"Government Motors" returns to top of world's auto sales

Lots of GOPers and their teabagger brethren love to throw the pejorative "Government Motors" at President Obama. Well, look who's getting the last laugh now!

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-gm-global-sales-20120119,0,4294360.story

Oh, and BTW, it's not just GM that's booming, as plenty of other manufacturers are out there creating jobs, despite all the "guvmint regulation" and "tax uncertainty" that is hampering the economy:

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-auto-industry-hiring-20120112,0,7863302.story

 

Despite the attempts of anti-union GOP lawmakers (I'm looking directly at you Sens. Corker and Vitters) to derail it, the auto industry bailout has been a huge, huge success story. Half the bailout money already repaid and tens of thousands of American jobs saved.

 

It does seem GM is producing better vehicles. What, if any, role the bailout played in this, I don't know. But I do know without a bailout they would not have done it.

 

Over/under on Obama campaign appearances at Midwest auto plants: eleventy billion.

Also, without a bailout the automakers wouldn't have lived to see this great market opportunity: the average age of cars on the road is now a record 10.8 years.

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-aging-autos-20120117,0,5068209.story

 

Part of the reason the average age is so old is due to the bad economy; however, another huge reason is that all cars made in the past 10 years are of such high quality as to be unbelievably reliable.

 

My car is an 02 so it's right at that average. About two years ago, I got to that "fuck it, I'm about to get rid of" stage where you quit cleaning it and 3,000 miles becomes 5,000 miles, etc. I have about 140k on it (I was pretty good about taking rentals on road trips) and it's still running like a champ. I'm still holding off on a new purchase.

If I get a raise soon, I'll probably buy a new one. In other words, I'm keeping my old one!

 

I have to admit, I didn't like the bailouts, from Bush or Obama, but it appears they were successful and I'm glad for it, at least in respect to the auto industry. They kept a lot of people working.

 

I think that's why you see Hyundai offering 10-year-warranties.

 

Pushing through TARP bill might be Obama's best accomplishment for this term. He should play it up more.

 

Hyundai and Kia. I've seen interesting comparisons between where the Korean companies are now and where the Japanese companies were in the late 80s. They have a niche in the market for having inexpensive vehicles and now they are graduating to where they are selling because they give you better vehicles for the money.

In other words, where one might have bought a Kia Sephia in 1999 because it was the only new car out there under $10k (or however cheap it was), now you're going to consider a Kia Sorrento because you can get 30 mpg, 3 rows of seats, a decent interior, pretty good options, competitive performance and a 10-year warranty for about $5k less than a Ford Explorer and $10k less than a Honda Pilot or Toyota Highlander.

In other words, it's not JUST cheaper. It's less expensive for a COMPARABLE vehicle.

No, I'm not a paid Kia spokesman, ha. I'm just a potential buyer and I noticed that about Kia. Same thing with Hyundai. The finishes on Hyundais are much nicer than they were five years ago to the point where I don't necessarily think of the Toyota or Honda as superior any more. But Hyundai is still much less expensive.

 

GM has been turning out some good vehicles lately and it's been noticed, by press and consumers alike. Corvette and SUVs/trucks have been good for a while but now you also have vehicles like the Caddy CTS family, Chevy Cruze, Malibu and Sonic, Buick Regal, etc. I still think GM made a mistake by keeping GMC (essentially rebadged Chevies) and dumping Pontiac (the G8 was adored by the press and not shared with any other GM division), but oh well.
Part of the credit goes to GM employees, but part is also the increased competition. Like Brian said, Hyundai and Kia (now sister companies) in particular have made everyone step up their game. For example, the Hyundai Sonata used to be an afterthought, but now along with the Kia Optima is ranked as one of the top midsize sedans.

 

Need a calendar, or do you need a blue font, given that a certain Pres. Bush signed it into law in October 2008?