The End Of Pontiac.....

[The Conch Man Past Goumba President & BigFrank's Cigar Buddy! Find all posts View Profile Close The Conch Man]

Dad is right-on the money with his statement!

[PHILL12 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close PHILL12]

[QUOTE=lawren2;317137]First Olds and now Pontiac.

Prersonally I think they should have shut down Buick. 1 SUV and 3 Sedans does not a car division make. Everytime I see a Buick, and I don't see many, it is some little old lady with a puff of white hair resembling a Q-Tip or her husband driving it.

I have to agree with you but Buick in other countries seems to be big sellers!

When Buick signed Tiger Woods up for their ads this was by far one of the biggest errors in tv ads. Can anyone see Tigar driving a Buick?

The last Buick in our family was a 1953 that my grand father owned and he was 86 at the time.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

IMHO - this is how I see this whole thing playing out in the future.

The government - particularly the current administration - is not going to be a pssive stakeholder in the GM and Chrysler. The current administration has strong opinions about what the world should like and what is good for people. They view it as their mission to shape the direction of society as they believe it ought to be, and will show little hesitancy to wield influence to force society the direction they believe it should go.

They will bring that same attitude to the Chrysler and GM, and will attempt to dictate the types of vehicles that are to be sold, the types of marketing programs to be run. They will get involved in compensation programs and labor relations. Cost-cutting measures that will hurt a favored constituency too severely will likely face significant opposition. Decisions about where to locate production for new autos will include heavy doses of political considerations, and basic economic factors will be lessened.

******

The dilemma that will be created

The inevitable result over time is that government involvement in an auto company is going to make those companies less economically viable. That is going to create a dilemma. The government is going to have this huge investment in auto companies that is threatened. Washington will not find it politically acceptable to admit that they threw away what tens to hundreds of billions of dollars.

The response will be to "level the playing field" in the industry. Is the problem that other auto makers aren't faced with the same labor costs as the government auto companies? Expect the government to force added labor costs on the other auto companies to "level the playing field". Even better if that leveling can be done with more taxes.

Is the problem that the other auto companies are producing a mix of vehicles that better matches the range of consumer tastes and preferences? Well, then expect the government to penalize the other automakers for making more popular cars.

****

There is one guarantee. We will be paying more for automobiles in the future, and we won't be as happy with what is being offered to us.

[philsfan Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close philsfan]

The government - particularly the current administration - is not going to be a pssive stakeholder in the GM and Chrysler. The current administration has strong opinions about what the world should like and what is good for people. They view it as their mission to shape the direction of society as they believe it ought to be, and will show little hesitancy to wield influence to force society the direction they believe it should go.

hmmm, and that's different from the previous administration exactly how?

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

If anyone wishes to make this thread political, they should start a new thread in the political forum. Any further political commentary here will be removed and the poster will receive an infraction.

[ebram Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close ebram]

I ahd a 1968 Executive and a 1976 Firbird. Great cars. Letting accountants and the union(UAW) run the company ruined GM and Pontiac(Xler too,Iaccoa was an engineer). When engineers(ie Ed Cole and Duntov) ran the operation it did well( the gov wanted to split GM)

[Keitht Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Keitht]

Letting accountants and the union(UAW) run the company ruined

The sequence was slightly different in the UK, but the end result the same. Union refusal to accept new working practice brought many companies to their knees and then the bean counters took over and finished them off.

[pyro-1955 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close pyro-1955]

Can't answer statements here, how does one find the "Polotical Forum"? Honest question

[PigsDad Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close PigsDad]

Can't answer statements here, how does one find the "Polotical Forum"? Honest question

It is an opt-in forum. Under User Control / Group Memberships, you can subscribe to the Political Forum.

Kurt

[Jya-Ning Silver Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close Jya-Ning]

how does one find the "Polotical Forum"? Honest question

Try this link
http://www.timeshareforums.com/forum...olitical-forum

But you will need 15 posts or more. Or contribute to the site.

Jya-Ning

[tennisWalt Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tennisWalt]

Do You Miss Cars That Are No Longer Being Made?

The History of 1940s Cars and How the War Impeded Their Development

The 1940s Cars - History and Development

Do you remember the ......?

Hudson

Packard

Plymouth

Continental

Edsel

DeSoto

Crown Imperial

Nash

Crosley

La Salle

Kaiser-Frazer

Studebaker

When I was a kid of age 10 (1950), we could see a car coming 3 or 4 house down the block and we could tell what make of car it was because no 2 cars looked alike.

In fact, in most cases as the car went passed us we could even tell the year that the car was made. The car seemed to change ever 3 or 4 years but each year there was something done to the model that made the year stand out. Do you see it in the 1949 and 1959 Ford?

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

When I was a kid of age 10 (1950), we could see a car coming 3 or 4 house down the block and we could tell what make of car it was because no 2 cars looked alike.

In fact, in most cases as the car went passed us we could even tell the year that the car was made. The car seemed to change ever 3 or 4 years but each year there was something done to the model that made the year stand out. Do you see it in the 1949 and 1959 Ford?

Walt - I'm about ten years younger than you. Up until about 1965 I could tell the year and model for almost every car on the road built after WWII. In a lot of cases, I could even tell what size engine was in the car, as there often trim details that varied with the engine.

I could even tell the year for Volkswagen Beetles.

[tennisWalt Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tennisWalt]

So What Car Do You Wish You Still Had?

Walt - I'm about ten years younger than you. Up until about 1965 I could tell the year and model for almost every car on the road built after WWII. In a lot of cases, I could even tell what size engine was in the car, as there often trim details that varied with the engine.

I could even tell the year for Volkswagen Beetles.

I wish I still have one like this.

Walt

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

I wish I still have one like this.

Walt

Dredging the memory banks here, Walt. I'm not a classic car aficionado so I have to go solely by memory.

I know that's either a '56 or '57; I think it's a 56 because the '57 had more prominent tail fins, as I recall.

I believe the Impalas were available in three engine sizes - a 6-cyl, a small 8 (283 cid, IIRC) and a large 8 (327 cid). That model would have the small V8.

*******

My BIL has one very similar to this; he owned one about the time he married my sister. But when he was dating my sister he owned a Crown Vic Grand; one of the ones that had the chrome stripe that went over the top of the passenger compartment.

My BIL has been very successful in his business, and he has bought and restored a replica of every car he ever owned in his teens and twenties.

[tennisWalt Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tennisWalt]

Dredging the memory banks here, Walt. I'm not a classic car aficionado so I have to go solely by memory.

I know that's either a '56 or '57; I think it's a 56 because the '57 had more prominent tail fins, as I recall.

I believe the Impalas were available in three engine sizes - a 6-cyl, a small 8 (283 cid, IIRC) and a large 8 (327 cid). That model would have the small V8.

*******

My BIL has one very similar to this; he owned one about the time he married my sister. But when he was dating my sister he owned a Crown Vic Grand; one of the ones that had the chrome stripe that went over the top of the passenger compartment.

My BIL has been very successful in his business, and he has bought and restored a replica of every car he ever owned in his teens and twenties.

It is a Matador Red 1957 Chevy Bel Air Sport Coupe.

A 1956 looks like this.

Walt




And this.