Recent Comments:
Lutz declares that first Volt mule is running 40 miles on battery power {Autoblog}
May 15th 2008 11:06AM I have. I've driven the new Malibu. It's a lot better than the GM cars of the early 2000's, but still doesn't really shine in any respect at all compared to its competitors. The interiors are getting better, but are still pretty bad. Initial interior quality is okay, but I can't see them lasting given the feel of the materials and how they feel "tacked" in to place. Online images of the interiors make it look amazing - on par with Audi... when in reality they're not really that good.
Maybe they should take the money that they spent on photographers and make better interiors.
Reason I care so much about the inside of the car? That's where I spend at least 2.5 hours a day. If it's creaking, rattling, popping, is uncomfortable, or is an ergonomic nightmare, I don't want it.
Maximum Bob talks about Invicta and how not to rebadge cars {Autoblog}
May 1st 2008 2:23PM I'll reply to your comment AZMike, but I'm not sure it'll go in the right place, as the Weblogs comment system is garbage.
First off, I don't care that it's "just a Honda." Honda makes more engines than any other company in the world every single year. They've been doing it for a while, and they're good at it. I've never had reliability issues with any of my Hondas, and I've owned quite a few of them.
That being said, my wife owns a Honda Accord. I'm not "ashamed" to drive it because it's "just a Honda." If they had my TSX as an "Accord Euro" as they do in Australia, and it had a big fat H badge on the front, I'd be more than happy to drive that too.
If you must know, I shaved the "Acura" and "TSX" badges off the back of my TSX, so anyone who's dumb enough to equate "Acura" with anything other than "just a Honda"... they won't know what it is anyway.
I didn't buy the car to impress other people, I bought it because it offered features that I wanted for the amount of money I wanted to spend, and I couldn't find those features in a similarly sized car for a similar amount of money.
Maximum Bob talks about Invicta and how not to rebadge cars {Autoblog}
May 1st 2008 2:13PM "Yeah, with probably thousands of parts in an engine I'm supposed to believe they turn on a robot and product the eco-tec engines. You just lost most of your credibility there. Sorry. Stupid statement."
Have you ever actually built an engine? They're insanely simple.
If you think all of the engines in the world are hand assembled, I don't think you've got a right to be calling anyone stupid.
"Your view is that every American should make the big bucks or they don't count or we shouldn't care about their job?"
That's not what I'd like to see, but that's what's going to happen. Bottom line is that if you have some UAW worker who costs GM $75/hr after benefits, vs some guy in Mexico who costs them $25/hr after benefits, who do you think they're going to go with? I think you should take a trip back in to the 80s and ask GM about that when they started making assembly plants in Mexico.
GM isn't out to "better America" or provide welfare to the American worker... contrary to what most rednecks believe. GM is an enterprise, a business, and they're there to make money, plain and simple. If they can replace 100 workers with a robot that doesn't need to eat, take piss breaks, require health insurance, and take sick days to save money, then they'll do it. If they can save money by sending jobs to Mexico or Canada, then they'll do that too. Go ahead, call me a liar.
You still haven't specified which Apple you're talking about. If you're talking about Apple Computer - first off, I don't use a Mac, and second off, almost all computer parts for any computer manufacturer are made in Asia... so what's your point?
"My guess, since you really seem to care where parts and design are from, is that your Acura has less American design and parts than any given Pontiac."
There you go again... telling me in one reply that it doesn't matter when GM does it because it's a "world market" for them, but lambasing me for driving an Acura, which was engineered and built in Japan.
Difference is, I embrace a world market, but Acura doesn't lie to me and market their cars to me as "American," whereas GM does.
Despite rumors, next Acura NSX won't be priced around $200k {Autoblog}
May 1st 2008 1:56PM If the only reason you buy a car is because of what other people will think of you when they see you in it, you must really suck at all other aspects in life.
Please come back and tell me how beautiful your wife is, how much you make, that you have a ton of degrees and an awesome job to prove to me that I'm wrong. Please.
Maximum Bob talks about Invicta and how not to rebadge cars {Autoblog}
May 1st 2008 1:54PM "Or at least a stake in like GM had with Suzuki before they sold it."
You mean 'were forced to sell it.' ... because they're doing so well right now.
