by "Spanfeller is a twat" (theaspiringengineer)
Published 12/11/2017 at 05:48
by "Spanfeller is a twat" (theaspiringengineer)
Published 12/11/2017 at 05:48
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STARS: 1
I don’t care if its 6AM, GM can eat it
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I do wonder where you could get a weight reduction in pickup trucks... But never the bed!
"boxrocket" (boxrocket)
12/11/2017 at 06:15, STARS: 5
Gm can always eat it, IMHO.
If only in recent memory for ignition switches, crap visibility out of their higher-tier vehicles, boring styling, ho-hum interiors that seem almost the same from a cruze to a ct6, and not doing enough to become a better company with the bailout they didn’t deserve but which was arguably necessary to keep the country from becoming even more messed up.
"PartyPooper2012" (PartyPooper2012)
12/11/2017 at 06:31, STARS: 0
but.... Chevy Spark! What a car!!!
Kidding.
GM sucks! Amount of money I spent fixing Suburban... Amount of money I am spending on Corvette now... and financial reports keep coming out - PartyPooper2012 has lowest savings. Has no retirement money... Well DUH. It’s all spent on Amazon and GM repairs.
"Wheelerguy" (wheelerguy)
12/11/2017 at 07:36, STARS: 1
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"Jayhawk Jake" (jayhawkjake)
12/11/2017 at 08:37, STARS: 1
Ignition switch, that was fairly bad but dealt with OK, better than the whole Takata airbag thing. Crap visibility, well sure I’ll give you that but they aren’t the only ones. Ho-hum interiors, I gotta disagree. New Cadillac interiors are nice and I had a loaner Impala once that was genuinely very nice inside.
Not doing enough to become a better company after the bailout - what? They repaid the whole thing. It’s not like they took the bailout money and lost it all and are now operating at a loss, they became a profitable company and I’m fairly certain they have grown market share in the years since.
GM is far from perfect, but I would argue they’re a pretty decent car company. Fiat is basically a rolling dumpster fire where the best cars hey make are dated and the new cars threw reliability out the window, clinging to life on the coat-tails of the Jeep brand. Ford is growing but for as much as people tend to dismiss GM but favor the blue oval they’ve long been second place to GM, only recently catching up in sales. And as much as the F-series deserves all the credit in the world for being the best selling truck in the US, when you combine the Silverado and Sierra GM seriously isn’t THAT far behind.
Meanwhile, at least from this outsiders perspective, you have Toyota and Honda resting on their laurels simply content to make the same cars year after year which, to their credit, works well from a business perspective but fails to inspire from an enthusiast one.
To summarize, GM is doing just fine in my opinion, and deserves a little more credit than they are likely to ever get from enthusiasts.
"ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com" (ita97)
12/11/2017 at 08:55, STARS: 1
I’ve had no issues with aluminum bed in my F-150. Granted that I’m not using it as a landscaping truck, but I’ve had no reason to think it doesn’t stand up to use as well as anything else with a bedliner.
"VonBootWilly - Likes Toyota, but it's still complicated." (vonbootwilly)
12/11/2017 at 09:13, STARS: 0
Yes, I’m on board with the part where GM eats it.
When I switched from a Montana to an Uplander I was unaware that they switched from using steel to make the entire body, to some form of composite made of garbage, gum wrappers and pre-rusted tin that is magically 1/4 the thickness of the Montana panels. this was likely to save fuel too.
To be fair, if they can make the truck bed actually function well made of a new material then it’s not really wrong, but knowing GM they will probably take several years to decide they suck at doing that way and give up.
"B/Xmrrmvr" (davidedumass)
12/11/2017 at 09:16, STARS: 1
Ignition switch, that was fairly bad but dealt with OK, better than the whole Takata airbag thing.
GM was also affected by the Takata airbag recalls.
"Jayhawk Jake" (jayhawkjake)
12/11/2017 at 09:21, STARS: 0
Affected by, but it wasn’t really up to them to fix it.
"fintail" (fintail)
12/11/2017 at 09:31, STARS: 2
From the company that mocked Ford about aluminum.
