Oklahoma Auto Repair Shops

OK Car Consumer Discussions

Bailout alternative

by nassto on Wed Dec 03 10:51:05 PST 2008

I love American cars and have a driveway full of GMs driven by me, my wife and kids. It would break my heart to see GM go bankrupt but I am a firm believer in the free market. That being said I do think the government should make a move for big three that is analogous to FDIC and provide backup "insurance" to the US automakers warrantees in the event of bankruptcy. Right now there are people who might buy a US car who are afraid to because in the event the company goes under they would have no warranty. That is an additional nail in the coffin that the automakers do not need. As a tax payer I am OK with this "insurance". Lets get this idea in front to the right politicians!!!

Re: Reliability [iburgess]

by georgehughes35 on Wed Dec 03 08:19:07 PST 2008

Ooops, didn't see you already bought. OK, well for the next person who evaluates.....

Re: First thoughts... [aviboy97]

by ivan_99 on Wed Nov 19 16:39:20 PST 2008

The 2.5 on the Mazda6 felt a little under-powered; I loved the 6spd. My Mazda6 entry. I think this output may be more appropriate on the 3

Re: Tire size issues [ateixeira]

by tiff_c on Wed Dec 03 05:18:31 PST 2008

I think it would be OK. Honda is just avoiding a liability, basically, but the industry says a 3% variance is OK on tire diameter when you Plus One, for instance, and that snow tire falls within that tolerance. I've now had another dealer tell me to buy the 205/50R/16 instead as it's a wee bit wider but virtually the same height. Funny thing is the first dealr said no, use a 195. The Tire calculator says 185/55R16 Section Width: 7.28 in Overall Diameter: 24.01 in Sidewall Height: 4.00 in Radius: 12.00 in Circumference: 75.42 in Revs per Mile: 866.3 195/55R16 Section Width: 7.67 in Overall Diameter: 24.44 in Sidewall Height: 4.22 in Radius: 12.22 in Circumference: 76.78 in Revs per Mile: 851.0 205/50R16 Section Width: 8.07 in Overall Diameter: 24.07 in Sidewall Height: 4.03 in Radius: 12.03 in Circumference: 75.61 in Revs per Mile: 864.1 Ok so the way it looks to me based on the numbers. The 205 is much closer in size to the 185 than the 195 is. it's section width is quite a bit bigger tho. But based on the numbers, I might get the 205's. The tire dealer doesn't want to put on anything other than 185's. :sick:

Ford In Automotive News

by joel0622 on Tue Dec 02 13:41:02 PST 2008

Ford tells Congress profit may be restored in 2011 Amy Wilson Automotive News | December 2, 2008 - 10:25 am EST DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co., the first of the Detroit 3 to submit its plan to qualify for federal aid, says it doesn’t expect to make money until at least 2011. That’s when Ford expects global and North American auto businesses to reach break-even or be profitable on a pretax basis, according to a news release summarizing its plan to Congress. In May, Ford abandoned a previous pledge to post a profit in 2009. The automaker has lost money every year since 2005. Ford also said it is asking Congress for access to as much as $9 billion in federal loans. The company stressed that management hopes to complete its turnaround without accessing the loans. “For Ford, government loans would serve as a critical backstop or safeguard against worsening conditions as we drive transformational change in our company,” Ford CEO Alan Mulally said in the release. Selling the jets Mulally said he would work for a salary of $1 a year if Ford draws money from a potential federal loan pool. Ford also said today that it would sell its five jets. Those moves are responses to widespread criticism of the Detroit 3 after Congressional hearings in November on federal bailout money for the automakers. The CEOs of Ford, General Motors and Chrysler LLC were lambasted for traveling to the hearings in separate corporate jets. Mulally plans to make the nine-hour drive to Washington in a Ford Escape Hybrid for another round of Congressional hearings this week. The high pay packages of the Detroit 3 CEOs also came under scrutiny during the hearings. At that time, Mulally declined to work for less than his $2 million salary, saying “I think I’m OK where I am.” Mulally’s total compensation package was $21.7 million in 2007. Ford reiterated that it would continue the turnaround plan Mulally implemented after arriving from Boeing in September 2006. A key tenet of that plan is to accelerate the development of new products that customers want. As part of that, Ford has said it will introduce several small European-developed cars in the United States beginning in early 2010. Mulally's YouTube video Technology spending Today, Ford said it would spend $14 billion in the United States on advanced technologies and products to improve fuel efficiency during the next seven years. That includes a plan to make available for sale a family of new hybrids, plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles by 2012. Ford said it will partner with suppliers to deliver a full battery electric van for commercial fleet use in 2010 and an electric sedan in 2011. Ford also said it is discussing with the UAW ways to further reduce costs and eliminate the remaining labor cost gap existing between Ford and import-brand automakers. Ford said it doesn’t anticipate a liquidity crisis in 2009 barring a bankruptcy by General Motors or Chrysler LLC -- or a more severe economic downturn that further hurts auto sales. It expects U.S. industry sales of 12.5 million vehicles in 2009, bouncing back to 14.5 million vehicles in 2010 and 15.5 vehicles in 2011. Ford finished the third quarter of 2008 with $18.9 billion of cash and another $10.7 billion in available credit lines. The automaker burned through $7.7 billion in cash during the third quarter, a rate of $2.57 billion a month. 'Home improvement loan' Ford wants to convince Congress and U.S. taxpayers that it should be seen as “different” from GM and Chrysler. To that effort, Ford today launched a new web site, www.thefordstory.com. It includes a youtube.com video of CEO Alan Mulally talking about Ford’s turnaround vision. In the video, Mulally said Ford is asking for access to federal loans in part because the failure of GM or Chrysler could have a “domino effect” on Ford. “I like our position today, as tough as it is,” Mulally says in the video. He talks about the $23 billion “home improvement” loan Ford took out two years ago to finance its turnaround and the development of new products. “Now we have in the pipeline what arguably everybody believes is the best product lineup we’ve ever had at Ford,” he said. “I’m just so glad that we all pulled together early so that we are ready to take on the worst of times. And we’ll get through this and we’ll come out the other end as a turbo machine.”

62vette and steve host

by marsha7 on Tue Dec 02 18:32:50 PST 2008

62: "Article in paper yesterday that lawyer work is being outsourced to India"...NO...NO...NO...say it isn't so... :sick: :cry: :mad: Yeah, it had to happen...let's face it...if someone over there understands English, and it is a boilerplate contract, why not have someone check it for errors???...and even matters more complex... While I rail at the union (UAW) for their stupid demands, I also realize that my field is also subject to price competition, and we don't like it either...but we are at least smart enough to acknowledge it exists and we have to compete to win... I used to do real estate closings...we received $600 per closing, not great for the work involved, but it was OK...then someone down the street offered to do them for $300...I knew then that it was time to get out and let the cheapest guy win...I could not do it for $300 for the time involved...competition sucks, but it IS reality... steve: yeah, you busted my chops, but when did I lower the markup to ONLY 200%???..... :cry: :P