hyperv6

It is true Ford only got the loans because they were in the worst shape and were lucky enough to have to get the loans from the banks that were bailed out before the economy tanked.

What many fail to point out too is the fact even though Ford is making a profit now they still carry a heavy heavy debt load. They will need to remain profitable for a long time and if they fail to I don't know if the goverment will do what they did again. THe way the goverment is going in debt they may not be able to afford too. The sad truth is if they fail again the Ford family may have to finally sell out.

With GM now yes they did get bailed out but at this point they are in line to show a profit this year and already have started to pay back money. Also they will have the IPO this year.

But one thing people fail to point out or understand is they have little to no debt load. THey can afford to dump money back into new models and engineering.

Also the Goverment has been pretty hands off as they need GM to make it or they will look much worse than they already do.

GM is in good hands as most of the product is now in the hands of the car guys because the money guys ran out of idea's. GM has empowered the Engineers and designers and we will see in the next five year what they can do. GM has some of the best but they have had to work with both arms tied because they had no money or power.

An example is when Bob Lutz asked an engineer why GM did could not do 3 MM panels gaps? He was told we can but were never told too. Yes the engineers were not permited to make that decision and were never told to meet the industry standard. Lutz told them to do it. Same with the drivetrain guys. The Eco 2.0 Turbo and ZR1 engines are here because Lutz told them to do what they can and he would back them with the board.

The auto market will chance more in the next 5-10 years than in the last 50. None of the players are safe. Many of the smaller players like BMW and Honda will have to have a dance partner if they want to remain independent to share the cost in the future.

hhrcrafty

Ford has taken plenty of money from the gov't over the last two years. They've just disguised it as "green car" money because Bill Ford's a big Democrat and gave Obama a shat ton of money for the election. All of it is due to be paid back just like the GM and Chrysler money, but Ford gets to be the media darling.

On the other hand, I do like my '06 Mustang. Except for the failing ball joints at 25,000 miles. Had 90,000 on the HHR before it went back for anything other than an oil change and safety recall.

irloyal

IMHO the last of the truly great GM's have been designed and will be produced by 2015. Anything coming after the Government take-over is going to be f'ed up.

I do not see GM ever being anything more than a shell of their former self. GM will go on to become the Citroen of the USA. By the time another administration get's in office, GM will be so propped up by tax dollars, and so poorly run by the SEIU and UAW they will be unable to buy their way into private industry again.

Buy your Corvettes, Camaro's, HHR's and Cadillac hot rods now before they become shells of their former glory.

esmarkey

I guess I need to put my .02 worth in too...
Regardless of which company you like or dislike Ford has been coming out with some pretty awsome stuff lately, and isn't that what it's all about?
I bought my 1st HHR because I liked it, not because it met emissions, or because GM was or wasn't taking govt, money, but because I liked it. After that 1st one (for my wife) I was hooked and couldn't resist the performance of the SS (for myself) so I now have 2 HHRs.
Now it sounds like GM is doing the politically correct thing and reducing it's offerings of performance cars and concentrating on fuel efficiency (even though some performance engines are fuel efficient). There are many that think this is a good thing, myself, I will buy my next car because I like it, not because of politics...

hyperv6

I would not bet the farm on GM's best days being behind them. You might want to dig around and see what all it going on.

I do not approve of the actions of the present people in office but I will give them credit other than imposing higher CAFE ratings on all companies and outing Rick Wagoner at GM they have been hands off. They have not told GM one thing on what to build, how to build and what engines to use. Bob Lutz made it clear he was leaving GM till he was told that GM would have total product control. He said he would leave if they did not have that and he is still there.

Performance is far from dead. We were told that it was dead 5 times in the last 50 years. Also were told the 1976 Eldorado was the last convertible too. :Performance sells and everyone knows that. We may not have 400 HP BBC but we will have 400 HP V6 cars and the cars will be much lighter too. The light weight will add a dimention to performance most have never experienced. Less weight adds better handling and braking that bigger engines just can't do.

GM is paying off the debt already and has more payments scheduled.

While some here do not like the green message it is a hot button in the market. Many people buy into the global warming crap and it does influence many peoples buying. GM has the image of the Hummer and large SUV to overcome and the new marketing is letting people in this market know GM too has many vehicles like they are looking for and they are not just all big trucks.

GM needs to grow the small car market as with the pending CAFE rules the more small cars they sell the more larger cars they can sell. GM also needs to make a profit on these small cars and the Cruze and Aveo are set to try to do just that.

I know about some of the things to come and the future is a lot brighter than some think. The only thing out of GM and anyone else hands is the economy. Things have a long way to go to improve. But with the low debt GM has the advantage right now.

Note the sales of Buick, Chevy, GMC and Cadillac as a whole were up 30% in January. The posted numbers even including the suttered Pontiac, Hummer, Saturn and Saab was still in the 205 range.

JoeSchmoe

I'm sure that this will be the "mainstream" or "base" engine. Why would you assume that they will never come out with anything more than 130hp ever again? As I recall, GM coming out with the HHR SS was a bit of a surprise. I'm sure there will be more surprises, both pleasant and not, in the future. The SS badge will carry on I'm sure. And hopefully these will be worthy vehicles of the moniker.


ummmm... OK... Every credible climate scientist on the planet is in on some giant hoax? Somehow I doubt it...

I have no idea what my next vehicle will be. I didn't know this time around until I drove everything from a Mini to a Mazda to the HHR SS. I find it odd that someone decides what manufacturer they will buy a vehicle from before trying out as many as humanly possible. Finding the right vehicle for me was a blast... dealers hated it... I came and went several times trying several vehicles in several different towns until I found the right one at the right price!

IgottaWoody

What he said-----
Thats the exact reason I have 2 of them also and the next vehicle will be whatever it is....I was actually looking at Chry 300's when I came across the Woody.......

urbexHHR

Because everything GM made before the Government bailout was golden...

ecl

I will probably go to a ford but just because im a for fan to begin with even though gm does have some nice vehicles out but we will just have to see what happens when that time comes.

not every climate scientist agree with this and I also believe that it just a hoax. The planet goes through changes it did before us and will continue after us it has nothing to do with us and is just a hoax.

hyperv6

What many fail to point out is that if Global Warm is not proved over the Earth Cycles a lot of those credible climate scientist will lose some very big money grants. Not all the crooks are in DC or Wall Street. There is enough at stake some have even been caught lying about it because the date they collected did not support their cause.

A lot of people have a lot of money is at stake if it is proven a hoax including Mr Gores money.

We are only one large volcano blast from a ice age. It takes very little for the climate to go either way.

I remeber a large group of credible climate scientist that said the area around MT ST Helens would be a waste land for decades. They kind of missed on that one too. Man is not as smart as he likes to think he is and under estimates nature and it's creator.

Even with that said it is still going to efffect the auto industry because of the rules already in place. All the automaker have to face the same rules so GM is not at a disadvantage and with the bettler selection of cars they will be ready to fave higher CAFE, Emmisions and Oil prices. In the past they had little to fight these problems off. Also keep the cars a good value with Chevy will help as this is what Hyundia has built upon. Honda and Toyota keep getting more expensive and lose some value with higher cost. Many people shop cars only by how much the monthly payment is.

GM needs to win these people as they were the ones who bought cars like the 55 Chevy and Nova. Neither were sold in performance versions in large numbers. Most were inline sixes and were a great value to many.