New GM ad: Are you ready for government-made crapboxes?
posted at 7:45 pm on June 1, 2009 by Allahpundit
Via RCP. What’s a proud American’s patriotic duty when it comes to helping GM rebound? We’re all owners now; a successful rebirth would doubtless be great for the economy. And yet I find myself feeling … resentful. Could it be because the company’s a black hole for taxpayer money? Could it be because the feds are hopelessly conflicted about how to manage it, from using it as a platform for their green religion to favoring it over companies like Ford that didn’t take bailout cash? Could it be because we’re barely into the age of state ownership of automakers and the evidence is already mounting that Obama’s acting like a partisan jackass? Or could it be because Gibbs is unable to answer a straightforward question about when, precisely, the government plans to return the company to private ownership?
Verdict: If I had to buy tomorrow, I’d buy Ford. What fiscal conservative wouldn’t?
Blowback
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That’s nice
I bought an Acura over a Cadillac
Defector01 on June 1, 2009 at 7:49 PM
and, there was a time when people took responsibility for their own bad decisions. That time, it appears, has come to an end.
sheesh on June 1, 2009 at 7:49 PM
L
crappier, costlier, stupider….
NoFanofLibs on June 1, 2009 at 7:49 PM
ford is better than GM, but foreign is even better.
the UAW is a cancer on this country and our economy.
homesickamerican on June 1, 2009 at 7:49 PM
Do I hear a “I hope GM fails” coming out of AP’s mouth?
Blasphemy to all things progressive!
Upstater85 on June 1, 2009 at 7:49 PM
We’re going to be subsidizing this crap long term.
BadgerHawk on June 1, 2009 at 7:49 PM
It’s kind of like how the Soviets subsidized their bad ideas… We get to subsidize Obama’s bad ideas.
Upstater85 on June 1, 2009 at 7:50 PM
Yep AP I’m lookin at Ford
HotAirExpert on June 1, 2009 at 7:51 PM
Pretty much. It’s gonna be awesome!
BadgerHawk on June 1, 2009 at 7:51 PM
No. It’d be nice if they succeed since it’ll help the economy. Just not what I’d buy if I had to.
Allahpundit on June 1, 2009 at 7:52 PM
Well, I watched the ad and my only response can be “F*** Off Government Motors!”
No way I’m buying a GM or Chrysler.
chalons on June 1, 2009 at 7:52 PM
Bingo. Gibbs a terrible spokesmouth. I hope Obama keeps him all 4 years.
As for GM “Reinventing” itself. They have 2 bosses now. King Obama & Queen UAW. They won’t be reinventing anything. They will milk and bleed the company even more, with lines being kept open that benefit Senator X (D), and hurt Senator Y (R).
It is a big game of ball & cup now. Watch for the shifty hands.
portlandon on June 1, 2009 at 7:52 PM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/09/AR2009040904319.html
GM will literally be, Government Motors.
Rebar on June 1, 2009 at 7:52 PM
Reminds me of one of those Archer Daniels Midland commercials that SNL spoofed years ago…a bunch of disconnected images and themes strung together with a meandering, meaningless, non-specific verbal narrative.
Kind of sums up everything.
AUINSC on June 1, 2009 at 7:53 PM
GM WILL fail…not “go out of business fail”…but “run back for more tax money fail.”
deedtrader on June 1, 2009 at 7:53 PM
There will never be a privately owned gM that is profiitable while being saddled with the UAW. Jettison them today, build cars people want, and turn the beast away from certain perpetual embarrassment.
daesleeper on June 1, 2009 at 7:53 PM
Would it really help the economy? How has the survival of GM helped the economy in say the past 5 years?
The economy is best helped when the best succeeds and the crap is flushed…
Upstater85 on June 1, 2009 at 7:54 PM
Any suggestions for the “law of unintended consequences” to this abomination………..?
Seven Percent Solution on June 1, 2009 at 7:55 PM
I think there are many intended consequences coming out of this “great idea.”
Upstater85 on June 1, 2009 at 7:56 PM
I think Japan is a better ally to America than the UAW. Therefore, I will continue to buy Japanese with a clear conscience. (Does Japan have labor unions, BTW? My guidelines are rapidly becoming do NOT buy anything union.)
NahnCee on June 1, 2009 at 7:56 PM
I can drive any used 90′s Pontiac, Buick, and get 28 -30 mpg hiway.
I can buy ‘em cheap and run the miles up before the Engine Drive Train goes.
If GM builds a 35 MPG piece of crap for $25,000….I will keep driving used 200 HP buicks….Old ones, and be only 7 mpg off the beaten path.
