On Mon, 23 Feb 2009 07:53:59 -0500, Mike Marlow
<mmarlowREMOVE (AT) alltel (DOT) net> wrote:

A significant number of people.
If you don't know this it's only because of the company you keep.
But you don't have to personally know these people.
http://promomagazine.com/research/car-shoppers-buy-american-0109/
"One-third of respondents to the survey conducted by Kelley Blue Book
Marketing Research said they would only buy cars produced in America,
while 12% indicated interest in buying Japanese-made cars and 5%
expressed a preference for German vehicles."

If that's not clear enough, another take
http://www.wmur.com/automotive/18445529/detail.html
"One-third of new-vehicle shoppers say they would only consider cars
from U.S.-based manufacturers such as General Motors, Ford or
Chrysler, and that they would not consider vehicles from any other
countries."

One third is a significant number.
And that number has been much higher less than thirty years ago.
If you have something to dispute except opinion, fire away.

--Vic

On Mon, 23 Feb 2009 07:58:09 -0600, Vic Smith cast forth these pearls of
wisdom...:

Ok - I'll conceed to a certain point. I'll contend though that it is more
because of what they like in those cars than it is because of a
nationalistic thing - which I may have mistakenly read into the original
post. I was responding to that nationalisitic thought - which may not have
been what the OP intended in his post.

Ok - I'll conceed again. That percentage actually surprises me somewhat.

Relax Vic. Geezus - you're getting too fired up over this. It's only a
usenet conversation - complete with opinions.

--

-Mike-
mmarlowREMOVE (AT) alltel (DOT) net

On Mon, 23 Feb 2009 10:06:11 -0500, Mike Marlow
<mmarlowREMOVE (AT) alltel (DOT) net> wrote:


No anger intended. Sorry if it sounded that way.
But it is actually a hot button of mine, as I buy American for
nationalistic reasons. And that quote above says I'm not alone.
"Not consider" seems to imply that,
At the same time, I'm highly pissed at the "Big 3" for producing so
much crap, and don't begrudge others for going foreign.
Since I buy used, and know what to pick, I get very good value in
buying GM. So I can't say it's *all* nationalistic. Some is just
being frugal with cars.
If I were a new car buyer, especially one who got burned by the 3, I
might think differently.
So until I kick in more than my normal few grand for a car, my
credibility is suspect.

--Vic

"Vic Smith" <thismailautodeleted (AT) comcast (DOT) net> wrote

If you buy American for nationalistic reasons, lets define this further. Do
you mean world wide headquarters are in the USA?

I ask that as I don't believe there is a 100% American vehicle in common
consumer market today, not a one. If it is American content you are after,
you might be surprized the Japanese named branded often have higher NA
content that others even the D3. Which also raises, did the parts come from
US, Mexico or Canada? In a typical vehicle today, any manuafacturer there
are at least 10 countries involved. Electronics from Tiawan, bolts for
Japan, seats from Mexico as was the engine block. Steel from China, frames
from Canada, rubber from Brazil, etc.

So if shopping American made is your goal, could be a Japanese name to go
with it. The D3 myth is that only D3 make American went by the wayside over
30 years ago and has been decaying ever since to a point that judging by the
name for American content no longer is a truism.

"me" <noemail (AT) nothere (DOT) com> skrev i meddelelsen
news:dpv3q4d0nft7ltv5712d5ftch68sok6cu7 (AT) 4ax (DOT) com...

Wrong! The American's hasn't learned a thing yet. Just look at which car was
the best selling in the US in 2008!!
It was only because the gas-prices where skyrocketing, that the Americans
started to look for alternatives. Now as gas-prices has lowerede again, the
people who can afford to buy a new car, are right back on the ol' track....

I'll bet, that the 2008 bestseller, will become so again in 2009....!

Cheers!

Dave U. Random wrote:
There have been some good cars produced under those names...and I hope
they'll find a way to continue. But...not under GM. GM has acquired
other companies for years beginning with Oldsmobile and ending with
Hummer. By and large it's been a 101-year disaster. GM has only one
way of doing things and it's not a good one now for the 21st century.
When they have such a large market share, their disaster becomes our
disaster. A steadily shrinking GM is much better for the American
economy than a suddenly-collapsing one. The entire idea behind 'GM' is
wrong in the age of instant messaging and widespread computer tools
(top-down management and corporate structure, stifled innovation, the
total is more important than the sums, etc.) and it's time for 'GM' to
slowly fade into history and give way to manufacturing structures from
other companies more attuned to contemporary times. GM was the right
idea for the industrial revolution in the early 20th century but now
they are way past their time. The best thing that could possibly happen
to the brands listed above is to cut loose. Maybe they'll go out of
business but they would have gone away anyway and this way they might
have a chance at some sort of new life.

--
Posted with OS/2 Warp 4.52
and Sea Monkey 1.5a

On Mon, 23 Feb 2009 09:30:48 -0700, "Canuck57" <nospam (AT) nospam (DOT) com>
wrote:


I could not care less about corporations - or shareholders.


If it had been that long the balance of trade deficit would have got
us to where we now are years ago.
It took little longer than 20 years for unbridled globalism to do us
in.
It was mid-80's before a Jap car became a sales leader here.
Think it was the Camry in 85 or 87.
Probably all were imported from Japan.
Even then the Camry was considerably outsold by the GM equivalent when
Chevy/Buick/Old same frame models were combined.
That would be Chevy Celebrity/Olds Ciera/Pontiac 6000.
Hell, the Jap plants here were importing most of their parts from
Japan well into the 90's.
I would buy a Jap car that provided more work here before I'd buy a
mostly Mexican or Canadian made "American" car.
BTW, I consider Canada a foreign country too, and our trade deficit
with them should be balanced.
Balance of trade is not a difficult concept to understand.
Others can do what suits them.

--Vic

On Mon, 23 Feb 2009 09:52:26 -0600, Vic Smith cast forth these pearls of
wisdom...:


Amazing - we buy in exactly the same way. I did switch from GM to Hyundai
for the last two cars, and it's been good for me, but I was
dyed-in-the-wool GM for the longest time - over 35 years. Like you, I got
really pissed at GM for the manner in which they treated customers and
ignored longstanding problems with their designs. I too only buy used
(usually 1-2 model years old, 25K miles or so typically). I've had great
GM cars, but the amount of repeat work I used to do on them finally pissed
me off enough that I tried something else. Now - I wish they'd get rid of
the Board and Wagoner, and get back to making the great cars that they are
capable of, and standing behind them.


--

-Mike-
mmarlowREMOVE (AT) alltel (DOT) net

PerfectReign <theperfectreign (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> gurgled happily, sounding much
like they were saying:

Which we get as the Vauxhall/Opel Antara, basically the same things as
the Chevrolet (Daewoo) Captiva. Hardly "small".

Because they tend to be.

That's "midsize" as in "roughly the size of a house", I presume?

Oh, and please don't just change follow-ups mid-thread. It's a fairly
authoritative sign of a fuckwit.

"Mike Marlow" <mmarlowREMOVE (AT) alltel (DOT) net> wrote

Doubtful GM will come back this time. GM is like when the Titanic went
under and someone asked how to avoid the collision. A tad bit too late once
the holds are full of water. If the GM board and Wagoner were going to
turn the GM dog around, he should have started a long time ago. And
Wagoner, for making $14.4M in 2007, doesn't seem to own too much GM stock.

And most people concur, this depression is here to stay, which will seal GMs
prediciment.