GM to Junk Bond Status

(fark thread reply, 2005.05.06)

neofonz has the right general idea: GM is such a big mess, there’s more than enough blame to go around. Unions are neither the sole or the worst cause, but come on, even the most pro-union people have to see some culpability here. And the health insurance mess is certainly part of the problem, but GM isn’t the only company who deals with this issue and all the other ones didn’t suddenly go to junk bond status. Shortsighted execs who have for years let the bean counters have dramatically more say then actual design engineers, resulting in a generally horrible product line (with some exceptions, sure, but mostly, yuck) also deserve a big chunk of the blame, too.

There is no one single, simplistic cause–ALL of these factors have been brewing for years, and it’s finally come to a head. Frankly, I’m surprised its taken this long; I’ve been expecting this since 1991 when I drove literally everything in GM’s entry-level (non-truck) lineup and without exception, they all sucked badly. GM didn’t give a rip about good design or build for reliability then and I haven’t seen (much) change since.

The one group I would NOT blame, though, is the U.S. consumer. For most consumers, a car is the second-largest purchase made besides a house. Why should consumers shelling out five figures of their own money be required to buy an obviously inferior product? (This might not apply to trucks, I don’t know, but for entry- and mid-level sedans, GM has been producing an incessant line of crap for years.) To maybe save the pension of some anonymous factory worker who makes $25/hour for putting on screws and lives a thousand miles away? What’s that factory worker going to do to save my job if its threatened? Do any UAW-protected employees shop at Wal-Mart? I think the whole “buy American” thing is just an attempted guilt trip by GM/Ford to try to get American consumers to accept products they know to be worse. I’ll spend my money on what I think is the best use of my resources for my family, thank you very much.

More Ramblings on Highlander Hybrid

OK, so I’ve made some cosmetic changes to make the blog look less like the generic WordPress template. Nothing major but it feels more like home with the new skin.

OK, now revisiting the Highlander Hybrid stuff. Based on the post a couple posts down, it should be obvious that we (meaning my wife and I) have been thinking about it. Well, I re-did the math given a better estimate of what our annual mileage ought to be on this, given that if we got it all the “family” miles would be in this car (rather than mine) as well as Vicky’s commute. That puts us at 18,000 miles per year. Now, the hybrid is rated at 29 combined mpg, whereas the V6 is rated at 21 mpg combined, an improvement of 8 mpg. Based on 18,000 miles, that’s a savings of 236 gallons per year (857 vs. 621). If the average price of gas over, say, a seven-year period is $2.75, that’s an annual savings of $649, which over the seven-year period is $4543.

That’s not enough to cover the real cost of the hybrid, which is a markup of about that much, but of course right now it’s MSRP for the hybrid and some more reasonable price between invoice and MSRP for the non-hybrid. So it’s a couple grand for V8 performance, superlow emissions, and fewer stops at the pump (and time is, after all, money)–oh, and maybe a tax break, too. Is it a great deal? Maybe not. But it’s not an awful deal, as long as one is realistic that the mileage will not result in a net savings.

We decided that was worth it, and ordered one. Not entirely clear when it will get in–maybe August, but we’ll see.

Hybrid Highlander $avings

(originally posted to Edmunds.com discussion board on 2005.01.14)

Let’s say gas is more like $2.50/gallon, which it now is in some markets, and you have a longer commute, say, you put 15,00 miles/year on the car.
 
20 mpg = 750 gal = $1875/year in gas cost
28 mpg = 535.7 gal = $1340/year in gas cost
 
$535/year savings. In seven years, that’s $3745. If there’s still a tax break when you buy it new (I’m not sure what the status of that is these days), then you’re paying virtually nothing to get all of the aformentioned benefits plus, of course, reduced environmental impact.
 
Obviously, if you live somewhere where gas is much cheaper or put less miles on your vehicle, it makes less finiancial sense, at least purely on gas price. But for some poeple, the math already pretty much works out right now.

Review: 2002 Mazda Protege5

(originally posted to carreview.com on 2002.02.06)

Overall Rating
5 of 5

Value Rating
5 of 5

Price Paid:  $17000 at Jeff Haas Mazda

Summary:
Somewhere on here, I have a review of my wife’s 1999 Protege LX, which I always really liked for what it was. However, the car has no balls and doesn’t have the hauling capacity of even a simple hatch. I was resigned to having to fork out a ton more cash for a Passat wagon, all the while wishing that Mazda would just make a wagon version of my wife’s car, but faster. Then BAM, they did it. Kudos to Mazda. Exactly the right car at exactly the right price.

