[quote=Rt.66]Allen, so GMs successes are dumb luck and their woes are a direct result of poor management? That’s convenient. I hope people don’t apply those standards to your work.
Also, and again…. that’s debatable.
This really is not, if you are being rational:
1) The $4k per car trade policy gift/advantage that Japan and Korea have enjoyed over us is real, unfair and unfightable over the long run.
2) Lack of support by US consumers who chose to buy millions of foreign cars caused untold damage and market share loss. Can’t be debated, sorry.
These two things were a death sentence, death is occurring, end of mystery.
Jesus Christ could have been running these companies and we’d still face the eventuality these two conditions created.
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Rt.66: Nope, I wasn’t saying that, either. Again, there are multiple factors in here, some are contributory and some are primary/motive.
The loss of faith amongst American consumers did NOT happen by accident. There was a long period of time that GM, Ford and Mopar just didn’t seem to give a shit about what people wanted and the Japanese were doing a damn good job of trying to fill that need.
I’ll give you a good example. I used to drive one hell of a hot rod: A black 1969 Mach I with gray racing stripes and a built-to-the-hilt 428 CobraJet motor (it was built up from a 4 bolt main Ford Police Interceptor block and, when all was said and done, was putting about 500 ft lbs of torque onto the pavement).
This car, to me, represents the best that Detroit ever built: Fast, reliable and gorgeous. I used to go out on Foothill Expressway behind Stanford and go “Porschie hunting” (all of the newly minted “Apple Assholes” drove the same frickin’ Porsche 911s and I’d go jolly stomp them).
The 240/260/280z models that were on the road at that time were cannon fodder for everyone driving American muscle or high end German. But… They got better, year after year, until you wind up with Toyota Celica Supras and Nissan twin turbo 300zs and 350zs. These are cool cars, even for a big-block American muscle fan like me.
It’s a sad fact that the same people that gave us the 427SOHC motor and the Boss 302 and the Mach I also gave us the Mach II and that Godawful little six banger. The same folks that gave us the 426 Hemi and the 440 Magnum and the Cuda and Charger RT (and, no, RT doesn’t stand for Road and Track, it stands for RAPID TRANSIT, just ask any true Mopar fan) also gave us the fucking K Car.
We lost the handle and are only recently getting it back with the Mustang GT500 and new Camaro (and I like this one, I do) and the Corvette Z06. But we spent too long in the wilderness and the competition first caught up and then passed us.
