Big 3 Bailout

[MarkBarbieri]

Has anyone thought about the fact that our next president is considering throwing 750 billion dollars after the 500 billion we have already wasted. There are only about 300 million people in America. That means the US Government could just deposit 4 million in each persons bank account and solve everything and still spend less money. There would be no more private debt. No instead were gonna give it to corporations who have already stolen us blind and went bankrupt doing so. Only in America does this make sense.

I think your math is off. We're talking about $1,250 billion divided by 0.3 billion people. That works out $4,167 per person. That's not pocket change, but it's also not enough to eliminate most people's debts.

 

[disney4dan]

Brad, I'm truly sorry to hear of your job loss. I too remember when there was a GM plant here in Massachusetts and how devastating the late 1970's and early 1980's were financially. Our country has been through this before and will get through this again. It will not be easy and I wish all of us luck and hope we all keep focused on what really matters.

I did think long and hard about which vehicles I have purchased since I saw how the tough economic times hit the construction industry (where my father's career was) in the late 1970's into the 1980's. He spent many years working overseas to provide for us after losing his company during the economic slow down then. I think that the fundamental principals of capitolism (sp?) should not be messed with. There are very few things that government agencies fix well when dealing with private sector. Once they sink their teeth into an industry, will it help them in the long run?

What still confuses me is how our largest companies tend to trade CEOs like an exclusive club. I never paid attention to those things until I met my now FIL who worked for GE. During the 1980s he warned us about what he saw happening (GE licensing all products to overseas companies) and the great shell game of CEOs for one large company sitting on the board of directors for other companies, everyone watching out for each other. I used to pass that off as paranoid fantasy, but see that the current CEO of Chrysler was the former CEO of The Home Depot who got pushed out the door with a huge golden parachute? How do you interview a guy like that? What kinds of questions get asked? That is clearly not the fault of the UAW, but it really bothers me that this seems like deja-vu all over again. Anyone else remember Lee Iaccoca? Am I showing my age?

Forgive the ramble. I have no clue on the solution to this problem. I honestly wish all the hard working UAW employees and those who rely on the Big 3 for work.

 

[bradisgoofy]

I posted this same question on the Community board and the replies really got viscous to the point I won't go back and read the tread anymore. The one thing I would like to say besides Thanks for your support is, if you are in the market for a new vehicle ( solid job and have the money ) please consider a vehicle from the BIG 3. I know not everyone of them are built in the states, but the profits come back to the states. And a vast majority of their suppliers are companies here in the states. You're not just supporting the BIG 3, you are supporting people like me who work for their suppliers.

Happy New Year and God Bless.

 

[des1954]

The only foreign cars I have purchased were back in the 1970's. I bought a 1976 Celica & a 1978 Celica. While they were fun to drive, they had too many problems & were expensive to repair.

Since then I've owned Fords, Chryslers, & GM's. Sad to say that out of the three, GM's (the 3 I owned) were POS's. I had a Chrysler New Yorker that I bought new in 1987 & drove 130K miles with a few nit-picky things. My Fords? The only bad one I had was a 1987 Taurus (bought new in Sept 86) & was so bad I traded it in on the 87 New Yorker. Ford decided to use a new alloy in their head bolts that year which was a disaster. That was also the same alloy used on the Challenger.

I currently drive a 1997 (bought in 96) Explorer Eddie Bauer which is my dream vehicle. By that I mean it is as reliable as ever. It has 170K miles and again - no major repairs. My DH keeps asking if I want a new car. NO WAY!!! I know what I have & am willing to keep it for as long as it will run.

I had a 1999 Grand Marquis which I put 150k miles on with no major repairs. We traded that on a 2006 Lincoln Zephyr which my DH drives. It has 58K miles and as of yet, no problems.

Will I ever buy a foreign car again? Not as long as we have American options.

 

[ntsammy5]

The only foreign cars I have purchased were back in the 1970's.

I thought about buying a foreign car once, but never did. My daughter has 2 Kias though and daughter 2 has a Toyota and a Subaru.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

I fell into Lee Iacocca's trap back in the 80's when he was on TV all the time encouraging people to buy american and support Chrysler. I bought a Plymouth Voyager and the only thing american about it was the guy at the dealership, and I'm not too sure about him. Granted, the electronics were from central "america" (Mexico) and the thing was assembled in north america (Canada), but the engine and transmission were from Japan. Two months after I owned it the big sliding side door fell off. Then the speedometer quit and wasn't covered by warranty, so that cost me a few hundred bucks to fix. Since then I have owned mostly US cars (Ford trucks, a ford Tempo which was a real POS) then I bought a couple of VW's which were built in Mexico and were great until they hit about 65,000 miles and I couldn't afford the 500 bucks a month it cost to fix the annoying things that went wrong with them. I just bought a Mazda 3 and so far so good. I still like my Ford truck - built in Virginia - and don't think there is any foreign truck that can compare as far as reliability, towing capacity, and value. I would buy American if the darned things were reliable and actually built here. Personally, I think before ANY taxpayer money is turned over to the Big 3, they should be forced to close all their plants in Mexico and Canada and move their production back into the US. Then, instead of turning out poorly engineered crap, they need to focus on quality engineering and materials so the cars are worth what they expect us to pay for them.

