Big Three Battle Superior Imports Perception
02-14-2006, 02:56 PM
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Big Three Battle Superior Imports Perception
Paul
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Bob Kavalunas, a retired teacher from Crown Point, Ind., owns a Chevrolet TrailBlazer, a Cavalier convertible and a 1971 Chevelle, yet he was sizing up a Ford Mustang convertible. ...
Though he has never owned an import, a Toyota RAV4 could wind up in his garage, not because he fears GM might go bankrupt, but because his son and daughter have had such success with their Toyotas.
"My TrailBlazer is in the shop more than their cars are," he said. "That RAV4 is nice. My kids just brag about their Toyotas."
...
Ted Wala, a salesman at Fox Lake Toyota-Scion working the show, said his customers buy Toyotas because of the quality and value of the vehicles, not because of the struggles at GM and Ford. "They have their mind made up to buy a Toyota before they park their car in our lot," he said. "The only decision they make is to which dealer to buy it from."
Though he has never owned an import, a Toyota RAV4 could wind up in his garage, not because he fears GM might go bankrupt, but because his son and daughter have had such success with their Toyotas.
"My TrailBlazer is in the shop more than their cars are," he said. "That RAV4 is nice. My kids just brag about their Toyotas."
...
Ted Wala, a salesman at Fox Lake Toyota-Scion working the show, said his customers buy Toyotas because of the quality and value of the vehicles, not because of the struggles at GM and Ford. "They have their mind made up to buy a Toyota before they park their car in our lot," he said. "The only decision they make is to which dealer to buy it from."
02-15-2006, 01:30 PM
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I wonder how many GM executives drive their own product regularly.... at least for any extended period of time.
My dealership was, until recently, a Toyota/GM dealership... we sold and serviced everything from corollas to cadillacs... I've seen corollas and camrys that go hundreds of thousands of miles with nothing but regularly oil changes... but any vehicle on the GM line will reliably start leaking oil from somewhere around 40k miles. Or if it's a cadillac, it will start having major electrical problems from the moment it rolls off the lot.
As a dealership, we recently dumped the GM line all together... sold off all of our stock and tools to a local chevy dealership.... good riddance is all I have to say.
We've still kept on the GM techs, because we can still do regular maintenance work... just can't do GM warrenty or recall work anymore.
Still good for me as a Toyota tech... My paycheck can only get better from the loss of GM.
My dealership was, until recently, a Toyota/GM dealership... we sold and serviced everything from corollas to cadillacs... I've seen corollas and camrys that go hundreds of thousands of miles with nothing but regularly oil changes... but any vehicle on the GM line will reliably start leaking oil from somewhere around 40k miles. Or if it's a cadillac, it will start having major electrical problems from the moment it rolls off the lot.
As a dealership, we recently dumped the GM line all together... sold off all of our stock and tools to a local chevy dealership.... good riddance is all I have to say.
We've still kept on the GM techs, because we can still do regular maintenance work... just can't do GM warrenty or recall work anymore.
Still good for me as a Toyota tech... My paycheck can only get better from the loss of GM.
02-17-2006, 05:07 PM
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Originally Posted by ack154
^^ I doubt any of them drive one vehicle for more than 6 months. They probably drive next years model and switch it up every 6 months or so.
02-17-2006, 10:52 PM
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All sad but true. A dear friend of mine works for a Ford dealership and he was kind of disappointed when we bought two xBs in about six months instead of a Ford Escape which we did look at. (We decided against it when the rollover tests came out.) I told him I am a regular reader of Consumer Reports and many auto mags like Car and Driver, Road and Track etc. He said that they, espcially CR, is biased against American manufacturers. I was hesitant to tell him that the CR ratings are collections of readers responses. not the "sp-called experts.
He also told me that the reason that Fords have so many repairs is that they are being shipped inferior (imported) parts. Well damnit! stop outsourcing and sending away American jobs to cut a few dollars off of the cost of the car and make a better car with your own parts!
I would really like sometime soon to buy a good value in an American car that is not going to spend much in repair. I am a recently retired union employee and I support American labor. When the Ford family and the fools running GM finally wake up to do some more reaserch and development and produce a reliable, reasonably priced car with really good MPG, I'll be the first to buy it. In the interim, on my pension, I'll stick to reliable imports.
He also told me that the reason that Fords have so many repairs is that they are being shipped inferior (imported) parts. Well damnit! stop outsourcing and sending away American jobs to cut a few dollars off of the cost of the car and make a better car with your own parts!
I would really like sometime soon to buy a good value in an American car that is not going to spend much in repair. I am a recently retired union employee and I support American labor. When the Ford family and the fools running GM finally wake up to do some more reaserch and development and produce a reliable, reasonably priced car with really good MPG, I'll be the first to buy it. In the interim, on my pension, I'll stick to reliable imports.
02-17-2006, 10:55 PM
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All sad but true. A dear friend of mine works for a Ford dealership and he was kind of disappointed when we bought two xBs in about six months instead of a Ford Escape which we did look at. (We decided against it when the rollover tests came out.) I told him I am a regular reader of Consumer Reports and many auto mags like Car and Driver, Road and Track etc. He said that they, espcially CR, are biased against American manufacturers. I was hesitant to tell him that the CR ratings are collections of readers responses. not the "so-called experts."
He also told me that the reason that Fords have so many repairs is that they are being shipped inferior (imported) parts. Well damnit! stop outsourcing and sending away American jobs to cut a few dollars off of the cost of the car and make a better car with your own parts!
I would really like sometime soon to buy a good value in an American car that is not going to spend much in repair. I am a recently retired union employee and I support American labor. When the Ford family and the fools running GM finally wake up to do some more research and development and produce a reliable, reasonably priced car with really good MPG, I'll be the first to buy it. In the interim, on my pension, I'll stick to reliable imports.
He also told me that the reason that Fords have so many repairs is that they are being shipped inferior (imported) parts. Well damnit! stop outsourcing and sending away American jobs to cut a few dollars off of the cost of the car and make a better car with your own parts!
I would really like sometime soon to buy a good value in an American car that is not going to spend much in repair. I am a recently retired union employee and I support American labor. When the Ford family and the fools running GM finally wake up to do some more research and development and produce a reliable, reasonably priced car with really good MPG, I'll be the first to buy it. In the interim, on my pension, I'll stick to reliable imports.
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