Welcome to 5 years ago.

 

:werd:
I've done a significant amount of towing, and my favorite SUV's and trucks to tow with are the Suburban, Silverado HD, and F-250. The only Japanese trucks I would consider on par are the Nissan Titan and Frontier.

GM cars, for the most part, will get you from A to B without drama. They are not spectacular or amazing, which is what makes them not as appealing as Japanese and European cars.

 

American cars/trucks are all about power and gas guzzling. Imports are all about fuel efficiency.

So you're right, tow with an american vehicle, and commute with imports

I guess they build the cars with too much power than the material/design can accomodate. I grew up with american cars (dad will never sit in an import). And thus, every single car we've had had problems. Scariest time I've ever had was when I decided to make a left turn, and the car broke down on me...I looked over and saw the oncoming cars racing towards me since there is no light....luckily I had enough momentum to roll out of the way lol. My brother's mustang has given him so many problems, he just garages it and uses our spare import.

 

Um, really? The Tahoe gets 16/20 MPG. The Seqoia and Land Cruiser bothget 14/17. The Ridgeline only gets 16/21.

The hardest thing for GM is going to be to break people's misconceptions.

 

exactly the big three used to be about power, size and comfort. and that was what america wanted. today there is a portion that still wants these things but there is a majority that wants improved economy but still want that usage of power. gm has done an excellent job of turning themselves around from being a power house to what they are now in the time they have done it.

 

A good towing vehicle is not just about power. GM and Ford both actually put thought into good features that a towing vehicle would need, like the extendable towing mirrors and built in brake controllers.

GM has put a good amount of effort into quality control since the late 90's. As I said earlier, a recent model year GM car will get you from A to B with no drama. It may not be the most comfortable, the best handling, the fastest, or have any aesthetic appeal, but it will get you there. And that is the definition of reliability. Would I buy a GM car? No, because I don't like how they look or handle or feel when I'm driving them. But if push came to shove and I needed a car, I would have no problems driving a GM car around.

 

this is a JD Power study where they rank major failures the same weight as "excess wind noise"

the level of scrutiny is measured from the owners opinions...GM may make semi dependable cars but they are built cheaply from design to the actual quality of the parts

a Honda or Toyota owner has a much higher level of scrutiny b/c any little thing that goes wrong is a big deal to them

the new Saturn Ion my friend has parts coming off of the interior and the passenger seat was permanently reclined and wouldn't sit up straight but she owned buick before and didn't car...the car still started and drove and she wouldn't complain...she says for $2-3 k below invoice it's worth it to have a cheap car and live with it so long as it doesn't break down often...all the small stuff is just an annoyance but not a concern to even get fixed under warranty

my buddies 98 Suburban which is great to tow with the interior is in shambles as nothing fits anymore and though the Suburban is a huge truck...we'd take turns sitting in my Element to see the huge difference in interior design and packaging...you'd think the Suburban would be way larger inside than the much smaller Element...but it is marginally so (the Element can fit in compact parking spots)

 

GM's truck division has always been pretty good, with the exception of the S-10 which is now dead (although the Colorado is still a pile of donkey shit).

Their cars have always been uh, less than mediocre.

 

in 2005, GM sold 4,517,730 vehicles in the US, whereas honda (including acura) sold 1,462,472. but honda is much more profitable. so no, the number of cars they sell is not the leading cause of their financial problems.

 

not that i agree with him, but you are only looking at US you should look internationnal