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Originally Posted by drewski59 I think he means that GM and Ford have ignored for years and years what we, as consumers, really wanted in our cars while the Japanese companies picked up on it almost instantly....and BOOM! Accord, Camry, Civic, Corolla....they are all leaders in their categories, and the best-selling cars for that matter....
I agree that Ford and GM cars haven't been up to par for the past few decades; only NOW would I even consider an Impala or Fusion when I out new-car shopping.
Another problem is that Ford and GM don't bring out cars that move them to the top of the heap, where Honda and Toyota would have to play catch-up, but they bring out new cars that are just good enough to remain competitive. However, as soon as a redesigned Honda or Toyota comes out, it totally gets trounced.  It seems as though Ford and GM are constantly playing catch-up with the Japanese brands.
The exceptions to this include the F150, the new GM big SUVs, and the Mustang and Corvette. These are truly innovative American vehicles that remain above their Japanese competition, IMHO.  |
I had to wait a few days to respond, but here it is: "GM & Ford ignoring the consumer" is myopic, at best. Ask anyone who is involved in auto industry, and they'll tell you that the consumer is a bit schizophrenic with anything built by a Detroit automaker. The consumer has been willing to pay top dollar for high content SUV's, but as long as gas prices were low, they wouldn't buy high content Detroit small cars at all, and mid-range content small cars only sold with lots of cash on the hood (incentives/rebates). With most of their customer base in the 1990's and early 2000's shifting their purchases from sedans and coupes to pickups and SUV's, who the hell can fault GM & Ford for putting the most content into those Vehicles. I'll be bold enough to remind you that in the late 1990's Toyota and Nissan noticed the same trend - and developed and marketed the Tundra, the Sequoia, the Lexus LX, the Nissan Armada, and the Nissan Titan, plus the Infinity QX.
The same time this is happening, Ford brings out the Lincoln LS in 1999 (which shared the chassis with the Jaguar S-type), which Car & Driver in 2001 called "
The best-driving V-8 sedan for the enthusiast dollar." Motor Trend said, in 2000, "A world-class sport/luxury sedan with a carefully crafted European persona and is one of the best new cars from an American marque. Don't be misled by the badging; if you're considering a BMW, Mercedes, Audi, or Lexus, do yourself a favor and put the LS on your test-drive list. You won't believe it's a Lincoln." Road & Track said "The Lincoln LS is a winner. "
What happens? Buyers the Lincoln LS is aimed at come into a Lincoln-Mercury dealer to look at an LS, see the Town Car and/or the Gran Marquis on the showroom floor next to it....and leave. As conservative as the LS's styling has been, that wasn't what turned off potential buyers. It was any possible association with the larger sedans, which sold to older buyers. Somehow, this is supposed to be Ford's fault? I personally know three people here in the Detroit area that went to shop a Lincoln LS, and said they were turned off that Lincoln still had the Town Car, so they bought a smaller BMW 3 series instead. When I asked if they actually expected Lincoln to ignore what was then still good sales of the larger sedans, they all answered in the affirmative. One jerk went so far as to say
he actually expected Ford to completely dump any product that appealed to his parents generation if they ever wanted his business.
Ford also had a winner, with the automotive press, including the performance and enthusiast magazines, in the mid 1990's, with the Ford Contour. Again, US & Canadian buyers wouldn't pay for the higher content, and sales tanked. This was despite reviews from the press that put the Contour above comparable models from Toyota, Honda, and Nissan. In order to move them of the lots,
Ford had to take content out of the cars.
But, hey, this is Ford fault, right? Not hardly. Same thing has happened to a lesser degree with GM.
"GM & Ford ignoring the consumer", while occasionally true (like Honda didn't ignore their own customer base with the previous generation Civic - 2001 to 2005 model years - that cost them sales to the "tuners" who went to other small cars, but hey, no one mentions that), it boils down to a lot of irrational prejudice on the part of some consumers. GM hits th e targets squarely with Cadillac CTS, STS, and SRX, and even in these forums I've seen complete nonsence like "too much cheap leather and plastic" in opinions of the new Cadillacs. Funny, the leather for the seats, the seats themselves, and the instrument panels and door trim panels all come from the same suppliers, and of the same exact material grade, as the USA assembled BMW & Mercedes SUV's, as sell as the Lexus and Inifinty SUV's, but some how, it's "cheap" in the Cady. Still, Cadillac has moved ahead of Mercedes to be the third best selling luxury brand in the USA. But "GM & Ford ignoring the consumer".
What a bunch of nonsence.