Jay Pique wrote:
On Dec 15, 9:26 pm, Tim Daneliuk wrote:
I'm not questioning that there has been a quality problem in Detroit.
There has been. My point is merely that this is not the central
issue before us today as they come whining to the rest of us to
bail their butts out. The central issue is their insane labor
costs. Oh, and BTW, I do think Detroit is building a better and
better product - even CR has noted this in some sectors of the
auto marketplace.
Well, I did see that an American car did take top honors in a category
this past year. It was "Best American Sedan". I love that one.
Saying Detroit is making a better and better product says pretty much
nothing. One would certainly hope they aren't turning out vehicles
Not so. We own both Japanese and American vehicles in my household.
Both are very good at what they do. Do I think *all* American
cars are competitive with their foreign counterparts? No. But
there are good models from which to choose. The idea that the
foreign cars are innately better on their face is ... well, an
oversimplification. The Japanese, for example, have had plenty
of quality problems that kind of get glossed over - Izusu and
Mitsubishi leap to mind. As always, research and homework
pay dividends when buying new transportion. That said, I've
never had a Honda product in my hands that was not flawless.
This is both the case as we've owned their vehicles and in
my extensive travels renting them. OTOH, the worst car I've
driven in decades was a Volvo. It was well built but had
abysmal ergonomics.
that are progressively worse! If what you are saying is that they are
closing the gap on foreign competition then I'm not so sure I agree.
We will get something like 12" of snow here in metro Chicago
this very night. My Chevy SUV will walk through it effortlessly
with comfort and stability to spare. So will selected Japanese
vehicles. There is no obvious winner. It depends on what you
buy, how you maintain the vehicle, and most importantly, how you
drive.
And, regardless, the perception is that they are making an inferior
product and the consumers are turning elsewhere.
JP
I'm not sure what "foreign" even means these days. Many of the
most lauded cars are built here with US labor. They just don't
have the legacy labor costs with which GM, Ford, and Chrysler
must contend.
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Tim Daneliuk
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