Is Obama's take over of Chrysler purely for political reasons?

[Boozy]

I think Chrysler's problem is that they never did anything to differentiate themselves from Ford in the past ten years or so (with the exception of the Jeep line). They just made slightly crappier versions of Ford products.

If they'd made slightly crappier versions of Honda products, they might have had a chance. A small, fuel-efficient, reliable American-made car is marketable. They'd have been no Honda, but they would have been American, which is a selling point for reasons I cannot understand.

The mini-van craze was all Chrysler's doing, but those trends can't last forever. As soon as the SUV became popular, it was all downhill from there.

[protege]

Part of the problem at both Chrysler and GM...is that many of their designs weren't exactly new. Quite a few vehicles were simply the same old crap with a new nose and tail. Other than a few "gimmicks" there really weren't many changes between this year and last year's models.

For example, one of the recent Mercury commercials goes on about that model's voice-activated stereo. No mention, other than that, of just *why* that model is better than a Toyota/Honda/Nissan/etc. Sorry, but if that's all their car has going for it...it's a bit pathetic. Give me a bigger engine, more torque, a better transmission, etc. not some stupid radio.

[Tanasi]

Ford didn't take any bail out money or loans, they wanted a line of credit if they needed it. So far they haven't their CEO said they had enough money to make it to the end of the year.
I'm no fan of anything currently produced by GM or Chrysler then again I'm a Ford man and have been so since I started driving over 40 years ago. That being typed I do have a few GM and Dodge products but the newest is 43 years old and my Dodge pickup is 62. My Mom has been after me to find her a new car specifically something Chevy but they don't make a car that doesn't have a high step-over.

[IDrinkaRum]

I don't now about anybody, but I can't believe they don't remember what FORD stands for!

Fix Or Repair Daily

Driver Returns On Foot <--FORD spelled backwards.

Just wanted to interject some comedy into this thread.

[AFPheonix]

Oh I dunno, our 87' Ford F250 pickup has been an absolute tank. It has 200,000 hauling miles on it and still going. We still use it to do some of the nastier jobs like getting horse bedding (we can fit 2 pallets in the bed as opposed to 1 in the newer truck) and hauling dirt and whatnot.

The 08' F350 hauls the trailers like a dream, though. I used it to pull my trainer's fully loaded 4 horse gooseneck up to Washington a weekend or two ago, and I hardly even knew it was back there. Great truck.

[Boozy]

I agree. I've had some bad luck with their cars, but Ford trucks are the best on the market. The truck division is why they're doing so much better than Chrysler and GM right now; they do at least one thing very well.

[IDrinkaRum]

I, personally, have never driven a Ford truck. I've only driven in their cars. The "Fix or repair daily" thing is agreed upon by the Ford car drivers I know.

I drive a Mazda Tribute. It's a small size SUV. As soon as I can, I want to get rid of it and get another car. I hate it. I hate the dealership. I only drive it becase Mr. Rum drives my Honda Civic to work as the Tribute's gas mileage sucks lemons.

[tabbyblack13]

My F250 is great for hauling equipment and rock around. I will unfortunately have to sell it, but I love it. I am looking at getting a Ford Escape or Expedition in the future. I have heard of Ford Taurus lasting a long time.

[AFPheonix]

Taurus used to be a good car, but the last decade or so has seen it turn into a low-end crap sedan. They've redone it for this most recent model year, but I really haven't seen what it's like.

We had a pretty used up Exhibition for awhile, it handled a bit like a dying whale. I was not impressed.

[protege]

Taurus used to be a good car, but the last decade or so has seen it turn into a low-end crap sedan. They've redone it for this most recent model year, but I really haven't seen what it's like.

Yep, Taurus used to be one of their best-selling vehicles. Then they attempted to put the 500 (no, I'm *not* spelling that out!) sedan above it...and ignored the Taurus. Ford only paid attention to it...after the 500's sales were pretty lackluster...given all the fanfare when that thing was released. No wonder some people called that thing "Edsel, take II"

I'm not exactly familiar with Ford trucks, mainly because my family's never had one. Their cars though...are another story. After dealing with my knackered Tempo, I can see why they have the "Fucked On Race Day" reputation

...but then there's Dodge. We had an '89 Caravan, that did its best to live up to the "Drips Oil, Drops Grease Everywhere" motto