First of all, I don’t have the embed code for this ad. For some reason, GM hasn’t sent it to TTAC and it’s not on YouTube. To see the ad, click over to Autoblog. Second, New GM Chairman of the Board Ed Whitacre should never have done this ad. GM’s single biggest problem, the one that trumps everything: their insular culture. By fronting this spot, Whitacre has become part of the problem. He’s crossed the line from gamekeeper to poacher. He’s lost his independent observer/taxpayers’ guardian status; he can no longer distance himself from the Lutzes and yutzes who animate the GM zombie. Whitacre’s now “one of the boys.” Third, the actual text of this ad [parsed after the jump] misses the boat.
With GM’s decision today to offer a 60-day, money-back guarantee on new cars, we figured it would be fitting to ask what kind of reasons a person returns a car within 60 days? There are all kinds of reasons why a person would go through buyers remorse and we see it all the time here in our car lease trading marketplace. Keep in mind that LeaseTrader.com helps a person escape a car lease they no longer want, so we’d like to share the 20 most common reasons why a person would fall out of love with a vehicle – even as quickly as within 60 days.
Forbes‘ former GM Kool-Aid drinker, Jerry Flint, has finally cottoned on to the fact that GM is going to hell (and not back). The Ascot-Wearing One sees today’s announcement that the nationalized American automaker is selling its Opel brand to a Canadian-fronted Russian mob as a harbinger of doom. (Substitute the words “yet another” for “a” and you’re there!) “Opel, and the cars made in Britain under the Vauxhall name, account for more than 1 million sales a year, but the operations are more important that the sales. The German unit is the heart of GM’s car engineering, and particularly the creation of front-drive cars and compact-size cars. U.S. models are derived from these cars, such as today’s Chevy Malibu.” Oh, no! No more world-beating Astras? Hang on, isn’t Daewoo engineering GM’s small cars?
I recently clocked a billboard offering passersby a Mercedes E-Class for $599 a month. I called the Mercedes dealer in question. Sorry, can’t find the paper, I have to call you back. I’ll wait. Oh, here it is! Here what is? A rear-wheel-drive E-Class luxury car. Which one? A rear-wheel drive E-Class luxury car. Yes, which model? E350. Options? A choice of metallic paint (as long as it’s white or black) and heated front seats. How much down? $5,509. How many months? It’s a 39-month lease, 10k miles per year. $599 a month all in? Plus tax. How much tax? $42 a month. Do you have one in stock? I’m sure we do but we can get one. Uh-huh. It’s not a the worst deal I’ve ever seen but . . . I wonder how much it would cost me to lease that Maybach that’s been in their showroom since 1909. Meanwhile, where the hell is Darwin? By now, anyone stupid enough to fall for a low low monthly payment come-on should be in debtor’s prison. Which would force the dealers perpetuating the sales technique into receivership, where the bank could re-fi their biz. I mean, $1 mil would only be $1666 a month over 50 years. Plus interest, of course. And handling fees.
I don’t mean to single out Audi here, but they sent us some stats about their stand at the Frankfurt Auto Show. [Press release after the jump.] Fifteen climate control units. One thousand four hundred spotlights. Six thousand square meters of space. I mean, even if you put aside the environmental impact of powering this much stuff, not to mention transporting, feeding and housing 150 people, how much does it all cost? Is it really worth it? Can’t Audi just use the internet and give us a discount on a nice, pre-owned S4?
Automotive News reports, “General Motors Co. will launch a broad post-bankruptcy advertising campaign next week with an introductory TV spot featuring new Chairman Ed Whitacre . . . The idea is to showcase GM’s best products, with Whitacre urging consumers to take a look at what the automaker has to offer.” THIS is what Old GM Car Czar/New GM Ad Czar Bob Lutz thinks will turn around the nationalized automaker’s sinking fortunes? More pan-brand feel good advertising? Or is it worse than that; some kind of sick, twisted Motown plot to get Eddy boy to become a GM insider? I mean, guys, this is the former AT&T exec who celebrated winning his seat at the GM BOD table by publicly pronouncing, “I don’t know anything about cars.” The guy who said he’d only need to jet into Detroit for a day or so. PER MONTH.
Holy frijoles! I can say that, right? Frijoles aren’t a religion, are they? I mean, they could be; isn’t there a religion based on a talking salamander? Anyway, I guess that expression could be construed as racist, in a Frito Bandito kinda way. Whatever happened to the cartoon character who inspired Gerald Rivers’ trademark ‘stache? Political correctness, I suppose. Or it could be that Fritos suck. After being outgassed by a banana in my lunch bag, the corn snack tasted like the inside of a garbage can lid, only crunchy. So, where was I? Oh yes, trying to think of a clever way to segue from racist blasphemy to the fact that McLaren may think that less is more when it comes to supercars—or did with the F1—but they clearly believe that more is more when it comes to press releases. Hang on; mission accomplished. Well, minus the “clever” part. Make the jump for 10k+ words on the McLaren MP4-12C (a.k.a. 12C).
