"Let the best car win"

Tim Cole · #1 10-11-2009, 03:35 PM

Anyone see the new GM ad campaign? Seriously, ***? I see they even trademarked this slogan.

Ironic, seeing as the best cars DID win, and GM required taxpayer money to blow some more air into their doomed raft.

iamlowsound · #2 10-11-2009, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Cole

Anyone see the new GM ad campaign? Seriously, ***? I see they even trademarked this slogan.

Ironic, seeing as the best cars DID win, and GM required taxpayer money to blow some more air into their doomed raft.

I thought the same thing when I saw them.

lowsound

hover · #3 10-11-2009, 04:00 PM

Tim, I thought the same thing too, and also threw in a side of "they really have some balls for that"... I mean I'm not a Chevy basher, and have owned a few...but come on...haven't they had enough reality checks? They've certainly had enough taxpayer checks written on their behalf.

Tim Cole · #4 10-11-2009, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hover

Tim, I thought the same thing too, and also threw in a side of "they really have some balls for that"... I mean I'm not a Chevy basher, and have owned a few...but come on...haven't they had enough reality checks? They've certainly had enough taxpayer checks written on their behalf.

My wife actually has an 04 impala in the driveway she bought new, and just paid off a couple months ago. It's been a great car. But, still.....

Dr Stankface · #5 10-11-2009, 04:22 PM

Yeah I don't like it.

Of course i'm a Ford fan.

Naturekev · #6 10-11-2009, 04:23 PM

I thought the same thing, too. Of course, part of the reason it struck me funny is that my dad and my uncle are both retired Ford workers. I was never so glad to be a Ford owner than when they didn't take a bailout.

two fingers · #7 10-11-2009, 04:28 PM

All GM is saying is give them a try. TRY others, then TRY GM's. And "May the best car win". I don't see what the big deal is. I read the OP a few times looking for the "OMG" part, but I didn't really find anything worth talking about. Am I missing something?

Tim Cole · #8 10-11-2009, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by two fingers

All GM is saying is give them a try. TRY others, then TRY GM's. And "May the best car win". I don't see what the big deal is. I read the OP a few times looking for the "OMG" part, but I didn't really find anything worth talking about. Am I missing something?

It wasn't supposed to be omg, w tee eff which was scrambled apparently. The point is...they've been putting out uncompetitive crap for how long, requiring tax payers to cover their crap. Just months later, their new campaign is "let the best car win". It already did.

two fingers · #9 10-11-2009, 04:38 PM

Ah. So they can't change? All I know is, things are bad enough in this country without losing another hugs company. If you're in the market for a car in the US, you may want to at least drive one. But I see you point as well. Didn't mean to side-track you. I just didn't get the big deal with the ad.

Tim Cole · #10 10-11-2009, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by two fingers

Ah. So they can't change? All I know is, things are bad enough in this country without losing another hugs company. If you're in the market for a car in the US, you may want to at least drive one. But I see you point as well. Didn't mean to side-track you. I just didn't get the big deal with the ad.

Sure, they can and HAVE to change. What new models have been out in the last couple months? Average MPG? Overinflated executive and unskilled labor rates? The foundation of the problems....

Jimmy Bones · #11 10-11-2009, 04:56 PM

I love Chevies.

But keep in mind, poor marketting and business practices does not equate to a poor product. i firmly believe that they do have some of the best cars on the road, but they aren't necessarily marketted properly.

Revvv · #12 10-11-2009, 05:02 PM

GM lost me as a customer. They just sold Hummer off to China to top it all off. I was looking forward to owning a Camaro, but....

The same goes for Chrysler. I have a Dodge Ram and a Jeep Grand Cherokee in the driveway right now, but I won't purchase another. I refuse to support these companies due to the amount of money they have wasted only to sell out and then bankrupt. They can fold for all I care. We have watched many auto manufacturers fold over the course of the past 100 years. There will be more. No worries here.

The next truck I purchase will likely be a Toyota. I've never really cared for Ford. As for the Camaro lust, well, I'll sacrifice that to a BMW.

