Detroit Rescue Plans Revealed

Not according to the Toyota recall statistics.

Correction. Better stated as dependence on engines that build torque so
that they do not need 6 speed transmissions and rev at 10,000 rpm's. If
these cars sap so much power, then why do more GM cars achieve over 30mpg
than any other brand of car? If you're going to rag on a company, at least
come up with something fresh, that has just a hint of truth to it.

I don't see those interiors as so different from the competition. I don't
think they are anywhere as nice as they used to be, but they fit in with
everyone else these days.

They don't need to get all the horsepower because of the availability of
torque throughout the rpm range. Why do those cars you mention need 6
speed transmission, and downshift for any knoll they encounter?

 

When was that done? the torqueless wonder car didn't have sealed beam
headlamps. First year of aero headlamps for the 626. It had glass
lenses.

 

I think I covered that.

It would only be if it was in a garage when not driven.

I've see it in a lot of vehicles. Usually proportional to the number of
them on the road and their likelyhood of spending their life outside.

 

I see you've changed your 'from' to cut through filters again.

Anyway, while you try to be argumentive, you've agreed with me. What do
you think a "polish" does? It removes the haze! Duh.

Before I replaced the headlamps on my mustang I polished them on
occasion to keep them clear.

 

What you say about their angle is certainly true.

 

Right... All 3rd-Generation Chrysco minivan owners must be wrong.

 

And you think this unique to Chrysler? My sister's Honda had that
problem. Her neighbor's Camry has that problem. The Accord of one of
my neighbors has that problem. Another neighbors Corolla has that
problem. Is there any manufacturer that hasn't built vehicles with
that problem? And don't tell me BMWs don't do it, because one car in
the parking lot is 3 series BMW and it has the problem too.

Ed

 

Every make will have the problem until someone making engineered
plastics comes up with a product that doesn't cloud over for a good
price. Then quickly no make will have the problem.

I think it may be better to just go back to glass lenses myself. but
that would kinda limit the industrial designers and they don't like
being limited.

 

Where's Stern when you really need him?

What he's told me in the past is that it varies a lot by HEADLAMP
builder, and how good their UV protectant really is. Chrysler LH cars
use Wagner headlamps (at least the first-gen ones did) and they seem to
cloud pretty badly. The PT Cruiser at the other extreme uses Hella
headlamps, and I see very few of them badly clouded. And now that my
wife is a PT Cruiser driver, I have to say that their beam pattern and
overall performance is easily on a par with the expensive E-code
headlamps that I've bought for other vehicles. Another complete contrast
from the LH cars....

 

Horseshit. Cloudiness will eventually permeate the entire thickness of
the lens- you can't polish it out of the middle of the plastic! Its just
the nature of plastics, and how fast it happens depends on how good the
UV blockers used by the plastic maker actually are. In fact, polishing
headlights too often will prematurely strip away the UV protectant
layer, leaving the plastic lens even more vulnerable to UV damage.

 

Alright, here is my suggestion....

Because of public opinion, it seems Congress is having a hard time
loaning GM and Chrysler the money they need to survive. I think this
has a lot more to do with public hate of arrogant labor unions than
CEO's flying to Washington in corporate jets.

On the other hand, Congress seems to have no problem at all shoveling
money by the boats loads to banks run by greedy arrogant morons. So,
we lend these idiots at the banks another 68 billion (a drop in the
bucket on top of the 700 billion already promised) on the condition
that they lend GM 18 billion, Chrysler 7 billion, and give Ford a
credit line of 9 Billion. These have to be special low interest loans
to the automakers, but hey are "Government loans.". This way the
Congress won't have to appear to bail out GM directly, and the Banks
can skim off their usual 100% profit margin, and the Bank CEOs can
continue to get billion dollar bonuses and fly around in their
corporate jets. Win-Win. The Democrats can satisfy the UAW pigs, and
the Republican can satisfy the banking pigs. And at least most of the
people will be fooled most of the time....

Honestly, I think this is such a good idea, I am going to Email it to
Barack and suggest that I am the only person in the US smart enough to
save the banks and auto industries at the same time without having to
kiss Nancy Pelosi's Ring (or a**).