I like Jay Leno. Who doesn’t like Jay Leno? Everyone likes Jay Leno. But Jay Leno is not an automotive journalist. He’s a comedian who makes so much money he could buy the entire first year’s production run of the McLaren MP4-12C and still have enough cash to maintain the 4,356 other rare and important (and just plain dumb) vehicles stacked in his airplane hangars like relics in King Tut’s tomb. Yes, yes, he drives them all. He’s a humble, knowledgeable and passionate collector—who’s as far from acerbic on the subject of cars as you can get without working for Motor Trend. Like I said, everyone loves Jay. But the enthusiast is sucking all the oxygen out of the car review business, getting access to shit I can’t even dream about test driving, never mind owning. In other words, PR flack James Nichols, we’ll run this item. But you had better come across with that interview with Leno stat or I’m going to go all Marvin the Martian on him. And you don’t want that.
Allah. I live in a state where turning left in the face of oncoming traffic is such a routine occurrence that drivers on the opposite side of the intersection actually wait to be cut off. Seriously, if someone is stupid or timid or conscientious enough to obey the rules of the road, the driver who didn’t get cut off acts like deer caught in headlights. WHAT DO I DO NOW? You want me to go FIRST? Me, I don’t mind getting cut off when I’m driving. That would be like worrying about the denomination of the bill an attractive woman uses to snort a line of cocaine off your/one’s penis. What’s the point? Besides, the left-turning cutoff gives you a chance to lean on your horn, which is always good fun. But I get furious when someone cuts me off and gives me “the wave.” Who gave YOU permission to cut ME off? Not ME. And they NEVER make eye contact. The “thanks for letting me cuckold you automotively” wave has to be the most arrogant yet po-faced gesture known to man/woman. If I ever shout “ramming speed” down to my right foot, refer the arresting officer to this blog. Or, on second thought, don’t.
Although taxpayers may recover some portion of their investment in Chrysler and GM, it is unlikely they will recover the entire amount. The estimates of loss vary. Treasury estimates that approximately $23 billion of the initial loans made will be subject to “much lower recoveries.” Approximately $5.4 billion of the loans extended to the old Chrysler company are highly unlikely to be recovered. The Congressional Budget Office earlier calculated a subsidy rate of 73 percent for all automotive industry support under TARP and recently raised its estimate of the cost of that assistance by approximately $40 billion over the previous estimate. Because Treasury has not clearly articulated its objectives, it is impossible to know if this prospect, indeed, represents a failure of Treasury‟s strategy.
Hey Guys, this problem (in my 2001 Saturn) occurred first when I was driving at night and and my dash illumination went dark! I had probably blown a fuse. Yes, it was a 10AMP mini fuse labeled BRAKE LP in the engine fuse compartment. Does LP stand for “Lamp”? I believe the dash illumination went out as a warning for what was really wrong – the running tail lights (constant lights) on the back of my car were out!! Now, when I press on the brake, the bright brake/tail lights still respond. It is only when I turn on my running lights that I get NO lights in the back of my vehicle.
Another observation: When this originally happened, I replaced the fuse. It lasted about a week before it tripped again. Replaced that fuse, it lasted a few days. Now, the fuse blows within seconds of inserting a new one. Sounds to me like a wire may be short circuiting somewhere?? What is the likelihood that this wiring is bad near the engine opposed to back trunk location?? Any insight or help would be greatly appreciated.
Jesus Christ. Isn’t it enough that car dealers rape you on finance charges and extended warranties and paint sealant and God knows what? Oh NO—they have to put an ugly ass sticker or cheap chrome applique badge or hideous license plate frame on the back of your car that ADVERTISES THE FACT THAT YOU’VE BEEN SCREWED BY A DEALER. [Note: I’m not saying that Mr. Barrett was anything but open, honest and above board. May the Bricklin owner rest in peace.] If you want to advertise on TTAC, you have to pay for it. ’Cause that’s how advertising works. But if a car dealer wants to plaster his or her name on the butt of YOUR car YOU have to pay for it. And even if you accept this ass-backwards idea, why for FS can’t these guys at least TRY to match the manufacturer’s typeface and style? I’d recommend CarMax to all my friends who chew gum. But I had them pull that sticker off my GL before I ever rolled out of the customer handover area. Not on MY gas-sucking SUV you don’t.
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