TheCatSite.com › Forums › General Forums › IMO: In My Opinion › GM should take advantage
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

GM should take advantage

post #1 of 39
2/1/10 at 3:06am
Thread Starter 
of Toyota's problems.

They should be saturating the airwaves with deals. Trade in your unsafe Toyota at your local GM dealer and get a deal on a safe American built car. Yes, I know Toyota is American made too, but still people associate it with Japan.

That's just my opinion on how GM could start to reclaim it's place in the automobile industry.

Isn't it Romm Emanual, the presidents advisor, who says "a crisis is a terrible thing to waste."?
Reply
post #2 of 39
2/1/10 at 6:29am
You have a good point, but the issue is that they'd have to be very careful with anything they do put out there.

Toyota is recalling cars for a good reason, yes, but that doesn't mean YOUR Toyota is unsafe. It's really a huge precautionary measure (a smart one, of course).

Another thought is, what kind of value would you get as a trade in on your "unsafe" Toyota? If it's unsafe, you'd think that no one would buy it after the dealer buys it from you.
Reply
post #3 of 39
2/1/10 at 6:53am
Since GM is a partner with Toyota, it wouldn't make any sense to be bashing them, would it?

Just as a reality check, do you remember when this "sudden uncontrolled and unintional acceleration" was a big deal with Audis? Do you remember what they finally decided the problem was?

It was people putting their foot on the accelerator and thinking it was the brake. It happened almost exclusively in foreign-built cars with smaller pedals than the American cars.

Now, I don't think that's entirely the issue here. But keep in mind that almost all of the fatalities related to this issue were actually in only two accidents. That's a small enough sample for it to be possible that the above situation may be a significant factor.

What really ripped it in the Audi case was a prominent journalist who experienced the problem. He drove his car through his garage door and the engine didn't stop until he turned it off. He says he would have sworn in court that he had been standing on the brakes, but when he looked down, sure enough, there was his big foot on the accelerator, pushing as hard as he could.
Reply
post #4 of 39
2/1/10 at 6:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrblanche View Post
Since GM is a partner with Toyota, it wouldn't make any sense to be bashing them, would it?
Haha, I didn't even know that. Maybe Ford should bash them instead?
Reply
post #5 of 39
2/1/10 at 7:01am
And you think Ford isn't? I can almost bet you there are Ford salesmen, at least, whispering in an aside that their cars are safer.

Which, by the way, they aren't.
Reply
post #6 of 39
2/1/10 at 7:03am
Thread Starter 
I don't think GM and Toyota are partners. They overtook GM as the worlds largest automaker, but I don't see where they are partners.

It is true that not all Toyotas have problems, but people will start to wonder if there will be another shoe dropping.

I am just saying, if it was me, I'd start getting the word out GM makes safe "American" cars and come in and check us out. GM certainly had it's problems. This is an opportunity that has been handed to them. To not try to capitalize on it would be foolish. Especially with wll the money they still owe Obama and Company.
Reply
post #7 of 39
2/1/10 at 7:07am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrblanche View Post
do you remember when this "sudden uncontrolled and unintional acceleration" was a big deal with Audis? Do you remember what they finally decided the problem was?

It was people putting their foot on the accelerator and thinking it was the brake.
Poor Audi! I don't remember this at all, but maybe it 'd be cool to have a car that announces "brake" or "gas" when it feels your foot!!
Reply
post #8 of 39
2/1/10 at 7:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by farleyv View Post
I don't think GM and Toyota are partners. They overtook GM as the worlds largest automaker, but I don't see where they are partners.
You're right, sort of. Right now (and as of the middle of last year) GM is not in an active partnership with Toyota. But it's a bad idea to burn your bridges.

But the two worked together for over 25 years, producing cars at the Toyota plant in CA and selling them as GM cars. The best-known one was the Geo/Chevy Prizm, which was really a Toyota Corolla. After that, the plant made the Pontiac Vibe, the same car as the Toyota Matrix.

