And without stiffening up the chassis the torque will twist the body until you can't open a door. Half the Vegas I've seen have had that problem, the other half had no sheetmetal left below the door sills. Some had both problems :lol:. It's a shame, on paper it's such a neat car.
I've never heard of that happening on a newer truck, but it makes sense. You stick truly puny tie-rods on a fullsize truck that gets heavier and more powerful every year. Something's got to give.
Good article. I never thought about the laundry list of failed 'new technologies' that GM has implemented as sales gimmicks.
Interesting to see the Brazilian branch being cited about the Chevette. That car is still hugely popular because it's the only cheap RWD alternative we have.
A popular conversion is to put the 250cui inline 6 engine from the Opala, with interesting results.
to be fair, isnt that the drivers fault for flooring it (probably in low range...) ? if the wheels werent spinning that fast then the tie rod end probably wouldnt of bust. the tyres got some purchase and their inertia made them want to carry on forward yanking all the suspension components with it.
Yeah, GM did certainly have very good ideas back in the day. However they should have spent a lot more time perfecting the technology before releasing the stuff, so it wouldn't make people go "Oh no, GM has released a car with new technology! You have two choices, run or try killing it with fire!".
Brilliant innovative engineers + Bean counters = Under performing components. New stuff should always be over engineered until lots of real world data is available then you can start looking at the cost savings through smarter / more economic design. Take the long view.
So *that's* where all those H2s are going. They sold a bunch of them in Texas at first, but even before the most recent gas price escalations sales had died.
Apparently they're all being shipped to Hollywood, New York, and Australia for idiots to buy.
I just watched the entire movie "Who Killed The Electric Car".
It's a really sad story!
I admit, the EV1 was by no means a pretty car. But the way GM killed it - what an awesome example of GM Dumbassary!
Check this out:
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaL2tYC0Zuw[/YOUTUBE]
If only it was better looking...
About the H2, that thing is not good off road. There was a Top Gear episode where they put an Escalade an H2 and a Land Rover against each other and the only one that was actually able to get up the mountain (that wasn't even that difficult) was the Rover. Also what is the point of paying a premium on an H2 if its nothing but a Tahoe with a different body on it?
EV1...
Plug in electrics are an idiotic idea - end of story.
I have Richard Porter's book Crap Cars, and he perhaps said it best:
"God bless General Motors and its amazing ability to shuttle wildly between technology that was either stubbornly old-fashioned or inadvisably advanced."
You look at the ten cars featured, and wonder if GM lives in this weird space and time that is either five years off or not in touch with reality at all. I mean, look at the Aztec; they are really functional and the beginning of a trend seen through all manufacturers...but DAMN it was ugly. As I mentioned in another thread, GM usually gets one function on a car right, but fail in everything else.
I was (WAS) a staunch GM driver. My fathers first car was a 1957 Chevrolet 210, then after that it was nothing but Pontiac. And he grew up in a Ford family.
But now parents are interested in buying a Legacy Outback wagon, since they have experienced my Impreza and are amazed at how my cheap little car is so much better put together than a GM product. As am I!
Can you believe that the fit and finish of the interior is better than my father's loaded Bonneville? Or that it is quieter? I essentially own a base model Impreza with WRX motor shoved in, since I have a TR model. So everything inside is from a $16,000 PZEV econobox.
Economic analysts are stating that what really is killing GM is GMAC and the UAW deals, but if you keep treating your customers like fools, even a fool will know when to walk away.
About the H2, that thing is not good off road. There was a Top Gear episode where they put an Escalade an H2 and a Land Rover against each other and the only one that was actually able to get up the mountain (that wasn't even that difficult) was the Rover. Also what is the point of paying a premium on an H2 if its nothing but a Tahoe with a different body on it?
Yeah, and the problem, like several in this thread have said, is that GM didn't complete the technology before implementing it. Their engineers had great ideas and GM's short-sighted accounts (and executives) successfully neutered them one after another. That leaves GM looking like the idiots, no matter that they pushed the technology first. People want cars that work.
If you want to make fun of a hummer pick on the H3, now that is silly it only came with a 5 cyl engine to begin with. I didnt like the H2 at first ( we owned an H1 a long while back for a short period of time) but its grown on me. It has some weaknesses but if you beef it up it could be a real tank off road. oh yeah, drop a duramax in the h2 also.
i was glad the aztek made the list. i thought about that 1 before i even opened the thread.
i also dislike saturns of any kind.
GM and the other 2s big reason for failing is unions! get rid of them! they have to slow down their production and be less efficient so they can employ bill and bob in Kentucky to get paid way too much to do nothing!
