Comments on: The "Detroit's A Loser" Myth

CNET: Despite Citizens' Complaints About The Bailout, The Big Three Build Really Good Cars And We Buy A Lot Of Them

[tbbaot]

The government should have insisted that Gm file chapter 11 bankruptcy so they can get the union monkey off their backs. As far as people not wanting to buy a car from a bankrupt company that could have been easily solved by the government. They only had to back up the warranty. Now GM will still have the union leaches to deal with.

[jsd330]

FloyZeppd $60 for running an air tool, I''ll bet you and a lot of other people would like to be making that to. If you could keep up with the line speed, standing the whole shift, 30 min for lunch and 2 12 min breaks, and should you have to go to the restroom, you have to wait for someone to take your place and you only get about 10 min for that, depending on how far away the restroom is.
As for you calling workers drunks, which it seems like you bring up in all your posts, one plant you saw on tv doesn''t mean all plants are the same. The plant I worked in if you came to work and you had been drinking , your forman sent you to the nurse for a breathilizer and if you were above the limit and it was lower then the DUI limit, you were immediatly sent home without pay. If it continued you were fired.And I guarentee you after that clip on tv heads rolled at plant. The big 3 nor the UAW condone drinking on the job.

[chicotrainguy]

Nowhere in the hullabaloo over the Detroit bailout has anyone offered anything close to an historical perspective. Read David Halberstam''s book "The Reckoning" (1986), especially starting page 311, re: W. Edwards Deming, the legendary American quality control and management genius whom Detroit ignored and summarily dismissed after WWII. He went over to Japan and taught them how to manage car companies and build quality cars!!!Halberstam goes into depth on complete US and Japanese auto industry history. Detroit''s attitude over MANY DECADES (and CURRENTLY) can be summarized in one word: ARROGANCE! ...plus, TOTAL lack of foresight for years! Henry Ford I deteriorated in old age to a senile nut case. He destroyed his son Edsel. Henry Ford II was a certifiable multi-millionaire ***. I''m 75 yrs old, with a LONG memory; bought/drove/put up with Detroit *** for DECADES. FORD for years meant "Fix-Or-Repair-Daily". ...or "Found-On-Road-Dead". Common advice was, "Never buy a vehicle made on Monday or Friday". Now I wouldn''t touch a Detroit product! Our family has FOUR Toyota''s. Next is a Prius. These moron CEO''s from the Big Three and the UAW in Congressional hearings are paying through the nose for decades of gross stupidity and DO NOT deserve any BAIL-OUT!!! Chapter 11 for all of them will result in somebody with brains (Toyota?) buying Big Three assets and converting their assembly lines, tooling, QC, labor, AND corporate culture into a whole new world of viability.

[chicotrainguy]

Nowhere in the hullabaloo over the Detroit bailout has anyone offered anything close to an historical perspective. Read David Halberstam''s book "The Reckoning" (1986), especially starting page 311, re: W. Edwards Deming, the legendary American quality control and management genius whom Detroit ignored and summarily dismissed after WWII. He went over to Japan and taught them how to manage car companies and build quality cars!!!Halberstam goes into depth on complete US and Japanese auto industry history. Detroit''s attitude over MANY DECADES (and CURRENTLY) can be summarized in one word: ARROGANCE! ...plus, TOTAL lack of foresight for years! Henry Ford I deteriorated in old age to a senile nut case. He destroyed his son Edsel. Henry Ford II was a certifiable multi-millionaire ***. I''m 75 yrs old, with a LONG memory; bought/drove/put up with Detroit *** for DECADES. FORD for years meant "Fix-Or-Repair-Daily". ...or "Found-On-Road-Dead". Common advice was, "Never buy a vehicle made on Monday or Friday". Now I wouldn''t touch a Detroit product! Our family has FOUR Toyota''s. Next is a Prius. These moron CEO''s from the Big Three and the UAW in Congressional hearings are paying through the nose for decades of gross stupidity and DO NOT deserve any BAIL-OUT!!! Chapter 11 for all of them will result in somebody with brains (Toyota?) buying Big Three assets and converting their assembly lines, tooling, QC, labor, AND corporate culture into a whole new world of viability.

[chicotrainguy]

Nowhere in the hullabaloo over the Detroit bailout has anyone offered anything close to an historical perspective. Read David Halberstam''s book "The Reckoning" (1986), especially starting page 311, re: W. Edwards Deming, the legendary American quality control and management genius whom Detroit ignored and summarily dismissed after WWII. He went over to Japan and taught them how to manage car companies and build quality cars!!!Halberstam goes into depth on complete US and Japanese auto industry history. Detroit''s attitude over MANY DECADES (and CURRENTLY) can be summarized in one word: ARROGANCE! ...plus, TOTAL lack of foresight for years! Henry Ford I deteriorated in old age to a senile nut case. He destroyed his son Edsel. Henry Ford II was a certifiable multi-millionaire ***. I''m 75 yrs old, with a LONG memory; bought/drove/put up with Detroit *** for DECADES. FORD for years meant "Fix-Or-Repair-Daily". ...or "Found-On-Road-Dead". Common advice was, "Never buy a vehicle made on Monday or Friday". Now I wouldn''t touch a Detroit product! Our family has FOUR Toyota''s. Next is a Prius. These moron CEO''s from the Big Three and the UAW in Congressional hearings are paying through the nose for decades of gross stupidity and DO NOT deserve any BAIL-OUT!!! Chapter 11 for all of them will result in somebody with brains (Toyota?) buying Big Three assets and converting their assembly lines, tooling, QC, labor, AND corporate culture into a whole new world of viability.

[stan821]

Clathrate, maybe you drive "extremely aggressively", but that''s not such a good idea for the average American. Do we need to feel like each trip somewhere is a virtual NASCAR event?

[hunterdon6]

I agree on the brake comment, American cars don''t have all that good brakes. But I had a VW once that had terrible brakes. I have a 94 Saturn with 215,000 miles and it just keeps going. If you do regular maintenance on a vehicle, it will last.

[clathrate]

travel a lot for my work so I drive a lot of rentals. The differences in the way american and foreign cars drive and feel is at the most minimul but generally not noticeable. Theonly real differences are in the trim level.


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Posted by endurorob

You must not be pushing your vehicle very hard. I drive extremely aggressively, and I quickly find the liitations of most vehicles. American cars in general have undersized brakes (or drum rears), and have soft, wimpy handling.

So sure, Buicks are comfy grandma-mobiles...but they aren''t good for much more than hauling groceries at 30 mph.

My ''Ru on the other hand handled like it was glued to the pavement, got great gas mileage, and was an absolute gem on snow and ice. I''ve towed an 87'' Chevy Caprice with it...yeah I burned some clutch but it had torque to spare, and stiff unibody frame.

I love American trucks but American cars? Get outta here!

[clathrate]

Most just do it to defend there poor purchase of a import.

Again 2008 not 1908 or 1980


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Posted by steve4422

My ''94 Supra will destroy ANY stock Detroit made car in a roadrace (well, maybe a Shelby Cobra could, but that''s from the era when Ford actually made good stuff). A real street racer comes with 6 speed manual, rear wheel drive, and turbos that don''t *** out at 50k miles (hello Thunderbird).

And I''ve never had anything other than minor issues with Subarus or Hondas.

American cars and watercooled VW''s are junk.

[clathrate]

I still see a bunch of older Domestics driving around Michigan.

AGAIN 2008 not 1908 or 1980


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Posted by steve4422

I think that''s the point. You won''t see that phenomenon much anywhere else in America, because Detroit long ago decided to stop building timeless classics and instead shifted to building classless timebombs.