It’s like a certain someone calling out someone else about tax returns.
"Milky" (jordanmielke)
12/11/2017 at 09:48, STARS: 1
Just saying the 124 dead people’s friends/family might call it more than “fairly bad”.
"jimz" (jimz)
12/11/2017 at 10:13, STARS: 0
there’s a difference between knowing your inflators can come apart and injure/kill people (and hiding evidence after it has happened) and and knowing your switches can rotate out of position but not making the connection to airbags no longer functioning.
The former is deliberate malfeasance, the latter is a breakdown in process.
"Urambo Tauro" (urambotauro)
12/11/2017 at 10:31, STARS: 1
As Arch Duke Maxyenko pointed out, the front of a pickup truck is the best place to shed weight.
I bet they’re focusing on the bed not only because it’s easier, but because whatever weight they can subtract back there will add to their advertised hauling capacity. And CAFE, of course.
"Spanfeller is a twat" (theaspiringengineer)
12/11/2017 at 10:38, STARS: 0
What ablut weight distribution?
"Milky" (jordanmielke)
12/11/2017 at 10:43, STARS: 1
The latter is still GM cheapening every part until they killed people. They also knew for a decade and didn’t do anything about it. Doesn’t mean there isn’t a worse company, still fucked.
"Urambo Tauro" (urambotauro)
12/11/2017 at 10:52, STARS: 0
That would be nice. But it’s not much of a selling point for them. Remember, to them, it’s not so much about building a great truck as it is about profits. And they can sell more by boasting about fuel mileage and tow/haul capacities than they can by making a more balanced, better-handling truck.
"So Shiney. So Chrome! So Frunky" (badams109)
12/11/2017 at 14:11, STARS: 2
Don’t forget about crash rating. While you can absolutely make a great crash structure using composite it ain’t easy. The hood and fenders may not be the main structure but they do contribute to energy management in a crash. On the other hand i don’t think there is any crash test that involves the bed so it’s a really low risk area to try new materials. You could probably remove the bed entirely and get 5 stars.
"SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media" (silentbutnotreallydeadly)
12/11/2017 at 16:37, STARS: 0
"boxrocket" (boxrocket)
12/12/2017 at 06:18, STARS: 0
The “better company” point was about doing more restructuring than they did, and becoming even more streamlined, less wasteful, and more competitive. GMC should have been axed in favor of more differentiation for Cadillac. Same for Buick, though I understand the China aspect, and having a stepping stone. In truth, Oldsmobile should have been kept, and every other brand except Chevy and Caddy (in North America) been shuttered or sold.
You’re quite right about the interiors being fairly nice, though gm had arguably the most to improve. The problem is that - to an unfamiliar customer, and ignoring the badge on the steering wheel - you can’t tell a difference between the interior of - to borrow your example - an Impala LT or LTZ over a CTS or CT6. They’re undercutting Cadillac by having nearly-as-nice interiors in their volume models. This further exacerbates the problem because the nicer interior makes the Chevy/GMC/Buick vehicle more expensive, which - in order to preserve the pecking order - forces Cadillac to charge more for their wares that aren’t wholly upgraded compared to a similar-sized corporate cousin, which undercuts their competitive advantage against other automakers, especially because now the interiors aren’t really that nice compared to a similar Mercedes, BMW, Lexus, Jaguar, etc. at the same price brackets. In short, GM didn’t take the 2nd chance they were offered to become truly competitive if not dominant. They have the resources, but are superb at shooting themselves in the foot to spite their hands.
Anecdotally, I was driving a customer’s CTS the other day on a quality assurance drive, and if it weren’t for the emblem on the steering wheel and stupid CUE, I would have thought I was still in a current Malibu or Cruze. Seriously. I’m very familiar with cars and can name many from just headlights or interiors. I thought to myself, “What am I driving again?” I’ve never had that sensation in a Lexus or Lincoln, though I’ve had similar feelings in an Acura and a few Infinitis before I got uses to certain interior cues, and of course the Buicks and GMCs always cause that feeling.