Ed

 

And honestly, it does not surprise me one bit that GM was the one with
that rule. Their per-car labor costs have been stupid-high compared to
all the others (even Ford, Chrysler, and AMC) since the 60s.

In fact I think one huge reason that the myth of superior Japanese car
quality has persisted a good 15-20 years past the time when the real
quality gap was gone (at least for Ford and Chrysler) is that so many
people automatically equate "American Car" with "General Motors."

 

Oh PUH-leeze! Toyota pads the hell out of their recall statistics by
dodging recalls. They offer "complimentary" fixes to customers who bring
in their cars for other service all the time, and have done a good job
of hiding their endemic problems until recently. The Tundra disaster
revealed a lot, because they finally sold to a demographic that doesn't
run crying to the dealership for every problem, so they couldn't
stealth-fix a large enough percentage of the customer base's cars.

Here I agree completely.

I agree again. To me, its the Honda interiors that feel and even smell
like cheap plastic outgassing. The last 3 Chrysler products I've owned
even had extremely easy to service dash assemblies. The panels are solid
and don't break when removed, the fasteners release easily without
damage, and when you re-assemble them the fasteners continue to clamp
the parts tightly to prevent squeaks and rattles. Other than the fact
that the interiors are now completely devoid of attractive chrome and
metal in places that are prone to sunlight degradation (like air vents),
I have no complaints. And those complaints I mentioned are industry-wide.

You obviously haven't argued with Lloyd before. IF it says it has more
horespower in the glossy literature, he fully believes that means it
will perform better in the real world in all applications. He still
thinks that Jeep is better off with the 3.8 and 3.7 replacing the 4.0
because they have higher horsepower numbers, despite countless people
telling him how much better the 4.0 really is for offroading.

 

Oh, you mean like when they lead the recall statistics in 2006 (most
total vehciels recalled and most different models recalled)?

You need to go read some of the stuff in the NHTSA database sometime
regarding Toyotas. They often have the letters for Toyota deying
things like Tundra wheels falling off as being a problem. Or after a
few people die, it is not a Toyota problem, it is a Toyota suppleir
problem. No other company does more to cover-up, lie about, and deny
problems than Toyota. As I've said before, Toyota's single must
impressive acheievement is in the area of PR. They have manage to
convince millions of people that second rate crap is wonderful.

Ed

 

I think there was a lot of public hate over the government bailing out
the mortage companies.... profit-centers that a) don't actually make or
do a damn thing, and b) got themselves in their own mess by making
stupid loans that they should have known were going to default.

If Congress hadn't already wasted THAT money, I'd be much more inclined
to help auto manufacturers. And I say that even though I'm one that
hates the arrogant labor unions and what they've done to the industrial
capability of this country.

 

C. E. White wrote:
Toyota's single must impressive

Wonderfully stated.

 

Yes, according to everything, from J D Power to Consumer Reports. You
hear more about Toyota recalls because they step up and fix a problem
rather than denying it.

A 6-sp will get better mileage, better acceleration, and be quieter,
all things equal.

Chrysler offers 6-speeds on some cars; why cheapen out on the others?

For one thing, they're designed to do well on the EPA test. Check out
some road tests for what they get in real life. No GM non-hybrid
model comes close to the Corolla's mileage, for example.

Perhaps because you refuse to see anything wrong with Chrysler. I bet
you'd claim a Caliber is higher quality inside than a Mercedes S-
class. Geez, at least have the honesty to admit you're as biased as
Bush on Iraq.

BS. Chrysler engines make less torque than most competitors'.

 

Ford? Yes. But Chrysler? Again, you're so biased we chuckle at
every post.

Look at some objective numbers. J D Power, Consumer Reports. Don't
just sit there and type Chrysler is the best thing on the road. It's
just plain laughable.

 

No, I believe it because every objective testing shows it. You, OTOH,
believe Chrysler must be best because Chrysler must be best. You're
as stubborn as Bush on Iraq.

 

Yes, everybody buying Toyota is duped. All the testers at Motor
Trend, Car & Driver, AutoWeek, etc., are duped. Only you know
Chrysler is superior to everything else.

Do you realize how foolish you are?