Fun facts for show and tell !!

[Bill McElroy]

Okay,...based on the feedback from the "If I were King" article in another post,..there seems to be a lot of misinformation regarding the state of the US Auto Industry and particularly the media's bias towards reporting the good things about the domestic mfgr's and the affect that we have on our Nat'l economy. This is NOT GM propoganda.....it is factual information based on public record and various quality, customer satisfaction and tracking agencies.

I think most of us will be surprised to learn the following FACTS that are rarely reported in today's news outlets.......for example:



Domestic Parts Content for Vehicles sold in North America:

GM - 82% (Ford and DCX info was not in this report)

Honda - 49%

Toyota - 41%

Nissan - 38%

BMW - 11%

Infiniti - 5%

Kia - 4%

Lexus - 3%

Hyundai - 1%



Jobs per 100 Vehicles Sold in the U.S.

GM, DCX, Ford = 23.4

Japanese Competitors = 13.3



Capital Investment in the U.S.

GM = $20 Billion (from 1999-2003)

Toyota = $10.7 Billion (from 1980-2003)

Honda = $5.6 Billion (from 1980-2003)

Nissan = $2.8 Billion (from 1980-2003)



GM's contribution to the U.S. GNP is 4 times that of Toyota



Every day, about 1 million American's earn their living by helping GM build & sell cars in N.A.

Every month, 457,000 retirees and their spouses count on GM for pension checks.

More than 1.1 million people receive health care benefits from GM.

Toyota employes less than 220,000 people in the U.S.

A 1 pt. drop in GM market share results in 18,000 lost jobs in the U.S.



Consumer Reports

Long Term Reliability (% of GM Vehicles rated average to above average)

-2000 = 11%

-2004 = 64%



Quality and Dependability Awards (2004 Strategic Vision Quality Study)

GM & Nissan tied for 1st

6 GM Vehicles recv'd top rankings:

-G6: Top Midsize Car

-Rainier: Top Midsize Utility

-Sierra: Top HvyDty P/U Truck

-Escalade and H2: Top Luxury Sport Utilities

-Corvette: Top Luxury Specialty Car



2004 JD Power Award

GM finished 2nd overall in Sales Satisfaction

ALL GM Divisions scored above the Industry Avg.

-3 of 8 in the "Top 10"

-Cadillac ranked 2nd overall

ALL GM Divisions scored HIGHER than Toyota and Honda



2004 JD Power Award

Buick and Cadillac ranked in the Top 5 for Service Satisfaction

-Outperformed Lexus, Honda, Toyota and Nissan

All GM Divisions scored ABOVE the Industry Avg.

-Nissan, Toyota, Chrysler, and VW all scored BELOW Industry Avg.



GM's most popular 5.3L Chevy Silverado:

-Gets better fuel economy than the 4.7L Dodge 4WD and 4.6L Ford F150

-Equals the 4.7L Toyota Tundra 4WD - yet Silverado provides 335lb-ft of torque

more than the competitors giving it outstanding towing capacity with more efficiency.



2005 EPA Data

GM leads the auto industry in providing the broadest array of fuel efficient cars, trucks, suv's and vans.

TRUCKS: 41 of 66 (62%)

CARS: 28 of 53 (53%)

Combined Truck and Car: 69 of 119 (58%) fuel economy leaders!

GM makes 19 unique models that get 30mpg or better

-Nearest competitors: VW with 14, DCX with 13, Toyota with 12, and Ford with 11

GM's V8 Pick-up has the highest fuel economy in the industry

GM's 4WD full size utilities have the highest fuel economy in the industry

GM's West Coast Hybrid Buses save more fuel than ALL Priuses sold in a year!



Just a few things to keep in mind when shopping......

Carry on

 

[David Munaretto]

So... what IS the fuel efficiency on that Hummer h2??? (yes, I still want one - but maybe H3 more in price range )



david

 

[Texas Transplant]

I have purchased one, and only one, foreign car (new). That was during the first oil crisis, when I bought a VW Rabbitt Diesel (52 mpg) 5 speed.



