Why sales have fallen at GM

Here is the link to my poll i mention in siveradowhites post about rocker pins..

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=287360

My point was that these numbers seem to match the sales loss figures that that GM is blaming on the economy.. What do you think?

GM has relied too much on SUVS and trucks for sales while making cars that weren't good enough.

GM has revived rwd plans though.

RWD (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=456408)

The only cars Chevy makes that I like include the Corvette, Corvette Z06, and the Cobalt. I'm anxious for the Camaro concept that will be shown at the 2006 Detroit auto show.

GM needs to make a lot of changes, but they do have a hit with the new Pontiac Solstice.

Pontiac has more than 15,000 orders for the Solstice.

New 2006 Pontiac Solstice (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=377526)

The Pontiac Solstice has won Automobile Magazine's 2006 Design of the Year award.

"No need to beat around the bush: the best attribute of the Pontiac Solstice is its brilliant Franz von Holzhausen styling. Even if its appealing appearance were all the Solstice had going for it, the car still would have been a strong contender for this award, because it possesses all the visceral appeal that made the original 2002 concept so desirable. It's cool, it's smooth, it's exciting, and, thanks to some clever engineering under its skin, it's a good drive, too."

- Automobile Magazine

http://automobilemag.com/news/0601_pontiac_solstice_01_900.jpg

All I wanna Know is what are the cars parked around the Solstice in that shot??? Must be a bunch of old Pontiac Concept Cars...

All I wanna Know is what are the cars parked around the Solstice in that shot??? Must be a bunch of old Pontiac Concept Cars...

Looks like several iterations of the Batmobile...

Why have GM's sales fallen ? They produce too much shit that they do not back up and call "normal" When the hell is the last time a knocking engine on a brand new truck normal?? When is rough idle on a truck with less than 50,000 miles normal? Resistors blowing on the heater motors - normal. Non working 4x4 because of crappy switches - common to a point of damn near normal. Shitty idle becuase of a dirty Throttle body at least once a year -normal. Rear differentials puking out at low mileage - common. Have i left any "normal" problems out? My 96 never had problems with the 4x4 switch, ran crappy because of a dirty throttle body or had the rear diff puke out of it and i owned it for 5 years and 100,000 km's and the only thing i had to change on that truck was the oxygen sensors and the power steering pressure hose. Plain and simple they are producing SHIT and are expecting us to swallow it cause we are die hard chevy fans. Call it what you want, one or two people with the same problem ok it happens, but so many people that GM decides to start calling the problems "normal" is just bs. Shit quality plain and simple. The amount they charge for these trucks and the quality of service they offer is pathetic. What ever happend to buying a new truck and driving it for years before ever having a problem, it is pretty sad the amount of under 5 year old trucks you see in this forum with those "normal" problems and they are the same problems since the introduction of the 99+NBS. I will now step down from my soap box and thank you for letting me vent, it won't do any good , but i feel a little better lol.

check out the rocker pins thread we are discusing these "normal" probs. I have been looking at the ford f150 forums and toyota. You dont see poeple there having these issues with service and those makers backiing up there products. in fact those forums are quit refreshing to read.. Satisfied customers, what a concept...jj

Well, what i don't understand is if you all hate your chevy trucks so much, why don't you go get a ford or a toyota or something else?

Well, what i don't understand is if you all hate your chevy trucks so much, why don't you go get a ford or a toyota or something else?

I am so sick of this bull shit response. Your not real smart are you? I'f i had the thirty grand i spent on the pos sitting out in the parking lot then i would go buy something else. Can you not come up with a better debate argument then that, jeez...jj

When did i ever say i hated my truck? I never once said that and never even mentioned the word hate. I was simply stating how it is bull shit that GM calls all these problems normal.

Maybe you have been lucky so far with your truck Blendwizard and have not had the piston slap and neither have i, but how would you feel if it did start knocking on you and when you took it to the dealer they told you that it was normal ? I am not knocking the trucks rather the manufacturer not wanting to stand behind their product once they find out that this problem is affecting more than a few trucks so they change their minds and decide to call it normal. I wish i could find that article i read a while back about the piston slap and how GM had released a TSB about it and what to do to fix the issue, but when more and more started coming forward with the same problem they changed their tune and said it is not a problem and that it is normal. Some people might make the argument that they would go broke trying to fix all the trucks with piston slap but is that not why there is research and delvelopment, to catch these problems before they get to market ? You can't tell me that gm sells all vehicles they manufacture each year either, so how can that be any more profitable. Here is an idea, why not buy back the trucks that have piston slap or trade them for new trucks that are just sitting somewhere that have not been sold. What do they end up doing with them anyhow, has anyone ever wondered that too ? How can they not go broke sitting with all these vehicles that were made but never sold but they will go broke fixing what was sold?

I have to agree 100%. These problems that we all either have "all, some or none" of are BS. I encountered piston slap or "short skirted pistons" as the dealer said. It sucked; especially since I just turned 18,000 miles when diagnosed. When I purchase a truck for $30-$40K, I don't expect to have to worry about a warranty after 36,000 miles; simply because I shouldn't have to. Piston slap is THE reason I have purchased an extended warranty. The least GM should do is offer the same warranty my '04 Cummins came with: 100,000 miles, zero deductible. At least that would make me feel a little better about my "normal" knocking.

BTW, if you think GM will be magically healed by converting their current lineup to RWD; I've got some beachfront in Montana to sell you.

