Major Auto Maker Losses Could Cause Economic Recession

[VampyreGTX]

Well, they are turning it around. Pontiac is improving the downtrodden looks of the GTO. Increasing the power this year, and supposedly, introducing a new look in '07. They claim it will be much more aggressive and a more representative of the real GTO. They are also releasing the Solstice, which up to now, has had some good reviews and is being looked forward to by a lot of people. Let's hope they don't dissapoint with this like with the first year of the GTO's re-introduction. Chevy I think made a major move with the 'Vette, and I think it will win a lot of people back to that beauty. They are also brining back the Camaro for '07 as well, directly aimed to attack the Mustang, with retro-styling and the power it needs to be a true Mustang basher. Here's the initial concept drawings:

http://popularhotrodding.com/features/0409phr_camaro_01_z.jpg

I think the Cobalt is a good replacement to the Cavalier and with the SS versions of many of their models being brought back, will help those sales as well.

I'm not sure if Buick is doing anything, though, with the resurection of so many 'classics', I think it be really nice to see a new Grand National on the scene.

For Ford, I think the major redesign of the Mustang was a much needed shot in the arm. I love the car and would buy it as my next car, once, well, if... I have the money.

As for quality, I do believe the quality of American cars has improved dramatically. The playing field is leveling out for american built cars for durability versus the imports. With agreements with GM and Toyota (same engine/drivetrain in the Matrix and the Celica for one) and between other companies, there will be a more level playing field for quality. At one point, US cars were considered the top for quality, and imports were crap. That reversed, but I think it's finally leveling out and will remaing level for some time.

I do want to add, I love horsepower, the more the better. With gas prices the way they are, I wonder if the car companies (both foreign and domestic) can keep upping the power in their models, almost every year. The infiniti G35 for example was introduced about 4 years back or so with 270 HP and is now skimming just shy of 300. This is the case across the board, in both cars, trucks and SUV's. From small cars to the big ones. Though it's nice to see the Honda Accord Hybrid pushing 260 horses instead of the 90 horses of earlier hybrids like the Prius and Insight.

To add to the reliabilty, here is the 2003 JD Power 3-year reliability ratings (meaning after 3-years of ownership how many reliaibility issues)

Brand

Problems
Per 100

Porsche

103

Toyota

196

Honda

215

Nissan

258

BMW

262

GM

264

Subaru

266

AVERAGE

273

Ford

287

DaimlerChrysler

311

Mitsubishi

339

Hyundai

342

Isuzu

368

VW

378

Suzuki

403

Daewoo

421

Kia

509

 

[VampyreGTX]

Initial Quality Results for 2004, meaning issues in the first 3 months of ownership, notice Buick and other US makers, Nissan is almost at the bottom.

http://www.thecarconnection.com/index.asp?article=7086

 

[VampyreGTX]

Finally, the '04 Dependability Study, showing MAJOR improvement by the US makers. This is the same as the 03 one so you can see the gains Detroit has been making.

http://www.jdpa.com/presspass/pr/pressrelease.asp?ID=2004055

 

[hindsight2020]

why don't YOU try it

The US is not producing the technical knowledge workers to ensure the US maintains its technical supremacy. The smart engineers are from China, Korea and India. Back to my common thread, students in the US go to college but do not develop the technical skills needed to keep this country in the forefront of technology. I believe we produce more Lawyers than engineers.

Wweeeeeellllll..... as a current aerospace engineering grad student, also employed in the department as a lab instructor, also holding the undergrad degree on aero engineering and with NO INTENTION OF USING EITHER DEGREES, I must tell you that there are very particular reasons why it becomes undesirable to work as an engineer in this country. The work sucks. There's your simple answer. As far as your suggestion that internationals are picking up the slack, I consider it to be a glorified version of "I don't want to work in _______, Mexicans do that.."

