Comments on: What’s missing from the GM-Chrysler coverage. Allegedly.

By: Mike66Chryslers

Mike66Chryslers — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:37:31 +0000

I usually avoid the “Dodge trucks are inferior to GM trucks” discussions because I haven’t followed reliability ratings for the latest generation of either truck, but I have a ‘94 Ram 2500 with a Cummins and I’m very happy with it. It’s also been very reliable in my opinion. I bought it used in 2001. I don’t expect I’ll be looking to replace it for another 6 years or more.

On the same day I bought my truck, I also test-drove a 1996 Chevy p/u with the 6.5L turbodiesel and was unimpressed. The interior didn’t strike me as being any better than the Dodge. The 6.5L diesel doesn’t have a good reliability record, and the 1st gen Duramax that replaced it doesn’t either.

I have rented a newer (2006?) GM pickup for a week once. (My truck was in for bodywork due to a minor accident.) It would be an apples-and-oranges comparison because the rental was gas-powered, 4×4, 1/2 ton, but I was happy to be driving my own truck again at the end of the week.

If the new smaller Cummins slated for the 2010 Dodge 1500 is as reliable as the larger Cummins engines are, that will be on my list when it comes time to replace my current truck.

By: BlueBrat

BlueBrat — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 13:04:27 +0000

I rented a Dodge truck before to do some hauling of crap, and I’ll never do that again. Sorry, but they are just awful vehicles.

By: rpol35

rpol35 — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 12:14:58 +0000

If the Chrysler acquisition doesn’t outright kill GM, then Jeep certainly will on its own. It is the Hope Diamond of automobiles as everyone who has previously owned it has taken a knee.

By: tigeraid

tigeraid — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 12:10:22 +0000

wait, did he just say the Dodge Charger is comparable to the GTO and G8? Has he ever turned a corner with one?

Never mind the heinous technical glitches and quality control issues from the Charger/Magnum/300 platform… this guy’s an unapoligetic Mopar lover and GM hater, I really don’t think he has the objectivity to discuss this subject.

By: toxicroach

toxicroach — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 03:23:23 +0000

If you just want the brand, sit on it. Big Dog is clearly sweating bullets, and its not like GM wouldn’t sell it to you if it ends up with it anyhow, as long as you showed up with cash money.

By: brifol5

brifol5 — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 01:00:29 +0000

Has anyone thought of the possibility that GM only wants a part of Chrysler, let’s say minivans only. Nissan for trucks, and Renault for Jeep?

Just a thought.

By: jg1708

jg1708 — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 00:07:40 +0000

I am beginning to think that all of this GM-Chrysler merger talk is part of back room negotiations between GM and the powers that be in the federal government.

Although the GM-Chrysler merger does not make sense from the perspective of either GM or Chrysler, it makes perfect sense from the perspective of the U.S. government, who is faced with the prospect of propping up the entire U.S. automotive industry for several years to come. If the government agrees to bail out any one of the big 2.8, it must bail out all of them. If GM acquires Chrysler, no one can argue that the expenses incurred by the automotive industry as a whole will decline drastically after GM lays-off 85% of Chrysler’s employees.

By: 928sport

928sport — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 23:55:05 +0000

All this merger talk makes my head hurt,In the end, just bend over, there will be second part of the body that will hurt worse.

By: bumpy

bumpy — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 23:27:28 +0000

“Never mind that trucks still need V8s”

No, they don’t. They just need lots of torque at low rpm’s. There are lots of ways to accomplish that.

Also, the Ram has absolutely no future in a GM-Chrysler merger. In a town that lives and breathes NIH, GM is probably the worst of the lot at contemptuously ignoring better solutions from outside itself. Unless GM sells the design outright to Nissan, the current Ram will be the last.

By: indi500fan

indi500fan — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 23:06:50 +0000

I can understand that the Allpar boys might be a bit protective of their stuff, but nobody thinks Dodge trucks are superior to much of anything.
They do have the Cummins diesel as mentioned, but having to pay Cummins healthy profit on the engine makes it pretty much a pass-through financially.

To the acquirer goes the spoils, and I would think the Chrysler folks would well understand this after the Daimler deal.

By: Dimwit

Dimwit — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 22:26:27 +0000

Hmmm. That’s interesting. One thing that *nobody* has mentioned is Cummins. If Dodge goes under the Cummins deal goes south and wouldn’t Ford just love to dump Navistar for Cummins which is acknowledged as the best diesel out there for the pickups. GM swooping in and swapping Cummins for Duramax would piss off Ford, I would imagine, assuming GM through C11 could make it stick and Cummins would agree in the first place.

Overall though, it’s more like the MadHatter’s picnic with everyone running around screaming rumours and no substance. I can’t believe anything any of the MM report these days.