Euro runs a Pontiac-not a Honda

On 18 Aug 2006 04:17:15 -0700, "The Punisher"
wrote:

If you buy a new Saturn today, you are getting an Opel European chassis
design. If you opt for the V-6, it is a Saab V-6. snip

The hell it is.

Ford also bought out Mazda. snip

You're WAAAAY behind the times. Ford got out of the Toyo Kogo mess a
long time ago.

The big three OWN the Jappers and Euros. Foreign car companies lick
GM's boots like the little worms they are.... snip

Idiot...Ford divested its Toyo Kogo stock and ended the joint
ventures. Daimler, bitten by big losses, dumped Mitsuibishi. GM's
dumping Suzuki.

Do you EVER read anything of value?

Funny how the visage of a
1958 Vauxhall just popped into mind...a small car that oddly looked
like a scale model of the 1958 Buick Super.
Correct! They were very popular here in Winnipeg because of
our UK connection. Seemed to run forever with many still on the road till
well into the 70's. I was at an auction the other day and there were two of
them up for auction. Looked like they had been sitting since 1978 (a '78
plate on one and shrubbery poking through the wheel wells and engine
compartment told the tale). One was obviously only going to be good as a
parts car but the other one had nice straight metal and all it's glass. The
interior was a little tatty. Anyway they hooked a battery to it and it fired
up. They sold the both of them for $350 or so. I pointed out to my wife how
they looked like they had been styled from mid 50s Detroit iron but in
miniature. A host of British cars were like that, often borrowing from
previous decades of U.S. design.

True. I had a fellow I was tutoring for awhile that was very proud of
his new Ford Cortina. I think it lasted a total of two years before
it became unfeasible to maintain due to a chronic lack of spares in
the US.
I wanted a Lotus Cortina back in 1966 after I graduated
from high school. There was a long wait list, so I settled for a brand new
Cortina GT and painted it like the Lotus. A Mercury dealer in Minneapolis
sold it to me. With a tuned exhaust (headers) and a two barrel Weber it was
pretty spirited. I had to quickly become an auto mechanic when problems
arose as the Mercury mechanics and parts department were clearly not
interested after a few years. As I recall I paid around $2200 for it. I
believe the Lotus equipped version went for $2600-2800. They command top
dollar these days. My GT is currently out in Missoula, Montana.

On Fri, 18 Aug 2006 19:25:30 GMT, "William W Western"
wrote:


As I recall I paid around $2200 for it. I
believe the Lotus equipped version went for $2600-2800. They command top
dollar these days. My GT is currently out in Missoula, Montana. snip

Pricey for a smallish car back then, even wiht the "GT" reference.
Nicely trimmed, as I remember them. Ford yanked parts and service
support for them not long after they quit selling in US showrooms,
probably at the command of their drunk-in-charge, King Henry II.

Dwight D. Eisenhower wrote:
number of GM plants and products in Europe- millions

GM also owns Saab and Opel

GM- ruling the automotive world with an iron fist- capitulate, or be
bought out

More like an iron lung. There'll be a backlash soon with more and more
plant closings here in the US. By the way- aren't you always calling
everyone who disagrees with you a "foreign scumbag"? Um... isn't
Europe "foreign"?

NAFTA sucks ass.

wrote:
Dwight D. Eisenhower wrote:
number of GM plants and products in Europe- millions

GM also owns Saab and Opel

GM- ruling the automotive world with an iron fist- capitulate, or be
bought out

More like an iron lung. There'll be a backlash soon with more and more
plant closings here in the US. By the way- aren't you always calling
everyone who disagrees with you a "foreign scumbag"? Um... isn't
Europe "foreign"?



DETROIT, Jan. 26 - By the middle of this decade, Rick Wagoner
promised a few years ago, General Motors would again be king of the
American road.

The company would have dozens of new products aimed at beating foreign
automakers, Mr. Wagoner, G.M.'s chief executive, said in 2002. With
those new cars and trucks, G.M. would rebuild market share and its
profits would help it stay ahead of the high cost of providing health
care.

Instead of fulfilling Mr. Wagoner's promise, G.M. went into reverse on
Thursday. The company reported an $8.6 billion loss for 2005, the year
it began its latest revamping, meant to reverse a string of losses and
fend off relentless competition.

On 20 Aug 2006 17:49:19 -0700, "bicycle" wrote:

DETROIT, Jan. 26 - By the middle of this decade, Rick Wagoner
promised a few years ago, General Motors would again be king of the
American road.

The company would have dozens of new products aimed at beating foreign
automakers, Mr. Wagoner, G.M.'s chief executive, said in 2002. With
those new cars and trucks, G.M. would rebuild market share and its
profits would help it stay ahead of the high cost of providing health
care.

Instead of fulfilling Mr. Wagoner's promise, G.M. went into reverse on
Thursday. The company reported an $8.6 billion loss for 2005, the year
it began its latest revamping, meant to reverse a string of losses and
fend off relentless competition. snip

They're finished. After decades of ****ty cars and moribund
management, they're going down the tubes faster and faster. Wagoner's
just another GM management drone whose agenda is more about serving
GM's outdated management model, nothing more. Even Bob Lutz, who
helped Iacocca turn Chrysler around, admits that. Meanwhile,
DaimlerChrsyler's nipping at Ford's heels, and Toyota's run completely
around them. The new Chevrolet "retro" things are too little, too
late, as will be the "new" Camaro, itself just a "retro toy." Ford's
already got that niche covered with the Mustang, and introducing a
"retro" Camaro will just hurt them both.

On 20 Aug 2006 17:06:46 -0700, wrote:


Dwight D. Eisenhower wrote:
number of GM plants and products in Europe- millions

GM also owns Saab and Opel

GM- ruling the automotive world with an iron fist- capitulate, or be
bought out

More like an iron lung. There'll be a backlash soon with more and more
plant closings here in the US. By the way- aren't you always calling
everyone who disagrees with you a "foreign scumbag"? Um... isn't
Europe "foreign"?

NAFTA sucks ass. snip

GM's losing a ton of money on Saab, has lost trillions on
Opel/Vauxhall, and was losing money on Suzuki before they dumped it.
They're finito. Kirk Kirkorian, who demands that Wagoner dump Saab
immediately, may pull the plug if Wagoner doesn't knuckle under, thus
sending GM common stock into a tailspin from which they won't recover.

This isn't Chrysler back in '79...this is an unrecoverable collapse.
Iacocca turned Chrysler around by getting rid of tons of useless,
unproductive managers who were still living in the "golden years" of
the '60s. Unfortunately, that's GM's entire management structure.
Chrysler was small enough at the time to get retooled...GM's behemoth
management structure will cave them in, just as AT&T's did to them,
allowing Whitacre from SBC to scoop them up and wring them out.