WayneS

World's Top 100 Transnational Companies Ranked by Foreign Assets

The only difference between American and foreign cars is that people under 50 buy foreign and people above 50 buy American. If I went only by my own experiences, I would tell everyone that foreign cars are trash. I have never had a good experience with a foreign car. On the roads around here, I don't see any foreign cars over 7 years old. I see a lot of 1985 GM cars. I had one. It got 25 mpg. It had a 25 gal tank. I could get 3 car poolers in it. I traded it in when it had 236,000 miles on it for an economical foreign car. Because there were four of us in the new car, it got 23 mpg. I had to replace suspension parts, engine parts, timing belts, etc. I got a parking ticket for the 85 Chevy three years after I sold it.
So, if you want to buy a foreign car, go ahead. I won't bad mouth you or your car.


On Dec 21 09:03 AM buoy wrote:

> Ford is a survivor while the two remaining car makers just keep on
> with the same old nonsense.

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They shouldn't have dumbed down the EPA ratings.
It let people know what kind of mileage they could get if they learned how to drive safely.

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I noticed I got "bad comments" for stating the benefits of efficient driving and carpooling. It gets worse.
So, I saved $1000 /year just by driving right.
I saved at least $1000/year by carpooling.
I saved $600/year because carpoolers didn't have to pay parking.
So, over my career, rather than putting money into commuting, I bought at least $75,000 worth of stock.
Also, for the last 10 years, when I did drive (25-35%), I set my cruise control on 70, while watching the next three lanes in stop and go traffic.
This saved on wear and tear on my vehicles. I probably bought one less car than if I drove everyday. Another $10-20K.

Fuel Prices Have Little Long-Term Effect on Car Purchases

No. We took turns. Three weeks, I drove once. the fourth week, I drove twice. I get 23 mpg. So, instead of driving 800 miles every 4 weeks, I drove about 300 (I had to pick the others up).
23mpg X 800miles / 300 miles = 61.3333333 mpg.


On Jul 23 10:57 AM Oh come on now wrote:

> Wow, driving a one ton dually four days a week and you get over 60
> MPG average! Unbelievable!!!

Fuel Prices Have Little Long-Term Effect on Car Purchases

Oh come on now - One size doesn't fit all. I actually got rid of my foreign-made "midsize" car and started to use my Dodge one-ton dually to carpool to work. With four large people, the Dodge got better fuel mileage and we didn't have to put our briefcases in the trunk to fit. Driving my Dodge one out of four days, I realized over 60 mpg.
Efficiency is the important "fundamental". Driving habits make a big difference. Our other car is a Buick LeSabre. This is a "boat" that gets 28 mpg in town and over 30 on the highway. I also have a Jeep Wrangler. It has a 4-cylinder, but because of the large tires gets 12-14 mpg. It is used for recreation only (15 yrs old with 56K miles). In couple of years when we move into our retirement home (15 miles from town), I hope to buy a Volt.

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On Jul 09 02:47 PM dw57 wrote:

> thats 20 MPG in town, not just on the highway.
> which is difficult to find in small cars, let alone a big truck<br/>bigger
> problem is that its on the most version of those trucks
> would have worked wonderfully well in a much cheaper version though

My Dodge one-ton dually diesel truck gets 23 mpg in town and 23 mpg on the highway. This probably has to do with the way I drive. Of course, when I'm pulling my 7 1/2 ton trailer, it only gets 14 mpg.
My first car, a 1960 Rambler American Stationwagon, got 25 mpg in town and over 30 mpg on the highway (it had overdrive and freewheeling). It would now be called an SUV. In 1970, I hit a Ford Torino when it turned left in front of me. Hit it almost headon. The Ford had to be towed. It cost me $0.05 to fix my car.
What does this mean? It's all perception. Most Americans under 50 buy foreign cars. Those above 50 buy American. American automakers sell cars overseas that don't sell well here. Europeans buy American Jeeps that get 47 mpg. As to how I drive my truck? 95% of Americans could drastically improve (at no cost) the mpg of the vehicle they now own, but choose not to.

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On May 06 04:07 PM Miken wrote:
> Wayne:
> They're sitting on their lots simply because they can't sell them.

That is why I added (were) to my statement.

In response to mycarsgets52mpg, My Buick got over 100 mpg while I worked (I'm retired) because I carpooled with three other people. My first car, a 1960 Rambler averaged over 30 mpg. Chrysler makes a vehicle that gets 42 mpg that they sell in Europe. There is so much misinformation about American Auto Makers. The same propaganda has been repeated for 30 years. American Auto Makers are no worse or better than their foreign competitors in quality. From my own experience, I've had remarkably better luck with American vehicles than with foreign.

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All the talk about fuel economy is a ruse. American auto makers have been putting out vehicles that get better fuel mileage than the Japanese car makers for over 60 years. People just don't want them. They want big, fast, powerful cars that intimidate others. If they can't afford a big one, they get overly bright headlights to compensate. My first car, a 1960 American car averaged over 30 mpg and was the size of a Ford Explorer. It had overdrive and free-wheeling. My latest car, a 2003 Buick LeSabre gets over 30 mpg on the highway. PS, while I was working, I got over 100 mpg because I carpooled.
American car makers only problem is that they have hundreds of variations for each make, i.e., each car is customized along with the added expense. They need to go back to Henry Ford's original idea and have limited options.

How Trucks and Tariffs Contributed to GM, Chrysler Failures

When I go past a Toyota dealership, all I see are pickups and SUVs.
They must be (were) making a profit on these as this is how they are financing their hybrids.
As long as gasoline is cheap, Americans will buy pickups and SUVs.
Gasoline gets cheaper every year. A stiff tax is the only way people will buy the economical vehicles they outwardly claim they want.

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The cost of investigations into AIG's bonus payments, litigations and loss of productivity will dwarf the amount paid in these bonuses. Even if the bonuses are repaid, the money will not be repaid to the taxpayers. This "show" was strictly an opportunity for Congress to bandstand and make people think they are looking out for them and secure re-election. Half of the Congressmen had no idea what they were talking about, the other half were attempting to distract us.