CP Future Plans dependent on Auto Industry Bail Out?

No one is arguing that, but you can't make that argument in a vacuum. The other costs, largely instituted by the unions, still exist.

Jeff said:
What the hell are you talking about? Are we going to commandeer GM plants so we can drive Chevy Malibus into battle against the Japanese? I want what you're drinking!

During WWII the plants of the big # were used to manufacture military vehicles to support the war effort.

Yeah, if there's a war of that scale today, we won't be driving anything, we'll be vapor. Not to mention the fact that it takes years to reconfigure an auto plant for a new model, let alone completely different vehicle types.

Why bring logic into it? We need to use it as a scare tactic! :)

Why aren't people buying american cars anymore? Cause they all look like minivans.

I will always buy American cars, you know to help them out. People don't really seem to buy them anymore, because they don't seem to have as much too them as the foreign cars do.

I will be in the market for a new car soon, as soon as I can find a job anyway. Sure I'll look at American cars first, but off the top of my head, I don't know if there are any that meet my requirements for interior size, MPG, and overall look and feel. I'm not going to "settle" for an American car if I can't find one that meets my needs. I think that may be part of the problem as to why they are getting killed.

^You might actually find that American cars are better for lager guys like you and I. When I was looking into buying a new car, I found this out quickly...but I didn't care, I still bought foreign because of the price.

Ralph Wiggum said:
I'm not going to "settle" for an American car if I can't find one that meets my needs.

Exactly. I'm gonna be buying a new car in a few months and I'm going to buy the one that meets my needs, not the one that is a certain brand.

CPboy77 said:
I will always buy American cars, you know to help them out. People don't really seem to buy them anymore, because they don't seem to have as much too them as the foreign cars do.

And why? what help? Sure let them send our jobs overseas, then whine nand cry because they need our help, because they overpay there workers. It's there fault the "foreign" cars (who are now more American) is kicking their butts.

Don't be a fool, go with the new-American cars.

lladnar said:

Ralph Wiggum said:
I'm not going to "settle" for an American car if I can't find one that meets my needs.

Exactly. I'm gonna be buying a new car in a few months and I'm going to buy the one that meets my needs, not the one that is a certain brand.

Like what? American cars can fit all of your needs. The only difference between the two are that foreign cars have more non-basic stuff to them. You can surely find an American car that can fit your needs.

Is there an American car that has a roomy interior with good head room, manages 40 MPG and has a "reasonable" price tag? Because the only car I know like that is the Honda Civic Hybrids. Maybe there is something else like that, but I seriously doubt any American cars get that kind of MPG yet.

We bought a gently used car last year. After years of being burned by Ford and Chevrolet, we intentionally bought foreign (Hyundai).

Of my five vehicles from Ford/Chevrolet, I've only had one vehicle make it beyond 100,000 miles before the cost of repairs were no longer worthwhile. And the one that did was only 120,000. My Ford is sitting 250 miles shy of 100,000 right now. I'm extremely nervous. I've already spent more than $4,000 in repairs on it over the last 4 years - including a new transmission

The Hyundai we bought last summer has proven much more reliable. And if anything happens, the warranty is double the length of any of our previous vehicles.

What are you doing to your cars Walt? My Ranger is at 154,000 miles and still runs like the day I got it at 58k. I've only had a couple minor repairs - Hose coupling for the heater core, camshaft position sensor and then normal things such as brakes, tires, oil changes, fluid flushes, etc.

My old man has had a couple Fords make it closer to 150 than 100. The one he still has, the other got totalled out when his wife hit a deer.

You can't say I haven't been driving mine rough, because it's been all over the place and driven in just about every condition and road type. Maybe I am just lucky?

The Ford pickup I drove at the park had over 250,000 miles on it. But I think most of the vehicle was not even close to being original. Not to mention the amount of times it was in the shop during the season:)

My old car, a 1992 Oldsmobile, hit 180,000 miles just before it died.

Some American cars are pretty good quality, don't get me wrong there. Ford makes a pretty solid pickup truck, but the engines and transmissions they put in their cars are crap. I don't know of anyone who's gotten much more than 100,000 miles out of a Ford car without the engine or transmission dying. My 93 Buick (I know, I drive a grandmother's car) just hit 181,000 and is running strong, of course only because I dropped in a new transmission at 160,000

But on the other hand, my friend's 1990 Honda Civic has original engine and transmission with 250,000 miles on it and still runs smoothly while getting 40-45 MPG.

That is one thing that can be said about most foreign vehicles. They can run longer with less engine work needing to be done, unlike their domestic counterparts. Now obviously this is not always the case, but it seems to be the majority.

CPboy77 said:

Like what? American cars can fit all of your needs. The only difference between the two are that foreign cars have more non-basic stuff to them. You can surely find an American car that can fit your needs.

That's, for the most part, completely untrue. Most foreign companies put less "extras" in their vehicles because they don't feel the need to have 16 cup holders, 8 sunglasses compartments, 12 cd holders and 5 places to put your pen. I rode in a very well taken care of 1992 Volkswagen today that did not have a single cup holder. This is where American cars are getting eaten alive, by putting too much "stuff" in them. My 1999 Tahoe has FOUR cup holders for the two front seats alone.

Maybe all those "extra things" he's talking about are in the form of miles per gallon of gas??

My '07 Civic doesn't have anything "extra" - aside from an aux jack to plug in an mp3 player, and I'm pulling in between 42 and 46 MPG on every tank, consistently.