The biggest car manufacturer f--k ups!
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Date: 2022-04-11
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Comments and reviews: 10
Peter
Oh well done Matt, yet another Henry Ford story I didn't know about! What a despot that guy was, and ergo, a fool! This comes on the top of his financial support for the Nazi Party ( a later good move, in war profits, yuck) and his notion that -Worker's hands are good, unfortunately they're attached to brains-. Double Yuck!
-carwow here's my list. The Ford Edsel, designed by a family member, and so bad it was parodied on The Simpsons.
Then there's British Leyland, where to begin? Well, start with Jeremy Clarkson's video, bare in mind he's a rightwinger and his assessment is that both the Unions and the workers, and the management were both 50% to blame. And then know it was at least 60/40, mNfement and workers. But, look at things like the beautiful TR7, and why put a puny 2 litre engine in it, when the least engine it could have had was the 16V Dolomite Sprint engine, and it could and should have had the 3. 5litre Rover V8, especially when they went for the US market. Also, the door handles were exactly the same as the Allegro and Marina, as were many other parts, Raiding the parts bin is not a bad idea, but at least put different finishes on it for 'premium products', ffs!
Talking of raiding the parts bin, we come to the Delorean. Same door handles as the Allegro and Marina, you know this story, but there's much more to tell, including the set-up-sting by CIA agents for cocaine, DeLorean was obviously trying to make a quick buck to save his project. But what a turkey it became from it's original premise.
Back to Ford, after the 'jeely mould' Sierra, there was the new Granada, so ugly that the previous model square Granada's second hand price rose.
Or the quattravalvole Maseratis, unreliable expensive cars that were tiny, as in the interiors were not as big as a Golf at the tiume, and they lost money quicker than the Queen Mother at the races.
Volvo, and the buyout of Daf cars, with the vario-matic, which they eventually replaced, tried to remodel the car, including the incredibly slow GLT, as a supposed 'hot hatch', that wasn't even warm.
Shall we talk about rotary engines? So, there's the NSU RO80 and the Mazdas, the idea is sound, the engines are brilliant, built the practicalities aren't, as Norton also found out.
Then there's Mercedes Benz, originally super-premium products that just didn't die, but they let their quality standards slip, and now they've gone from Rolls Royce wannabes to Ford also-rans.
Or, we could talk about 'super cars' of the past, I once has a minor burn-up with an Aston Martin DB5 in my MKII Astra GTE, I left it on the straights and on the corners. But then, I believe I'm right in saying, despite all the porshes and ferraris, etc, of the time, at one point a Mini Cooper was the fastest car 0-60.
Lamborghini Countach. A pin-up car, but, uncomfortable, useless aircon, impossible to reverse, and by modern standards, not that quick, either.
On to modern times, now I'd love a Tesla, but, unless things have changed from the last oine I took a look at. The panels aren't of the best fit, and the interiors coukld be so much better with some minor refinements.
Loving you work, and Matt, I have a new found respect for you on this video, yows awlright mayte!
reply
Oh well done Matt, yet another Henry Ford story I didn't know about! What a despot that guy was, and ergo, a fool! This comes on the top of his financial support for the Nazi Party ( a later good move, in war profits, yuck) and his notion that -Worker's hands are good, unfortunately they're attached to brains-. Double Yuck!
-carwow here's my list. The Ford Edsel, designed by a family member, and so bad it was parodied on The Simpsons.
Then there's British Leyland, where to begin? Well, start with Jeremy Clarkson's video, bare in mind he's a rightwinger and his assessment is that both the Unions and the workers, and the management were both 50% to blame. And then know it was at least 60/40, mNfement and workers. But, look at things like the beautiful TR7, and why put a puny 2 litre engine in it, when the least engine it could have had was the 16V Dolomite Sprint engine, and it could and should have had the 3. 5litre Rover V8, especially when they went for the US market. Also, the door handles were exactly the same as the Allegro and Marina, as were many other parts, Raiding the parts bin is not a bad idea, but at least put different finishes on it for 'premium products', ffs!
Talking of raiding the parts bin, we come to the Delorean. Same door handles as the Allegro and Marina, you know this story, but there's much more to tell, including the set-up-sting by CIA agents for cocaine, DeLorean was obviously trying to make a quick buck to save his project. But what a turkey it became from it's original premise.
Back to Ford, after the 'jeely mould' Sierra, there was the new Granada, so ugly that the previous model square Granada's second hand price rose.
Or the quattravalvole Maseratis, unreliable expensive cars that were tiny, as in the interiors were not as big as a Golf at the tiume, and they lost money quicker than the Queen Mother at the races.
