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Green presssure
Good move for Toyota to release hybrid vehicles. I am excited to see a Toyota Tundra in V8 engine. Too bad this is not yet out for Toyota Tundra 2010
For some, Charity Preview fun starts after 9 p.m.
Afterglows, Adam . . . galore, from what I heard. (Wasn't on The List either.)
Friend whose spouse is a Ford exec says they got home at 1:30.
Still, point taken . . . 7-11 p.m. also would allow for post-partying.
Mustang loving daughters?
I would say they are good kids in any right. Just because they like the Mustang better than the Challanger, so be it. My daughters feel the opposite. I will say this though, they are not caught up in all of that ricer junk. I ask my one daughter what she wouldn't be caught dead in. Her answer was any kind of Honda. Smart kid.
Hey - Cork It Already!
A)The south blames the north for being uncompetative.
B) The North (and a lot of other folks) hang the blame on labor costs and quality issues
C) Labor blames it on the engineers who design the vehicles. Afterall, they build what has been designed. If they build it with zero defects and it leaves that plant in tact -they're off the hook
D) The new owne buys and drives the car for 4 years and something significant breaks.
E) The vehicle breaks down at 60K miles. The Dealer Repair shop charges the customer a ton of money to fix it with the same shoddy parts that broke down to begin with.
F) The customer's perception on labor and quality arte reinforced
G) The auto company complaint department gets a nasty call from an irate customer and emphatically states that it will never happen again
H) The new vehicle year starts up (actually the car was designed several years earlier) and is priced by bean counters to show a ROI and profit margin
I) Executive bean counters state they need to get better profits and ask Engineering to re-engineer it using cheaper parts, thinner metal, imported parts or a bunch of stuff in between. (These better profits are supposed to go to the legacy retirement costs, and to show Wall Street good numbers for the quarter.) Shareholders and Retirees rejoice and are Happy!
J) The car is repriced for the target market it's supposed to fill.
K) The engineering changes and design is finalized and sent to production
L)Go back to Step C and Start Over Again.
I think that covers it. Any Questions?
Oops - I forgot to add, Environmentally Active Elected Officials throw the Auto Industry Under the Bus - when they're business model of tax and spend is full of waste too.
Will these 'green' cars deliver in the real world?
First of all Toyota's MPG figures are determined by EPA testing. These are average numbers some people do better some not as well. For your information over almost two years now I never had even one tank at or below the EPA MPG. My lifetime MPG = 59.5 MPG (US gallons) well above the EPA figure. There are many other Prius drives who do even better - check here:
http://priuschat.com/forums/fuel-economy/1429-i-beat-epa-post-em-here.html
Regards,
Gabe
Sen. Corker at Detroit Auto show
These negative posts on Corker are too much. I haven't seen any that have refuted his arguments on a factual basis.
It has to be spillover from the Freep.
Gettlefinger should be reminded that Obama is on the record
that there is not going to be a blank check.
I know, a lot of this is UAW posturing. However, political consequences aside, I think Obama is more than willing to listen to Corker's plan to save the industry.
Sen. Corker at Detroit Auto show
Lets' make one thing clear, there is presently little difference between the quality of the Domestic and the Foreign Auto Manufacturers. The problem the Domestics face is one of perception based on the products that they used to produce. California is a prime example of this. People buy what has worked for them over the years and go where they are treated well by the service people. So if a Domestic and a Foreign make cost the same, many will choose the Foreign make based on experience. They would likely be very wrong if they chose a German manufacturer over a Domestic.
When it comes to labor and labor overhead costs it would appear that the only one with any business acumen, in Congress, is Sen. Corker. His proposal addresses the true issues behind the Domestic Auto manufacturers lack of competitiveness. He did not target solely the Unions rather all creditors. It was only the intransigence of the Unions that brought them to the forefront. Of course Mr. Gettlefinger does not wish to commit to any concessions, as that will lead to his demise and the gravy train he has been on. The same holds true for the Democrats that have been attempting to prop up the unions because of their substantial contributions to the Democratic coffers. Michigan Senators Levin and Sabenow are prime examples, they talk a lot, have nothing positive to contribute, and blame everyone else. The fact is that pouring good money after bad will not lead to a resurgence of the Domestic Auto makers, they may survive for a period of time, until the next time the economy tanks, and they once again will need money in order to survive.
President Bush has thrown the problem over to the Obama camp which just about assures the UAW that business will be conducted as usual. What will be the prospect of a GM and Chrysler survival if the proposed Obama magic is just another economic hoax ?
Lincoln Announces Pricing For Lincoln MKT
The MKT is lovely ...and it further moves Lincoln upmarket in image and substance. But really, do we need another $40K + vehicle in a time where so many people are re-evaluating the sensibility of such indulgent car purchases? If economic pressures continue to threaten folks, and those $500 to $600 (per month) car payments start looking foolish and extravagant, then perhaps the auto industry would do better to churn out better compact and midsize beauties for $17 to $18K.
Will these 'green' cars deliver in the real world?
Neil Winton, do you consider yourself an automotive expert? Yes? So why are you posting false statements about hybrid cars not delivering the promised results? The previous generation Prius promised combined average of 46 US-MPG, right? So please realize that in reality, 517 drivers of these cars got average combined fuel consumption of 5,2 litres/100 km = 45,2 US-MPG (Source: Spritmonitor). Some drivers got more, some less but the average expected fuel economy is just that. So why are you lying here, saying the Prius II returns 34 MPG?
UAW
Dear Mr. Shepardson:
Please ask Bob Corker and Richard Shelby why similar model foreign cars made with non-union labor cost about the same as Ford, GM and Chrysler? Check out Hyundai Sonata, Toyota Camry, Ford Fusion and GM Malibu.
Is THE Crocker a spy for Japan Autos?
Is he?
Learning?
Corker that video says it all. Six months ago you where thrilled with what you saw at GM now six months later its a bad business model. Now that true leadership! These yo yos are why the domestics are in the trouble they are. No consistent government policy. Six months ago gas was $4.30 a gallon now its $1.75 an consumers are saying to themselves what the hell do I need one of those overpriced hybrids?
Auto Show
I don't care for McCain, Corker, or Huckabee, but Mitt Romney is more than welcome at our auto show. He's the only one who care about the industry and the only one I can even listen to without getting sick.
Auto Show
How much money do you make to write four sentences?
Lincoln Announces Pricing For Lincoln MKT
What a bunch of crap .. touting a vehicle that costs from $45-50 thousand dollars in a market like this is proof positive that Ford's idiot management is totally incompetent.
Ford has some great products but Mulally, the Boeing Bomber, has no idea of how to capitalize on this. And the Ford family, equally incompetent (if not more so), endorses this idiocy.
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