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They did it to themselves.
<begin telling it like it is>
Making vehicles that are unreliable, drink gas at alarming rates and spend way too much time in the shop. Keep in mind. There is hardly any profit from just selling American cars. They make their money from parts and service. Example, the Ford Focus costs the dealer 19k to purchase in Canada. They then sell it for $19,600. The profit is split between the dealer and the salesman. Not much of a profit there is there? So they rely on parts and service to stay afloat. Ford produces vehicles with lesser quality parts for general things such as tie rods, sway bars, breaks, and engine support equipment such as belts, hoses, fans etc etc etc. Pretty bad when I had TWO ford salesmen tell me on separate occasions not to buy a Focus unless it's brand new and plan to sell it after a year. How can a company stay afloat when they produce products that even their salesmen won't recommend?
The same applies to GM and Daimler/Chrysler. The profit margins on sales alone are incredibly miniscule. So they need to make their money somehow and the manufacturers supply vehicles MADE to wear quicker than they should. Look at that piece of shit Dodge Caravan / Chrysler Voyager sold in the late 80's early 90's. Every single one of them spent more time in the shop than driven in their first 3 months of life. That's not good. No vehicle should behave like that. Of the 2000 Dodge Caravan that my old boss had that had the transmission fall out after 60k on it. these companies are producing crap and are paying the price for it now.
Now look at Jap and European car manufacturers and dealers. The profit margin is much higher. Look at the prices a Civic goes for. 20k for a bare minimum base model up here. Cavalier or a Dodge 2.0 go for 4-6k less. It's apparent in the prices for replacement parts too. That's why getting a Civic repaired VS a Cavalier is much much more expensive. VW is absolutely insane for parts. But you'll hardly ever see your vehicle in the shop if you have one of these. They recoup profit losses by marking up the vehicles more at the manufacturer, the dealer and the parts shops.
I'd take my super reliable Civic over any American vehicle any day, easier on gas and I know it's built to last and I know that the only thing I will ever need to repair is the alternator, brakes and occasionally a tie rod end after about 5 years of driving it. Show me an American car that can go 160k on the same set of plugs and 90k on the same serpentine belt. Hell, this thing can go 200k on the same gallon of ATF fluid. it will still purr like a kitten when it's 14 years old as well. My bro in law had a 1990 civic that sounded just the same and rode just as good as my 2001 model.
That's really why these American manufacturers are hurting, nobody is buying their sedans and coups like they used to. People are sick of shoddy cars. Of course, if you want a good truck or high end SUV go with Chevy or Ford but even then... and it's ironic...the Mazda versions of Ford's SUVs are better, more reliable and just better craftsmanship. They're hurting themselves there again. But now, Japanese manufacturers are producing big trucks and SUVs and you can bet people are going to continue flocking to them as the craftsmanship and reliability is better. People are no longer stupid, they don't pass up a quality vehicle just so American workers can keep their jobs because most American vehicles are produced in pieces all over the world and most Jap vehicles are being manufactured in our own continent. People want what they pay for, not something they have to worry about breaking down every time they go on a trip.
</end telling it like it is>
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