I will NOT drive an Obama Motors car.
JayTee on June 1, 2009 at 7:57 PM
BakerAllie on June 1, 2009 at 7:57 PM
Hockey, football, horses, windmills, giant foam fingers, moonwalk, Joe Lewis, butterfly, more football.
WHERE’S THE DAMN APPLE PIE.
hepcat on June 1, 2009 at 7:57 PM
I’d buy Toyota or Suzuki. I will not give my money to the UAW Union for a piece of junk that’s going to need repairs in less than 2 years. I applaud Ford for not taking the goverment cheese, but a Ford Escort was the bane of my existence a few years back.
BakerAllie on June 1, 2009 at 7:57 PM
I pressed “Play”. I heard the voice over say, “Let’s be completely honest”. I hit “Stop”.
Weight of Glory on June 1, 2009 at 7:58 PM
Ford, hell. Nissan. BMW.
J.E. Dyer on June 1, 2009 at 7:58 PM
I don’t hope GM fails but you tell me what happens when the government is going to do everything GM did to fail except take it up to 11? Failure is inevitable.
gwelf on June 1, 2009 at 7:59 PM
ack..sorry for the double post
BakerAllie on June 1, 2009 at 7:59 PM
Real Americans love a winner like Honda, Subaru, Toyota and
Mazda and will not keep tolerating losers like GM or Chrysler or Fiat. That’s why real Americans have never kept buying losers, and will never keep buying losers … ..because the very thought of continuing to buy losers is hateful to real Americans.
- “Channeling” George S. Patton
MB4 on June 1, 2009 at 7:59 PM
I heard something today about how there will be a cash incentive (i.e. bailout) to “trade in clunkers for cleaner.”
Anyone heard of this?
Anyone know how we’d pay for this?
Anyone know if the new cars would have to be un-used?
Anyone know if the new cars would have to be American?
Upstater85 on June 1, 2009 at 7:59 PM
I am supposed to by a car from them because the showed a photo of the 1980 Hockey team in the commercial, and compared their rebirth with that of a recovering disabled vet (another clip in the comercial). They have no shame. I just bought a car last summer, before the failure became imminent, and I have been getting mailings to buy a new car every month since. F off government motors
cobrakai99 on June 1, 2009 at 7:59 PM
Had Fords since the late ’80′s.
Must be prescient.
Buy American.
Not Obamican.
profitsbeard on June 1, 2009 at 8:00 PM
Nope. I’ll keep my nissan and my Jeep, thank you.
HornetSting on June 1, 2009 at 8:00 PM
1.) To not buy a Government [Cheese] Motors car
2.) Let it go bankrupt
3.) Teach the next generation of Americans a valuable lesson of free markets.
That should do it.
Branch Rickey on June 1, 2009 at 8:00 PM
Ford is really going to need people to buy their cars because is the federal government ever going to give them a significant contact ever again?
jjshaka on June 1, 2009 at 8:00 PM
+10 haha
Upstater85 on June 1, 2009 at 8:00 PM
Heh. I like it.
Weight of Glory on June 1, 2009 at 8:00 PM
Beyond all the known issues with this whole government as debtor in possession of these two companies nobody has addressed the issues about potential flaps which will be raised at the WTO as to the international position of these actions.
CommentGuy on June 1, 2009 at 8:01 PM
Ford’s for me..
rich801 on June 1, 2009 at 8:01 PM
Well, like Nascar, we have GM’s COT….Crap on Tires.
HornetSting on June 1, 2009 at 8:01 PM
Buy a GM car? I’m already paying the company – you mean I’m not getting a car for ‘free’?
gwelf on June 1, 2009 at 8:01 PM
I used to hate Ford, but they’re the only game in town now and are far superior to their American competition. GM will continue to build ill-conceived bland floatmobiles (maybe they’ll keep some cred with the Corvette if Obama doesn’t scrap it) while Chrysler produces scads of ugly rental-fleet fodder that with names that all sound like condom brands (Ram, Caliber, Magnum, Charger, Crossfire… you get the picture). The blue oval guys can’t help but beat that bunch of dummies.
fiatboomer on June 1, 2009 at 8:01 PM
contract
damn highballs
jjshaka on June 1, 2009 at 8:01 PM
I haven’t bought American in over 25 years. Bought a Renault
Alliance back in the early 80s and put close to 200,000 on it before buying a Honda Civic that went another 200,000 plus. Then bought another Civic after September 11th, 2001. Haven’t rolled 100,000 on it, but I intend to keep it until it dies. Then buy another Honda.