Strengths:
* Handling. Man, I do love the handling.
* Versatility. I can carry five, or stuff, or five and some stuff with the roof rack. Excellent.
* Comfort. Great seats, enough room in back for rear-facing baby seat.
* Styling. I’ve never owned a car that got this much attention before.
* I like the leather-wrapped steering wheel and white dials.
* Good ergonomics on the stereo.
* I never thought I’d have any use for a moonroof, but I love it!
* Handling. It’s just so sweet around the corners.
* Excellent brakes, especially with EBD.
* Mileage is decent, particularly for how fun it is to drive.
* Doesn’t suck up the whole garage, amazing considering how much interior space there is.
* Good ergonomics on the cruise control.
* Reliability. Not a single problem so far, good chance that’ll continue.
* Friendly torque curve, especially with the stick.
* Did I mention the handling?

Weaknesses:
* Cupholders suck.
* Center console/armrest is too small for both of those tasks.
* Only one intermittent wiper setting.
* Door lock sticks up into arm when you rest it on the door.
* Speakers and speaker placement leave a lot to be desired.
* Rear defroster should be on a timer.
* Car should be 4″ longer to give a smidge more room in cargo area.
* Gas fill on the wrong side.

Similar Products Used:
I also liked the Subie Impreza TS wagon, but the backseat is too small and I didn’t want to pay the extra bucks for AWD, which I don’t need in SE Texas.

Review: 1999 Mazda Progege LX

(originally posted to carreview.com on 2001.07.13)

Overall Rating
5 of 5

Value Rating
5 of 5

Model/Year:
1999 LX

Summary:
In 1999, it was time to replace my wife’s old beater, a 1985 Chevy Citation with 135k miles and no AC–we were moving to Houston, so AC was a must, and this was her first new car. As we were starting the decision process, the auto show came to town and we got to sit in and bang around everything in this price class. I wouldn’t have even thought of the Protege (great job marketing this, Mazda) if we hadn’t seen it at the show. And wow, am I glad we saw it at the show!

This car is amazing for the price. The interior space, especially the back seat, is amazing for such a small car. The handling is spectacular. We’ve put 34k miles on it in two years and haven’t had a snag–but don’t listen to anecdotes on reliability: every car has some winners and some lemons. Look up the numbers on this car and you’ll see this is a reliability champ. My wife routinely gets 33+ mpg commuting (mostly highway). We’ve added a baby since we bought it and it’s perfect for the little one as well; I can’t even imagine trying to work his car seat with base in the teensy back seat of a Corolla.

The only thing I’d have done differently if this car were primarily for me and not for my wife is that I would have gotten a 5-speed or upgraded to an ES, or both, as the car lacks zip with the automatic. This bothers her a lot less than it does me.

Car & Driver rated the ES version of this car as the best small sedan they’d ever driven in 1999, and in 2000 they rated it above everything in its price class. This is no accident. Unless you really require something substantially bigger, I can’t imagine why people would spend more when the 2001 ES version of this car can be had for around $17k, pretty much loaded. Reasonable car payments are a Good Thing, and I don’t feel like I’m sacrificing. C&D said it well: “This is a car that does everything well. And it has spirit. BMW verve for less than half the price. What’s not to like?”

In fact, I like this car so much that my next car will also be a Protege, but mine will be a Protege5 with a 5-speed for the extra zip and little extra bit of hauling capacity.

No car is perfect, though, and I did list a few fairly minor complaints; those are all things Mazda could fix and it would add almost nothing to the cost of the car. It’d be nice if more other people knew what a great car this is, too.

Strengths:
Handling, reliability, interior space, fit and finish, great standard features, nice exterior styling, good price relative to closest competitor (Civic), great big trunk, comfortable seats.

Weaknesses:
Minor stuff only: crappy Mazda marketing, only one intermittent wiper setting, no trunk release on remote, windows should have darker tint, center armrest is too low and small. Not as zippy as I’d like with the automatic (buy the ES or a 5-speed, or both)

Similar Products Used:
Looked at everyting in its price class for 1999, nothing was as good. Nothing. Civic was the next closest.