In addition, Toyota and GM had a number of cooperative efforts on engine design, joint sourcing of parts, etc.
Reply
post #9 of 39
2/1/10 at 8:00am
If Geos were made at the toyota plants, why is it that Geos are known to break down easily and considered completely unreliable compared to a toyota corolla?
Why is it so hard for GM and Ford to make realiable cars...I mean if they can make a corvette what's so hard about making a good quality economy class car too???
From what I know from my grandfather who is a mechianic, if you buy any GM or Ford car, you can expect it to run without problems until 70,000-100,000 miles. If you buy a Japanese car, it runs without problems until 120-130,000 miles. I am talking about not replacing any parts aside from break pads and tires for that long...Which is why no one in my family buys American cars. I wanted to save some money and when I was shopping for cars I looked at some Geos, ford focuses, etc but when my grand dad came with me he said just scratch those out of your list because the problems you will have are not worth the money you will save now...
sorry for going slightly off topic...
Reply
post #10 of 39
2/1/10 at 10:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ut0pia View Post
If Geos were made at the toyota plants, why is it that Geos are known to break down easily and considered completely unreliable compared to a toyota corolla?
Why is it so hard for GM and Ford to make realiable cars...I mean if they can make a corvette what's so hard about making a good quality economy class car too???
From what I know from my grandfather who is a mechianic, if you buy any GM or Ford car, you can expect it to run without problems until 70,000-100,000 miles. If you buy a Japanese car, it runs without problems until 120-130,000 miles. I am talking about not replacing any parts aside from break pads and tires for that long...Which is why no one in my family buys American cars. I wanted to save some money and when I was shopping for cars I looked at some Geos, ford focuses, etc but when my grand dad came with me he said just scratch those out of your list because the problems you will have are not worth the money you will save now...
sorry for going slightly off topic...
Funny you should ask the first question. The Geo Metro was not a Toyota. It was a Suzuki. But the Geo Prizm was definitely made by Toyota. Consumer Reports noticed the same thing that you mentioned; people rated the Prizm much lower than the Corolla. Their research indicated that most of the people who owned them (especially second-hand) didn't know they were built by Toyota, and those that did rated them equal to Toyotas, but those who didn't ranked them lower. This makes the whole rating system somewhat suspect. Draw your own conclusions.

As to the other questions, GM's quality seems to be just fine. The Buick was the highest rated in customer satisfaction in the last J.D. Powers survey, and Consumer Reports called our little Cobalt "the Toyota GM should have been building all along."

And if your Granddad is a mechanic, ask him what a 30,000 mile checkup costs on a Toyota, if you have it done at the dealership.
Reply
post #11 of 39
2/1/10 at 11:09am
I will put my Ford Ranger up against any of those foreign cars. Besides being dependable and doesn't cost an arm and a leg to get serviced, it is a personal thing for me that I support my country and only buy American made vehicles.

My Mother has a VW Rabbit which is a nice little car, tight, runs good.
I took it in for an oil change. Requires synthetic oil, costs triple, that okay though. Place didn't stock the air filter.
Go to an Auto Parts Store, they don't stock it either, have to special order the Air Filter, cost about $35.00 (My Ranger's air filter cost $15.00)
THEN, you have to take it to the freaking DEALER to get the air filter installed because it is buried somewhere. I can only imagine what that is going to cost because we haven't even done it yet. The new air filter is sitting in my garage, still.

Give me my Ford Ranger, you can have your foreign cars.
Reply
post #12 of 39
2/1/10 at 3:32pm
Since I live under what is conveniently called the "golden rule", I find this conversation somewhat humorous and sick at the same time.

as for cars ... My ford escort went for 11 strait years with little more than routine stuff.. the pt cruiser I got to replace it well was in the shop constantly... I traded it in and told them to auction it or send it to the junkyard ( it was only 2 yrs old)... I got a tribeca wonderful car and it is doing a 100 miles a day easy for its new owner
Reply
post #13 of 39
2/1/10 at 3:45pm
oh dear me

i worked in a fiat dealership, alfa dealershi[, skokda dealership, kia dealer ship, my partner has worked for, renault, hyundi, ford (as a technician), and someother daft one and the amount of recalls on cars are unbelieveable not all cars have the said recall it is inbetween two chassis numbers so can be anything from 5 to 5000 cars need to be seen and some cars recalled dont need anything doing to them most are checks to see if it needs the work doing to them

my dad has had ford transits that have had 200k+ on them they have ran fine same with his focus estates

blaines renault has had a good few very serious safety recalls on it and its fine same as my stupid fiat

Skodas have an issue with the accelerator pedal which is easily resolve you dont see problems with just a couple of cars but as soon as they are mass produced its a nightmare with what can go wrong
Reply
post #14 of 39
2/1/10 at 5:56pm
AJ I believe the fords in Europe are made there and are completely different ...I don't know if this is true for all of Europe/ the UK though.