All of the Big 3 have lost market share..it's not just GM

I am so sick of this bull shit response. Your not real smart are you? I'f i had the thirty grand i spent on the pos sitting out in the parking lot then i would go buy something else. Can you not come up with a better debate argument then that, jeez...jj

You know what? TRADE IT IN! They will be glad to take your truck at the dealership. And if you don't want to do that, sell it! Either way, you'll have plenty of money to get something else to drive... but I guess that's bullshit, too.

[QUOTE=BlenderWizard]You know what? TRADE IT IN! They will be glad to take your truck at the dealership. And if you don't want to do that, sell it! Either way, you'll have plenty of money to get something else to drive... but I guess that's bullshit, too.[

HATE TO DISSAPPOINT U ALL BUT EVERY MAKE HAS ITSLITTLE PROBLEMS ITS NOT JUST GM. AND IF U DONT LIKE THE WAY YOUR DEALER IS TREATING U GO TOA DIFFERENT ONE.


ALWAYS REMEBER IF IT HAS TITS OR A TIRES YOUR GONNA HAVE A PROBLEM WITH IT.


BUT I HEAR BUS PASSES ARE CHEAP.

We have a winner!!!

http://www.americanangst.com/dingfries.html


But your right about "Tits and Tires" theory.

Maybe you have been lucky so far with your truck Blendwizard and have not had the piston slap and neither have i, but how would you feel if it did start knocking on you and when you took it to the dealer they told you that it was normal ? I am not knocking the trucks rather the manufacturer not wanting to stand behind their product once they find out that this problem is affecting more than a few trucks so they change their minds and decide to call it normal. I wish i could find that article i read a while back about the piston slap and how GM had released a TSB about it and what to do to fix the issue, but when more and more started coming forward with the same problem they changed their tune and said it is not a problem and that it is normal. Some people might make the argument that they would go broke trying to fix all the trucks with piston slap but is that not why there is research and delvelopment, to catch these problems before they get to market ? You can't tell me that gm sells all vehicles they manufacture each year either, so how can that be any more profitable. Here is an idea, why not buy back the trucks that have piston slap or trade them for new trucks that are just sitting somewhere that have not been sold. What do they end up doing with them anyhow, has anyone ever wondered that too ? How can they not go broke sitting with all these vehicles that were made but never sold but they will go broke fixing what was sold?


Honestly, Kenny, (and I have said this before) EVERY vehicle I have ever had, had piston slap, and I am amazed that my truck doesn't. I have had all types of cars: Imports, domestics, small trucks (this is my first full size), and the mileage on those vehicles has ranged from about 45,000 miles to about 200,000 miles. So, that being said, I wouldn't be terribly surprised if I get up in the morning and my truck rattles or knocks at startup. Now, I do use Royal Purple, and i hear that helps stop/prevent piston slap, so maybe that's it. But experience has shown me that if a car sits over night or longer, that some start up knock is not unheard of, and cold weather seems to make it worse.

I just want to back up what wizard is saying about piston slap. I do have it , i took it to the dealership like 3 times, they couldn't do nothing for me, so i gave up. However, he showed me another person silverado with 150,000 on the truck and it has piston slap, still going stonrg. I'm 8'000 miles from 100'000 ,truck is still strong. *KNOCK ON WOOOOD*


Oh , it is in the shop though for other problems like the hub sensors that trigger my abs for no reason and because of that i almost hit a vehicle. But blah their fixing it.

I don't doubt the Vortec will hold up for well into 100,000 miles; however, sounding like a Lawnmower the whole way sure sucks...

You know what? TRADE IT IN! They will be glad to take your truck at the dealership. And if you don't want to do that, sell it! Either way, you'll have plenty of money to get something else to drive... but I guess that's bullshit, too.

Here’s why I cannot trade it in Blender, and I am not looking for pity. In May of 1999 a drunk driver ran a stop sign and struck me broadside as I was driving home from work on a motorcycle, he also hit and run, but came back to the scene much later, but before the cop got there(I live in the remote mountains of WV) so he got away with it all. He was written a ticket for running a stop sign, that’s it. I on the other hand was in the hospital for thirty days, 4 surgery’s to stabilize my badly crushed right leg, ankle and foot. I walk now by the way but not very well. The hospital cost 100,000 grand and I was permanently disabled. Forced to file bankruptcy I immediately started college in the fall of 2000(as soon as I could get out of bed) to retrain and to get back to work. I am completing my junior year this semester with a 3.8 GPA (had to take a year off last year to rebuild the leg, something broke). Now as much as I would like to get rid of it, I do not have the credit now to get a loan for anything, I live on a meager income and am still pursuing a degree in GIS planning. There is no way for me to get rid of it, it’s only worth now about 11,000. I could sell it but I’m afraid that what I could buy would be less dependable then this 2000 Silverado, as crazy as that sounds… I am between a rock (no pun intended) and a hard place. I am completely at the mercy of GM and that frustrates me to no end. At the time of the accident I was a very successful professional driver of 13 yrs, I had a wife, a new baby, a new home, and immaculate credit. That’s al gone now because somebody did not take responsibility for there actions. Just like GM is doing now, refusing to take responsibility for there mistakes. The repairs I have had to pay for should never have had to been my responsibility, my truck has 70,000 miles now, and it was money I did not have. Instead of eating I paid the repair bills so I could get to school. I don’t want to be on the government tit I want to go back to work. I think that is the responsible thing to do. I am just asking why GM cannot be as responsible…jj

Yup, GM is where it is at because they have pissed off one customer at a time untill sales are no longer keeping them afloat. There are other products out there such as Toyota who are doing their best attract loyal customers with a quality product. Their sales and profit numbers prove that, they are making a hefty profit at GM, Ford, and Chryslers expense. Things will only turn around for GM when they get back to building a quality product and "standing behind it".....not issueing a TSB "saying it's normal."