Detroit, VW, NASCAR, GM

Unreliable Cars Come Back To Haunt
CNN/Money reports: Fact check: Are American cars really that bad?. Look, screw people over for a couple of dozen years and guess what happens? People think you will continue to screw them over. Even if you've already recovered. We still think the best way for Detroit to get the attention of consumers is to raise the length of the bumper-to-bumper and powertrain warranties. Everyone understands repair costs, so if your cars are so much better, put your money where your mouth is, Detroit.

VW To Make Some Kind Of Fancy
The Car Connection reports: Spy Shots: ‘08 Passat Coupe. From the article:

Volkswagen has publicly confirmed plans to build an upscale Passat with sleek coupe-like styling...

WTF is VW up to? Look, VW, we like your cars. We really love the look of 'em, the interior design, and the interior materials, but we're not paying $48,000 for a VW sedan. Not until... well, crap, a long time. In fact, anything over $40,000 better have an Audi badge on it. You have a luxury division, so please keep the pricey things there and the affordable stuff for VW badges. For the record, these aren't technically spy shots; rather artists interpretations. But it's still sweet.

No Parking Brake
The Detroit News reports: No parking brake in winter slush. This is pretty mundane, but it happened to us recently so we figured we should pass it along. Plus, Tom and Ray rock. They may not look like rock 'n' rollers, but to car-fix-it dudes they're like Willie Nelson. What? Anyway, if you got wet winter action, skip the parking brake.

Toyota Goin' After Daisy Duke!
4 Drivers Only reports: Toyota Joins Nextel as NASCAR Joins the 21st Century
(Full disclosure: We work for 4 Drivers Only. We aren't linking to this because we want a shameless plug; we were going to write about this anyway. Although you might say, "You guys don't cover racing. Isn't this just a shameless plug?" To which we reply, "Don't make us send Drew Barrymore over there to suffocate you." To which you sit back down and read about Toyota joining NASCAR.) A Camry, eh? We guess this is cheaper than advertising in Southern-only publications: Sister Weekly, Tobacco Times, and Sister Swapper. Speaking of NASCAR, make sure to catch these flicks: Cars and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Ha! Ricky Bobby. That's funny as hell.

"Ford Blows"
We just read The Way Forward? How About Way Too Late? Man, Mr. DeLorenzo lets Ford have it. While he didn't technically say "Ford Blows," we think he meant something like it. OK, OK, he did write this:

It's as if Ford is trying to call a big internal "time-out" so that they can get their collective act together - while the Toyotas of the world continue to carve up the U.S. market like it's their own personal Monopoly board.

Well, that's enough about Ford...

GM Stuffs 10 Pounds of Frig Into 5-Pound Bag
The Detroit News reports: GM loses $1.2 billion in the fourth quarter.

The automaker also said Thursday that it lost $3.4 billion, or $5.99 per share, in all of 2005.

U.S. President George Bush also chimed in that there won't be any bailouts:

[President Bush] said companies need to manufacture "a product that's relevant" and that his administration has discussed new fuel technologies with the nation's top two automakers.

"As these automobile manufacturers compete for market share and use technology to try to get consumers to buy their product, they also will be helping America become less dependent on foreign sources of oil," Bush said.

Remarkably, without any sense of irony, the president continued to say:

"I'm very firm on seeing to it that this government hold people to account."

Comments?
Well, what the hell do you think? Comments are open below for you to spout your thoughts. Share them! Dammit! Share them! Don't make us make you drive an AMC Gremlin!

Comments

[E-OK KIDS]

GM's Volt is Definitely E-OK

Just a thought

[Jay]

American cars do stink. Japanese are the best, then German, last American. (domestic, affordable cars-wise)

[william b]

HYBRIDS are here to stay and thats E-OK
Environmentally And Ecologically Good.

[if it's got an engine. . .]

Speaking of Gremlins. . .

Follow the link, then click on the Gremlin. You will be amazed.
http://www.carcraft.com/av/116_0505_wheel_home/index.html

[K]

Detroit may as well extend warranties on new cars. It will cost them nothing for roughly five years. And it they don't sell cars now they won't be here in five years.

I didn't stop buying American cars because of the warranty was short. It was because the dealers would lie and evade in order to not honor the warranty at all.

I bought a Honda. Short warranty too. They needed to tight a rattling screw in the glove box. That was it in 3 years.

I have driven the Honda 16 years with only regular maintenance. Oh, the radio failed after ten years.