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How Far The Proud Have Fallen!
Old 04-24-2009, 10:45 AM   #1
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How Far The Proud Have Fallen!

""As we move forward in this process, we believe it's important to keep all options open," Chrysler said in a statement. "Chrysler will continue to work through the end of the month, based on the direction given by the Presidential Auto Task Force, to secure the support of the necessary stakeholders and reach a successful conclusion that the Administration and U.S. Treasury deems appropriate.""

Ha
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Old 04-24-2009, 07:30 PM   #2
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I have a 2000 Dodge Dakota Quad cab - 100K+ miles, not one repair required; only routine mtc. I'm expecting to get an additional 150K+ miles out of it over the next 10+ years. I'd buy another one - if they are still around.

If I were looking to get a new car now I would either look at Saturn - GM will support it in the future or a Toyota
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Old 04-25-2009, 02:35 AM   #3
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I had a 2001 Dodge Dakota Club Cab 2wd Auto 4.8L purchased brand new (custom ordered) and it was the biggest piece of junk ever made. While under 30K miles I had an entire new transmission replaced and the rear gearbox replaced twice on the new tranny and it still never fixed the terrible shutter from the back while accelerating. Overheating issues requiring a new radiator and hoses. An electrical short that caused the windshield wipers to turn on and off whenever they wanted with no way to control them (they were never able to fix that either). Through the A/C vent I used to get some noxious sweet smell that, to me, smelled like radiator fluid. This was sporadic and I would have to turn off the A/C and open the windows to air out the cabin when it occured (not fun in South Florida). Engine idle was never steady and the tach would jump around between a couple thousand RPM's.

Since it was under warranty, I had to use the dealers to service it and I found Dodge dealers service departments had zero customer service interest. I went to 3 different dealers for repairs hoping to find improvement and never did. The truck spent over a month in the repair shop in total. The day I got rid of that truck was a splendid day indeed.

Incidentally, I had a boss who owned a Chrysler Voyager mini-van and he had the same problem with his windshield wipers. Just cut on and off at their leisure and the dealer could never fix it.

Having said all that, I know of other people who had Dakota's with few to no problems. Mine was purchased on a recommendation of a friend who had one and swore they were well built. To me, it's the inconsistency in the final product that is a big problem. That you can produce one vehicle off the line with such terrible problems as mine and the next is just a dandy. WTF? You either have a serious engineering problem or a serious workforce problem. Also, not being able to fix such terribly obvious problems raises concerns.

I have had better luck with Fords though. After my Dakota nightmare I got an older F-150 which was fine and I currently drive a diesel Ford Mondeo and it's overall a fine car.
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Old 04-25-2009, 04:24 AM   #4
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Every single brand is going to have some bad results and some good. Some brands have fewer bad apples than others, but none are perfect.
Where I see the biggest issue for customer satasfaction is the level of service they get from their dealer. Again, you get some good dealers and some bad for all models, but GM, Chrylser and Ford seem to have more bad apples (excluding Saturn) than Mercedes or Toyota (in my personal experience).
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Old 04-25-2009, 08:54 AM   #5
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The three main gripes I had about that Dakota were:

1. The amount of unrelated problems occuring.

2. The dealers inability to fix the problems.

3. The dealers not interested in fixing the problems.

I agree all brands can produce a bad apple. I would have like to see Dodge care that they produced a bad apple and go out of their way to fix my new vehicle though. I like to judge companies by the way they handle a problem when things go wrong. Dodge failed miserable in that area.
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Old 04-25-2009, 11:00 AM   #6
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When we started having kids we bought a new van - a 1994 Chrysler Town and country AWD - it is now my daughters ride (she is thrilled about that....not). It has over 170,000 miles and has had only minor problems - this van will be handed down to my son (now 15) when he starts driving next year (he is thrilled about that.....not). We have gotten good bang for the buck with this vehicle.
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Old 04-25-2009, 11:41 AM   #7
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Old 04-25-2009, 04:10 PM   #8
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""As we move forward in this process, we believe it's important to keep all options open," Chrysler said in a statement. "Chrysler will continue to work through the end of the month, based on the direction given by the Presidential Auto Task Force, to secure the support of the necessary stakeholders and reach a successful conclusion that the Administration and U.S. Treasury deems appropriate.""

Ha
Interesting the turn this thread took. I was just astonished at the wording of the announcement as bolded above. The old administration and this one too appear to have taken over American business. Auto industry, banks, brokerages. Next will be state and municipal finance.

Ha
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Old 04-25-2009, 04:12 PM   #9
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Interesting the turn this thread took. I was just astonished at the wording of the announcement as bolded above. The old administration and this one too appear to have taken over American business. Auto industry, banks, brokerages. Next will be state and municipal finance.

