For full-time, part-time and vacationers in the Summit County, Colorado area
Auto industry
Given what has happened in the auto industry over the past few weeks, I think it’s time for me to do a rant.
I grew up in the Detroit area. My father worked for Chrysler Corporation for 30 years. Whenever a new model was about to be introduced, we would always make a special trip down to the lots where the newest cars were stored prior to being shipped to dealers. Most of us who grew up in the Motor City were car nuts.
I remember Dad talking about walking down to the Lynch Road assembly line and seeing groups of Japanese visiting and taking notes on how cars were built in Detroit. They “went to school” on the Detroit car companies, and eventually beat Detroit at their own game.
It didn’t help that Detroit began to build crappy vehicles. Dad talked about assembly line workers intentionally leaving wrenches and various other tools in doors or other hidden places so they would rattle. Talk about shooting themselves in the foot! “Planned obsolescence” almost mandated that you could keep a car for two or three years before it began to rust and wear out. Dad figured that it was time to trade in the car when it got to 30,000 miles. The engine began to wear out when you approached 60,000 miles.
Administrative policies basically made the unions necessary. Isn’t that always the case? Who would want to be a union member if their bosses treated them well? As seems to be the case with all systems, once initiated, the first objective of the system is self preservation and perpetuation.
Dad wasn’t particularly happy when we bought a Honda Accord and Prelude (definitely a poor man’s Corvette) back in the 70s and 80s. The quality of Japanese vehicles really WAS better than the Detroit stuff. Detroit cars got a well-deserved reputation for sub-standard quality. They have since turned the corner on the quality issue, but the reputation is another apparently remains.
We have a Toyota Highlander. Great car…solid and well-designed. We wanted a vehicle for comfortably transporting four to six adults. The Jeeps that we had prior to the Highlander had miserable foot room in the back seat. So we bought the Highlander in 2004.
I had a ’94 Jeep Wrangler until last month. A great vehicle. It never stranded me; it always started. Very dependable, especially in the snow--I never even came close to getting stuck. Last month we traded it in on a 2009 Wrangler. It is definitely an improvement--an easier but still solid ride...definitely more civilized. We’re very happy with it and will probably keep it for another fifteen years.
And of course we recently traded in our ’94 Corvette on an ’07 Corvette. Awesome car…tremendous bang for the buck. It cost far less than, say, a Lexus. Not a car for everyone, of course, but, wow…what a car! Definitely a poor man’s Ferrari. Great quality.
It seems to me that if/when the car companies get moving again, they should appeal to patriotism in car ads. At least LOOK at the American offerings before sending all that money overseas. Yeah, I know that some Hondas and Toyotas (not to mention others) are built here in the US. And lots of parts on “American cars” come from Canada, Mexico and other places. The transition to a global economy has been and will continue to be painful. But if we want to improve economically, we need to try to keep our money here at home first. The product quality of American cars is definitely there. Look American first.
‘Nuf said.
I grew up in the Detroit area. My father worked for Chrysler Corporation for 30 years. Whenever a new model was about to be introduced, we would always make a special trip down to the lots where the newest cars were stored prior to being shipped to dealers. Most of us who grew up in the Motor City were car nuts.
I remember Dad talking about walking down to the Lynch Road assembly line and seeing groups of Japanese visiting and taking notes on how cars were built in Detroit. They “went to school” on the Detroit car companies, and eventually beat Detroit at their own game.
It didn’t help that Detroit began to build crappy vehicles. Dad talked about assembly line workers intentionally leaving wrenches and various other tools in doors or other hidden places so they would rattle. Talk about shooting themselves in the foot! “Planned obsolescence” almost mandated that you could keep a car for two or three years before it began to rust and wear out. Dad figured that it was time to trade in the car when it got to 30,000 miles. The engine began to wear out when you approached 60,000 miles.
Administrative policies basically made the unions necessary. Isn’t that always the case? Who would want to be a union member if their bosses treated them well? As seems to be the case with all systems, once initiated, the first objective of the system is self preservation and perpetuation.