I don't purchase vehicles due to their fuel mileage estimates. I purchase for comfort, power, handling, and personal taste.

taquitos43 · #13 10-11-2009, 05:16 PM

I used to have a 99 Malibu. I had to change the brakes, literally, every 5 months. Seriously, I changed them 3 times in one year (that gets expensive). I took my car to the dealership and was told that there was nothing wrong and it was just normal. I don't know a ton about cars but I do know that brakes last MUCH longer than 5 months, on a regular basis. I called Chevrolet and explained the problem and my experience with the dealership and was told that it was normal.

I don't drive with my foot on the brake. I do drive fast, but I avoid hard stops. Honestly, if they would have backed their product and at least checked into the problem, I wouldn't have gotten too upset but their attitude was "too bad". Because of that experience, I bought my first foreign car (a Honda Accord). I changed the brakes once in 5 years. No problems. Any problems that I did have with that car, Honda took care of.

I understand that there will be issues, but for me, it's all about how those issues are handled. Chevrolet handled my problems poorly and lost a customer for life.

fdeck · #14 10-11-2009, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by taquitos43

I used to have a 99 Malibu. I had to change the brakes, literally, every 5 months. Seriously, I changed them 3 times in one year (that gets expensive). I took my car to the dealership and was told that there was nothing wrong and it was just normal. I don't know a ton about cars but I do know that brakes last MUCH longer than 5 months, on a regular basis. I called Chevrolet and explained the problem and my experience with the dealership and was told that it was normal.

I don't drive with my foot on the brake. I do drive fast, but I avoid hard stops. Honestly, if they would have backed their product and at least checked into the problem, I wouldn't have gotten too upset but their attitude was "too bad". Because of that experience, I bought my first foreign car (a Honda Accord). I changed the brakes once in 5 years. No problems. Any problems that I did have with that car, Honda took care of.

I understand that there will be issues, but for me, it's all about how those issues are handled. Chevrolet handled my problems poorly and lost a customer for life.

Couldn't you invoke the lemon law?

hover · #15 10-11-2009, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Cole

My wife actually has an 04 impala in the driveway she bought new, and just paid off a couple months ago. It's been a great car. But, still.....

I too owned an '04 Impala. Sure, not a bad car, chewed through brakes like a champ, but yeah, I've driven better. The lot I traded it in at in '07 STILL has it.

taquitos43 · #16 10-11-2009, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fdeck

Couldn't you invoke the lemon law?

The car has to suffer the same problem a certain amount of occurances in a set period of time. Mine failed one time fewer than that law, in my area. But the next year it would have made it, but the time period had passed.

mike_v_s · #17 10-11-2009, 07:16 PM

I'm gonna agree with Tim here. It's not that GM is producing crap right now (likely their best products to date), but the campaign seems a little, eh, ballsy considering that while they offer some decent stuff, they had to take a bailout to stay viable in the marketplace. I'm in the market for a (god save me) minivan. Anyone compared reliability records in that segment? It's not pretty. As Tim stated, the best cars apparently did win.

Mike

Muusers · #18 10-12-2009, 12:37 PM

Pff, all european cars, even citroens, outperform GM cars...

Tim Cole · #19 10-12-2009, 12:56 PM

It's kinda like giving a one legged biker a go kart, and having him line up for the tour duh france and saying....let the best athlete win.....

Pilgrim · #20 10-12-2009, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Cole

Ironic, seeing as the best cars DID win, and GM required taxpayer money to blow some more air into their doomed raft.

I'm not sure that's the case. The GM and other domestic cars have been looked down on unfairly for years. In the 80's I agree they didn't measure up, but IMO certainly for the last 10-15 years they have been as dependable as imports and often less expensive.

I think what they are asking is for people to put aside their stereotypes and evaluate cars on the basis of their real experiences. If buyers will do that, I think the domestics will sell more cars.

There has been a lot of domestic car bashing in this thread, but I'm not among them. Right now in the family we have a '91 Camaro that has 130K miles and runs great, a '99 Cherokee with 120K miles, and a '99 Blazer with 140K miles that's been extremely dependable and good to drive. We also have a BMW and Datsun (yes, a 280ZX which is actually a Datsun) and I have plenty of experience with Audi, Mercedes and other imports.