GM. If it Stays there Will Be Trouble - Garage419

I like my GM. It eats up alot of premium gas, has a crappy electrical system, its power steering is starting to fail, and it has terrible wheel hop. But I love it and wouldn't buy a foreign car over it. I'm not opposed to NASCAR dying out to make way for more ALMS,F1, and WRX coverage.

Hey, I just saw your show about the big three on youtube. This site is cool. I would like to comment on the dodge challenger. It is JUNK. The dodge dealers say, "The American Muscle is back". What crap! The "Hemi" is made in MEXICO! Yep, that's right, MEXICO. It says that right on the window sticker. The autostick transmission is from Germany and most of the other parts are from Canada. It MIGHT be assembled here in the U.S. but I am not 100% sure about that. How is that an "American Muscle Car"? Maybe that kind of BS is why Dodge never could sell any of them. The Challenger is twice the size of my Fox Mustang and my Mustang is faster. It would be cool if you guys could do a review of the Challenger. By the way, You guys Rock!!! Thanks. P.S. The 2010 Mustang is bad ass.

Let the Mfg co's drop nascar other more interesting is out there. But pulling the funds going to nascar wont save them unless they go ahead and file for bankruptcy. You cant have a business plan based on 50% of the market when you have much less

FINALLY! some one telling the truth about all of this! Maybe we should get our own letter writing campagne sending this video to EVERYONE in the auto industry. All teh top execs should be forced to watch this episode 4 times a day for teh next 2 years. And I urge people to take a look at teh Ford Mondeo, it shows taht these companies can make a car that would compete with european and asian rivals BUT THEY DON'T HAVE IT HERE!!!

I think nascar should go all electric that would be a fun race to watch

What this country has needed for a very long time is fantastic public transportation and innovation. Traveling in other countries will provide many examples, but we can't seem to get one foot forward. Unfortunately, GM in particular, has bullied their way around for too long and I'm happy to see this happen. We need change and in order to make room, the old and useless, has to make way. GM and others in the industry, have blocked new construction for public transportation; prevented bridge upgrades; lobbied to keep money from repairing roads if high-speed trains in California and other states are allowed to go forward. Since they forced the trolley out of business in the early 1900's so they could implement 'motor vehicles' on the same routes, they've gotten worse. Let's not even bring up the bonuses and high salaries, cutting labor to keep 'profits' above the table. Enough greed and power-plays. I want to see change and quality innovation. By the way, I worked in the same building with the California high-speed train commission and wouldn't you know who shared office space on both sides of them. Ford and GM lobbying groups! It's time to shake-and-bake!!!

who cares about nascar??? if the fall off the big three brings about the end of Nascar, i for one would call it a good thing, lol.

On NASCAR: Nothing has resembled stock on these things since the days of the T-Bird, Monte SS, Olds Cutlass, etc. rwd/V-8 real cars! The very concept of technology on the track being the testing ground for the next generation of street cars is gone! They're 'Pro Wrestling' for cars these days. (No offense to Pro Wrestling in comparing them to NASCAR) Time to change, or die...and perhaps not too soon.

I really have to wonder how much cost cutting has gone on through the years to benefit the upper management. An immediate example would be the Saturn Ion. I test drove a prototype at a 'Saturn Homecoming' before it came out. The prototype wasn't wonderful, but not bad for the class. THEN! I drove one at the dealership about 8 months later. This was crap! The car wasn't the same. Noise damping, weatherstripping, seat padding, shock/spring mounts, etc. were different from the initial test vehicle. GM had called for cuts in materials and even on fasteners in order to meet a price/profit margin goal. I'm sure this probably happens to all vehicles at some level, but GM has been exceedingly brutal in this area...and now it's biting them in the ass.

The only way they should be bailed out is if they have to bow down to efficiency and emissions mandates, if they get rid of their upper level management and reduce the salaries of upper management, and if the government gets a stake in whole thing. Bottom line is, we can't survive the death of our auto industry. So if we're going to have to bail them out anyway; we may as well demand that they do things right (including quality.)

GM disappearing doesn't really bother me, the only effect it will have on europe is GM own's Vauxhall/Opel which will be missed. I find it quite funny that the 2nd biggest car manufacturer will be government owned very soon, because of their own stupidity.

I have never liked NASCAR since they got away from using real cars. I do care that lots of people would be affected by NASCAR’s demise and I also understand that people like to watch it. But, I will go no farther; my insight would be worth a grain of salt, because I do not like NASCAR as a whole. ------------------------- The Collapse. I think everyone will agree that some sort-of oversight is required if a bailout is given. In order to implement most of this, a Big-Brother oversight will have to be implemented for a lengthy period of time. Not that this cannot be done, but is it in the will of the people to allow it to be done? Will corporations as large as GM allow this to happen and with so many arms, just how will one go about and oversee this? How can your congress pass a bailout RIGHT NOW and make a proper oversight committee, especially when your government is about to change hands? Also, does anyone else find the automakers timing for this bailout a little bit fishy; corresponding with a government change? I still see cars being sold here in Canada, a bit slow, but nevertheless. I bet cars are still moving off the lots in the US too, just slower. How can anyone justify a bailout for a problem that will fix itself overtime as the US economy picks up? Face it, the world is in the same boat. Everything is slow right now, so this should have nothing to do with GM’s woes. GM’s woes are self made and now in this climatic situation…I feel GM is taking advantage of the American people. I am sure they could survive this like everyone else is. If anything is passed, it is up to the American people to make sure the Big Three give back a return, in propped time and also…fix their HORRID financial planning. I could run their finance better. If that means governmental oversight of the unions then so be it! Just get it done!

ummmm y didnt the whole show play????

