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GTO: You are 100% correct. I can remember working at a Ford dealership in the 70's and seeing what problems Ford with camshafts on the Pinto 1600 and 2000 cc engines. I thought that they were junk.

After working at a Ford dealership I went to work for a Toyota dealership. The old Toyota 18R engines sure as hell had many problems. It just always seems that the Jap junk never holds up in the rust belt ares of Central Penna. were a lot of road salt is used in the winter time.


John F. Shireman

Gerry (GTO), I get your point and don't disagree. I've been attentively watching the automakers hearings in Washington and two things occur to me. Firstly, I wish they'd quite saying that the Big 3 haven't been making what people want to buy. That's only true for the last half-year, up until then they were making exactly what too many Americans wanted, big guzzler Hummers, etc. With the kind of obscene profits that those vehicles generated and with seemingly endless demand, why should they try to make anything different? Of course they had long since given up making Toyota and Nissan etc.-like bread-and-butter sedans and coupes. But if they had made such cars, with their incrediblely disadvantageous labor/benefit costs, the content of equivalently-priced cars would have to have been much less in order to make a profit and hence, who would have bought them? So GM etc. receeded into the niche where they could best be competitive and profitable.

Secondly, I was waiting for some committee member to pose the question, if the Big-3 made cars price and quality competitive with Toyota, Nissan, etc., would American's buy them? It's so ingrained into our psyche that "American-made car" = "lousy quality", that situation first has to change, and then the perception of it has to be changed. Now, how do you legislate that?

Owen.I recently had the chance to go for a ride in the new Chevy Malibu.To the people who don't believe we can make a Toyota-Nissan type car and do it better-take a test drive.As far as benefits go, you are correct.Our companies have to pay for things that Japan and Europe provide for their citizens .I also cannot believe that these Congressman and Senators are lecturing these companies when they just gave $350 billion dollars to banks to pay for year end bonuses and multi million dollar salaries.

Well GTO, you know what my everyday car is, so you know where my synpathies lie.

I would like to add one or two more things. All parties are complicit in this failed situation: (1) Congress for not having enough (fill in the blank) to pass CAFE standards that would require more economical and efficient vehicles; (2) The UAW for its expensive contracts; and (3) the auto makers, who were taking advantage of the then current market with a short sighted outlook. And, let us not ignore the oil companies that have a vested interest in fueling a lot of vehicles. There is enough blame to go around. I feel strongly that the U.S. should not lose this capability, and at least try to salvage something from this. It will probably mean that all three will not be able to survive. To me this is an important topic and some rational discussion is needed. Thanks for your time.

To me the so-called Big Three have built quality products the American public demanded and would buy. That being mini vans, pickup trucks, full size cars like the Ford LTD, and small and big SUV. They built products that were in demand that they could make a profit on.

This next statement is going to get me in trouble with some. This will be the only time I make this kind of statement. A big part of the reason why we are in this mess in because of a part-time resident of Texas that is soon to be departing a big white house in Washington DC.

John F. Shireman

JW has some excellent points but I won't totally agree with Packard53 in putting all the blame on a Texas gentleman since some of the underlying problems happened on the watch and with support of a fellow from Arkansas. I will say that it's my firm belief the party in charge of congress until a couple of years ago has a lot to answer for though.

I can't help but remember that after the first oil crisis there was a number of incentives and programs to promote and develop alternative energy and fuel efficient cars put into place. Unfortunately, they were some of the first things eliminated when the party took over congress because "the govt does not belong in funding, subsidizing (or whatever they want to call it) programs best left to private industry to do". Well, we see how private industry stepped up and took over with no incentives.

The short of it is US car makers have almost no hybrid or alternative energy products to sell now when we need them, unless it's parts come from a supplier in a country whose govt actively supported such research. Same with the financial mess since "there is no need for regulations because the financial institutions know best on how to manage their business and market place will sort things out."

There is plenty of blame to go around and distribute generously between the car makers, both the Clinton and Bush administrations, Congress especially, and the labor unions. But to my view by far the biggest problem and most difficult to see a route to overcome is the disdain of the American buying public to support the American economy and buy American cars (other than SUVs and trucks) when cars of more or less equal quality are available, and there are some but they certainly haven't sold in the volumes they deserve.

Owen is right.I have neighbors with Ford Explorers and Chevy Suburbans but they drive a Hondas and Toyotas to work.Another issue: Union benefits.Let us not forget that the unions are responsible for the growth of the middle class.It was my father's union benefits that paid for my health care, dental care and eye care.It let him make enough money to buy a house and put his kids through school.The union's are the reason many other non union companies and banks etc. started offering their employee's benefits.These white collar workers looked down on these workers and said they would never do "that kind of work".Now that they are losing their jobs to people in India and China who will work for $3.00 a week, they cast a jealous eye at the people who are doing "that kind of work".I bet everyone I know would be glad to give up the benefits they have if we could just have the same ones our representative's in Congress get.

I read an article in the Washington post from November 25, 2008. In the article it stated that the Toyota Prius has been on the market in Japan and the United States for ten years. Over one million of Prius have been sold during this time..

Automotive analysis all say that Toyota is losing money on every Prius they sell. So the question I ask how the heck are the US Big Three going to make porifits selling this kind of automobile if Toyota can't.


John F. Shireman