The Big 3 Continue to Fall

My parents bought a Chevy Vega in 1976. We lived in Maryland (cold but not the harshest winter), and on cold winter nights, we had to lay a Bekins blanket over the hood and keep a heater on at night in the garage, else it wouldn't start in the morning.

What a POS.

 

as bad as it would be for so many American workers, the people running the Big 3 absolutely deserve everything they're getting. if only the hefty bonuses they're sure to give themselves on the way out the door could go to the thousands of workers whose lives they've ruined with their stupid decisions.

 

I decided today: I'm buying a Prius.

My thought: I don't want to buy a conventional car and then in three years, say, two years before it's paid off in full, be stuck with an obsolete car that uses $7/gallon gas.

 

Make sure you hang onto it for at least 4-5 years, Pete.

To make it pay for itself -- given the premium you're going to pay for it above that of a sub-compact -- you'll need to.

 

I know. I've been number crunching for two weeks. And I'll admit, I have no idea what to buy at this point.

We're faced with the potential of $7/gallon gas, only one or two reasonably priced hybrids and the likelihood of cheap conventional cars I could use (minivan, Journey, Escape) come September when the auto industry is selling off everything just to stay afloat.

So that's the dilemma: Buy a cheap, conventional car and pay $7 a gallon for five years, or by a hybrid and not worry about gas prices for five years. Then, after five to eight years, buy another hybrid, which should be abundantly available by then.

Anyone have thoughts?

 

The people who need trucks don't need Toby Keith or some other redneck jackoff to tell them that they need a truck in a commercial. The urban cowboys, who need a truck about as much as I need more nose hair, do.

 

America. Superior products...shit.

 

Word for word.
And I'd hope that when a person who needs a truck goes to get a truck, he/she does all the homework that's necessary to find the best truck, period, regardless of badge. If Toyota now makes a better truck, so be it. I think back to all the cars my family ever got, and I wonder why we -- and I suspect a lot of other people -- treated auto purchases so lightly for a long time and had our priorities completely backward.
Not reliability, not gas mileage, but looks, availability and affordability often defined how a person bought a car, and we're seeing that trend is changing because of necessity. The Honda Fit makes top-10 lists, there are numerous threads about smaller cars on here. So I guess that's why it astonishes me so much how, even in the economic climate and awareness that automotive excess is ugly, American car companies that are in genuine trouble can roll out shit like that commercial.
I remember my mom getting supremely pissed off at a commercial for the Oldsmobile Aurora, when it first came out, that used "Ode to Joy" as the theme music. I remember her ranting at the time that it completely misrepresented the true meaning of the song, but I couldn't really understand why. It's a cool-looking commercial, what's the big deal. Now I know.
Cadillac has a slogan out now: "Life. Liberty. And the Pursuit." Yep, gas-guzzling, chromed-up cars DO have a similarity to the spirit of the Declaration of Independence. As though your sweet Escalade will be the vehicle for all your American desires and successes. Sure, it's your life, but you'll only have liberty with this car if you can afford to pump 70 bucks of gas into the tank per week. Good luck pursuing that dream.
Maybe it's an indictment on the entire advertising industry, but that's pretty goddamn ridiculous to me. These are the best efforts of the US auto industry? This is what they're going with? Still clinging to the idea that cars are as much a fashion statement as utilities that need to be used and made responsibly?
And if that's the American Dream -- buying into a brand to explore a true American Dream -- I don't want one part of it.

 

And the bastards are still lying their asses off peddling deals on TV.....They should be required to blow up the fine print to about 36 points.

 

My father built Chrysler vehicles for 38 years. Chrysler put food on our table, a roof over our heads, braces on my teeth and me through college and gave me a hefty employee discount on my first new car.

My family (mother, father, sister and me) combined to drive 10 Chryslers (that I can remember) until now. I'm about to buy a Toyota or Honda.

I felt guilty for even thinking it at first. I even talked to my dad about it, I felt that bad.

His thought - and mine, now too - fuck it. He's retired. I'm a decade removed from working there too.

It's time to consider all things, especially quality and gas mileage. I've read more on hybrids in the past two weeks than any man should. I won't buy another piece of shit car the rest of my life.

 

Someone told me this week that their experience of hybrids have been great mileage, numerous breakdowns.

 

Here's something no one's addressed about hybrids: those big fucking batteries that power the things. Every one of us has a cell phone, and we all know that, with consistent use, text messaging, etc., the battery is usually the first thing on a cell phone to start to go and send us back to the store in search of a new one. So what the hell happens after a few years of driving a Prius? These things gonna' wear down and wear out too? And what the hell's the cost gonna' be? Is it worth it to save $4,000 on gas over five years only to turn around and pump $5,000 into a super battery?