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Rant....Ford & GM stupid

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https://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081107/bs_nm/us_autos;_ylt=AgqEsLmNDKx8sOKUZKtmfTB34T0D

A friend of mine is selling Metros like crazy...

He bought every car he could find several years ago when they were going for <$500

Most of them came from the yard.

These cars were made in the late 80's & early 90's and NO car today even comes close.

He reports 50 mpg in town & 56 on the highway.

Plus...The little things are a total blast to drive :driving: :thumbsup:
 
Yeah- I've been thinking about that for a couple years. The Metro's got great MPG.

Just watched a news item on GM's problems. Losing a billion $$$ every month. Argh. As the interviewer was talking, we see the GM assembly line in the background.

What are they building in that plant? Giant pickups and oversize SUV's. Gimme a break!

Tom
 
Just replaced my 84 Corolla yesterday with a 07 Corolla.

I REALLY wanted to buy American but didn't feel like shooting myself in the foot.

Was close to getting a Focus but they were too expensive.

Rats!!!....Would have gone for a 'new' Metro.
 
I bought a 92 geo metro new in 91 and drove it till 96 when I was rear ended and totaled. Gas mileage was great and pretty much always in the high 40's. I was commuting 50 miles a day and 250+ miles a week at the time and would buy gas on the 7th or 8th day and it never cost more than 10 bucks. It was great for that job however it was bare bones and noisy but it did have ac and the seats were ok and the fm radio was loud enough to be heard at highway speeds. That poor car took a heck of a beating and other than normal maint. it ran flawless to the day it died.

The metro was ahead of its time back then for the states back then. Gas was to cheap to really make that car shine. Even in california you could fill that car up from empty and still get change back from a 10 dollar bill.
 
A an ecentric no.. odd? no.. Hmm wierdo ya thats it, that worked at the same time as I did at Honeywell had one.
He bought one new and would spend his evenings for geez it seemed like months driving it around on 494 in Minneapolis in a complete circle. Every morning he would show us his little note book and be just giddy about the mileage and weather conditons and speeds of his 2 hour drive. Yea it got great mileage.
Never saw a car rust out as fast as that thing did. The second year he had it the hood blew off and wedged itself in the wind sheild of a ford delivery van, thank god there was no passenger. He kept on driving it with the hood ductaped at the bulk head and a rope to the tow hook.If your ever in Minneapolis and see him driving aimlessly on the 494 loop don't say hi for me just wave......
 
Stewart said:
I bought a 92 geo metro new in 91 and drove it till 96 when I was rear ended and totaled.
Click to expand...

Getting your door "keyed" in a metro would total it.
 
Anyone ever drive an early Metro AND a old style Mini?

I was wondering what the difference in handling was.

I've driven my friend's (Cpt. Sparkles) Metro several times and I love it.
 
I've driven both, but not close enough to compare the two. I'd say that the Mini had an overall better feel to me. But then again, I'm biased.
GM has never built a small car. Think about it. every compact they've ever sold was built by another company then badged GM. (Nova II, Prizm = Toyota, Geo Metro and Tracker = Suzuki) FOR CRYIN OUT LOUD BUILD YOUR OWN FUEL EFFICIENT SMALL CAR!
You'll find that the root problem is that the bigwigs don't like the small profit margins that economic cars have. they want the big juicy cuts they can get from the SUVs. But if they don't change soon, they're not gonna have anything to get profit margins on.
WhatsThatNoise, your Corolla was probably built in Tennesee or Kentucky from parts sourced mainly in the U.S., whereas that Focus was probably built in Canada or Mexico. Sadly, Toyota is more "domestic" than many of the domestics are anymore.
 
Banjo said:
Sadly, Toyota is more "domestic" than many of the domestics are anymore.
Click to expand...
That makes me feel better...A little bit.

Sure would like to have a car w/ 10 more MPG though.

Tried to find an Echo...Good luck.
Not in the used market any time soon from what I was told.
 
The Metros I've driven were kinda fun. Two friends have had 'em. One was bought new, has now close to 250K. Oil changed regularly, all problems fixed as soon as they were discovered. Little thing runs like a clock. Great mileage, albiet a bit Spartan. Other one was purchased for around $500 a few years ago, it was deemed "umcomfortable" and sold... against my advice. And replaced by a Honda Fit. Waay too $$$ IMO. He shoulda kept the Metro as a "lifeboat" too. :wink:
 
"But if they don't change soon, they're not gonna have anything to get profit margins on."

Ben: It may already be too late!
 
The suzuki swift here in Canada had an optional turbo.(at least I think it was an option)
also the firefly and sprint
 
weewillie said:
The suzuki swift here in Canada had an optional turbo.(at least I think it was an option)
also the firefly and sprint
Click to expand...
Seriously.... A dream of Cpt. Sparkles...

He has the same 2 Skylines that he raced in Okinawa and hardly ever mentions them.
His fantasy is the Firefly.

He just can't find one.
Imagine...
All the benefits of a turbo, in a otherwise low compression econobox.

He talks of this car like it is the holy grail of cars.

(I have a much more realistic idea of a holy grail car :yesnod: )
 
WhatsThatNoise said:
Banjo said:
Sadly, Toyota is more "domestic" than many of the domestics are anymore.
Click to expand...
That makes me feel better...A little bit.

Sure would like to have a car w/ 10 more MPG though.

Tried to find an Echo...Good luck.
Not in the used market any time soon from what I was told.
Click to expand...

Yup... Used Echos, Priuses, abd first gen Scions are hens teeth.
they still make the Echo. the whole time we were buying Echos here in the US, the rest of the world was buying the Yaris. the Echo got a bad rap. It was considered ugly and cheaply made, so Toyota tried to loose it's stigma by renaming to it's European counterpart it when it was re-released to the US.
You can also buy the Echo in the form of the first genertation Scion XA and XB. They are the same driveline and suspension as the Echo. but none of them quite achieve the MPG that the good ol Echo did.
 
I've owned several classic Minis and I've owned a GEO Metro.

You guys might hate me for saying this, but I liked the Metro better.

Mine was a 3-cylinder with 5 speed. Ran great and took some heavy beatin's.
Never got washed or waxed. I do not recall any rust issues....it was actually pretty solid.
I bought it because one of my brothers had a Suzuki Sprint (the older square styled car). His also had the triple and 5 speed and was unburstable. He got hit by a Chevy Citation while standing at a light and the Sprint was totaled. He took the insurance money (about $900), patched it up for about $25 and drove it another two years (mostly throught the cruel streets of Newark, NJ while he was at NJIT).

I sold my Metro to a guy who used it to deliver pizzas. :laugh:

I would very much like to have a ~Suzuki Swift GT~.

I understand Dave's issue with trying to buy American. My Ford van is built in Canada but our Accord is US-built. My Miata is built by a company that is US-owned (Ford) but it's built in Hiroshima.
 
This is the 3rd time for the numbers crisis.

First was the odd even plate numbers during the embargo. (gas rationing)
Second was when the Japanese added that 100,000 mile digit to their odometers.
And now it's how far you can go on a gallon (gas price)

The US manufactures were slow in responding all 3 times.

Now I've heard they don't have the capital to do any R&D.
Much less to retool.
 
Read a story in today's paper said neither Ford or GM could figure out how to make small cars profitable. With high labor cost and trucks and SUV's making all the money they saw no reason to put much effort in small cars. It took Detroit several years after the gas crunch of the 70's to get with it. By that time the Japanese had already made inroads into America. This time they may just fold all together. I hope not. :frown:
 
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