I have a boatload of Indian, Chinese and African engineering students in the structures labs I teach. These kids bust their a$$es, working on ungodly insipid matters, (I don't see you doing it and I don't blame you, God knows I'm ALSO bailing out as soon as pick up a military flying slot) with a high degree of mathematical inclination, and the rewards for that effort are just not there. It's a continual raising of the bar, they have to over-achieve just to stay here, if they do not perform they get shipped back to their home countries, gone is the dream of staying in America.

On the other hand, you have the domestic students who are catching on to what is going on. The working conditions are stagnated, there job market is very cyclical and in general, folks get into the field thinking about work with cool challenging things.... then discover that in reality it is the mother of all desk jobs, that you have to relocate often if you want to stay in the particular application they're working on, that an engineer's salary caps out at 60K-70K unless you jump onto management, IF you don't totally burn out before then. In essence, engineering does not reward in proportion to the effort. Period. People here complain about pilot jobs not rewarding in proportion to the effort, HA! spoiled in my book. Case and point, you've never heard "I love engineering so much I would do it for free". Plus the suggestion that because you're mathematically inclined that you should be relegated to the sweatshop crunching-number Office Space gig is outright condescending and fortunately more American kids are saying "f%ck y&u, YOU do it!" (yours truly included)

So what happens.....most people who wise up go and get an MBA,with the intention of fulfilling more managerial type positions on these engineering markets. In essence, a way out of the dungeons and the technical junior level crunch-crunch that burns people out. So these Indian and Chinese take up what domestic students don't want to mess with, and now even the Internationals are getting burned out! I see this every day.

So this boo-hoo about American students not been challenged about technical jobs, bullcrap. As a domestic grad student I'm knee-deep in this sh%t, waiting for my ticket to get out, and do not blame anybody for feeling cheated in the engineering profession.

If you're really concerned about it, go ahead and give up flying and get into engineering...I won't hold my breath on that one. Furthermore, the stigmas of the past are gone. This whole "taking for granted" thing, the idea that the unskilled Mexican is delighted to work agriculture, hence the mathematically inclinded, socially handicapped kid pulls the pin for the rest of us and works in engineering, all these stigmas are not accurate anymore.

The rewards do not reflect the effort, and if that doesn't change, in my experience I submit that it won't, Americans will continue to realize it's not a worthwhile endeavor and I for one support that realization.

 

[Swass]

wow

bitter much?

 

[sqwkvfr]

Initial Quality Results for 2004, meaning issues in the first 3 months of ownership, notice Buick and other US makers, Nissan is almost at the bottom.

I've got a buddy that's a parts guy at Brown and Brown Nissan in Tempe...he says that you couldn't GIVE him a Nissan.

He says that the engines/powertrains are awesome, but they're constantly replacing things like power window motors and the like.

I used to be a contractor for FedEx Ground, and we had the Nissan non-dedicated parts account....B and B was consistantly one of my busiest delivery stops.

It's too bad, really...they used to be great cars...I had an 88 Maxima that I loved.

 

[pilotyip]

Bitter Engineer

2020 goes to show, you make a lot more as a pilot without a college degree than an engineer with a degree, $60-$70K for an engineer working with 8 days a month off. Makes $100K in the cockpit with 13 days off per month sounds pretty good.

 

[hindsight2020]

well, ironically as it is, I never shot for an engineering job, I actually got this degree to be competitive for the Air National Guard

My intent was to highlight the lack of incentive towards such a profession in the context of the talk of the economy started by the thread. I do think your counter-example is atypical (considering your signature makes your post look oximoronic) but we both agree it does not pay to become an engineer.

 

[sqwkvfr]

I gotta give you Kudos, 20...an Engineering Masters is hell of a feat.

After I struggled and was forced to drop "materials," my major was quickly changed to sociology.

Quite a difference, huh?

Anywho, I understand your point completely and don't think that anything that you've said is unreasonable...in fact, very few of my engineering lab instructors (grad students) spoke discernable English....we were sort of on our own....and that was in 1992-3

 

[sqwkvfr]

Don't count GM out just yet..


Kirk Kerkorian seems interested....and that means something...