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Originally Posted by Joseph1082
I was confused about that statement about Toyota, as far as I know, by sheer Volume, GM is the largest Corporation in the World... period.
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Please let me clarify my statement. Thirty years ago GM was the world's largest automaker by all measures, volume, market value and profits. Today it is only the largest by volume with Toyota having a higher market value and better profits. GM is still strong in the low end with but that will soon change. Too much low-priced Detroit Iron now need major (>$500) repairs at 50 or 60 thousand miles. The U.S. automakers have been unsuccesful in convincing their customers that this is "normal wear and tear" and they are switching to other brands.
My sweetie who comes from an all Ford family has a sweet little 1995 Mystique. It has only 60,000 miles and was properly cared for. Neverthess it has cost, in addition to normal service fees, $1200 for repairs that are supposedly "normal wear and tear". For the first time in her life she is now looking at Toyotas.
I'm sorry but I don't see GM being #1 in anything five or ten years from now. This is sad because I come from an all GM family. My first car was a '62 Parisienne and my favorite car was a '69 Wildcat. Today I own a '97 Grand Am but am worried because it made the list of the world's worst cars. Apparently it has all the faults of a Lada or a Hyundai Pony but cost three times as much. This is not how GM got to be #1 and I expect that multi-billion dollar bailouts will soon follow unless they sell it off to foreigners.