As far as maintenance, every 30,000, 60,000, 90,000 miles the check engine light comes on for toyotas and hondas, but it's just a scam to try to get you to go in and get the routine maintenance and charge you a lot IMO, something anyone can avoid like I do...
I just turn the light right off, because it isn't necessary as long as you have someone who knows what is/isn't absolutely necessary there to advise you on what routine stuff to get done, and I do.
My honda accord actually has a special kind of oil that normally costs $40-50 at the oil change places, but my dad changes it for me for free.
My grand dad was a mechanic 7 years ago, he's retired now.
Reply
post #15 of 39
2/1/10 at 6:35pm
OHHH please - I have a Toyota (its not in the recall) and I love it - best car on mileage other then the hybreds - better then ANY American car! I'm getting 35-40 mpg with my car.

I will stick with my Toyota. And if you notice, the problem was announced 2 weeks ago - the dealers will have parts coming in by end of this week. NO American car company has been that efficient in getting a problem fixed that fast!

Hubby thinks they didn't have to lay people off - they just had the workers start packaging and shipping the parts instead of on the assembly line.

Toyota is a GREAT car company and will continue to out do the American cars. BTW my Toyota currently has (2006) 172,000+ miles on it. The only thing that we have had to replace is the water pump at 70,000 miles (twice). We have had NO major problems - you can't find many American cars like that! And we can get 300,000+ on our Toyota before we need a new one!
Reply
post #16 of 39
2/1/10 at 7:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ut0pia View Post
AJ I believe the fords in Europe are made there and are completely different ...I don't know if this is true for all of Europe/ the UK though.

As far as maintenance, every 30,000, 60,000, 90,000 miles the check engine light comes on for toyotas and hondas, but it's just a scam to try to get you to go in and get the routine maintenance and charge you a lot IMO, something anyone can avoid like I do...
I just turn the light right off, because it isn't necessary as long as you have someone who knows what is/isn't absolutely necessary there to advise you on what routine stuff to get done, and I do.
My honda accord actually has a special kind of oil that normally costs $40-50 at the oil change places, but my dad changes it for me for free.
My grand dad was a mechanic 7 years ago, he's retired now.
It's probably synthetic oil Ut0pia, it is really expensive but it is better oil, runs cleaner I believe. That's good your dad does it for you, dads are great, aren't they?
Reply
post #17 of 39
2/1/10 at 7:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ckblv View Post
It's probably synthetic oil Ut0pia, it is really expensive but it is better oil, runs cleaner I believe. That's good your dad does it for you, dads are great, aren't they?
Absolutely

The satisfaction of doing things yourself rather than paying for them is contagious too, he changes the oil for his own cars also..I try to do it with other non car related things that are more in my range of abilities too
Reply
post #18 of 39
2/2/10 at 4:21am
Thread Starter 
Toyota is probably a very good car. I am just saying all is fair in love, war, and the automobile industry. I am sure Toyota would take advantage of the situation if the roles were reversed.

It's just the way of the world.
Reply
post #19 of 39
2/2/10 at 5:24am
I have owned three cars so far.

My first car was a Toyota Cavalier (think Chevy Cavalier) it was gorgeous but terribly expensive to repair and I always had to order parts from the States.

My second car was a Ford Taurus - very expensive to repair and I don't like the Ford dealership.

My current car is a 1992 Toyota Corolla - OH baby she is good. Cheap to repair and so cheap to run. She's sitting at 143,000 miles at the moment. Well she's going in for her WoF tomorrow so I'll edit this post if she costs me a bomb!
Reply
post #20 of 39
2/2/10 at 9:49am
Mine's a Corolla too - and I'll get another one - other then their Prius, the Corolla is the best one on gas mileage!
Reply
post #21 of 39
2/2/10 at 11:29am
All I know is all of the American designed cars I've own have fallen apart quickly and the Honda I have now (which was bought used and was 5 years old) keeps going and going. I've had it since September of 2001 almost 10 years! I haven't had too many problems with it considering it's age.