Ha

Maybe you have to listen to the folks from which you solicit funds.
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Old 04-25-2009, 06:44 PM   #10
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Maybe you have to listen to the folks from which you solicit funds.
Gosh, imagine if Lee Iacocca had copped an attitude.
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Old 04-25-2009, 08:27 PM   #11
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I suspect the new Dakotas are much better than the old.
I bought a 2008 at a huge discount and am very pleased thus far. This model won the recent JD Power award for initial quality. The fit and finish are superb. Too much plastic, but that is par for the course these days. It exceeds the stated gas mileage in town and on the road and is a pleasure to drive. The frosting on the cake is the lifetime power train warranty. I know, I know, that lifetime business could be a little iffy.
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Old 04-26-2009, 08:31 AM   #12
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The government isn't 'taking over' the auto industry, the auto industry (well, GM and Chrysler) gave themselves to the government when they asked them for tens of Billions of taxpayers dollars.
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Old 04-26-2009, 01:38 PM   #13
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The government owns everything already. Including you via your citizenship.
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Old 04-26-2009, 07:07 PM   #14
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It was announced tonight that Chrysler and the UAW have reached an agreement.

From the WSJ:
Quote:
The deal, announced by the UAW and Chrysler late Sunday, was agreed to by the Treasury Department, the union said, and it followed closely after an agreement was struck with the Canadian Auto Workers union.
"As a result (of the deal), Chrysler LLC can continue to pursue a partnership with Fiat," Chrysler Chief Bargainer Al Iacobelli said in a statement. "The provisional agreement provides the framework needed to ensure manufacturing competitiveness and helps to meet the guidelines set forth by the U.S. Treasury Department."
I didn't know there was an official job title of "Chrysler Chief Bargainer."

I wonder if Fiat will also continue to explore the purchase of Opel.
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Old 04-26-2009, 07:47 PM   #15
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It was announced tonight that Chrysler and the UAW have reached an agreement.

From the WSJ:


I didn't know there was an official job title of "Chrysler Chief Bargainer."

I wonder if Fiat will also continue to explore the purchase of Opel.
Soooo - who is Fiat's Godfather? Surely they are not awash in cash to buy cause the world can't buy enough Fiats. Or am I missing something?

heh heh heh -
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Old 04-27-2009, 08:40 PM   #16
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I'll sum it up in 3 words: BUY A HONDA

Chrysler builds JUNK
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Old 04-28-2009, 05:37 PM   #17
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Well, I'm not so sure we should have done anything with Chrysler.. They are not A US Owned Company anymore.and tehy have been Owned by Mercedes? Now Fiat is comming on board? I guess, they ( Gov't) wanted to save the jobs in the USA, but it sure Sounds Funny..Maybe some Milatary deals going On behind Closed doors..

Those Foregin Companies have been Subcidized from Day #1 , who's kidding anyone about that.. and have had a unfair advantage since day 1.. Regan probably Encouraged them to get some Competition to the UAW..

and Don't think Mercedes and the other Foregin Co.'s haven't been sub. in some way or form for yrs and aren't now... You can bet on it..

Their is alot more at stake here than just Automobiles..

Wonder what it will be like in 50 yrs? All Elec. Cars, Fuel Cell Cars that Fly as Well? No more Roads as we know it, needed anymore.. And how Tractors & Farming will Be by then?

I have a Town by me ( Janesville, Wi) that just doesn't want to make the change to the 21st Century.. major Chrysler Plant as Employer.. and has one of the Best Universities in the country just up the Road.. Alot of those Towns ( Dependent on Auto Industry) may just have to face the same as the Steel Industry has, Like Ohio and Indiana and Pittsburg..and be Ghost towns...all due from Poor Planning for their Kids..and forcing them into getting better Educations and creating Diversified Businesses in their Towns.. It's too bad...
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Old 04-29-2009, 07:44 AM   #18
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"I have a Town by me ( Janesville, Wi) that just doesn't want to make the change to the 21st Century.. major Chrysler Plant as Employer.. and has one of the Best Universities in the country just up the Road.. Alot of those Towns ( Dependent on Auto Industry) may just have to face the same as the Steel Industry has, Like Ohio and Indiana and Pittsburg..and be Ghost towns...all due from Poor Planning for their Kids..and forcing them into getting better Educations and creating Diversified Businesses in their Towns.. It's too bad..."

The American auto industry has spent the last forty years going downhill while facing increased competition during that time. By now, there are more cars in the US than people to drive them. And the sales model of the past decade has been to push short term leases. So as the industry runs ever faster to push more product, it is saturating the market. Sounds familiar - somewhat like the housing bubble. The postwar growth of the auto industry was fueled by an unmet demand - first by consumers with no car and then by the shift to a car (or more) for every adult and ultimately licensed teen.

There have been a lot of company towns undone by technological changes, unreasonable labor forces (which killed Buffalo), or decreased demand for products. I don't hear many people crying in their coffee for the city of Rochester following the switch to digital photography.
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Old 04-29-2009, 10:28 AM   #19
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I'll sum it up in 3 words: BUY A HONDA

Chrysler builds JUNK
A little harsh, but...
The woman who was editor of "Automobile" magazine for many years had previously worked for Chrysler. She once wrote something to the effect that when she lost her Chrysler job "... we said it was because of unfair competition from the Japanese. But really, it was because we were building crummy cars."
That's kinda the story of GM and Ford also, just not quite as quickly.
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Old 04-29-2009, 10:29 AM   #20
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I suppose the Japanese were unfairly building quality cars.
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