ohio_grad_06
Member
Not sure where our 16 sonic was made, glad our 13 focus has the sticker that says assembled in Michigan in the back window.
This Car has been the biggest turd I have driven...
- Thread starter Anonamoose
- Start date
See the drivers doorjam, there is a sticker that shows the sonic is assembled in Orion,MI.
ohio_grad_06
Member
There ya go, even better.
The Champ
New member
I'll take vehicles built in North America by a company based in the United States over the other alternatives.
If there are good paying jobs in Mexico, that should help alleviate the illegals coming from there.
I have no problem with any of the the US cars that have been built by our friends to the north (Canada).
But like mitdr774, I'm not buying a Chinese Buick. Heck, I won't even buy a Buick (still pissed that our government forced GM to shut down Pontiac and keep Buick because it was the best selling brand in China).
mitdr774
also a dinner prick
Its their choice to remove even more customer base in the name of cheap labor but priced as if its made here. Its the educated consumers choice to not spend their money for an overpriced outsourced product. The first year of imported models start north of $40k and next year will start in the 30's. If it was priced according to its country of origin then maybe, but not when its priced as if it was made here.
Based on how GM has treated its retirees my family has dropped all loyalty to GM. The only reason I have a Colorado is due to it being the only "domestic" midsize (its not a midsize at all) option. I like the Sonic and may buy a 2017, but that is only because I dont care for what Ford has to offer and I wont be buying a Fiat product.
Based on how GM has treated its retirees my family has dropped all loyalty to GM. The only reason I have a Colorado is due to it being the only "domestic" midsize (its not a midsize at all) option. I like the Sonic and may buy a 2017, but that is only because I dont care for what Ford has to offer and I wont be buying a Fiat product.
The Champ
New member
It's almost like car companies want to make money or something!
Pontiac outsold Buick in the US (which was my point) by a huge margin. Buick's best selling vehicle was the Enclave which had clones built by Chevy and GMC (Traverse and Acadia).
Buick had no unique vehicles and basically was the brand to knock off in this country. They could have kept the Buick name in China for the cars that they were selling there. Over 80% of all Buicks sold worldwide are sold in China.
Pontiac was known as the upscale performance line at GM. Buick was just something for old people (I'm 62 and don't consider myself old enough to drive a Buick).
I'm sure there are people that will buy the Chinese manufactured Buick. They are typically people that consider a car an appliance and really don't care about anything else.
I mean, using this logic the Firebird was a Camaro knock off, the Sunfire was a Cavalier knock off, etc...it's not like the Pontiac line had a ton to offer either.
The Champ
New member
I beg to differ...
Did Chevy have anything comparable to the G8? Full size, V8, RWD...
Did Chevy have anything similar to the Solstice? 2 seater, turbo 4, RWD
Did Chevy have anything to compare to the G6 retractable hardtop convertible?
All three of those were available when the government forced GM to drop Pontiac. Chevy had nothing to compete with these cars. Saturn did have the Saturn Sky that was a clone of the Solstice - but Saturn never sold enough cars to continue as a separate brand anyway.
Buick sold 102,000 vehicles in 2009 - over 43,000 of them were Enclaves. 2008 Buick sold 137,000 units - nearly 45,000 of them Enclaves.
After it was announced that Pontiac would shut down, Pontiac still sold over 178,000 vehicles (and they didn't have a Enclave/Acadia/Traverse clone. The announcement seriously affected 2009 sales - in 2008 Pontiac sold over 267,000 units.
Your claim that Pontiac didn't have a lot to offer holds no water.
The loss of Pontiac was a huge lot to car enthusiasts that had an interest in performance and handling.
If you want your GM RWD 8 cylinder sedan fix, you have the Malibu SS (actually, I think it's just tagged as the SS).
The other two offerings you've referenced are niche markets that aren't sustainable by a high-volume/low margin manufacturer.
Only thing I miss from Pontiac is the Holden Monaro....I mean GTO.
The other two offerings you've referenced are niche markets that aren't sustainable by a high-volume/low margin manufacturer.
Only thing I miss from Pontiac is the Holden Monaro....I mean GTO.
2014 Blue RS
Active member
Then stay away from the Chinese buicks. I'll take Mexico anyday
The Champ
New member
The Malibu is not RWD and doesn't have a V8.
The SS is the G8, revived for Chevrolet. It took GM until 2013 to bring this car back to market as a Chevy (very limited supply - only 418 sold).
Both the G8 and SS are Holden's.
Pontiac sold over 23,000 G8's back in 2009 (includes the V6 RWD versions).
Chevy has sold less than 8,000 SS's from 2013 through last month.
The fact that Pontiac had the G8, the Solstice and the G6 in 2009 only helps document Pontiac's history of bringing unique performance and styling to market - just like they did with the original GTO back in 1964.
The problem with that rational is for every Cruze hatchback made in Mexico that sells is a nail in the coffin for the Lordstown,OH cruze plant. Read an article last year that shows all auto manufactures are making a switch to cheap Mexican labor at the cost of American and Canadian Jobs, almost 10% domestic production lost by 2020!!!! Guess we shouldn't care since allot of that was lost by Canada?
More car manufacturing jobs move south -- to Mexico
Isn't the Sonic the only car in this class made in the USA? By the numbers I would not be surprised if GM want to move its production to Mexico too, more profit to be made on a cheap car if you cut cost by outsourcing jobs. Only thing we can do is speak with our dollars and not buy outsourced crap.
The Champ
New member
The Lordstown plant builds the Cruze sedan, one of the best selling vehicles in the world. The hatch requires a different body shell, so GM decided to built it elsewhere.
GM is celebrating the 50th anniversary of building cars in Lordstown this year (first car was the 1966 Impala).
GM is investing another $250,000,000 into the Lordstown plant for the next generation Cruze. I think those jobs are safe.
Tell that to all the other plants that had millions invested in the years before they were closed. If you know GM you should also know its their oldest plants are typically the ones they close. The first step to closing a plant is to open another one building the same car.
The Champ
New member
Yeah...
Just like the Fairfax, Kansas plant that was idled years ago. Why was it idled? Because GM built a new $1,000,000,000 plant next door.
The original plant was built during WWII and was the North American Bomber Plant building B25's. GM bought it after the war and converted it into an automobile plant.
Recent Major Investments:
2015: Equipment and technology –including a simulator to test and address effects of road conditions on customers’ ride and handling experiences – to support the All-New Malibu, $174 million2013 Investment announced for all-new paint shop and press upgrade $600 Million.2011 Investment in the LaCrosse eAssist and related upgrades $20 Million2010 Investment announcement of the New Generation Malibu $136 Million2009 Launched the all-new Buick LaCrosse. Reinvestment of $158 Million.2007 Launched the all-new Chevy Malibu. Reinvestment of $208 Million.2006 Launched the all-new Saturn Aura. Reinvestment of $651 Million.2003 Launched the Chevy Malibu. Reinvestment of $722 Million.Fairfax is older than Lordstown, yet still exists.