GM is bankrupt

[DeusExMachina]

GM is filing chapter 11 protection monday and the common stock is now toilet paper.

Hahaha even after every American gave them 100 dollars, they still went bankrupt. You can enjoy the million dollar retirement packages for all retirees and employees paid for by the blood of Americans. Nice work fucktards.

[tornupsock]

Buy Honda.

That, or a really damn good road bike (gas efficient and burns away the fat!)

[MC Yiffalot]

Originally Posted by DeusExMachina

GM is filing chapter 11 protection monday and the common stock is now toilet paper.

Hahaha even after every American gave them 100 dollars, they still went bankrupt. You can enjoy the million dollar retirement packages for all retirees and employees paid for by the blood of Americans. Nice work fucktards.

U DISAGREE WITH OUR DEMOCRATIC MESSIAHS

UR RACIST

[Ashura96]

And there you have it...

Ford is and always WILL be the best American car brand.

[Ribos]

Originally Posted by Ashura96

And there you have it...

Ford is and always WILL be the best American car brand.

until they go bankrupt for having what is essentially the same business model as GM.

Seriously, both Ford and GM seem obsessed with this misguided notion that the American public doesn't mind buying expensive, oversized, gas-guzzlers. And sales have been falling as a result. The Prius is about the best thing Ford has going for them, and the fact that they've been selling like hotcakes should be a slap in their face about where they need to take the company.

Honda has been surviving because they've managed to provide cheaper reliable vehicles that are, simply put, just more efficient all around.

Ford made it big making easily-affordable cars that were easy (and thus cheap) to maintain. Now they seem to think every American needs a giant pickup truck. I do not understand Ford's thinking on this at all.

Note, however, that I totally called this happening when the whole bailout package was announced. I was saying that without a major change in leadership, the bailout money would be meaningless and the auto manufacturers would go under anyways.

Ford's only a few months away from following GM.

[Ztype]

Ford production is up 10% actually, and they show no signs of slowing. The new Fusion and Focus have been receiving numerous accolades. The Focus is actually cheaper than the Civic, has more features, and has received far more awards, and in my opinion is a far better car feature-wise.

The only problems Ford is facing now is that Chrysler and GM are both essentially divisions of the US Government so they have in essence limitless budgets, while Ford, after all the hard work they have done to redesign their brand and image (without any government intervention), has to make do on it's own. So much for America and capitalism. Certainly their Ford Explorer started Americans down this path of automotive gluttony, but they have certainly redeemed themselves with their new lineup.

[dieKatze88]

Originally Posted by Ribos

until they go bankrupt for having what is essentially the same business model as GM.

Seriously, both Ford and GM seem obsessed with this misguided notion that the American public doesn't mind buying expensive, oversized, gas-guzzlers. And sales have been falling as a result. The Prius is about the best thing Ford has going for them, and the fact that they've been selling like hotcakes should be a slap in their face about where they need to take the company.

Honda has been surviving because they've managed to provide cheaper reliable vehicles that are, simply put, just more efficient all around.

Ford made it big making easily-affordable cars that were easy (and thus cheap) to maintain. Now they seem to think every American needs a giant pickup truck. I do not understand Ford's thinking on this at all.

Note, however, that I totally called this happening when the whole bailout package was announced. I was saying that without a major change in leadership, the bailout money would be meaningless and the auto manufacturers would go under anyways.

Ford's only a few months away from following GM.

You dumb. You forget one very important fact, every single vehicle fleet in the United States runs on three very distinct vehicles. The Ford Crown Victoria, the Ford E150 Cargo Van and the Ford F150 Light Pickup Truck.

Ford isn't half a step away from bankrupt, the entire collection of mini governments inside the united States has been bailing them out for years. The track record of quality and reliability that their vehicles provide is unmatched in any market. I've never seen a used Honda with 250000 miles on it run as well as an 87 Crown Victoria, and I never will. Ever. Its that simple. When you build well, so that maintenance doesn't actually have to happen (because typically, Police and government vehicles are the LEAST maintained automobiles in the country) and then give the car the ability to take a beating, the car is going to keep working, no matter what you do to it.