Volvo, and the buyout of Daf cars, with the vario-matic, which they eventually replaced, tried to remodel the car, including the incredibly slow GLT, as a supposed 'hot hatch', that wasn't even warm.
Shall we talk about rotary engines? So, there's the NSU RO80 and the Mazdas, the idea is sound, the engines are brilliant, built the practicalities aren't, as Norton also found out.
Then there's Mercedes Benz, originally super-premium products that just didn't die, but they let their quality standards slip, and now they've gone from Rolls Royce wannabes to Ford also-rans.
Or, we could talk about 'super cars' of the past, I once has a minor burn-up with an Aston Martin DB5 in my MKII Astra GTE, I left it on the straights and on the corners. But then, I believe I'm right in saying, despite all the porshes and ferraris, etc, of the time, at one point a Mini Cooper was the fastest car 0-60.
Lamborghini Countach. A pin-up car, but, uncomfortable, useless aircon, impossible to reverse, and by modern standards, not that quick, either.
On to modern times, now I'd love a Tesla, but, unless things have changed from the last oine I took a look at. The panels aren't of the best fit, and the interiors coukld be so much better with some minor refinements.
Loving you work, and Matt, I have a new found respect for you on this video, yows awlright mayte!
reply
john
Talking of mismanagement of car companies you have to look at the role played by governments too! IN 1959/60 The Rootes group wanted to expand its manufacturing facilities in the Coventry area but the Labour government would only support them if they built their new facility in Linwood Scotland. (due to the number of shipyard closures in the area! An area where motor production never existed! This threw up a massive logistical problem for the company, as not only had they to train all the new employees but ship parts back and forth across the country multiple times! Then when the project was about to go live the government reneged on the amount of funding they had promised, thereby setting the programme back considerably, meaning the cars were not fully developed when they were put on sale! Then the killer blow to the company was when they were bought over by Chrysler of America, who did not understand the UK car market or the buying public! They failed to see where the investment was needed and in fact cut off all further investment in the one product that had the potential to make them a fortune! I know as I was there at the time!
Rootes Group went from being the second largest manufacturer in the UK to a sorry footnote in the annals of history Thanks to the UK government and Chrysler US!
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Talking of mismanagement of car companies you have to look at the role played by governments too! IN 1959/60 The Rootes group wanted to expand its manufacturing facilities in the Coventry area but the Labour government would only support them if they built their new facility in Linwood Scotland. (due to the number of shipyard closures in the area! An area where motor production never existed! This threw up a massive logistical problem for the company, as not only had they to train all the new employees but ship parts back and forth across the country multiple times! Then when the project was about to go live the government reneged on the amount of funding they had promised, thereby setting the programme back considerably, meaning the cars were not fully developed when they were put on sale! Then the killer blow to the company was when they were bought over by Chrysler of America, who did not understand the UK car market or the buying public! They failed to see where the investment was needed and in fact cut off all further investment in the one product that had the potential to make them a fortune! I know as I was there at the time!
Rootes Group went from being the second largest manufacturer in the UK to a sorry footnote in the annals of history Thanks to the UK government and Chrysler US!
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carol
There was a loose relationship between GM and Saturn. This relationship allowed Saturn to do its own thing and they were doing it very well, I thought. Then GM decided that Saturn wasn't making enough money for the corporation and they began to change the product by using foreign-made transmissions and engines. Then they dropped the use of poly plastic body panels. Now the entire car wasn't any different than a Chevrolet except for the badging. I think that the later Saturns were built on GM paltforms. What had made the Saturns attractive to the public was gone and sales plummeted until the division was closed down. This is too bad because the engineers at Saturn had looked at what all of the rest of the auto industry was doing in building their cars and they copied all the best parts of what they found. My Saturn is 98% U. S. made. Only some of the electronics are foreign. It's too bad that someone with the resources didn't buy the division from GM and continued building the Saturns styled along the lines of the 1995 model year. Just improve the materials and tweak the way certain areas of the cars were put together so that the car line would improve in the same way the Volkswagen Beetle did. The design didn't change markedly, but gradually got better through the years.
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There was a loose relationship between GM and Saturn. This relationship allowed Saturn to do its own thing and they were doing it very well, I thought. Then GM decided that Saturn wasn't making enough money for the corporation and they began to change the product by using foreign-made transmissions and engines. Then they dropped the use of poly plastic body panels. Now the entire car wasn't any different than a Chevrolet except for the badging. I think that the later Saturns were built on GM paltforms. What had made the Saturns attractive to the public was gone and sales plummeted until the division was closed down. This is too bad because the engineers at Saturn had looked at what all of the rest of the auto industry was doing in building their cars and they copied all the best parts of what they found. My Saturn is 98% U. S. made. Only some of the electronics are foreign. It's too bad that someone with the resources didn't buy the division from GM and continued building the Saturns styled along the lines of the 1995 model year. Just improve the materials and tweak the way certain areas of the cars were put together so that the car line would improve in the same way the Volkswagen Beetle did. The design didn't change markedly, but gradually got better through the years.