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

I fell into Lee Iacocca's trap back in the 80's when he was on TV all the time encouraging people to buy american and support Chrysler. I bought a Plymouth Voyager and the only thing american about it was the guy at the dealership, and I'm not too sure about him. Granted, the electronics were from central "america" (Mexico) and the thing was assembled in north america (Canada), but the engine and transmission were from Japan. Two months after I owned it the big sliding side door fell off. Then the speedometer quit and wasn't covered by warranty, so that cost me a few hundred bucks to fix. Since then I have owned mostly US cars (Ford trucks, a ford Tempo which was a real POS) then I bought a couple of VW's which were built in Mexico and were great until they hit about 65,000 miles and I couldn't afford the 500 bucks a month it cost to fix the annoying things that went wrong with them. I just bought a Mazda 3 and so far so good. I still like my Ford truck - built in Virginia - and don't think there is any foreign truck that can compare as far as reliability, towing capacity, and value. I would buy American if the darned things were reliable and actually built here. Personally, I think before ANY taxpayer money is turned over to the Big 3, they should be forced to close all their plants in Mexico and Canada and move their production back into the US. Then, instead of turning out poorly engineered crap, they need to focus on quality engineering and materials so the cars are worth what they expect us to pay for them.

I heard from a reliable source last year that Chrysler was having major problems with their component suppliers and that most of their quality issues were related to failures in various parts they purchase. All of the domestic mfg have squeezed their suppliers so tight that many are going under, this has been going on for several years. What we have now is essenitially 3 domestic parts assembling companies, less and less is actually made by the auto company, instead they purchase the components and just put them together.
IMHO electronics parts are the biggest issue with any vehicle these days. Theya re expensive to replace, difficult to repair and dont like living in the cold cruel world. I have a 99 Chevy truck that I inherited from my Dad, the vast majority of repair expense is for electronics.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

I heard from a reliable source last year that Chrysler was having major problems with their component suppliers and that most of their quality issues were related to failures in various parts they purchase. All of the domestic mfg have squeezed their suppliers so tight that many are going under, this has been going on for several years. What we have now is essenitially 3 domestic parts assembling companies, less and less is actually made by the auto company, instead they purchase the components and just put them together.
IMHO electronics parts are the biggest issue with any vehicle these days. Theya re expensive to replace, difficult to repair and dont like living in the cold cruel world. I have a 99 Chevy truck that I inherited from my Dad, the vast majority of repair expense is for electronics.

That pretty much sums up my problems with the V dubs. Every time the check engine light comes on, it's a 500 dollar fix involving electronics. The latest was a sensor in the driver's seat belt on the Beetle which was a 379 dollar fix and had to be done or the car wouldn't pass inspection. I had enough and, despite the fact that my wife loved the car because it was cute and fun, I traded the damn thing in on the Mazda on the spot. I did get a really good trade on it because, believe it or not, the VW Beetle convertibles hold their resale value. Go figure. I feel sorry for the poor college kid who talks her Dad into buying that POS for her.

 

[stacktester]

I had a neighbor with a VW Jetta and they complained pretty much about the same things. Great car til you need service.

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

I have heard that the VW's had poor service records. I wonder if they will get better after the Chattanooga plant is up and running. One of my co-workers has a brother that just got hired there, GM laid him off and VW snapped him up right away.

 

[BRDof3]

The thing about a global economy is that "buying American" doesn't keep the profits in America. Corporate profits go to the shareholders, not the building that houses the corporate office. Toyota has shareholders in America, the Big 3 have shareholders in other countries. The all use suppliers and assembly plants in multiple countries. The money goes all over the world no matter whose name is on the back of the vehicle.

Nobody is sitting pretty right now while others suffer. We're all taking a hit. It's happened before, it will happen again. All we can do is all we can do.

 

[ntsammy5]

The thing about a global economy is that "buying American" doesn't keep the profits in America. Corporate profits go to the shareholders, not the building that houses the corporate office. Toyota has shareholders in America, the Big 3 have shareholders in other countries.

You're a lot smarter than I look

 

[Born 2 Fish]

Any vehicle that we have purchased has been great, till it needs service.