GM + EV = Bad.

Dr.Jass

Dr.Jass

Pastor of Muppets
I'm not sure what other result could be expected when the world's leading manufacturer of electrical nightmares for the past 30+ years decided to start making all-electric vehicles.

With less than 2,000 miles on it, Edmunds.com's 2024 Blazer EV is in the shop with 23 electrical failures/faults, some of them serious. A good number of these faults appeared in a single road trip that required a few restarts to keep going. GM now has stolen the Edmunds' "most problematic new car" crown from the previous record-holder, none other than the Tesla Model S.

GM's most savvy dealers seem to be the Buick boys, who apparently see the writing on the EV wall. Buick dealers were given the option last year to invest between $300K and $400K in the EV pipe dream or have GM buyout their dealership. So far, 47% of Buick dealers have taken the buyout option, dropping the number of Buick dealers from 1,985 at the start of 2023 to just about 1,000 as of December 20th. Ever deluded, Buick's top dog said, "I'm really pleased with where we are. The network, where we are now, is a good size."
This is the level of intelligence running what was once the world's largest automaker: Halving the number of outlets at which one can purchase our wares is good. Nobody has lusted after a Buick since, well... ever. At least, certainly not enough to drive 50-100 miles to get one over some other marque.

I don't even know where the closest Buick dealer is anymore. It used to be 5 minutes up the road, but they dropped Buick awhile ago. That left one 50 miles away, but that one doesn't show up on Buick's dealer locator anymore either.
 
buicks were always and have always been for old ppl....sad to say those days have been gone since the 80s early 90s, at this point they are more likely to keep driving what they have or whatever someone in the family tells/gives them to drive....no one will notice the name go poof
 
The quote about halving the dealer network from Buick's brand manager or whatever he is made me think of a scene in a movie. Moments after sex, the guy's feeling insecure and the girl's not making things any better:

"You said it was a good size!"
"When a girl tells you it's a good size, that means it's small."

😄
 
I can only imagine the screaming that employees of the Ford Customer Relationship Center have to endure daily with shit like this.

I love how they include specific instructions for the tow truck operator, as if that device is going to just stay put untouched whilst awaiting Dr. Hook. I don't know if that's a Ford tool, a tablet, a phone or a particle accelerator but barring the latter, it'll probably be needed shortly after the tantrum subsides. "Just go ahead and leave the diagnotic tablet in the Mach-E until the tow truck gets here. Until then, we'll pay you to sit on your thumbs. If anyone else needs it, they can do the same." Big, efficiently-run dealerships love that kind of thing. Or not.
 
Wow. I can't believe anyone let such a design travesty leave the building. That's the most tacked-on hokey-lookin' thing I've ever seen on a dash... and I can talk, because my brother has a '24 Colorado. Sheesh.
 
The part that aggravates me about it, and modern TVs too, is they are basically nothing but an overpriced Android phone.

I'm sort of a tree hugger and have thought about EVs since they were first announced years ago, but could never see the practical side of them. If I'm driving a car I need it to get me there and back every time. Then there's the cost of batteries.

There was an E-stang at the body shop the last time I was up there and the owner talked about how much fun it is to drive. I replied, yeah, as long as it works.
 
b-body-bob said:
I'm sort of a tree hugger and have thought about EVs since they were first announced years ago, but could never see the practical side of them.
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The horror stories circulating about them are pretty off-putting.

Owner puts jet skis in lake with Tesla, car malfunctions and locks his wife inside as it rolls into water shortly before the battery pack bursts into flames.

Couple in Scotland takes their Tesla to go out for dinner; it fails in a rainstorm due to water ingress. Tesla says it's not a warranty issue, wants $21,000 to fix an essentially new car.

I've launched and recovered a lot of boats in my day and never had the car attempt to lock me in and immolate me. Similarly, in 2003 during some torrential rain (and a twister), my '81 LeBaron was submerged in water up to the headlamps and kept going. I spent quite a bit of time pushing newer vehicles that were water-stranded in some enormously-deep puddles. That car was a Slant Six, so by rights the distributor should've been submerged (and may well have been). It never hiccupped, much less stalled.

In this climate and those colder, one wonders what battery life will be like at -20°F with the lights on, heater going full tilt, rear-window defrost grid on and radio playing. That's a typical winter commute 'round here, and in the case of my ride (Stretch) he's got 20 or so miles to drive each way. If his EV must charge while at work, exactly who pays for that? Should my bosses be expected to eat the additional electrical bill caused by EVs plugged in at their businesses?
 
A good friend owns a local towing company.
A conversation a few weeks ago and he tells me, in spite of the warmer weather, they've been fairly busy recovering hybrid and electric vehicles. "They're a life-saver for us!"
Our neighbour, Bill, bought a Focus Hybrid a few years ago. Nice looking little thing for a new car.
He loved it. Great mileage, quiet, subsidized.
Until a few months went by... he kept it a full two years and finally gave up and bought a Navigator. He tells me that he told the dealer 'You guys should be making the payments on it. You have it more than I do!"
 
For a while i thought I'd finish the Beetle and then put it up for sale.
But... with our Feds stating no new ICE cars for sale by 2035, I think I'll finish the car, stock up on as many spare parts as I can, and keep the thing going for as long as it holds together.
 
The last new car in which I was interested (but ill-equipped to afford) was the Viper GTS. The last time I truly lusted after a new car, though, was a few years before I got my license. New cars haven't ever held much appeal to me, maybe because I'm so enamored with the styling effort that was put into old ones, at least mid-'50s to early/mid-'70s. All the hubbub about internal combustion going away in new cars doesn't affect me much because I've never aspired to own a new car. Internal combustion ain't going anywhere--the U.S. Fed passed a similar law a couple years back, then rescinded it upon realizing the technology isn't there. Electric pickup trucks are an adorable idea, but utterly worthless.
Besides, who's going to let oil and car companies topple like that? The only reason Buick will still be around in two years is because the Chinese have adored Buicks for decades. GM's Chinese owners will never let the brand vanish. If other GM divisions pull the same manuever that Buick did, GM will be a specialty manufacturer within a decade.
 
"...the U.S. Fed passed a similar law a couple years back, then rescinded it upon realizing the technology isn't there. "
Our Feds are too wrapped up in themselves to arrive at that conclusion... Our basic generating capacity isn't anywhere close to being up to the task, let alone the to-be-required ancillary infra-structure.
Not even going to mention our vast landscape and the often-harsh climate...
 
Bottom line is there is a specific group of people that stand to make huge $$$ by selling this crap. They have no fore-thought as to whether our system can support it or if it can even survive in our environment. It's nothing more than a major scam only intended to make certain people rich at our expense. Crude oil will constantly be renewed as long as there is plant life on the planet.
 
68R/T said:
Crude oil will constantly be renewed as long as there is plant life on the planet.
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The supply of crude isn't the big problem. How long does it take to turn plants into oil anyway?

Now I will shut up and not come back into this thread. :D
 
68R/T said:
Crude oil will constantly be renewed as long as there is plant life on the planet.
Click to expand...
b-body-bob said:
How long does it take to turn plants into oil anyway?
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"Fossil fuel" is a misnomer we're still fed as truth, or a fallacy we're still expected to believe if you prefer. The largest known deposit of crude petroleum known in the universe is on Titan, one of Jupiter's moons. There is not a single scientist on this planet that would posit there was ever life on Titan. Much like the "big bang" theory, which was mathematically proven impossible over a decade ago, we're still fed the same line of crap and it's taught as fact to the young'uns.
 
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