More good financial news for GM as well as Ford & Chrysler

[motorhead]

Originally Posted by FenwickHockey65

Space indeed plays a role in it. Take the smart car for example. It isn't particularly fuel efficient, there are larger cars on the market that achieve better fuel efficiency, yet it sells in droves in Europe.

People in Europe are more inclined to buy diesels anyways.

That's because they make very efficient diesels over there. All I can say it let's see what happens when gas goes way up again.

Are you in government Fen? You would make a great modern day politician.

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by motorhead

If you ask me this statement should worry GM. This is one of the things that got them into trouble in the first place. When gas goes nuts again(and it will), Truck and SUV sales will fall like a stone. This would not bode well for GM but would make toyota look real good again. I guess they still haven't learned from the past.

Trucks and SUV's are what prevented GM from going bankrupt years ago. Gas was cheap and the vehicles were profitable. It would have been idiotic for GM to not do what they could to capitalize on it. Keep in mind, every small car they sold was at a loss, and if they sold less of them ... it would cost them even more. Now with their capacity and labour costs down to a more reasonable level this isn't going to be the case. But the fact remains that Americans bought well over a million pickups last year.

[motorhead]

Originally Posted by DGthe3

Trucks and SUV's are what prevented GM from going bankrupt years ago. Gas was cheap and the vehicles were profitable. It would have been idiotic for GM to not do what they could to capitalize on it. Keep in mind, every small car they sold was at a loss, and if they sold less of them ... it would cost them even more. Now with their capacity and labour costs down to a more reasonable level this isn't going to be the case. But the fact remains that Americans bought well over a million pickups last year.

You said it right there. Times are very different then the days of high profit Truck and Suv sales steering a car maker. I was merely speaking from first hand experience that I saw when my buddy lost his dealership when gas prices went nuts. He told me it was do to the fact that Truck and Suv sales dropped deeply and he had to many that he had to sell at a loss. I know all about the glory days of high profit from SUV and Truck sales ,but like I said those days are gone.

[Xanthos]

Originally Posted by a_Username

2 : of, relating to, or originating within a country or state and esp. one's own country or state

Where goods are produced aren't related to continental boundaries but by national boundaries. The Camaro would be a domestic product if you're American, but it would be considered an import in any other country in the world.

You can't just ignore part of your own cited source.

the definition of domestic could be a) of ones own country or state, b) relating to ones own country or state, or c) originating within ones own country and state.

Personally, since the money to produce the car comes from America, and the money from sales goes to America, I think that pretty well falls into option B at the very least, if not option A as well, and option C could be debated depending on how you want to use the word "originating."
- X

[ssump29]

Originally Posted by motorhead

If you ask me this statement should worry GM. This is one of the things that got them into trouble in the first place. When gas goes nuts again(and it will), Truck and SUV sales will fall like a stone. This would not bode well for GM but would make toyota look real good again. I guess they still haven't learned from the past.

WRONG WRON WRONG. Too many brands and rebadging the same vehicle with essentially the same options as the other brand is what got them into trouble. That and the Union wages and pensions and health benefits they were paying. It had nothing to do with gas and trucks. Too much inventory from having too many brands is what did it.

Well I won't say gas didn't have a factor, it did but it was a small factor. It just happened to be the last straw to a puzzle that was already coming unglued.

[motorhead]

Originally Posted by ssump29

WRONG WRON WRONG. Too many brands and rebadging the same vehicle with essentially the same options as the other brand is what got them into trouble. That and the Union wages and pensions and health benefits they were paying. It had nothing to do with gas and trucks. Too much inventory from having too many brands is what did it.

Well I won't say gas didn't have a factor, it did but it was a small factor. It just happened to be the last straw to a puzzle that was already coming unglued.

You have to read all of my posts to see where I'm coming from. I'm wasn't talking about GM solely as a company but also the dealers. If they aren't selling cars for what ever reason then daddy isn't making any money.