I have no wish to give any of my hard earned money to fill the pockets of the UAW.
GM is going to go through several years of giving their new crap boxes to the government, because very few people have the desire to buy a car they do not want!
Jack.
Jack Deth on June 1, 2009 at 8:01 PM
BRAND RATINGS
Consumer Reports gives each auto maker a report card based on the reliability of its models and scores from vehicle tests. The grades are on a 100-point scale:
Honda: 78
Subaru: 75
Toyota: 74
Mazda: 73
Mercedes-Benz: 72
Nissan: 72
Volkswagen: 72
BMW: 72
Hyundai: 70
Volvo: 65
Mitsubishi: 64
Ford: 63
Suzuki: 60
General Motors: 57
Chrysler: 48
MB4 on June 1, 2009 at 8:01 PM
If I bought American again, I’d buy Ford.
Upstater85 on June 1, 2009 at 8:01 PM
If you have to buy American, buy used. Or better yet, don’t buy at all. If you don’t got the cash to buy something, you can’t afford to buy it. Stop propping up the economy with borrowed money.
My car has about 71,000 kms on it, or about 43k miles for you non-metric folks. This will be the last car I will ever need to buy as, we all know, none of us will be here much longer.
keep the change on June 1, 2009 at 8:02 PM
Hey… will GM be allowed (by Obama) to participate in NASCAR? You know that would really chafe the CEO…
Upstater85 on June 1, 2009 at 8:03 PM
Suicide clown cars, every Congress-critter should be made to ride or drive only in cars that get the CAFE standard mileage, no exceptions.
tarpon on June 1, 2009 at 8:04 PM
Buy FORD…
Kaptain Amerika on June 1, 2009 at 8:04 PM
So he demanded an “exit strategy and time line for withdraw” from Iraq, but not one for when the government is going to pull out of a taxpayer owned business/formerly privately owned business?
Vigilante on June 1, 2009 at 8:04 PM
Why does the word Amtrak keep running around my head?
TexAz on June 1, 2009 at 8:04 PM
Upstater85 on June 1, 2009 at 8:05 PM
I’ll never buy a Government Motors car. Ford is the new patriotic brand…. but that won’t stop me from driving my Mazda3 hatch
AbaddonsReign on June 1, 2009 at 8:05 PM
Maybe Nascar can have the Dear Leader/UAW 500
First car that doesn’t fall apart and can finish in 8 hours wins 1st place.
No Fords and Toyotas- you had your chance.
jjshaka on June 1, 2009 at 8:06 PM
This will make AMTRAK look like a smart business move.
cobrakai99 on June 1, 2009 at 8:06 PM
I so badly wanted a Corvette….
FontanaConservative on June 1, 2009 at 8:07 PM
I’ll stick with Nissan and toyota…they can have obama clunkers…
right4life on June 1, 2009 at 8:08 PM
Ford owns a controlling stake in Mazda and half of your 3 is probably made by Ford. Also, all Mazda6 models with the V6 have a Ford engine, and the Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute are clones. So you can buy a Japanese car and still buy from an American company… sorta.
fiatboomer on June 1, 2009 at 8:09 PM
I wonder if Obama will have to mingle with the Rednecks that cling to their Bibles and Guns?
Michelle would have to change that wardrobe. Most crackers don’t adore Chewbaccas
Upstater85 on June 1, 2009 at 8:09 PM
Does Ralph Nader support GM now that it is owned by the democrat party?
Skandia Recluse on June 1, 2009 at 8:10 PM
People still do. It’s just other people now.
Cicero43 on June 1, 2009 at 8:10 PM
Checking who won the race for my hubby, there are questions what will happen to Chevy’s role now, they sponsor races, they sponsor teams……I see it this way…..you know, these red state r-neck God fearing, gun toting, bible thumping knuckledraggers go to the races and the cars that they watch go around and around, like watching traffic, make a huge carbon footprint……I smell a shut down of Nascar by obama…coming soon.
HornetSting on June 1, 2009 at 8:10 PM
He’ll only support it when you can’t actually enter one of their cars… You know, the safety reasons…
Upstater85 on June 1, 2009 at 8:11 PM
Smart man(or woman)
CWforFreedom on June 1, 2009 at 8:11 PM
Buy Ford or buy used.
