

I think they will improve their product, it's just a matter of time until they start making exciting cars that will SELL.

 

That's one thing I've always liked about GM...even the older ones like my Lumina...all the body panels line up perfectly. Compares to my Dad's Taurus where the hood is off alignments, doors don't line up with the fenders, etc. lol

[92chevyeuro]

I used to own an 01 Mustang GT. Let me tell you, it was much better quality than my 00 Z28 is that I have now. We have always had at least 1 GM in our family, and almost every one of them were shit. My mom had a chevy corsica, and 2 grand am's until she bought a 97 toyota corolla. She has had the Corolla for almost 3 years now, and not 1 single problem with it. My thoughts on Chevy trucks-overpriced junk. Hated them ever since the redesign in 2000.

[GnatGoSplat]

That's one thing I've always liked about GM...even the older ones like my Lumina...all the body panels line up perfectly. Compares to my Dad's Taurus where the hood is off alignments, doors don't line up with the fenders, etc. lol

 

That's the opposite of my experience, all the body panels on every late 80's and 90's GM I've seen don't line up worth a crap and some gaps are big enough I can stick the tip of my pinky through. I remember when the 97 Grand Prix's first came out, EVERY CAR had a much larger gap on one side of the hood than the other.

 

They are much better now though, I was just noticing the nice, even import-like gaps on a current bodystyle Deville the other day.

 

I think it's funny that people complain about GM failing because their cars are unappealing and boring. It's very clear to me when I go out driving that GM's best selling cars are boring, slow, cookie cutter Luminas, Impalas, and Crapaliers. It would look to me that's what people really want (as in general public, not enthusiasts). Maybe GM's mistake was coming out with low volume specialty vehicles like the GTO, Pontiac GXP's, SSR, SS, etc. GM is coming out with more cars to appeal to enthusiasts than ever, but they're also at their lowest point in a long time. Maybe they should have stuck to cranking out high-volume, high-demand vehicles like Impalas.

[jeremy]

I used to own an 01 Mustang GT. Let me tell you, it was much better quality than my 00 Z28 is that I have now.

 

I felt exactly the opposite....I traded my '99 Z28 6spd in for a '01 Mustang GT 'vert and I thought the stang was such a POS that I traded it less then 6 mos. later....The interior in the Stang was the same plastic POS interior that ford produced when the originally left the fox platform in '94, the stang handled like garbage and felt "slow" compared to the z28 I traded in.......

[Stevo]

Another update to this ... announced today.

 

25,000 jobs are to be cut in order to save 2.5 billion???

 

Good luck folks. Maybe they should start firing from the top down.