I give up. Believe want you all want. I won't say I told you so when it really happens.

[TheCaptain]

Originally Posted by EnvyTerra

You have a swayed view of the world map sir..Canada is not part of the UNITED STATED OF AMERICA no matter how many different ways you try to say it.

Ok, us westerners. We already know Canada only consists of Ontario and Quebec...

I just meant that when we interpret "American" we adjust it to "North American". Mostly so we don't feel excluded.
Even though Canada is a very much separate entity from the states. (Thank goodness! )

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by TheCaptain

Ok, us westerners. We already know Canada only consists of Ontario and Quebec...

I just meant that when we interpret "American" we adjust it to "North American". Mostly so we don't feel excluded.
Even though Canada is a very much separate entity from the states. (Thank goodness! )

Que-what?

[motorhead]

Originally Posted by TheCaptain

Ok, us westerners. We already know Canada only consists of Ontario and Quebec...

I just meant that when we interpret "American" we adjust it to "North American". Mostly so we don't feel excluded.
Even though Canada is a very much separate entity from the states. (Thank goodness! )

ex-squeeze me? baking powder?

[a_Username]

Originally Posted by Xanthos

You can't just ignore part of your own cited source.

the definition of domestic could be a) of ones own country or state, b) relating to ones own country or state, or c) originating within ones own country and state.

Personally, since the money to produce the car comes from America, and the money from sales goes to America, I think that pretty well falls into option B at the very least, if not option A as well, and option C could be debated depending on how you want to use the word "originating."
- X

North America isn't a country nor state, it's simply a continent. It could not fall into option A, however it is arguable that it could fall into option B/C. You could say that the design and idea originated in America, thus concluding it is a domestic product. However, manufacturing or assembling of the vehicle is the usual topic at hand here. Consequently, the assembly of the vehicle is done in Oshawa, which concludes that the Camaro is Canadian in that sense. Of course, the bulk of the money comes from and goes back to America, where you can define it as a domestic product.

The point is that to say its a domestic product because it is made in "North America" is wrong. It can only be a domestic product where the majority of money comes from and goes to its home country, and not the continent.

[fielderLS3]

Originally Posted by motorhead

You said it right there. Times are very different then the days of high profit Truck and Suv sales steering a car maker. I was merely speaking from first hand experience that I saw when my buddy lost his dealership when gas prices went nuts. He told me it was do to the fact that Truck and Suv sales dropped deeply and he had to many that he had to sell at a loss. I know all about the glory days of high profit from SUV and Truck sales ,but like I said those days are gone.

How can you argue that trucks bankrupted GM when GM makes money on them? True, GM as a whole started losing money because they were no longer selling enough trucks to make up for what they lost on the cars. But that still means that they were losing the money on the car side of the business, not the truck side, so ultimately, the bankruptcy was the result of a poor car business, not poor truck sales. What GM needs to do is not to stop selling large numbers of trucks (again, they make money there, so they'd be smart to sell as many as possible) but to find a way to make the cars profitable too.

I think it was the same issue with the dealership that went under. That was because the owner was a bad business man, not because of gas prices. If the dealer was losing money because he had more inventory than demand, that's his fault for over ordering. Gas prices rose, and the bottom of the SUV market dropped out gradually over a period of years...more than enough time for dealers to adjust their inventories and ordering to suit demand. All the dealerships in my area did just fine with $4+ gas. People couldn't rush to those dealerships fast enough to trade in those SUVs (for next to nothing) to pay a premium for hot selling cars and crossovers.

[LS1owner]

Originally Posted by ViperTomcat

Good news for all involved!

'
How is that challenger? I'm debating going after one of the last SRT8 Jeeps that are left brand new.

[TheCaptain]

Originally Posted by DGthe3

Que-what?

lol!

Originally Posted by motorhead

ex-squeeze me? baking powder?

lol wut?

[AngryAmish]

alot of nits getting picked in this thread..lmao.