Now,, I have been thinking,,, Ford could end up being the true new GM. I heard on Rush today they have actually expanded their production. If they played their cards right,,, they could end up taking every single customer Government Motors loses,,,,, unless Obama directly tries to interfere with Ford taking over the market. That will be something to watch. No one is going to want to buy a new Government Motors car. Nobody! They will flock to the company that makes the cars they want. It’s like squeezing a balloon. Obama squeezes the market here,,, but it budges over there. A dictator will never be able to control the market by only taking over a portion of it,,,as long as there is still free market somewhere else. The dictator must control all the market,,, or his plans will fail. I think,, this is opportunity for others. And they will see it. In short,,, as long as there is a place where people can go to buy the cars they want,, the government market will fail. But,, if Obama can control the entire car market,, that is different. So,, he will either have to take over it all,, or lose it all.
JellyToast on June 1, 2009 at 8:11 PM
Just got a brand new 2010 Toyota Corolla.
I’ll buy American Autos when American Auto pulls its head out of its collective rear end.
I do not want “backed by the full faith and credit of the US government” on my warranty.
Especially given that Obama would be the creditor, and I place zero faith in him.
BKennedy on June 1, 2009 at 8:12 PM
Wonder how many salaries this ad cost.
The Ugly American on June 1, 2009 at 8:12 PM
I and many other GM shareholders will be taking capital losses on next year’s tax return and on carry overs on many future returns. Every year this will be a constant reminder and every year a hit to IRS revenue. It pains me but I am not likely to invest in or buy a GM product anytime soon.
diogenes on June 1, 2009 at 8:13 PM
Great minds, upstater…great minds.
HornetSting on June 1, 2009 at 8:13 PM
Gotta love FORD
CWforFreedom on June 1, 2009 at 8:13 PM
I am going to buy a MUSTANG this month.Govt Motors can bite me. And I have family who have worked with GM for Generations. I do not support fascist govt takeovers of business
400lb Gorilla on June 1, 2009 at 8:13 PM
I will not buy any product of Obamotors. I hope you Obambi fans are getting the change you wanted. I got news for you, when the pendulum swings back the other way and the country realizes what the radical left is doing to this country, they are going to take that pendulum and bust it over your head! I’ll be surprised if the former USA doesn’t look like a poor eastern european country by then. He’s done so much damage in four months, it’s unbelievable. I’m reading today that the average household share of the debt this moron has worked up is over $546,000 a year. The right has always been saying that if the dems got total power, this is what they would do. For you middle of the roaders who didn’t believe us, HOW BOUT NOW??
Bikerken on June 1, 2009 at 8:13 PM
Video message: “We didn’t really take this whole car-building thing too seriously for the past 30 years, but we’re serious about it now! Not too reassuring, somehow.
Maybe that Deese boy has some Hot Wheels ownership experience that will turn the trick.
Cicero43 on June 1, 2009 at 8:14 PM
“Put it in ‘H’!”
DethMetalCookieMonst on June 1, 2009 at 8:15 PM
Heck, are we going to see them at a
Poetry NightIce Hockey Game next??? I’d be so ashamed if they started moving among the electorate instead of the governing class…Upstater85 on June 1, 2009 at 8:15 PM
Well,in one fell swoop,the enviromental wackos,
now have their dream cars!
canopfor on June 1, 2009 at 8:16 PM
Hey everyone. Remember that new Camero that was going to come out? Somehow I don’t think that’s going to happen now.
DethMetalCookieMonst on June 1, 2009 at 8:16 PM
I’ll say it.
I hope GM fails. Badly.
But there is this: A decade or so ago, GM was one of, if the, largest companies in the US with ~450,000 employees. When the new GM stabilizes, it will employ ~38,000. For some, thats progress. For me, that’s the MOST EPIC FAIL….EVAH!!!!!
BobMbx on June 1, 2009 at 8:16 PM
The commercials still suck.
What ad agency did the government pay millions to that came up with the same old crap. Same old V/O style, music from the 90′s, stock footage with a green message, what a load of crap. Welcome to your new American government,
corrupt, inept and out of touch.
izoneguy on June 1, 2009 at 8:16 PM
My last vehicle was a Ford Aerostar and believe it or not, in never broke down, even with a leaking cylinder and a brake that locked up on me. I put it to pasture and bought a
Toyota Sienna and I love that van. I also had a F150, and no problems. It’s those two brands for me. As I said in another post,Billy Durant is rolling in his grave.
Sanjoboy on June 1, 2009 at 8:17 PM
GM…Obama’s quagmire.
Rhinoboy on June 1, 2009 at 8:17 PM
Hasten the demise of GovMo.
Boycott. Let federal-government employees drive the 21st century versions of the Yugo.
