Harry P.

I agree with you there!

Faulty ignition switches, overheating exhaust systems, seat belts and air bags that don't work as they should, electric steering boxes going bad, etc... just a few of the current problems covered by GM recalls this year. If bad engineering and bad design aren't the cause, then what is? Cost-cutting probably plays a part, of course... but it would seem to me that poor engineering and/or design has to be a part of at least some of these recalls. It can't all just be el cheapo parts.

Your numbers are based on what? From what I found, a model that sold for $2 in 1968 (which they did), adjusted for inflation would sell for about $14 today. Seems to me that a $25-30 kit is way more than just keeping up with inflation... http://www.dollartimes.com/inflation/inflation.php?amount=2&year=1968 http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/ http://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm

The best way you can help this thread go away is to stop posting on it. And then stop reading it. But if you keep reading it and keep posting on it, you're part of the very problem you're complaining about.

There's your answer. The price of the raw materials, the price of manufacturing, the price of packaging and distribution have all gone up, just like the price of everything has gone up. But far fewer kits are being sold today than 20 years ago. To make up for that, they keep jacking up kit prices, IMO more than necessary to just cover inflation, but go get back some of that profit they lost when kit sales started to slide.

Even a "project" Nomad would have had the shiny window trim.

No politics.

So all the cars that broke down on you were used cars. That explains everything. 1. No way to know how the previous owners treated them. 2. No way to know how you treated them. The list of problems you had is not typical. You had major breakdowns with just about every car you listed... sounds to me like the problem might be the way you drive or maintain your cars more than the cars themselves. Since all your problems were with used cars, there's no way your comments relate to new GM cars or how reliable/unreliable a new GM car is.

ow many of those cars you've owned were bought new by you?

I say HT sets up an R/C course in front of their store!

Yeah, it seems GM's problems aren't so much related to the actual defective parts, but the fact they knew about the problem for ten years yet didn't do a thing about it. So maybe now they're sort of over-correcting to prove they "care," and are issuing all these dozens of separate recalls just to be on the safe side. But still, no matter how you spin it, GM is a mess right now.

So it's combustable but not flammable? Because its flash point is higher than the flash point of a "flammable?" So that's why it's considered "safe" to carry around in your trunk (because technically it's not rated "flammable"), yet a car engine can still run on it?

I think the world already has way too many "crossovers," etc.

GM has recalled 17 million cars within six months!

If a "non-flammable" fuel can power an "internal-combustion" engine, that truly is magic!

http://www.google.com/#q=loctite+go2+glue&safe=off&tbm=shop&spd=0

Thanks, Tim. Yes, from what I've read, a Mustang with eco-boost just might be what I'm looking for. My current Mustang is also the big honkin' V8... but the reality is, I do 99.9% of my driving on normal roads and in normal traffic and at normal speeds, and actually have no realistic need for the V8. And the price I'm paying for the "V8 rumble" these days at the gas pump is pretty steep. I'm thinking that the eco-boost model is the way to go... especially given the $10,000 price difference between it and the GT.

I don't think ZZTop is hiring...

Man, those are beee-yooo-tiful! Could almost pass for real.

Bill, three words for you: Dollar Shave Club. http://www.dollarshaveclub.com/

Hey Tim (if you're still here)... by any chance have you driven the Mustang eco-boost model? I'd love to hear your reaction to it.

That's pretty cool.

Go, Moebius, go!

Uh, Tim... are you familiar with the GM "endless recall" situation? One of the stories I've read (Ok, I can't guarantee it's true, but it's out there) is that GM decided to go with a shorter pin in the ignition lock/switch mechanism, rather than a longer one which would have improved the mechanism's integrity, to save a penny per switch. ONE PENNY. If that story proves to be true, then I guess consumer goods companies still have that attitude. That penny they saved has come back to bite them on the posterior big time.