GM bashing Toyota article

[Timpo]

It's an interesting article although, the author is REALLY biased.

http://www.tctimes.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14615828&BRD=2524&PAG=461&dept_id=497461&rfi=6

I completely disagree with this guy, Toyota is better than GM. It's just so obvious. In my opinion anyways.

 

[MCM]

That write up is pure crap.
As patriotic as I am, I am not stupid and vote with my dollars
as does everyone else.
My driveway speaks for itself.
95 T100, 00 Pre Runner, 96 4Runner, 05 Lexus RX330, 94 NSX.
If I thought GM's were better I would own 'em.
Actually its quite sad watching this Co. try and give their crappy cars away.
Folks found out you can own a car that does not break.
What a concept..............

 

[WillErickson]

I am kind of curious how all these JD power surveys work. according to the ad, GM has "The top 3 plants in initial quality according to JD Power". How is this "initial quality" determined? Anyone know? By "Initial" do they mean the cars can go 30 days without falling apart? Whereas Toyota's can go 200k without issue? Does GM by chance OWN JD Power? :biggrin:

 

[NsXMas]

A quality turd is still a turd.

Most GM vehicles I've driven leave a LOT to be desired. I like Ford a heck of a lot better than GM.

 

[Russ]

I can't believe he actually made references to "those wiley Japanese" and the Bataan Death March. Shameful, but not surprising, considering the Tri-County Times is a Detroit-area rag.

 

[nicholas421]

the writer fails to show jd power rankings from previous years... which is what really counts for today's sales. hopefully the improved quality will help their sales in the years to come.

making negative blanket statements about all gm, ford and chrysler products makes you no better than this writer. i've owned 3 fords which all disappointed me... but i can only comment on my experiences. i know plenty of people who swear by these cars.

 

[whealy]

So many twisted data points ...

"For instance, how many of you know that Chevrolet was the best selling passenger car brand in the U.S. last year?"

That's BRAND not CAR. So what if GM is the largest auto maker. That does not mean anything other than they are the largest.

"How many of you know that for three years in a row, Cadillac has sold more luxury cars than anyone else - including Lexus and BMW?"

See above comments ...

"GM's lowest quality-rated vehicle is the Pontiac Vibe, assembled in California by - you guessed it - Toyota."

How many other vehicles are right next to it at the bottom that have not Toyota content?

"Toyota likes to propagate the myth of their commitment to the environment as evidenced by the standard set by the Prius. What you don't hear about are the scores of Prius owners who are extremely unhappy with the performance and mileage of their Prius. Ads claim 60 mpg - the reality is that many Prius owners get about half that mileage - about 36 mpg. GM has five models that get similar mileage to the Prius and carry no price premium like the Prius - but you never read about that."

I believe these are EPA numbers, not Toyota numbers. Actually, I believe the Japanese manufactures as a whole have asked the EPA for and updated more accurate measure so this perceived advertising is not skewed. BTW - Mazda RX-8 had this same issue.

Ahh but the best ...
"Fact: Toyota workers work for less money and are five times more likely than a GM worker to sustain an on-the-job injury and 10 times more likely to be injured seriously enough to lose work days."

So perhaps this is why Japanese cars are selling and US are not? This is a case where management and workers of US cars are saying "despite data to the contrary, our cars are better so you should should use American dollars for American cars ... and pay us more". The market has spoken and they are wrong. Health care costs are a big factor in US manufactures, but high wages are an even bigger deal. Not excluding the most recent UAW deals that force plants to stay open even if sales are down. Costs too much to close them. So they just keep making cars and erode resale value by using cash back and employee pricing. These "Americans" don't seem to care much when the consumer goes to sell their car and it's worth next to nothing. They don't care, they already have their money. Other manufactures have figured out that this is a major contributing factor to new purchases as opposed to marketing hype.

{Stepping down off soap box now}

 

[WillErickson]

So many twisted data points ...

"For instance, how many of you know that Chevrolet was the best selling passenger car brand in the U.S. last year?"

That's BRAND not CAR. So what if GM is the largest auto maker. That does not mean anything other than they are the largest.

"How many of you know that for three years in a row, Cadillac has sold more luxury cars than anyone else - including Lexus and BMW?"

Not to mention, where would they be without fleet sales to rental agencies and other company car uses?

"How many of you know that GM has lost more market share in the last 30 years than anyone except Atari and Apple?" Might be a better quote.

Will

 

[NSXLuvr]

"Statistics excerpted from GM President John Smith's remarks to GM dealers, March 2005. Opinions offered in If I Were King are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Tri-County Times or its staff. E-mail the King at [email protected]. "


Bashing Toyota using GM statistics. What a moron. BTW, you notice he doesn't give out his real name. However you can email him with your comments or this link :wink:

 

[nicholas421]

heated debated here:
http://forums.autoweek.com/thread.jspa?forumID=9&threadID=17016&tstart=0

 

[rickysals]

all I KNOW is this...

I have a 95 pontiac grand am, 152,000miles. It just died, motor and tranny

my friend has a 93 Camry, 160,000+miles, it is showroom, and would pass for 30,000 miles both in how she keeps it clean, and how it drives.



thats all I KNOW. I also know the only GM product I will ever consider owning is the new Saturn Sky/Pontiac Solstice roadster, and that's only because I don't fit in the S2000 and hope to fit in that someday.

 

[CokerRat]

Rickysals, you just said what I was thinking. Everyone I know with Ford/Chrysler/GM vehicles have relatively good reliability with them for about 5-10 years. By the time they hit 10 years, they are in the hands of people who can't afford a higher quality vehicle and are then hit with costly problem after costly problem. Meanwhile most Japanese-designed cars run past 10 years with no problem whatsoever. Again maybe that is atypical but its what I've seen.

I have to think (or hope?) that reliability is improving. I have to admit that I like some of the new vehicles being sold by Chrysler in particular, however their prices are totally out to lunch. Ignoring resale value, I feel you get more overall for your money with the Japanese brands. Adding in resale value, it just isn't any contest at all.

 

[THE4TH]

"GM's lowest quality-rated vehicle is the Pontiac Vibe, assembled in California by - you guessed it - Toyota."

Seriously.. they bitch about the quality of Toyota's work, but then allow Toyota to assemble their vehicles??? Perhaps the Vibe would not be your lowest rated vehicle if you would build your damn cars yourself.