My rule before that, and after that has been very simple.



If it don't say GM, Ford or Chrysler on it, I don't buy it (cars/trucks that is). Regardless of all the other 'rattle' that goes on, I buy American whenever I have the opportunity. And if I can't buy American made, I at least try and buy American 'Owned and Operated'.



Just another note. Had a very good friend and fishing buddy buy a new Tundra Quad Cab about 14 months ago. He had been a LONG TIME GM truck person. Last I talked to him, he was in the process of taking a beating to get out of the Tundra, and back into a GM truck.



Tex

 

[TrepMan]

Dave - I actual like the H2 better then the H3, quieter, faster, easier to PARK!!! LOL I just with the H3 had the Trailblazers I6 instead of the ittybitty colorado's I5.

 

[byron cooley]

Geee!!! I don't see the Nissan Titan mentioned anywhere. Out classes all of them!!

 

[Bill McElroy]

Geeee.....then why isn't it rated??? LOL



Just remember,....EVERYONE is going to defend their purchases for any number of reason's whether it's a truck/car/boat/bow/gun or rod and reel!!...Just make sure when/if you decide to do any competition "bashing"....it's based on fact...and NOT emotions! My first car was a '71 Plymouth Duster I bought "very used" in '76 ,....I paid $400 for that badboy and it had @ 65-70K miles on it. Over the 60,000 additional miles I put on it, I put 3 transmissions, 3-4 starters, 6 tires, brakes and a battery in it! Do I have an "attitude" about DCX products,...hell no...that car got me through 4 years of college and an untold number of pizza delivery's on campus!! At times, when the starter was going bad,...I'd leave the car running and lock the doors while I made a delivery,...then I'd use my other key to unlock it when I got back!! When the reverse band in the trannies kept going out,..I'd only park where I didn't have to "back up!!" hahahahaha....I drove it with no reverse for the last 6mos. I had it!! I like a lot of DCX's stuff now and I like a lot of Ford's stuff too....but other than that Duster, I've been a GM man my entire "driving life" and I've had unbelievably good luck. I've NEVER had a car or truck that gave me constant problems.....only occasional little PIA stuff that happens to every mfgr's stuff eventually. There has been one thing that's been very consistent though from my first car,..to my most recent, and that's that they've ALL been MADE IN THE USA!!



Carry on,

Mac



Oh, and David,..people who buy H2's,.......couldn't care less about mileage!!

 

[fatrap]

Just bought a powerstroke. An American vehicle. I could feel the testostrone pumping through my body like the diesel fuel coursing through my engine.

I still buy jap crap reels. Diawa, Shimano, etc.



fatrap

 

[Jeffrey Durham]

Well my Nissan Truck pulled the 1st boat that I ever owned (last year) and now my new Ford Ranger pulls my Nitro 185. I know 3 people that owns a Nissan and all three have tranny problems. Well wife wants to use the computer and she is the one who "lets" me go fishing so I better let her have it..



Later all.

 

[fatrap]

What the hell. My birddogs are Hungarian.

We're a global society now.LOL

fatrap

 

[Bruce Freeman]

Years ago I read this in an Parts Pups paper, if you remember them you will date your age. Guy comes in and says, I would like to get a pair of wiper blades for my Yugo. (reply) sounds like a fair deal but I don't want a Yugo...............

BF

 

[Barry Loos]

Well I am impressed with the information (if the stats are comparing apples to apples). What I don't understand is if the GM products are so good, why are they doing so badly financially? If it is because the bad press is hurting their business then they should spend more marketing dollars promoting the truth. I'm also surprised that the Buick has such high ratings yet that is another vehicle that GM is considering to terminate like the Olds (CBS Business Watch). I guess reliability must not equate to marketability .



If we have a great product built in the US, and our livlihood depends on Americans buying these products, but the products aren't selling, what is wrong. The non-domestic vehicles are more expensive. Your stats show the domestic vehicles are better. Yet forigen car sales are doing very well and have a very good profit margin per unit sold. Is it only gas prices?



