Originally Posted by WolfpackRedCamaro
First off, let me say that I will be ordering a 2010 Camaro 2LT RS. Got my deposit ready and everything, but I'm waiting until to see what comes of this bailout until I place the order.
That said, I have owned both "domestic" (one made in Canada, owned by an American company) and "import" (two made in America, owned by Japanese companies) cars, and I will say there is a difference in quality. Unfortunately, it doesn't favor the Big 3.
My favorite car was a then-new '99 Firebird V6 that I had in high school. A very hot car, but plagued by one electronic issue after another. I was constantly replacing fog light lamps. Both window motors had to be replaced. My Monsoon stereo console had to be replaced. My alternator went out after 30,000 miles. It was certainly a love-hate relationship.
That said, I traded it in for a Nissan Frontier crew-cab truck in '04. Great truck, not one problem. Traded that in for an '06 Civic when I started commuting longer to work. Again, not one problem with this car either. While both of these Jap vehicles performed well and held up, they had no "soul". I used/use them to get to & from work, there was/is no real "joy" in driving them.
When I saw the 5th gen Camaro concept, I was in love. It brought me back to my days as a teenager yearning for an American muscle car.
But frankly, I'm concerned. Why is it that our tax dollars should reward incompetence in the marketplace, even when it's "American"? I would be much more for this bailout if it included clauses to renegotiate the absurd UAW contracts that are draining the life out of the Big 3. Let's face it, lack of innovation and quality control, combined with letting the unions get anything they want, have helped bring the Big 3 to the brink of extinction. Yet, everyone here is for throwing more money at the problem?
Of course the Democrats want to bailout the Big 3 as it is right now, because they're lobbied by their union leader buddies and this vicious cycle of ridiculous benefit packages will only continue. The model for future success would not be put in place if we just hand over billions of dollars to a company that would still be making the same mistakes.
I want to see a Camaro in my garage as much as the next guy here, but to blindly trust this notion of a bailout is not wise, unless it has concessions put into place first. As it is with any problem, merely throwing more money at it will not solve the crisis... but certainly, correcting the bad behavior will.
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