GM Quality Control - Page 3

Tasty · 12-22-05, 05:12

Took me a second, but once I found it I just had to say "wow". I grew up on GM (namely Chevy and Olds), and their current state is just sad. I have to say though that they should have figured out by now how to keep up with companies like Honda and Toyota. If a line or brand isn't selling, they're to the point where they need to kill it completely. I think all Saturns are so horrid they can kill that one right now.

Intercooled · 12-22-05, 06:27

I'm with you. Time to cut the Fat!!! Too many similar models & crosss breeds. The new Chevy HHR which is a neat idea is jsut an idea that already happened with the Chrysler PT Cruiser. GM is just too late, where were they 5 years ago!! If you ask me, all they have that is innovative is the Corvette and new Cadillac models. They better get thier act together soon and rethink the Camaro! Ford and Dodge is killing them. The GTO was a great idea! Bt why does it look lke every other Grand AM.

WSUcommuter · 12-22-05, 06:39

Quote:

Bt why does it look lke every other Grand AM.

Because the new GTO is nothing more than a beefed up Holden Monaro from down 'undah. Again GM looked at what they already had, altered it slightly, and slapped new badges on it.

SpoiledMan · 12-22-05, 06:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by WSUcommuter

Because the new GTO is nothing more than a beefed up Holden Monaro from down 'undah. Again GM looked at what they already had, altered it slightly, and slapped new badges on it.

Shows that a company is a state of financial concern. If they had actually put something into the GTO they wouldn't be able to make enough of them. Look at the Charger, that thing's a joke(4 doors???) and they're flying off the lots.

ebpcivicsi · 12-22-05, 07:10

Anyone read the article in Playboy this month about GM and the car industry? Great read IMO.

BigAl3 · 12-22-05, 08:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by ebpcivicsi

Anyone read the article in Playboy

what articles?

blkZ28Conv · 12-23-05, 05:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Intercooled

The GTO was a great idea! Bt why does it look lke every other Grand AM.

Because foreign competition seems to get away with copying designs and still sell very well. Gawd it is also impossible to distinquish a Honda, Mazda, Hyundai and Toyota models without reading the badging.

Aurora40 · 12-23-05, 06:03

That's pretty funny about those taillights, but I wouldn't read too much into it. If you think that this has never happened with a foreign car being delivered with improper assembly, you are deluding yourself.

Quote:

Originally Posted by WSUcommuter

Quote:

Originally Posted by Intercooled

Bt why does it look lke every other Grand AM.

Because the new GTO is nothing more than a beefed up Holden Monaro from down 'undah. Again GM looked at what they already had, altered it slightly, and slapped new badges on it.

How does that explain why it looks like a Grand Am?? Is the Grand Am also based on an Australian vehicle? Or does slapping a badge on a car completely change its appearance in your eyes? They are two totally different vehicles. So it seems either they did nothing to it other than badge it as you say, which explains nothing about why it looks like a Grand Am, or they changed the styling to look like a Grand Am, which means they actually did something to it. Which is it?

I'm not sure why bringing a car they already had here is a bad thing, though. The Monero is a nice car and sells for far more money in Australia. There is no new car you can buy that matches the bang-for-the-buck of the GTO.

I also think it's funny how people will criticize a company they don't like, but use a criticizm that can be applied to just about any company. GM just badges things, ehh? What does Toyota do? How different is an ES330 from a Camry? How many different vehicles are built on the Corolla platform? Have you ever seen a VW parked next to an Audi? Notice anything similar about them? Why did Honda bring the TSX here, it's just a rebadged euro car. They must be financially hurting, right? Otherwise they'd create an entirely new platform for every car they make. After all, that's the smart way to make a car, right?

SpoiledMan · 12-23-05, 06:39

The GTO still has the dash "geared" towards the old drivers(passengers) position. The radio knobs aren't the "USA" ergo either. But you know what, you're right. They don't have to change as the direction their headed in now is just fine.

Yeah, the importers can send us the cars that they don't sell here with a different badge. The difference is we actually WANT them to. The difference between a Camry and an ES is HUGE to say the least. Driven them both?

chpsk8 · 12-23-05, 08:05

That kind of thing happens more than we care to believe. This one is funny as heck and I hope it makes it's way to a rag like Car and Driver.
I've been in many assembly plants and it would be very simple for something like this to happen. All the operator does is blip the bar code on the side fo the truck and it tells him what to put on. Obviously the guy on the drivers side either didnt' blip the bar code, or just pulled the wrong light.

I spent a month in Belvidere where they mad the Dodge and Plymough Neon. I saw countless errors similar to this. Cars with Plymouth badges and Dodge steering wheels, or Plymouth on one side fo the car and Dodge on the other.
I've seen assembly people walk down the line and throw parts on a vehicle without the proper jigs just to get a few cars ahead and be able to go to break earlier.

As far as quality control goes, no factory 100% inspects the product as it leaves. They pull a sample of the current run, generally every 10th car. (An average factory is pushing about 55 cars an hour out the door just to give you an idea what kind of volume that is). They are pulled into seperate quality areas and inspected for defects. If they find a defect they look at the manufacturing process first, then the supplier. As a supplier I've spent many hours standing in front of a group explaining how the assembly person is the one that put the part on crooked, and it's not a supplier problem. (most times) That doesnt' go over well, so we end up making some process change that is meaningless to make them happy.

I still get a laugh out of that picture, and I've been looknig at it for two days now!

JBM · 12-23-05, 09:04

The tail lights is an easy fix, but there is little that anyone is going to do about the massive OP on ALL GM vehicles.

They look like they are painted with rattle cans , from tech school kids, on heroin, after having their eyes plucked out.

Aurora40 · 12-23-05, 09:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpoiledMan

The difference between a Camry and an ES is HUGE to say the least. Driven them both?

Define "HUGE"? How many parts do they share? And taken in the context of this thread, you feel the difference between the ES and Camry is bigger than the diff between the Grand Am and GTO?

Ever driven a LeSabre and a Bonneville? Think they feel the same? And they don't even look the same. Think the same can be said of the ES and Camry?