If U.S. cars are going to be SO MUCH better AFTER the bail-out $,then why weren't they better before?

[Bean]

I've heard the CEOs talking at the hearings and I am a serious car buff and know a great deal about GM cars specifically. With the CEOsswearing that they will make a profit and a much better car if they are bailed out, the one thing that comes to my mind is IF they were truly capable of making a better car that out sells import, THENWHY WEREN'T THEY DOING IT ALL ALONG? Because they can't!THat's why. They are arrogant CEOs. Better cars always sell in greater quantities, EVEN if they cost more. But when they cost more and ARE NOT better, they don't sell. GM cars fall apart in a nickel and dime fashion. All four knobs on my Delco radio have cracked, and it's not from extreme cold because I livein SC. Black paint on the wiper arms is peeling off. On an express van, white paint on the door frame is flakingoff, exposing the gray primer. If they were capable of making a better car than import car manufacturers, then they would have been doing so all along,and they wouldn't be in THIS trouble now. So don't lend them any money because they will be asking for more and more andmore, because they will NOT be able to make better cars, becausethey CAN"T. Or do you think they HAVE been making the best cars?They told us that they made the best cars BEFORE! I guess they lied?Happy HolidaysWah, wah, Bruce.Don't go away mad, just go away.Nooner, I think you understand.They have no idea of what quality is.One year they made a Cadillac thatwas just a up-scale chevy cavalier!It was crap. They ruined the Cadillac name.Great Depression 2, I'll answer so idiots like you can understand. We need not movebecause we don't like U.S. cars.There is no jealousy involved. Price is a factor but it's not just that. Japanese and some other imports areoften cheaper. They are also better built.They reversed engineered our carsand made theirs even better. Americans have shown many times that they WILL pay higher $ if thecar or truck is a good, better or exceptionalproduct. But when they suck AND cost moreAT THE SAME TIME,... We won't buy them and shouldn't.GM, Ford and Chrysler has madethe arrogant assumption that even when their product sucks, the Gov't will rescue them. That's a recipe for consistent failure. When a car companyloses an individual buyer to a differentbrand, they usually lose that buyer forlife sometimes. Those customers probably will not be coming back.You shouldn't have lost them in the firstplace, but they were arrogant.Mr MESince when are the making better cars.My Express Van is a 2000. The onlything good about it is the 350 under the hood. Everything else is crap, madeso cheesy. Radio knobs crackingin half(all four). Paint chiping off thewiper arm. Paint chipping off the door window frame? This is good?The motor has been leaking coolantsince 2002, and is a nightmare in a van to get at due to lack of space.They've been rewarded for failure for too long. I'll be happy to buy American to be patriotic, but don'ttreat me like a fool or i won't buyAmerican. Make a car or truck whose door handles DON'T falloff and whose interior door panelsdon't crack. Obviously we need more car companies like in the 40s.Medium sizes companies that are nimble. Not 3 big companies thatout-smarted even themselves.

[business]

Its because the american auto maker was giving away millions of dollar bonuses to them self and not to the car company to make better cars.

[gonorth]

rant somewhere else.

[John]

It's not that they can't, it's because they won't. Our cars were the envy of the world back in the 50's. Safe, reliable, fast and good looking.

[culture]

Quality has not been a goal for US car makers for over a generation. However, believe it or not, they are built better now than in the 70's. At least now sometimes a brand new car will get you from point A to point B.As for the bail out, it should never be considered, but Congressmen should not be lecturing. The big 3 made vehicles demanded by the US public. The bigger the better! Even foreign auto makers began transitioning their fleet to much larger vehicles.The Dem's were complicit in the immediate downfall in the markets. They, along with RINO's cried wolf, for political gain. The lack of confidence exacerbated the weaknesses which did exist.Bankruptcy should have been the 1st step. Govt needs to STOP helping!