Was not so Smaht.
gm not going back to pre-covid inventory levels ever
Lead Lap
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 4,540
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Inventory Is not going back to pre war levels either.
https://www.autonews.com/automakers-...-auto-industry
https://www.autonews.com/automakers-...-auto-industry
My post isn't junk. We do NOT see any Mach-E vehicles on the road up here. Maybe they are in demand by the granola nuts crowd in California and the west coast, but not up here. The front of the Mach-E looks hideous, but the rear doesn't look bad. I wouldn't buy that car if you gave it to me for free or a million dollars.
I'll enjoy my granola, you enjoy your Smaht Pahk 
Lexus Champion
Joined: Oct 2019
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From: California
BTW, if someone paid me $1M to drive a Pinto, I'd take that bad boy in a second!
Last edited by AMIRZA786; Mar 10, 2022 at 01:04 PM.
Lexus Fanatic
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From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Nov 2011
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From: ON/NY
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 94,543
Likes: 264
From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
Many of the notorious body/paint problems Ford had in the 1970s was because the company wouldn't use Galvanized steel, and, in some cases, even left some things underneath bare metal, with no coatings or paint at all. To its credit, however, Ford was also the first company (that I know of) to shift to clearcoat paint in the 1980s, which IMO atoned for several earlier sins in the painting (or non-painting) process.
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Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Nov 2011
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From: ON/NY
Many of the notorious body/paint problems Ford had in the 1970s was because the company wouldn't use Galvanized steel, and, in some cases, even left some things underneath bare metal, with no coatings or paint at all. To its credit, however, Ford was also the first company (that I know of) to shift to clearcoat paint in the 1980s, which IMO atoned for several earlier sins in the painting (or non-painting) process.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 94,543
Likes: 264
From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
Part of that was because the companies had to spend so much on downsizing and developing new emissions and gas-mileage systems for their vehicles that it left less money to spend on quality control. Chrysler had already shown serious cheapening in the late 60s.
Although I am a firm supporter of the UAW for several reasons, I will admit that the union was so strong in those days that it also contributed to the problem of poorly-made vehicles by protecting the jobs of drunken/stoned/careless/indifferent workers who had no sense of pride in their work and/or sometimes deliberately sabotaged the vehicles if they had a beef with the company. Some of those Bozos should have been fired, and weren't. Management also had a lot of problems with disorganization and lack of coordination. Unlike many here in CL today, I'm old enough to vividly remember the way those vehicles, particularly from Chrysler, came off the assembly lines. It was ridiculous.
Last edited by mmarshall; Mar 12, 2022 at 11:18 AM.
Lexus Fanatic
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From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
Getting back on topic, We'll see if GM cutting down on inventory levels means more people will be ordering from the factory and getting exactly (or close to) what they want....if they have enough patience to wait. I've seen that process take 4-5 months or more, just from experience.
In fact, only fairly recently have I actually started special-ordering again, because vehicles are generally assembled better now than in the past. In the past, I found it was often better to buy from something right three, on the lot, that you could thoroughly inspect and test drive before buying. Lots of vehicles came from the factory way out of alignment, shimmies in the wheels/tires/ steering, out-of-round tires, full of rattles/squeaks, and some things that plain didn't work. Probably the worst examples I ever saw were the 1984 Pontiac Fiero and the 1980 GM X-Body compacts.
In fact, only fairly recently have I actually started special-ordering again, because vehicles are generally assembled better now than in the past. In the past, I found it was often better to buy from something right three, on the lot, that you could thoroughly inspect and test drive before buying. Lots of vehicles came from the factory way out of alignment, shimmies in the wheels/tires/ steering, out-of-round tires, full of rattles/squeaks, and some things that plain didn't work. Probably the worst examples I ever saw were the 1984 Pontiac Fiero and the 1980 GM X-Body compacts.
Pole Position
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 2,082
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From: CA
Getting back on topic, We'll see if GM cutting down on inventory levels means more people will be ordering from the factory and getting exactly (or close to) what they want....if they have enough patience to wait. I've seen that process take 4-5 months or more, just from experience.
While most car makers have consolidated choices into option groups, there are still far more ways to build them. This leads to complicated BOMS, procurement, build sheets, etc.
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