BuckeyeSam on June 1, 2009 at 8:17 PM
There was a time when America believed in capitalism and the Free Market….not anymore.
Lets hear it for the Tribant
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1658545_1658533_1658030,00.html
ihasurnominashun on June 1, 2009 at 8:17 PM
I’ve been a GM owner all my life. I even talked my Japanese-car loving wife into buy a Geo back in the nineties. Last year, we bought Chryslers because GM just wasn’t producing the kinds of cars we wanted. GM paid more attention to detail than Chrysler, but until they start making attractive cars again, they can forget it.
Kafir on June 1, 2009 at 8:18 PM
Oh this is rich, AP. What I hear is, “I hope GM doesn’t fail, but I’m not going to do jack to help them.” If that really is your sentiment, you should know I agree with it 100%.
gryphon202 on June 1, 2009 at 8:18 PM
I bought a brand new 2008 GMC pickup last summer. I will be trading it on a Ford truck within the next few weeks and I will NEVER EVER buy another GM or Chrysler product. Good luck on future sales government motors! I don’t see this going well for them.
jwp1964 on June 1, 2009 at 8:19 PM
The only good thing I can see coming out of this is that I know GM has been sitting on Hydrogen Fuel Cell technology. Maybe The Green One will force them to actually put something on the road and make it cost effective.
Kafir on June 1, 2009 at 8:20 PM
Getalife will be buying 1 motor less version of each:
the Michellon-crack
the GM Bawnster
the Grand Nan (new station wagon version)
and of course
the O (known for it’s 0 efficiency, 0 dependability, 0 trustworthiness, and 0 actually pollution – just lots of mind corruption)
Upstater85 on June 1, 2009 at 8:20 PM
Rush?
Upstater85 on June 1, 2009 at 8:21 PM
So when will they be coming out with the Pelosi GTxi SS/Rt Sport Edition?
TheQuestion on June 1, 2009 at 8:21 PM
I have a 1991 Toyota Camry 5 speed with 259,600 miles on it and it still has the original clutch and starter in it. It doesn’t leak oil on my driveway or in my garage and it gets more than 25 MPG. Oh by the way it’s also a V-6 with plenty of power to haul 5 adults. The interior still looks pretty good for an 18 year old car. The seats are still covered with the original cloth and are NOT full of holes. I drove a Ford once that lasted 215,000 miles, but the interior looked like a bomb had gone off inside.
TruthToBeTold on June 1, 2009 at 8:22 PM
I know one other thing.
I worked as a Teamster for 7 years.
If your expecting anything in terms of attitude, leadership and workhabit adjustments from a majority of union members with over 10 years under his belt, you’re living in an alternate universe.
Putting the government in charge will drive what little initiative they might have into the ground.
jjshaka on June 1, 2009 at 8:22 PM
As soon as Pelosi empties her pockets.
Upstater85 on June 1, 2009 at 8:23 PM
I will NEVER EVER buy another new G.M.
Thats Ok
My 89 Suburban and 94 Z28 run and drive great!
Auto parts sales will defenalty see a rise in sales.
JihadKiller1s1k on June 1, 2009 at 8:24 PM
The one good thing here is I believe that if he tried to do that, make life too rough on the “foreign” brands as opposed to just Ford, he would be in big doo-doo with the WTO and a number of agreements that the U.S. has signed, not to mention pissing off all his foreign admirers.
MB4 on June 1, 2009 at 8:24 PM
The UAW, “United @SS Wholes”, have seriously miscalculated the effect that peeing off most of your customer base can have on your business. I like the way they wrap themselves in the flag and say it’s patriotic to buy American, at the same time, they are the ones bringing in socialism to the US workforce and taking taxpayer money as a political payback from a corrupt president. They’ll get nothing from me.
Bikerken on June 1, 2009 at 8:24 PM
The botox mobile, you dent it, it fills in the cracks.
HornetSting on June 1, 2009 at 8:24 PM
It’s called the “Cash for Clunkers” bill, and it passed the House early in May. Vouchers up to $4500 will be given. No one says where the money is coming from. However, the trade has to be for a higher mileage car; at this point, it does not specify foreign or domestic. From what I can tell, this depends on what the specified mileage (not actual mileage) that your car gets. So if you have a passenger car that’s listed at 18mpg (even if you get 12 or less) you won’t be eligible. Cool, huh?
shibumi on June 1, 2009 at 8:25 PM
This is not about going out of business, this is about giving you the business.
ronsfi on June 1, 2009 at 8:25 PM
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