Classic Hifi Care

I found this interesting. I'm loyal GM, but NOT modern GM.

The video is long, but the creator did provide links to segment the video so you can go to each part to "fast forward" to your desired segment.

https://youtu.be/mNnKCEnwp6c?si=FuBtyYMdGhk42xcY

The GM that we knew and trusted is long gone. They have gone the way of RCA, Philco, International Harvester and Studebaker that I can think of off the top of my head. Corporate stupidity running rampant. They have lost their quest for quality and innovation and are only interested in the bottom line.

Those who don't learn from history...

Billy Durant was one of the worst businessmen of history . He had a terrific idea but almost drove it into the ground in a decade. Had others not taken over, we'd still be driving Packards...

I work for a Chevy dealership.... the ex-engineer is right on the $$$$$, its all about profit, and customer service be damned... they force you into buying again just because you can't even get a part for a 5 year old vehicle !.... now they are toying with the idea of a monthly charge just to use your key fob...as of this month we have stopped ordering new vehicles, we still have 24's that are sitting on the lot because of outrageous stickers you would think they would cut prices , but no ... now with all the tariff talk people are not buying due to the uncertainty in the economy.. Even stelantis upped their warranty to 100K and 7 years because of the life of most loans running up to 84 months , and that is not enough to entice buyers to come back... I foresee Chrysler going the way of the dodo bird along with Nissan as they are in dire financial straits right now , the fun has not yet begun ....

Auto manufacturers have priced themselves out of the market. The first house I bought in 1967 cost $1800. The loan was for seven years. I don't remember what the monthly payments were, but something like $49 a month. Nobody had homeowner's insurance. Taxes were like $40 a year. The first car I financed was my '68 Buick. Payments were $62 a month. Payments on the wife's '68 Chevy were $48 a month. We were rolling in dough, me making about $125 a week or so hauling grain, the wife working part time at the bank. We paid our bills with a week's wages. Everybody I knew had a new car. H&H Motors couldn't keep Torinos on the lot. Sold like hot cakes, even better than Mustangs. Danny, driving a Packard would not be all that bad.

Billy Durant was a promoter, not a businessman. Had Walter P. Chrysler not been the manager of Buick in the 'teens, very good chance they would not have survived past the Depression. GM sorely needs Alfred Sloan and Boss Kettering back at the helm......

OK, all you doom-and-gloom guys. My Ranger is 20 tears old. It turned over 220K last weekend. When I graduated from high school (1965), there were no 20 year old cars on the road. If one had been maintained well enough to reach 100K miles with a functioning engine & transmission, the body would be dissolving from rust. The Ranger gets 26 mpg, actual calculated mileage. No cars got 26 mpg then. And they all stunk from tailpipe emissions, road draft tube smog, and gas evaporating from the carburetors. I have stopped checking oil levels in the Ranger because I know it won't be down until it reaches 8K since the last change. Can you imagine what would have happened to a 1965 engine if you went 10K between oil changes? The '61 Chevy and my old '62 Corvair called for chassis lube every 1,000 miles (!). The Ranger doesn't even have zerk fittings. The Mustang has plugs, and once in a blue moon I'll screw some zerks in and pump some grease in. But at 160K, the joints are all original.

I won't disagree that new vehicles are pricey, especially after pulling the money for the new truck today. It's a good think that they last so long. But it would be worse if they wore out after 6 years like in the old days.

Chris Campbell

Everything you just said, Chris is true, except maybe the rust part, new vehicles do rust and a lot faster than they really should. What the killer is in new vehicles is all of the electronics, and that will be the death of them lasting 20 years. Elton is correct, vehicle manufactures do not keep parts around like they once did. Certain things start to disappear shortly after the bumper to bumper warranty is done. Mechanical does hang around longer but I will guarantee you electronics won't. One example I went thru while working in the parts end of a dealership was trying to get a part for an Audi. This was the top of the line Audi for what ever year it was, I am not remembering, but I do remember the car was only 6.5 years old. The HVAC system stopped working, it would not switch modes and the passenger side blew cold while the drivers side blew hot. It was diagnosed as needing fancy and very expensive module that controlled everything. The part was $3200.00 and because it was buried in the dash the labor was over a $1000.00 to do the replacement. I did my usual looking up the part in the dealer parts system and found no info in it. It showed in the illustration, and the parts listing but did not give me a part number. So I called Audi only to find out that part was discontinued. WHAT! The car is only 6.5 years old. The guy on the other end said that was not uncommon for Audi, after 5 years if it is not mechanical Audi just stops making or offering replacement parts. I checked after market, that was a big no and finally found a used one and it fixed the vehicle. Planned obsolesces, been going on for years, but how long can we afford replacing what is now a way over priced things and getting poor quality to boot.

Bill