Does GM build anything you want?

[SagRacer]

Getting back on topic,

Astra, G8, any of the lambdas, GMT900's, maybe the malibu 4cyl 6speed, but probably a mazda 6 or accord.

Everybody is saying corvette but I would probably take a GT-R over that.

And another thing, Domestic cars are not junk and are very competitive - all this talk makes me think that some people are still living in the 90's.  If a domestic is just as good as an import, I would take the domestic.  The amount of people who buy camrys obvioulsy prove that people are willing to buy an inferior import over a competent domestic.

[FlatBlackCaddy]

Getting back on topic indeed.

GM is collapsing at this moment.

[GoCougs]

I'm no so sure what's going on - foreign automakers have in total majority market share in the US. Detroit lost that a few years ago, and its market share will only continue to decline.

[Beau Tie]

Getting back on topic indeed.

GM is collapsing at this moment.

I agree with that. I suspect that they will go bankrupt in the next 100 days if they don't get a bail out. They wouldn't be in this position if they didn't mismanage their business over the past 10-20 years.

[GoCougs]

Getting back on topic indeed.

GM is collapsing at this moment.

What is principally bad is that it burned through a sizable portion of its on-hand cash ($7B). If the bailout does come within the next quarter, GM is done.

[SVT666]

What is principally bad is that it burned through a sizable portion of its on-hand cash ($7B). If the bailout does come within the next quarter, GM is done.

Ford is in the same position.  They burned through 25% of their cash on hand in a single quarter as well.

[hotrodalex]

Getting back on topic,

Astra, G8, any of the lambdas, GMT900's, maybe the malibu 4cyl 6speed, but probably a mazda 6 or accord.

Everybody is saying corvette but I would probably take a GT-R over that.

And another thing, Domestic cars are not junk and are very competitive - all this talk makes me think that some people are still living in the 90's.  If a domestic is just as good as an import, I would take the domestic.  The amount of people who buy camrys obvioulsy prove that people are willing to buy an inferior import over a competent domestic.

I really disagree with the GT-R comment. The 'Vette may be slower but I believe it's more fun on public streets. If I was just getting a track toy, I would be more open to getting a GT-R.

[Beau Tie]

I really disagree with the GT-R comment. The 'Vette may be slower but I believe it's more fun on public streets. If I was just getting a track toy, I would be more open to getting a GT-R.

Also keep in mind that the GT-R is about $25k more than a Vette.

[Nethead]

No, if you're talkin' strictly new vehicles--which I assume to be the case. 

Open the question up to include used cars and that's a different story--I'd take a fuel-injected 327 4-speed '63 Stingray coupe over any Corvette built before or since, for instance.  I'd pay extra for the gold paintjob available that year, but not a great deal extra.  No convertibles. 

A '63 Riviera coupe?  Hell, yes!   And in any color!

A '64, '66, or '68 GTO?  Hell yes again!

A '71 Firebird Trans-Am, white with the blue stripe?  Oh Hell YESSSSS!

A '66 Chevelle SS-396?  YESSSSS!

Assuming all are in exceptionally good condition, of course.  I neither need nor want another project vehicle.

[Champ]

Is Saab included?  I'd be pretty inclined to get the new 9-3 turboX over a A4 or 330, especially in wagon trim.

[SVT666]

No, if you're talkin' strictly new vehicles--which I assume to be the case. 

Open the question up to include used cars and that's a different story--I'd take a fuel-injected 327 4-speed '63 Stingray coupe over any Corvette built before or since, for instance.  I'd pay extra for the gold paintjob available that year, but not a great deal extra.  No convertibles. 

A '63 Riviera coupe?  Hell, yes!   And in any color!

A '64, '66, or '68 GTO?  Hell yes again!

A '71 Firebird Trans-Am, white with the blue stripe?  Oh Hell YESSSSS!

A '66 Chevelle SS-396?  YESSSSS!

Assuming all are in exceptionally good condition, of course.  I neither need nor want another project vehicle.

New cars only considering those are the only ones that matter to keep the company alive.

[Secret Chimp]

I wouldn't mind an STS as a highway cruiser, but I'd probably take a used BMW or Merc for the same money.

Wait wait wait, what am I saying. 6.0L GTO. Oh wait, they don't make that any more. Durf.

[sportyaccordy]

Crazy times. I was just thinking how depressing it would be to live in a time where Corvettes are no longer in production. Jesus Christ man

[SVT666]

Crazy times. I was just thinking how depressing it would be to live in a time where Corvettes are no longer in production. Jesus Christ man

GM is not going out of business.  It would be Chapter 11, not Chapter 7.

[sportyaccordy]

GM is not going out of business.  It would be Chapter 11, not Chapter 7.

Even if they were to sell the same number of cars as Honda/Toyota/whoever, their revenue next year is gonna be slashed tremendously. They have a bad business model that lost the facade of easy credit and cheap gas. Again, nobody is selling cars right now.

[Nethead]

New cars only considering those are the only ones that matter to keep the company alive.

HEMI666:  And to that literal reading of the question, I said "No."  But there was a time when GM built desirable cars, even if the quality was a little suspect--well, OK, the quality was not suspect:  it was guilty as charged.  I know, 'cuz I hadta help with the final assembly at the dealership that shoulda been done at the factory, but too often wasn't...

But I digress...the cars I listed show that GM once could build desirable cars, and there were others--a '65 Impala Super Sport sports coupe, a '66 Nova 327 sports coupe, or a '63 Tempest LeMans 326  coupe come to mind--but these cars are not on the "A" list I quoted upstream in this thread. 

Today, the competition is much more lean and mean, leading GM in reliability, practicality, economy, engineering, styling, resale value, yada yada yada...I think GM has the class leaders in only two restrictively defined markets:
  Leaf-Springed, Front-Engined, RWD Sportscars, and
  Huge, Ugly, Makebelieve Military Vehicles (HUMMVees)

Times have changed.  The public is vastly more automobile savvy than they were when GM had 52 percent of the North American marketplace forty-odd years ago.  And they're a helluva lot more politically savvy, too--as John McCain found out just last week.  Being yesterday's hero--corporate or individual--ain't enough in the twenty-first century.  Times are too tough, and the competition too capable.
Deal with it or die with it...

Class, that concludes the Contemporary North America 101 lecture for today.  Over the week-end, review chapters eight through twenty-four for next Tuesday's midterm.  See ya next week, and have your term papers in by 4:30 this afternoon. 

[3.0L V6]

A listing of cars I'd consider relative to the competition from GM. About half of these are something I'd usually never consider to due price/lack of practicality, but we're speaking theoretically here:

Chevrolet Cobalt SS Turbocharged
Chevrolet Malibu
Chevrolet Corvette
Chevrolet Colorado

Pontiac G8
Pontiac Solstice

Cadillac CTS-V
Cadillac STS

Saturn Astra
Saturn Aura

Saab 9-5

[GoCougs]

Watch how less inclined I am to buy GM/Detroit should they get a government bailout...

(I still think the Camaro will be GM's best car in decades, if not ever.)

[Vinsanity]

GM is not going out of business.  It would be Chapter 11, not Chapter 7.

I know we've probably beat this idea to death, but I'm starting to more strongly believe that Chapter 11 is the best solution for GM and eventually the others, unless of course there's a better way to dump the UAW while continuing their business operations.