NYT: G.M. and Ford Stuck in Neutral as Buyers Look Beyond Detroit

G.M. and Ford Stuck in Neutral as Buyers Look Beyond Detroit
By DANNY HAKIM

Published: April 15, 2005


DETROIT, April 14 - In just the last few weeks, the grand plans that were supposed to carry General Motors and Ford Motor into their second centuries have crumbled.

Sales at G.M. have fallen, profits have tumbled to losses. Last week, Ford also warned of a drop in earnings. Thursday, in yet another blow, its union refused to give much ground on G.M.'s health care coverage. If that were not enough, G.M.'s stock hit a 12-year low.

The Big Two automobile giants offer plenty of explanations, from soaring health care costs to rising gas prices and creeping interest rates. But consumers and industry specialists say G.M. and Ford have swerved off course for a more basic reason: not enough people like their cars....

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Despite free loans and rebates worth several thousand dollars, G.M. and Ford are losing sales to perennial competitors like Toyota and newer rivals like Hyundai, which are more often getting the carmaking formula right: consistent quality, reliability and that intangible appeal....

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And now they are also losing their safety net. Detroit turned the S.U.V. and pickup truck into popular consumer products that propelled profits for much of the last decade. But with Asian makers now entrenched in the S.U.V. market - and setting their sights on pickups - G.M. and Ford have lost any margin for error....


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/15/automobiles/15auto.html?hp&ex=1113537600&en=d79815bb2446221e&ei=5094&partner=homepage

...it must weight close to 6,000 lbs

are actually made with a bit of quality in mind. It boogles the mind that American car makers have retreated from most fuel efficiency scenarios. BULLETIN: We are running out of oil. Five years from now most consumers will want the most fuel efficient vehicle they can get. Big SUVs are dead, they just don't know it yet.

Maybe when these Detroit dinosaurs stop making gas-guzzling stupidmobiles and can compete with Toyota's engineering excellence, we'll consider them.

I am not sure what happened to them. They were going to introduce a hybrid SUV.

I would love to buy Ford or GM for my regular car.....I have a 2003 Ford E250 Cargo van that I use for business it has been a very good vehicle. For personal vehicles I have a Honda Element the biggest little vehicle I've even owned. My only two complaints are it rides rough (too be expected with such a short wheel base) and the gas mileage is only 25 MPG. Our 2nd car is a 2005 BMW Z-4, engine and trans made in Germany, body and assembly in Spartanburg, SC. I visited the factory and took delivery there on this great German/American car. The BMW gets around 30 MPG on the hwy at an average speed of around 70 MPH! The BMW is by far the most expense vehicle I've ever owned at just under 40K but it is by far the best vehicle I've ever owned. My wife says the BMW simply makes driving fun again.

I had a Taurus that had multiple problems, all, of course, after the warranty period. At under 40,000 miles, I had to replace the starter twice, the alternator, the regulator, the solenoid, the water pump and the brake rotors. Then the transmission died and I traded the thing in for a Camry which I still drive. It has had some problems- most notably a tendency for the axle boots to tear. (And I'm not driving over brush and curbs!) But I have 101,000 miles on it and hope to drive it till early 2006, when my daughter will be old enough to get a permit. (knocking on wood and crossing fingers and all that jazz!)

I was hoping to buy a car late last year, but that was only if Kerry won. I actually held off because I didn't want to prop up * I don't think I can wait 4 years, though.