I most likely will never buy another American designed car again. My Honda was built here in the USA BTW.
Reply
post #22 of 39
2/2/10 at 12:04pm
The best car I have ever had was my 1998 Cavalier but I sold it last year and now drive a 1999 Nissan Maxima that belonged to my mom. That being said, I doubt I will ever buy another GM car again, but I would consider buying a Ford product.
Reply
post #23 of 39
2/2/10 at 12:57pm
do you have warranties on your cars over there? we do here if you dont get your car serviced your warranty can become void its not a ploy to get money out of anyone, if a servacible bit fails and you havent had it replaced its your problem not the car manufacturers fault

yes cars are different wherever they are built some recalls in your country might not be the same as the ones we have but its the ame priniciple

we serivce our cars every six months rather than each year to ensure clean oil certain cars need certain oil its unavoidable

but i hate it when people say servicing a car is not nessaccery its just ignorance.

Engine oil looses its Viscousity after a certain amount of time which causes premature engine wear, hence the need for servicing

The manufacturers recommend a set service interval on cars but this is only for guidance, For example a car that does very few miles needs serviced more regularly because they do not reach the correct operating temperatures and therefore get condensation forming in the crankcase, which can lead to blocked breather pipes etc which causes further issues.
Reply
post #24 of 39
2/3/10 at 12:39pm
When we bought our Ford, we had actually looked at Toyotas for a while too. Unfortunately, the sales people for Toyota were less than interested in helping us look at cars, talking to us about the cars, and did no negotiating (the "special" was $200 off the sticker price ). We bought a Ford Fusion instead. They were more than happy to get us the exact car we wanted, test drive, talk to us about the cars (originally we went looking for a Focus), and negotiate prices.

I've had a Pontiac, Saturn and VW's in the past. I love my Fusion. I think if we buy another Ford, I would go for one of the small SUV's or trucks though.

I'm glad we bought the Fusion, the Toyota we were looking at in 2007 is included in the recall.

about oil:
Synthetic oil is really good for older cars. I noticed several people in the thread were talking about that. Ford told me they use a synthetic blend in our car. Our previous cars were all older models and we used Mobil 1 in them. I think they ran longer and better because of regular oil changes using it. The Saturn was a '93 and the last VW we had was almost 20 yrs old. The Saturn would probably still be running had it not been totaled in an accident.
Reply
post #25 of 39
2/3/10 at 2:01pm
I believe most new Fords require 5w20 oil, and that ONLY comes in semi-synthetic or fully synthetic.
Reply
post #26 of 39
2/3/10 at 2:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrblanche View Post
I believe most new Fords require 5w20 oil, and that ONLY comes in semi-synthetic or fully synthetic.
and you would be right

my fiat takes 5w10 semi synthetic
Reply
post #27 of 39
2/4/10 at 7:05am
Fords have more recalls than I care to think about too, we have had a Ranger and an F150 on lease for the business. During the three years we had each, they were recalled at least once a year for something. The F150 had an issue where the brake pads corroded the metal contacting with them leaving us with no brakes in a busy intersection after having it for only 8 months.

I don't think any of the auto companies are in a place to throw stones at Toyota knowing that they will slip up and have the same problem at some point. However I seen on the news that some dealerships are posting advertisements against Toyota and GM have offered $1000 to anyone who terminates a Toyota lease and goes with them
Reply
post #28 of 39
2/4/10 at 7:09am
The news overnight is that Toyota has a problem with the Prius braking system. It was corrected in production in just the last week, but ALL the prior Prii (that's the plural of Prius, right?) will have to be recalled.
Reply
post #29 of 39
2/4/10 at 10:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by icklemiss21 View Post
Fords have more recalls than I care to think about too, we have had a Ranger and an F150 on lease for the business. During the three years we had each, they were recalled at least once a year for something. The F150 had an issue where the brake pads corroded the metal contacting with them leaving us with no brakes in a busy intersection after having it for only 8 months.

I don't think any of the auto companies are in a place to throw stones at Toyota knowing that they will slip up and have the same problem at some point. However I seen on the news that some dealerships are posting advertisements against Toyota and GM have offered $1000 to anyone who terminates a Toyota lease and goes with them
Really? I have had Ford Ranger's for 16 years and have never had one recalled. Do you remember why yours was recalled?

On another note, it would not surprise me in the least to hear GM (Government Motors) slam Toyota.
Reply
post #30 of 39
2/4/10 at 10:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrblanche View Post
The news overnight is that Toyota has a problem with the Prius braking system. It was corrected in production in just the last week, but ALL the prior Prii (that's the plural of Prius, right?) will have to be recalled.
Those dang Hybrids.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: IMO: In My Opinion
TheCatSite.com › Forums › General Forums › IMO: In My Opinion › GM should take advantage