UNIONS!!!!!!!!! GM spends more money per car on "overhead" cause by unrealistic union contracts than any other auto maker. When the US auto industry crashes and burns, unions are the main cause. Foreign manufacturers seem to be able to make cars here.

QOD: Let NASCAR wither. It is boring to watch and the big 3 cannot afford to throw money at it anymore. I tried watching the last race of the season and it just could not hold my attention. Racing fans can watch Indy Car, Formula One and Moto GP which are all more interesting for spectators. The US government should indeed preserve our manufacturing infrastructure. Below is a workable plan to make that happen: • LOAN money to GM and Ford and get paid back with interest within 10 years. To be fair, GM does make a few world-class cars including: Their pickup trucks, the Caddy CTS and CTS-V, the Escalade, the Tahoe/ Suburban, the Chevy Malibu and of course the Corvette. Chrysler should be allowed to die. The only cars they make that are unique and might have a future are the Viper, the Jeep Wrangler, Jeep Grand Cherokee and their Minivans. While their new pickups are good, GM’s and Ford’s are better. Chrysler could sell the Jeep and Viper as a package to someone, and sell the minivan plans and plants to GM or Ford which could re-badge them as their own. • The loan agreement should stipulate that GM and Ford must both pare down to 2 brands. This is the successful business model employed by Toyota (Lexus), Nissan (Infinity), and Honda (Acura). GM should keep Chevrolet and Cadillac and eliminate Hummer, Saturn, Buick, Pontiac and GMC. It can sell Saab back to the Swedes. Ford should operate as Ford and Lincoln and put Mercury out of its misery. • All of the UAW’s sweetheart union contracts should be voided. UAW workers enjoy pay and benefits that no other US employees receive and that should end. Let them receive the same pay and benefits as US workers at American plants owned by Honda, Toyota, BMW and etc. • Fire the Accountants and put true car guys in charge. Somehow for the past 30 years the guiding principal for all three US auto makers was “Build cars as inexpensively as possible regardless of whether the resulting product is mediocre. The buyers will accept what we throw at them”. The new Mantra must be: “Build great cars that people will really love. If it costs 3 cents more to make a switch that has a quality feel and is durable, spend the 3 cents”. • Invest heavily in hybrid, diesel, electric and fuel cell power trains, collectively. This is one area where direct government investment (not a loan) makes sense. Investing in such technology will yield a return on investment through reduced carbon emissions and reduced dependence on foreign energy sources. By working together, GM and Ford would make more progress and save money. That’s the simple plan back to profitability. Now go execute it Mr. Obama.

QOD: Hopefully, NASCAR will go way of Trans-Am if DETROIT fails or scales back massively. Trans-Am should have survived or, at least, coexisted using the in-field road courses found in many Oval speedways and super speedways. With the gross over standardization of NASCAR to the point that the cars are even the cars they appear to be, NASCAR will become like IRL/CART. That is, with one or two specialty makers who make only the chassis, One or two engine makers, and few tire makers, and a generalized body design. What ever happened to "racing what you built" or "competition improves the breed"? When a driver drove and won in a FORD, GM, or Chrysler you could go and buy that car at your local dealer. Becasue it was the same car stripped and equipped for racing. The fight between the Big Three at the track drove sales, raised passions, and pushed for improvement in product. With will happen to NASCAR? This one hopes it dies off should DETROIT fail or scale back to the walls and be replaced with something more relevant. Something more like what younger fans may desire. CORR is doing fairly well. The in-field road courses are rife for sports car racing or a revival of Trans-Am style racing. Truthfully, NASCAR probably isn't going anywhere. If they can get people to build the cars and drivers to race them, the oval will continue. Like Pro-wrestling, the marketing will be insane and constant. It might even become a year round program to make the money sponsorships used to bring in.

Why is Leo corresponding from a burnt-down shanty town? Where's the love, man!?

NASCAR will not be missed, at least by me. Start converting those ovals into D1 tracks, Formula 1 grandstands, or you might even get some good concert venues. It'll be sad to see the Big3 go under (please don't), but if NASCAR dies because of no sponsorship/funding...so be it.

I wouldn't mind seeing NASCAR go and having it replaced by some Formula 1 events. F1 is much more interesting to watch. As far as the bailout of the auto industry, this IS capitalism, and if a company can't build a product that people want to buy, they shouldn't be in business, regardless of how many people they employ. There will be a temporary downturn in the economy if GM goes under, but there will be a much longer lasting downturn in the economy if we bail them out, because taxpayers will undoubtedly take the brunt of it.

I hope the big 3 are here to stay, but please let nascar die. And why do I keep hearing that people aren't buying cars from gm (matt). Aren't they still the 2nd largest in the world? They should be able to make a profit at that level, even if they are down in numbers. The problem is with expence not sales. They still sell more than a lot of companies that matt "thinks" are better. So I guess by the numbers honda,volkswagon,audi,porsche,nissan, ect..... "aren't selling any cars" "and nobody wants to buy them"

if NASCAR goes, which i think it will, why not give way to events like the Jetta TDI cup, clean burning diesel cars with no carbon footprint with a car manufacturer that isnt dying. i realize that this means giving way to foreign cars but hey, they are obviously doing something right that we arnt

Ford does need the help, but it's not as bad as GM or Dodge/Chrysler. With the new mustang launch plus knight rider tv show they do leave buyers with something more. But if nascar has problems, Ford has started to branch out to sportsmen racers in NHRA,IHRA, and NMRA drag racing as evidenced in the New Cobra Jet Drag Car. The Miller Challange Series with the FR500S. But they've lost the identity with the cars they race. Hard to sell a Dodge Charger when the Nextel Cup cars are almost identical. I still believe that the stigma of the bad craftmanship of the 70's and 80's still haunt them. And may be the dealers are to blame for the some people looking else where.