If it is just marketing/media hype that has influenced the American buyer, then GM better make an effort to get the truth out to the masses. At leaset Mac, at least you did your part.



Da Bear

 

[Larry Harp]

The stat I would like to see is the ratio of how much more money management, especially top level exec's, make compared to the average worker and how wide that gap has become over the last 10 or 20 years. I read an article not long ago that discussed this and it's an eye opener. I wish I had it here to relay the information.



Harpo

 

[Bill McElroy]

Bear,...they're doing bad financially for a number of reasons.......spiralling healthcare costs and increased competition resulting in decreased market share are the two biggest. Plus, we have to many plants producing far fewer vehicles and "over capacity" is bad.....that's why GM's going to close some plants over the next 3 years.....in a nut shell....if you've got the ability to build 1million vehicles per year,....but you're only selling 500,000 per year, you need to consolidate and run "fewer plants at 100%" capacity vs. keeping too many open and running them at 50-75%"....because the "costs" to keep them open outweigh the production.



Sooner,...I don't know what that ratio is,...but in all honesty,..I can tell you this much. GM doesn't pay anymore for their exec's than any other of the Auto mfgr's....actually less in some cases. Those folks at the very top have unbelievable responsibility and stress to deal with. Personally,..I wouldn't want their job for twice what they make....they have NO Life,..their jobs consume them 24-7. They're "wired differently" than most people...ahahahhh. I can leave my job at 230pm everyday and not even think about it again until 6am the next day. Those folks are "on duty" every waking moment and everything they do or say can have an affect on thousands of people's lives. That kind of pressure is not for me!! I'm certainly not going to defend the multi-million dollar bonuses and stuff......but think about this....the CEO of CitiBank made $260+MILLION last year!!! Does a freakin' Banker need to make that kind of money??!! Auto execs salaries are chicken feed compared to some of these other industry leaders. Personally, I don't think ANYBODY needs to make that kind of money regardless of what they do,......especially athletes....holy crap...Alex Rodreguiz(sp) makes @ 65grand EVERY times he steps up to the plate,...and he can strike out and still get paid!! LOL



On a side note,.....all GM salaried bonuses and raises have been eliminated this year.....ZERO extra for anybody!! It doesn't bother me, either....I'd take one for the team if it helped save my job. Bill Ford Jr, is working for NO SALARY this year,..(like he needs any money anyway), but that's a helluva statement he's making..."I'm putting my company before my wallet!!"...very cool!!

 

[Bill McElroy]

Amen Bro,,..

 

[Terry Hutchison]

Da Bear, good thought about being at the mercy of execs to make good decisions. The GM/Fiat fiasco comes to mind. GM spends 2.4 billion to buy 20% of Fiat, then has to spend 2 more billion to buy itself out. If that particular stroke of management genius doesn't happen there would never have been any need for this discussion. 4.4 billion dollars for nothing is a pretty painful decision. Hutch

 

[Bill McElroy]

Deffinitely NOT a good decision,...but the 2 bill to get out of it was cheaper than the potential "judgement" if it went to court and GM lost!! BTW,..on a bright note,...the GM Lawyer that put that deal together and wrote up the original contract....no longer works here!! LOL!! (In years past,....He/She might've been promoted!!!:blink::angry: )

 

[Terry Hutchison]

Mac, hopefully, that lawyer is now working for Toyota! Or maybe he was already working for them when he wrote up the contract! LOL Hutch

 

[Bill McElroy]

LOL!!! No kiddin'!!

 

[Larry Harp]

Mac, I wasn't talking about GM in particular but more about executive salaries in general that have become way out of line to what the workers on the line are getting while at the same time saying they need to shift production overseas because of high labor costs.





Harpo ... The Friend of the Workingirl..er uh I mean Workingman

 

[Bill McElroy]

I hear ya,....CEO's salaries are out of line everywhere......but I still swallow hard over these Athletes' pay,...that's totally out of hand.....and then they justify it by saying,..."Our careers are short,.....we're all washed up by the time we hit 38yrs old,..we gotta make it NOW!" :blink::blink:



It kills me,....