Is This the Beginning of GM's Demise?

[kenimpzoom]

Re: Is This the Beginning of GM's Demise?

jtexas, Thanks for the insider info. It confirms what I thought about forecasts. <br /><br />It truly is sad what the media and day traders have done to the stock market.<br /><br />Ken

 

[NYMINUTE]

Re: Is This the Beginning of GM's Demise?

Originally posted by SoulWinner:<br /> I would not buy a GM product if you put a gun to my head. I wouldn't accept a FREE car or truck from GM. Nor will I buy another Toyota that was built in the US. If the US wants to retain thier manufactuering base, stop overpaying union labor to produce crap, like everything in the GM line-up.

My friend....You have hit the nail on the head in both posts. Excellent observation.

 

[one more cast]

Re: Is This the Beginning of GM's Demise?

We typically own our vehicles for 10+ years, and nothing made in America can cut it for that long and that many miles without costing a fortune.

Your wrong on that one. <br /> I sold my '92 s-10 in 2002 with close to 136,000 miles on it. Last year it had over 160,000 on it, seen it yesterday and its still going strong.the alt went at 75,000 and I put brakes, exhaust, u joints and tires on it. <br /> Neighbors '88 F150 almost 300,000 on it with no major repairs.<br /> cousins ranger over 300,000 with a transmission rebuild being the only major repair.<br /> wifes '97 lumina has 135,000 but does have a slight piston slap.<br /> X wifes Honda civic blew a head gasket at 130,000 miles and was rusted to death<br /> Daughters 92 toyota tercel rusted to bits at 168,000 problems were electrical and,door latches would wear out( and pop open),but still ran good.<br /> The jap cars just rust too bad in the north country.

 

[DJ]

Re: Is This the Beginning of GM's Demise?

I see (fleet maintained) domestic cars and trucks everyday with well over 200K. Work vehicles mind you, not grocery getters.<br /><br />One customer of mine runs their Crown Vic taxis to 500K in four years. That's with over 50% idle time. Talk about torture.

 

[fixin]

Re: Is This the Beginning of GM's Demise?

We had a 89 Chevy Berreta with 330,000 miles when we sold it.Only thing done to it was Alt.<br />I had a 92 s-10 that had 300,000+miles with ice cold air that never gave a lick of problems except Alt.<br />I have a 98 Z-71 with 139,000 miles,Yep Alt.went out on it toh and I replaced the the thermostat once.

 

[Kenneth Brown]

Re: Is This the Beginning of GM's Demise?

They say over 90% of GM's are still on the road, the Ford and Dodge wreckers haven't made it to them yet.

 

[kenimpzoom]

Re: Is This the Beginning of GM's Demise?

GM isnt making junk, that isnt the problem. Buick has one of the highest customer satisfaction ratings in the industry.<br /><br />The problem is GMs cars are really boring. Even the new Vette is boring. Many of the cars can be called "ugly".<br /><br />They should have some more exciting cars coming out in the very near future.<br /><br />Ken

 

[jtexas]

Re: Is This the Beginning of GM's Demise?

Originally posted by KenImpZoom:<br /> jtexas, Thanks for the insider info. It confirms what I thought about forecasts. <br /><br />It truly is sad what the media and day traders have done to the stock market.<br /><br />Ken

Just my opinion, but the stock market wouldn't work without the media - it's really the only way for the individual investor to get information in a timely manner. The big brokerage houses and investment funds have teams of analysts digging into SEC filings, and actually reading the "notes to the financial statements" & whatnot. <br /><br />Also, we've been kind of harsh on the concept of how "expectations" influence the stock price. There is a lot of pressure not to be over-optimistic on company projections, because we know what will happen if we fall short. Missing your expectations consistently (over or under) hurts your stock price by causing too much fluctuation, which increases "risk"; the way "risk" is measured by institutional investors, a stock gets riskier if it's price changes a lot.<br /><br />Daytraders, or really, the general emphasis on short-term results, can really damage a company, because maximizing profits in "this quarter" can often lead to poor long-term strategic decisions. <br /><br />Like if you lay off a quarter of your workforce cutting your payroll by 25%, your income statement looks great this quarter, Wall Street loves you, then next year you don't have enough capacity to fill all the orders, you lose customers, the remaining employees get discouraged, productivity falls, all the really good managers can see what's coming & quit to work for your competitors leaving the idiots in charge, 5 years later you're in bankruptcy. Of course by now the CEO has moved on to an even sweeter deal in another industry. That sort of thing.

 

[McGR]

Re: Is This the Beginning of GM's Demise?

I agree with many of you, that this perception of GM being a poor quality brand is pure bunk. I'm not married to any particular brand. My only buying criteria is that it be domestic, due to my beliefs about the importance of this industry to our country. I've owned some GM's which have all been good relatively trouble free vehicles. I totally agree with OMC regarding the rust on imports. Many of the short sighted first year of ownership type "quality" reports, which often favor imports, do not consider 5-10 years down the road in the equation. Such reports subsequently lead buyers into believing this is the only important criteria to be evaluated when judging vehicle quality. I believe long term quality is where domestics really hold their own. <br /><br />Speaking of rust... anyone remember the beds on those wonderful 80s & 90s Toyota trucks after a few years... yeech!