"That German engine you keep talking about is a world designed engine and it is assembled in NY"
Money isn't in engine assembly. I have a friend who does factory automation in Auburn Hills, MI. He programs the robots that assemble and machine engines and engine parts. They turn on a robot, and let it go. Sure the robots cost a lot, but not as much as workers, and that's why they're there. The people who are getting baid BUCKS are the ones who are designing the engines... in the Ecotec's case, in Germany.
I don't care if GM owns them or not. The German engineers who designed the transmissions used with those engines, and the engines themselves, are the ones who are going home with fat paychecks in their pockets... and the American workers, who are either having their jobs replaced by robots, or whose jobs are being sent to Mexico, are the ones hurting.
I wish people would quit equating GM with America, but I guess you can't teach an old dog new tricks after all.
"The Solstice is assembled in Delaware and shipped to Europe."
Assembly cost is a drop in the piss bucket compared to engineering. Pay American engineers to engineer it if you want to call it American.
Along your same logic... GM owns a lot of assembly facilities in Mexico. They should just assemble ALL of their cars there and take all of their factory jobs out of the US. That'd be ok too... because GM owns the factories, right?
"Please, go look at Apples parts before you judge GM"
Apple Computer? What are you talking about. How is that relevant at all?
Maximum Bob talks about Invicta and how not to rebadge cars {Autoblog}
May 1st 2008 1:41PM PS - I don't take issue with the G8 at all. It's a good looking car and has more power for the dollar than pretty much anything out there. I also don't take issue of the fact that it's a re-badge of a car that we wouldn't otherwise get here. I think more "domestic" car makers should do that - including Ford with the Euro Focus vs the POS one we get.
I do take issue with the fact that they'll sell the cars to Americans as "American" when 90% of it isn't American at all. BUT - if anyone out there who knows better wants to blindly follow them and let themselves be lied to, then by all means...
Maximum Bob talks about Invicta and how not to rebadge cars {Autoblog}
May 1st 2008 1:38PM Honda can't sell the Euro/Jap Accord as an "Accord" in the US because it's too small. The "mid-sized" car segment is becoming BIGGER in the US because Americans are FATTER than the rest of the world.
They can't make their mainstream market cars smaller, or even keep them the same size from model revision to model revision, or the ever-fattening auto reviewers and ever-fattening American public will complain that there's not sufficient room for their gut to fit under the steering wheel next to 8 cup holders full of Big Gulps and fries.
I own a TSX. It has plenty of room for my NORMAL sized self, for my normal sized wife, and my normal sized friends. I like getting good gas mileage in what the rest of the world calls a "mid" sized car.
Plus I can sleep well at night knowing that it's not any more "foreign" than a Pontiac.
Maximum Bob talks about Invicta and how not to rebadge cars {Autoblog}
May 1st 2008 1:22PM Yeah - I've seen Pontiac as well.
The G8 is straight out of Australia - 100% imported to the US, as is the G8 ST. American engineered engine, but Aussie platform and engine assembly is all done in Australia. The automatic transmission is assembled in Strasbourg, France and the manual in Queretaro, Mexico.
The G5 is a rebadged Cobalt, which is made in Ohio this year, but next year final production will be moved to Mexico. The manual transmission is assembled in Germany, and the auto is assembled in Canada. The engine was engineered in Germany.
The Solstice platform is a joint venture between US and German engineers. The manual transmission is made by Aisin in Japan, and the automatic is made in France. The engine was engineered in Germany.
The Torrent is a re-badge wet dream with tons of other cars. The V6 engine is assembled in China, and the 5 speed trans is assembled at Aisin in Japan. The 6 speed is assembled in Warren, MI, to their credit. Final assembly is in Canada at a joint owned GM-Suzuki factory.
The Vibe is half Toyota and speaks for itself. Engine is 100% Toyota, and trans mission is 100% Toyota. Both are assembled in Japan.
The only "American" Pontiac is the G6... until they move production of that (or its components) somewhere else.
Yeah - I know Pontiac pretty well.
Maximum Bob talks about Invicta and how not to rebadge cars {Autoblog}
May 1st 2008 12:51PM Um... has he seen Pontiac?
DXG-569V HD camcorder available for $169 {Engadget}
Apr 28th 2008 1:50PM Owen - beat me to it. :-)
