Cars That Go Boom: Detroit's Big Three & Me

[Triple-d]

Theirs nothing wrong with the cars the big three make.Quality as good as any, class for class.They just haven't been managed properly for today's world. Little, or no visible effort to build more efficent vehicles.
It's going to take a group effort to get them back running strong again.
Probably need some sort of goverment package.
File bankruptcy re-organization to buy time and re-tool for more efficent manufacturing, and more efficent cars. The big 3 are building decent cars, but nothing to seperate them from Asian auto's.
Unions need to come off some of that 58.00 an hour wage. The U.S. based Asian plants that are non-union pay 28 to 38 bucks an hour. The big 3's cost structure is a problem.

Just bad management.

If the government is going to throw money at failing company's, I would rather it go to the auto makers than AIG.

[milesd]

Unions need to come off some of that 58.00 an hour wage. The U.S. based Asian plants that are non-union pay 28 to 38 bucks an hour. The big 3's cost structure is a problem.

Just bad management.

Agreed.

[stockey]

Starting to give money to the big three is a big mistake,it will be a money pit,they are not profitable now and they won't be in ten years,the Gov will have sink money non stop,it will never end.

[Triple-d]

If they file bankruptcy, it doesn't dissove the company. It holds of financial obligations, and gives them time to re-group.
Maybe get a government loan to re-tool for efficent manufacturing, and more efficent cars.
Pumping money into the same company's with no changes is endless.

[BigWatchPilot]

If they file bankruptcy, it doesn't dissove the company. It holds of financial obligations, and gives them time to re-group.
Maybe get a government loan to re-tool for efficent manufacturing, and more efficent cars.
Pumping money into the same company's with no changes is endless.

Im with TD here...I think they need to go through with restructuring before we throw money at them. Throwing money at something is the core of American problem solving.

As far was what the American car companies are making...in the 80's the big 3 were in the mind set, "It doesn't matter what we make, it could be a turd with wheels and they will buy it." They started falling behind in style, design, and innovation. The only thing new to come out of Detroit the last 20 years is the SUV.

There is so much wast and overlap. Do we really need a Cadillac, GMC, and Chevy version of the same car? Each with 4 different packages and 100's of options? Yes I know Honda has Acura, Toyota has Lexus...but they don't look the same and you only have few options.

The US car companies in my opinion have spent their time competing with each other rather than the rest of the world. I am sure in their minds there was no other competition. I think they should look at downsizing, eliminating some 'brand' names, and consider a merger to become more competitive in the world and the US. This happened in the aviation world more than once. ie; Boeing, McDonald/Douglas, Lockheed/Martin...and all of our European aircraft manufacturers.

BWP...out of breath!

[The_Monkey]

If they file bankruptcy, it doesn't dissove the company. It holds of financial obligations, and gives them time to re-group.
Maybe get a government loan to re-tool for efficent manufacturing, and more efficent cars.
Pumping money into the same company's with no changes is endless.

Bankruptcy, even Chapter 11, will kill them... would you buy a car from a bankrupt company?

You have to remember that most of the population makes no distinction between Chapter 11 (reorg) and Chapter 7 (liquidation) all they hear is "bankrupt". The headlines will be "GM declares bankruptcy" or "GM goes bankrupt" not "GM decides to reorganize"... that's a massive blow to consumer confidence on an item that they expect to be able to keep for five to ten years.

[Jackjo]

I think it is pretty safe to say the big three aren't going anywhere.

Not sure exactly what the government will do for them or if it is the correct thing. But our leaders have never been too good at doing the "correct" thing.

Besides, I really want a new Dodge Challenger but won't be able to till next year when the sale of my business is final.

The U.S. auto makers are no doubt poorly managed but who says they build crappy cars. I have owned over a dozen in the last 15 years and had nothing but stellar performance out of all of them. I love the quality of some imports too but the U.S. auto makers have been on a roll when it comes to cool cars.

Pretty tough to beat the styling of these three IMO! Not sure if this pertains to the conversation but I just wanted to post these cool rides!

Take that!! Overpriced imports!!!