Are The Big Three Worthy?
Written by: Tom Sawyer
The big three automakers, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler want the government to throw some bailout money their way. Are they worthy? I’m not so sure.
I’m not going to get into the American versus foreign buying debate, but the comparison is important. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I think it safe to say American cars aren’t the best looking vehicles on the road. While some cars from the big three are getting better, vehicles like the Pontiac Aztec really set American cars back in the looks department. One could say the Aztec is like the modern day Pacer – the Pacer is another questionable looking American car.
The functional quality – to include reliability and gas mileage – is another area where foreign cars seem to have an advantage. Statistics can be thrown all over the place, but one thing is obvious: pound for pound, there are foreign cars out there, namely Japanese cars, much more reliable with better gas mileage than their American counterparts. Japanese automakers are hitting the sweet spots with cars like the Honda Accord, Odyssey, Civic and the Toyota Tundra, Camry and Corolla.
My question for years has been why can’t American cars put the technology into cars to get gas mileage similar to other cars. Additionally, why do they do things like put all the plastic cladding on Pontiacs, use blue emblems (Ford) on every color of a car and other things which make their cars downright ugly. Yes, I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but this is my opinion.
Getting back to bailout money, the heads of the big three rolled into Washington DC last month asking for money and were rightfully criticized for their mode of transportation. All three men arrived via (separate) private jets. It was jokingly suggested they downgrade to a first-class commercial fight. So this time, in a transparent attempt to look more needy, at least one of them planned to drive from Detroit to our nation’s capitol. Let’s be real, I doubt they will be behind the wheel on the drive; they will probably hire a driver. Even if they do drive, do you think they will get a car fresh off the assembly line? I’m sure they have a lot of unsold vehicles to chose from righ now. 
Tags: american, automakers, bailout, big three, Cars
December 5th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
It is high time the automakers in Detroit are held accountable. Since foreign automakers are boosting our economy – plants in Ohio, Kentucky, South Carolina, etc. – they need to do their part. So the cat is out of the bag: you can’t produce crap and sell it like you used to. Spend some money on something besides private jets and make some good-looking, fuel-saving cars.
December 14th, 2008 at 1:35 am
Thank you for all your up to date information, it is appreciated.