Pro to General Motors: Drop Dead
Profunksticated has followed with some interest the travails of the Big Three automakers, most notably General Motors. It seems GM has only a few months worth of cash left and could go under if that money runs out. The firm has its hand out, looking for aid from Uncle Sam.
Excuse me if I’m not feeling too sorry for GM. Their honchos like to say that the cost of providing their retirees with health insurance is a huge financial burden.
To that I say, bullisht. Hey GM, how about building better vehicles?
I’m pissed with GM. Why? It’s personal. I spent hundreds of dollars to replace an engine in a used Cadillac DeVille I bought in 2002 for a pretty good price. When I purchased the car, it had 37,000 miles. Shortly after it crossed 100,000 miles in 2005 (and the expiration of the factory warranty), the vaunted Northstar engine leaked coolant into the block and overheated to the point where it quit.
Seems the problem is the aluminum block, which unlike the cast-iron engines of the past, expand and contract with heat and cold. This caused the block to pull away from the head, leading to the coolant leak. I went on line and found a used Northstar engine at a salvage yard in western Pennsylvania to replace the bad engine. The costs of this new engine and of renting a vehicle for the several weeks the DeVille was in the shop put a pretty good dent in my wallet. Fortunately, I had bought an extended warranty that covered the repair labor and other incidentals.
I wasn’t the only Caddy driver bedeviled by a bad engine. I began to hear of other Cadillac owners who had the same problem, including a nephew of a friend who owned a late 90s Cadillac Eldorado. I saw similar complaints on an online Cadillac owners’ forum. The problem was even acknowledged by the technician at the Cadillac dealership where I had the car serviced. He said the issue was the result of a design flaw.
I knew repairs on a Caddy would be somewhat pricey. I could understand having to pay for a transmission job or something like that. But I never in a million years expected to have to replace the freaking engine.
As a child of the 70s, I grew up believing Cadillac was the gold standard of luxury cars. However, my experience with the DeVille, which I have since gotten rid of in favor of a new Nissan Altima due to more mechanical problems, was a disappointment.
I’m driving another GM vehicle, a 2002 Buick LeSabre that was given to us. Nonetheless, do I plan on ever buying another GM product? Not so much.
I too thought Cadillacs were the gold standard of luxury! Wow! I remember growing up and all of the older males in my family would brag about how their Caddies were never gonna die.
Unfortunately, today American cars suck. We’ve really got to tighten our auto manufacturing skills, because the rest of the world is owning that space. (I hope the “Patriot Act” is not in full effect right now, I’m just speaking the truth.)
LOL, but hey… I say GM is getting what they deserve for aggressively marketing to black people the way they do. It makes me sick!! All of those retarded Mary J Blige commercials. OH! And don’t forget about the deal they made with Snoop Dogg when they made the “Snoop DeVille”. Check out this except from Snoop’s song “Suited N Booted”:
Mayre Gators, maylike boots
Seven piece custom made suits
Hats to match, counting my chicken stratch
Just cut a deal with Cadillac
Fo real, that’s why I be dressed to kill
Sixty-five G’s for a Snoop Deville
Get you one, matter fact get two
They come in burgundy, but I’ma paint mine blue
All I can say is mmm, mmm, mmm (in a disappointed tone).
Snoop DeVille, indeed!!! Prophetess, I believe that advertising stems from history. I heard where black folk wanted Caddys so bad some would hire whites to be proxy buyers, ‘cause dealerships wouldn’t sell Caddys to blacks. Look, I don’t mean to be harsh and I have two cousins who are retired from GM, but damn! As I said, perhaps you’re failing because your product sucks.
Comment by Marketing Prophetess — November 11, 2008 @ 1:04 pm
sure u know how i feel - dont bail them out,
Unless the Big 3 and the unions are willing to make major changes, giving them loans or other federal aid is only going to delay the inevitable.
Comment by rawdawg — November 12, 2008 @ 12:50 pm
The title made me choke on my soup LOL! I don’t think they, or any of these other firms, should be propped up by the gov’t. I don’t understand the logic behind bailing out companies that are failing to compete. They are just going to bankrupt the gov’t right along with them when they inevitably fail.
K, don’t make me have to come to Philly and give you a Heimlich! LOL! You’ve got a point, though. GM, Ford and Chrysler have got to change up their business models and fast.
Comment by K. — November 12, 2008 @ 1:59 pm