Dad wasn’t particularly happy when we bought a Honda Accord and Prelude (definitely a poor man’s Corvette) back in the 70s and 80s. The quality of Japanese vehicles really WAS better than the Detroit stuff. Detroit cars got a well-deserved reputation for sub-standard quality. They have since turned the corner on the quality issue, but the reputation is another apparently remains.
We have a Toyota Highlander. Great car…solid and well-designed. We wanted a vehicle for comfortably transporting four to six adults. The Jeeps that we had prior to the Highlander had miserable foot room in the back seat. So we bought the Highlander in 2004.
I had a ’94 Jeep Wrangler until last month. A great vehicle. It never stranded me; it always started. Very dependable, especially in the snow--I never even came close to getting stuck. Last month we traded it in on a 2009 Wrangler. It is definitely an improvement--an easier but still solid ride...definitely more civilized. We’re very happy with it and will probably keep it for another fifteen years.
And of course we recently traded in our ’94 Corvette on an ’07 Corvette. Awesome car…tremendous bang for the buck. It cost far less than, say, a Lexus. Not a car for everyone, of course, but, wow…what a car! Definitely a poor man’s Ferrari. Great quality.
It seems to me that if/when the car companies get moving again, they should appeal to patriotism in car ads. At least LOOK at the American offerings before sending all that money overseas. Yeah, I know that some Hondas and Toyotas (not to mention others) are built here in the US. And lots of parts on “American cars” come from Canada, Mexico and other places. The transition to a global economy has been and will continue to be painful. But if we want to improve economically, we need to try to keep our money here at home first. The product quality of American cars is definitely there. Look American first.
‘Nuf said.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Mike Haudenschild on -
(begin rant)
I've owned four Saturns in 10 years. I traded up out of choice, not necessity. My 1999 Saturn SL--my college car, which followed me to grad school--spent four months frozen to a street curb in Salt Lake City after a massive Christmas snowstorm. Once I liberated it, in mid-March, jumped in, and turned the key... it started right up.
I like Honda's products. I think they're very solid vehicles. But when I get into a modern-day Honda, I look around the cabin and feel like I'm sitting in my '99 Saturn.
My best friend was ranting that the "fit and finish" of American cars just wasn't up to par with foreign cars. He drives a Mazda. What the heck is "fit and finish," anyway? I paid $17,000 for my most recent Saturn--an Astra. A comparably-equipped Volkswagon costs well over $20,000. And a Civic with a decent engine is at least that, as well. (I did shop the Honda fit--great car, but the Saturn was less expensive.)
Did I mention the 100,000-mile warranty that's standard on all GM vehicles? OnStar, anyone? A GUI on-board computer in a compact car?
My ex-wife's Honda Civic had the rear suspension rust out, a wheel bearing that (after a $400 replacement) never stopped grinding, had a crappy ride, and an engine so underclassed that the air conditioner would shut off at highway speeds--in 105-degree Utah. Did I mention that it rode like a horse-drawn wagon? We traded it for a Saturn Vue in 2003.
Counting my family's purchases, we're up to 6 Saturns, with several other GMs in there. The worst vehicle purchase in our history? A Chrysler minivan in the 80s... and even THAT vehicle was >10 years old before it was traded in.
Saturn reports that something like 80%+ of ALL Saturns sold (they started in 1990) are still on the road (http://imsaturn.com/profiles/blogs/saturns-keep-going-and-going). Not bad.
Sorry, the generic "foreign cars are better" line doesn't work with me. The fact the people lament the large amount of each vehicle's price tag going to the assembly line workers... Um, those are your neighbors, folks. Last I checked we have a pretty high standard of living in the US. I think they get some of the spoils, too.
Did the Big 3 make incredibly short-sighted commitments to retirees back when times were good and competition was nonexistent? Probably. Did management have options for fixing this problem 35 years ago when Toyota entered the US market? No doubt. Did the union have too much power? Maybe.
There's no doubt in my mind that there have been TREMENDOUS corporate failings. But blanket statements that "American cars suck" is small-minded... especially from individuals who just buy the rhetoric... most of whom haven't owned an American car in the last 20 years. If rhetoric alone is enough to dictate your strategy for a major purchase... I have a bridge I'd like to sell ya.
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