A sad time in the US auto industry?

SamJ wrote:

Of course design is a matter of taste, but the Dodge Magum wagon, the Saturn sports car based on the Pontiac Solstice, the Mustang GT, the new Caddy based on the Corvette and the Corvette itself (among others) appeal to me. And if you had to drive coast-to-coast in four days, would you really rather drive a car from the '50's or '60's than, say, the new Ford or Merc sedan (I forget what they're called)? Really?? If so, you're a better man than I am...

I would only drive a Hudson like mine's going to be coast-to-coast. A/C, modern V8, DVD, Sound system, computer controlled for good mileage, etc. I think my Hudson will have more style than any other modern car out there today. Personally, I wouldn't drive a stock old car coast-to-coast without a trailer following me! lol

I bought a Suburban 6 years ago for camping. A couple years ago I bought a motorhome and decided I didn't need that 10-12mpg road hog anymore and sold it. Many people I run into now who bought large SUV's (many for the large tax write-off) are now complaining about mileage. But they can't get rid of them without some major tax consequences. I've since sold the motorhome as gas prices climbed and 8mpg is a bit steep for my family.

What impressed me this year was our trip to New Zealand and Australia. It amazed me how much greater the mileage was on our rental cars there than the same mid sized sedans around here! I don't know what is different about them, but we were able to drive around alot more on a tank of gas than any sedan I've driven around here, and these were not midget sized cars either.

I don't know who you blame. I just know that many American vehicles sold today may have decent running gear, but the rest of them are crap. In no time, plastic peices break, trim falls off, just cheaply made, electric seats fail, etc. I haven't owned hardly a foreign car, though now I have 2 Land Rovers. My '88 Range Rover Classic (if you dismiss the Lucas fiasco in it) is a much tougher built vehicle than any U.S. truck made in the last few years.

Today we live in a world of disposal consumerism. We are able to buy things cheap and throw them away in a year or two when they are broken. We stay in debt to have everything the neighbors have and what the advertisements tell us we need. I can't speak to people in other countries, but I think America is getting dumber every year. We are more and more tabloid tv-consumer junkies, who care little about the real events happening around us in the world.

Figured you guys must have been missing my rants! LOL

Jay
"its too hot in AZ for no a/c!"

52 kahuna wrote:

Jay, here's a rant for you from journalist Paul Sheehan: "I wonder what history will say about us when we are gone ... That we fiddled while Rome burned? That we were the wealthiest society in our history, worth more than $350,000 for every man, woman and child, with the biggest homes, the most cars, the highest debt, the lowest savings, the highest rates of obesity and excess weight, and the greatest amount of consumerism, gambling and drug consumption, while the landscape, the lifeblood of the nation, died around us, a disaster drowned out by the clamor of consumerism."

Ahhh Sam, Now, you know you are just winding him up!
(Good to have you back Jay!)

Terry[/quote]

A true quote it seems to me Sam. I was just talking about this with my neighbor (who is from England). I hope Americans begin to wake up and start to care more about their country and the world around us than what they are going to buy tomorrow or who wins on "Survivor" (or whatever brainless reality show is on now), or Orwell's "1984" may just come to past!

And thanks Terry! Hope to be around for many years to come! LOL

Jay