Death of US industry?

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Originally Posted by tlake

It just shows how GM has got their priorities screwed up given Honda have had one NSX and in that time there have been 3 Corvettes. If only GM freshened up their model cycle like that with their normal models! :D

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bad comparison. The Corvette is a good money maker for GM, they sell a lot of them every year.

The NSX sells few copies a year. because its well known its an overpriced and under perfoming former-supercar that has long outlived its prime.

BTW, The last few JD quality initial quality studies have put the american nameplates round the industry average. Yes Honda and Toyota are near the top of the list, but whos at the bottom?

Volkswagen (German)
Nissan (Japanese)
Kia (Korean)
Porsche (German)

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Originally Posted by diffusionx

No, the two are nothing like each other.

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Yeah I know, what the fuck is that all about?

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Originally Posted by g0zen

Yeah I know, what the fuck is that all about?

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Apparently gamers need everything to be compared to the videogame industry before it makes any sense.

They are comparable in the sense that the NSX and Corvette are respectively Honda and GM's 2 seater image cars. But wisely Honda have put more attention on their ordinary models, chosing to upgrade the NSX at long intervals, which they are about to do. Whereas, GM seem to put a lot of focus on the Corvette and neglect their normal product lines. It's those everyday models that are the core of the business so you can't neglect those. :|

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Originally Posted by tlake

It's those everyday models that are the core of the business so you can't neglect those. :|

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I had a nice huge post but the board ate it....pfft.



Anyways, you need to understand the auto industry a little more. The Core of any Manufacturer's business are high-profit heavly option laden cars. Mid tier luxury cars, SUVs and Trucks. Small cars are low profit, low incentive vehicles, why do you think its so infested by car makers from the up and coming former 3rd world country of the week? Wait until Chinese and Indo/Pakistani cars hit our shores.

The small car business is so cut-throat there is little profit to be had. I recall reading that GM made as much selling one Yukon Denali as they did selling 4 mildly optioned Cavaliers.

The Corvette sells decent numbers, so it makes sense for GM to invest some money updating the model often, while the non money making J-Body (Cavalier/SunXXXX) cars languished as the most out of date cars in the industry.

The NSX is Honda's Cavalier. Its hasn't been a contender in the supercar wars since the 3 or 4th year of its existance, and yet Honda hasn't bothered to really update it. Why not? Because it doesnt make them any money. The only people still buying it are Japanesee car fanatics who can't find a Decent used Toyota Supra or want to bother to import a Skyline. The only reason its getting refreshed now, is due to Honda's corporate pride.

GM almost gave up on the Corvette in the mid 90's. During the whole sports utility craze, the Corvette's sales sunk to an all time low of around 8,000 units during the late 90's. It wasn't until GM decided to give the car a whole new look, that sales of it have taken off. This is GM's flagship vehicle, much like the Mustang(And to some extent the Ford GT) is Ford's.

Acura really hasn't had a need to upgrade the NSX. With the current explosion of small Japanese cars making it into the underground racing scene, the Integra and several other mid range Honda cars have seen an increase in sales. I'd heard somewhere, that the Integra is near the top of the most stolen cars list, because of it's engine.

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Originally Posted by gamevet

I'd heard somewhere, that the Integra is near the top of the most stolen cars list, because of it's engine.

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Thats one of the reasons, the engine can be swapped almost across the entire company line-up pretty easily. Original replacement parts are also very expensive, say compared to a USDM car, so there is a big secondary market for used common failure items like coil packs, ecms, and common accident repair parts like fenders hoods, etc.

Add in the fact that unless the car has some sort of imoblizer system, they can be stolen in about 45 seconds with a flathead screwdriver and little else.

Something like 1 in every 3 Integra Type-Rs are stolen. Thats pretty insane.

http://media.putfile.com/hov2

not the road i'd choose to show off the handling of my Viper

My friend got his Integra stolen at university (Rutgers) a few years ago. 1995 I think, cant remember if it was a Type-R or not. I dont think it was, though.

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Originally Posted by Yoshi

WTF are you trying to say here? Manual labor is hard? Yes, it is, and some third world schmuck can do it just as well and cheaper. People who run business aren't welfare providers.

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See this is why douchebags like Yoshi who pretend to know business should shut the hell up.

It is cheaper to build parts in Kentucky then it is to import from China.

Why is that you ask, well Yoshi, let me tell ya.

A) Average labor in China is rising 10% a year (no doubt the real plan of America, see Japan in the 80's if you need an example)
B) Cost to X-out (export out) of factory is rising over 25% per four month quarter. This is due to increases in fed ex and ups world wide service, Improper shipments and inferior logistics.
C) At the big killer, the things that idiots like Yoshi never take into account, the infamous cost of doing business. This includes telephony, support personel, engineering travel, and large amounts of cashola being thrown to help build the freaking factory out in crapville China to meet basic quality needs.

Our last large quote was a new sensor PCB

Cost of China 3.54 per board, +2.11 per shipping, +an estimated 4.19 per board in support costs. Total: $9.84 per unit

Cost of Kentucky 5.11 per board, +.87 in shipping, and a whopping .75 per pcb in support. Total: $6.73 per unit


The logical conclusion: Learn to shut up and listen, you don't know shit, boy.


And just wait until ROHS compliance starts next year, China won't even be a player.