And it gets worse for GM.

[69MyWay]

This is a good discussion. Of course we won't sovle the problem here but it is nice to see different view points.

My dad retired from GM. Everysince I was a little kid there was a new Chevrolet in the driveway (company car every 5,000 miles).

My dad was an executive and was on the inside track to many of the internal issues.

While going to college I worked on many different cars for $$$. During that time I was exposed to Ford, Honda, Toyota, Nissan...etc.

One thing I learned is they break down too! I also learned there is a real difference below the skin between a jap car and domestic. The bolts, supports, materials, and general design is different. What always struck me is how they do more with less materials, lighter materials, etc. Another thing that I actually like about the jap cars if the bolts they use tend to actually unscrew after being in one place for many years instead of snapping off, or being rusted solid into the chassis.

There is a whole different build philosophy behind these cars that in some ways seems to be a better idea. These are details the average consumer will never know about since they don't actually work on their own cars.

Now that the tuners have figured out how to get power out of these things it takes it to a whole different level. Where I grew up talking about a "3/4 race cam" in my 350 chevy, kids of today grow up talking about the turbo kits for their civics. This market is expanding fast.

When the rice rocket kids of today grow up, they won't care what a 2008 Camaro looked like. They are going to want a retro 93 Civic!

I am just rambling here, but I agree that GM needs to keep pursuing excellence in the build design, quality, and innovation. You can also gurantee that once they hit on something solid, the japs will just copy it and sell it for $3K less.