the cars that sank Detroit

[john112deere]

According to Yahoo Finance:

Ford Pinto
Chevy Cavalier
Chevy Astro
Ford Taurus
Ford Explorer
Jaguar X-type
Hummer H2
Toyota Prius
Chrysler Sebring
Jeep Compass

Here's the link.

I think they raise some interesting points but miss the mark more than not. Thoughts?

 

[F 150Cobra]

i have to agree those cars sucks! exept for maybe the explorer

 

[polarbear]

Hmmm.

Pinto/Cavalier. I think the real issue here was they stayed on the showrooms longer than they should have, while better alternatives were being offered.

Chevrolet Astro. I still have customers angry that GM dropped these, and you wouldn't believe what a clean, used cargo-version will bring (hint- fling blue book into the bushes). Chevy's real problem was the successor to the Astro- the Venture/Uplander. Uncompetitive in the class in virtually all aspects.

Ford Taurus. I really think Nasser ruined this car with the rounded-thing in '97 (?). Unbelievably, didn't pony up for a redesign for almost a decade. Unreal- turn America's best-selling passenger car into something that can barely ouot-sell the Crown-Vic (which isn't even offered on showroom floors anymore!)

Ford Explorer. Completely off the mark here, IMO. This moddel made Ford a gazillion $$$'s over a period of over a decade. If they screwed-up more often like this, Ford wouldn't be in the shape they are.

Jaguar X-Type. Just substitute "Jaguar," and forget any single model. The make turned into Ford's financial black-hole. What'd they lose here- $10 billion? More?

Hummer H2. If Hummer was the answer, what was the question? " "GM wanted to make Hummer a signature company brand," says Magee. "Instead, it showed the company was out of touch with the needs of the 21st century."' Yep, I agree with that.

Toyota Prius. While GM was spending $1 billion to build up the Hummer franchise, Toyota was spending $1 billion to develop a high-mileage hybrid--even though gas prices were still low. Sez it all right there.

As far as the Mopar models- Daimler-Benz approved products that the old Chrysler management wouldn't have signed off on if they were drunk and beaten. Chrysler has the best excuse of the group- they at least can blame the Germans. Everyone else can only blame themselves.

 

[TexasNomad]

I thought the Ford Pinto was from the 70s how could a car that hasn't been in production ford like 30 years hurt ford now...

 

[1970Custom]

...Ford Explorer. Completely off the mark here, IMO. This moddel made Ford a gazillion $$$'s over a period of over a decade. If they screwed-up more often like this, Ford wouldn't be in the shape they are...

Weren't they still one of the best selling rigs up until the whole fuel price inflation???

 

[polarbear]

Yep- the Exploder was the largest selling SUV for over a decade.

 

[Andyman8282]

The only thing I can think of that the Explorer would have contributed to the "sinking" of Detroit would have been the massive tire-recall and litigation associated with it, a few years back.

 

[Lost]

Well the cavie was best seller here seems about every grad got one . And they didn't stay on lot.

The pinto is so old its out

The explorer did well till they went huge . (Same for trucks )

Taurus Well the rounded one did OK it was the tranny problems that soon followed that turned people away.

 

[radialarm]

They left out the chevy citation and the ford (gruntnada)granada. Some of the worst cars ever Imo.

 

[Raptor22]

I think if Ford just imported its euro line and the 60MPG TDCi engines to the US, everything will be fine...

 

[DOHCmarauder]

Chevy Vega FTW!!!

A motor that was LUCKY to go 40,000 miles.....at least the Pontiac Iron Duke bolted right in giving you another year or two of proud ownership until the POS finished rotting away.



Funny thing about the maligned Pinto is that variations of the 2.3 were around up until just a few years ago.....a durable powerplant for sure.

Ford did drop the ball on what was essentially an easy fix concerning the fuel tanks. Unfortunately, they are still like that today in many ways. (penny wise, pound foolish)

 

[DOHCmarauder]

They left out the chevy citation and the ford (gruntnada)granada. Some of the worst cars ever Imo.

Please, do tell!!!

While boring for sure, never heard anything real negative about Granadas.

Pretty stout car from what I recall.

 

[TexasNomad]

I still dont see how Cars that haven't been in production in such a long time hurt ford now........

 

[Brian_B]

There are an awful lot of the taurus cars and explorers running around on the roads for those to have hurt much of anything.

As far as the old granadas...I owned one. That thing was hard as heck to kill. I finally traded it in on the ranger, but it had no major problems even then.

The other brands mentioned...no clue. I do know ford lost a fortune on the jaguar mess.

I am wondering how the pinto got thrown in there as well. They quit making them in what??? 80??? They had the pinto/bobcat line for quite a while.

 

[DOHCmarauder]

I still dont see how Cars that haven't been in production in such a long time hurt ford now........

I think it set the "tone" as far as how we feel about our (meaning the Big 3's) ability to produce small, efficient, reliable cars......or cars in general.

 

[DOHCmarauder]

There are an awful lot of the taurus cars and explorers running around on the roads for those to have hurt much of anything.

As far as the old granadas...I owned one. That thing was hard as heck to kill. I finally traded it in on the ranger, but it had no major problems even then.

The other brands mentioned...no clue. I do know ford lost a fortune on the jaguar mess.

I am wondering how the pinto got thrown in there as well. They quit making them in what??? 80??? They had the pinto/bobcat line for quite a while.

Pinto/Bobcat worthless trivia.

When my Pop decided that the '71 429PI sucked too much $.75 a gallon(?) fuel, he started looking at small cars.

Ford was our 1st stop: Did you know that there are no 4 door Pintos.....even in the wagon???

Every POS Japanese car during that era offered 4 doors.


Do you know what Ford's advertising camapign was for the Pinto???

"More road hugging weight"


Ford's way of explaining the much lower economy vs the imports.


Ford's handling of the exploding fuel tanks didn't help.....even though I always wondered why the azzhat that rear ended the car wasn't at fault....oh yeah, deep pockets.


In a Ford biased way, I actually like Pintos, but even Ford threw in the towel building small cars when they imported the German/English Fiesta.....until the "World Car" Escort was introduced.

 

[smokey]

I had a Granada I Loved that car. It had a 302 I bored it out and redid the heads and intake it was a camero killer. It road nice and was all out reliable.
THe only cars I really dis like were the Mustang II's they were ugly nothing but a pinto with a mustang badge.

 

[Blue Goose]

I had a Granada I Loved that car. It had a 302 I bored it out and redid the heads and intake it was a camero killer. It road nice and was all out reliable.
THe only cars I really dis like were the Mustang II's they were ugly nothing but a pinto with a mustang badge.

......and a V8 option...

 

[polarbear]

I think it set the "tone" as far as how we feel about our (meaning the Big 3's) ability to produce small, efficient, reliable cars......or cars in general.

They missed one important car on Detroit's road to wreckage- the Chevy Vega. Not only was the car an unmitigated POS, but with Chevy's marketing muscle they were able to sell millions of them. In this case, it would have been better if the car had been saleproof.

Truthfully, Detroit has done more to further Japanese market share than they could have ever done on their own.

 

[radialarm]

They missed one important car on Detroit's road to wreckage- the Chevy Vega. Not only was the car an unmitigated POS, but with Chevy's marketing muscle they were able to sell millions of them. In this case, it would have been better if the car had been saleproof.

Truthfully, Detroit has done more to further Japanese market share than they could have ever done on their own.

I had one a '74. in '75 they started making them with steel sleeves in the cylinders.