Originally Posted by Ashura96

And there you have it...

Ford is and always WILL be the best American car brand.

Duh.

Originally Posted by Ztype

Ford production is up 10% actually, and they show no signs of slowing. The new Fusion and Focus have been receiving numerous accolades. The Focus is actually cheaper than the Civic, has more features, and has received far more awards, and in my opinion is a far better car feature-wise.

The only problems Ford is facing now is that Chrysler and GM are both essentially divisions of the US Government so they have in essence limitless budgets, while Ford, after all the hard work they have done to redesign their brand and image (without any government intervention), has to make do on it's own. So much for America and capitalism. Certainly their Ford Explorer started Americans down this path of automotive gluttony, but they have certainly redeemed themselves with their new lineup.

Yeah don't forget that Ford just re-figured out the regular market. Ever wonder what happened to the Ford Escort? They said "Wow, we're producing two lines of vehicles that do the exact same thing. That's dumb. Axe the low end one and lower the price of the high end one." Now you can buy a Taurus for just pennies more than the same Escort used to cost. More value, More features, Lower cost. Holy shit. That's customer service. Ford does that and GM didn't, that's why GM is in the toilet, and Ford isn't going places fast, but isn't Sinking either.

[Blackraven]

IMHO, Ford can bounce back by adapting to the type of cars the public need or want at this point in time.

Thankfully, they're doing so by making changes to their lineup
Starting with the new Fiesta (their subcompact vehicle)

Fiesta Movement In Action


Ford Motor Company president and chief executive officer Alan Mullaly (shown above)




http://www.headlightblog.com/images/...a-movement.jpg





http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2480/...59d10d18_o.jpg
http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/608...95974fa87o.jpg
http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/353...b31dac375b.jpg

Ford Fiesta - a set on Flickr
You can view the other pics on the net or go to fiestamovement.com to check on the individual participants and see their photos, videos, journals and blogs regarding their Ford Fiesta experience(s).

Anyhow, aside from that, the upcoming Focus for the Americas will now use the European/International version for the next model change. Plus, there is a high chance that the Ford Kuga (which is quite popular in Europe) will be produced for the Americas markets @ Ford HQ in Dearborn, Michigan, USA.

Indeed, these are the type of cars people now want (not your gas-guzzling Expeditions or F-series mammoth pickups or Lincoln Navigator or whatever). Hence, why it is important to adapt to the changing market in order to guarantee survival and success.

Just my two cents on this

[Ztype]

The Fiesta is such a beautiful little car I'm glad it's coming back to America, and if the Kuga comes out here I'm definitely selling my CRV for one. I'd love to see the VW Scirocco come back here too.

[deathrazor]

I fully intend on buying a Fiesta as long as we get the hatchbacks.

[mapo]

Originally Posted by Ribos

The Prius is about the best thing Ford has going for them

Umm....Toyota...

[Ribos]

Originally Posted by Captain Bitchfit

Umm....Toyota...

Hurk.

I might have been thinking of the Fiesta, but wrote Prius. I don't even really remember what I was thinking then.

But my feelings about Ford's supposed reliability can be summed up when my dad took one of their sedans for a test drive back in the mid-90s: the engine died two blocks off the car lot. The Ford guy had no idea what to say about it.

My dad decided to get a Chevy Monte Carlo instead. Still has it after two accidents, five states' worth of moving, 180,000 miles, and the only part that's ever gone was some part of the air conditioning unit, which was easily replaced.

[mapo]

One of the biggest problems with Ford cars is that they really don't know how to make small block engines, particularly 4 cylinders.

[Blackraven]

Originally Posted by Damage, Inc.

I fully intend on buying a Fiesta as long as we get the hatchbacks.

For the Americas markets, I think both hatchback and sedan versions will be sold. In addition, they will also be introducing the latest dual-clutch transmission from Ford (called "Powershift") which will debut for markets in the Americas

[DeusExMachina]

Ford has used Japanese engines in a number of their cars.