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Leon
A couple of other major F-ups by car/vehicle makers:
The USA Ford Pinto of the 1970's with the shock mounts that in a rear end collision could puncture the fuel tank and cause a fire, killing a number of drivers and passengers.
The USA Ford brand Edsel. Ugly, serious mechanical issues, too small of a market niche, came out in 1958 during a major economic recession. Ford lost $100's of millions on it, killing the brand in late 1960.
The USA Ford Explorer or sometimes called 'Exploder' (early 1990's) with poorly specified Firestone tires and too low recommended tire pressures for a better ride. Too many killed or seriously injured when tires came apart as got too hot in some driving conditions.
Ford again, their DCT 'automatic' transmissions mainly in North American/Mexico market Focus and Fiesta models 2011-2019 (production ended in NA/Mexico. Terrible design, caused dangerous driving conditions with bad shifting, unfixable, failures at low mileages, cannot get parts to fix.
GM ignition switch issues - mainly in 00's and teens. Lock could fail to stay in proper position, loosen up and cause the steering wheel to lock up.
reply
A couple of other major F-ups by car/vehicle makers:
The USA Ford Pinto of the 1970's with the shock mounts that in a rear end collision could puncture the fuel tank and cause a fire, killing a number of drivers and passengers.
The USA Ford brand Edsel. Ugly, serious mechanical issues, too small of a market niche, came out in 1958 during a major economic recession. Ford lost $100's of millions on it, killing the brand in late 1960.
The USA Ford Explorer or sometimes called 'Exploder' (early 1990's) with poorly specified Firestone tires and too low recommended tire pressures for a better ride. Too many killed or seriously injured when tires came apart as got too hot in some driving conditions.
Ford again, their DCT 'automatic' transmissions mainly in North American/Mexico market Focus and Fiesta models 2011-2019 (production ended in NA/Mexico. Terrible design, caused dangerous driving conditions with bad shifting, unfixable, failures at low mileages, cannot get parts to fix.
GM ignition switch issues - mainly in 00's and teens. Lock could fail to stay in proper position, loosen up and cause the steering wheel to lock up.
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Victor
My Saab 900se turbo convertible had the sweetest engine you could have ever driven. Smooth, silent and powerful. The car had its issues, like a problematic convertible roof, which I eventually fixed after market, and a brilliant but quirky automatic clutch manual. But all the problems were forgiven because it was such a great car overall.
I tried to upgrade to a Saab 93 years later but the GM engines and automatic gearboxes in those newer models were just horrible in comparison. Like a normal GM car really. I eventually had to part with this great car when I upgraded to my first Mercedes. But I've never experienced an engine like the one in the Saab.
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My Saab 900se turbo convertible had the sweetest engine you could have ever driven. Smooth, silent and powerful. The car had its issues, like a problematic convertible roof, which I eventually fixed after market, and a brilliant but quirky automatic clutch manual. But all the problems were forgiven because it was such a great car overall.
I tried to upgrade to a Saab 93 years later but the GM engines and automatic gearboxes in those newer models were just horrible in comparison. Like a normal GM car really. I eventually had to part with this great car when I upgraded to my first Mercedes. But I've never experienced an engine like the one in the Saab.
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Brent
Vw diesel issue. Brilliant. can argue FOR VW all day. .3 things needed for internal combustion. Air. Fuel. Compression. American vw diesel ( my experience) is the car in question could get 48 mpg on the road with their cheat. detune to e. p. a. spec. And pull at best 42 mpg. With severe performance reductions. so if you are from Rio Linda. with vw, s cheat code in place the car performed better and got BETTER MPG, S. So some science. carbon is in the fuel. when fuel is burned it is released. same engine. 2 - tunes-. Tens of thousands of perfect fuel efficient and fun cars were scrapped. For the record. was a diesel mechanic.
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Vw diesel issue. Brilliant. can argue FOR VW all day. .3 things needed for internal combustion. Air. Fuel. Compression. American vw diesel ( my experience) is the car in question could get 48 mpg on the road with their cheat. detune to e. p. a. spec. And pull at best 42 mpg. With severe performance reductions. so if you are from Rio Linda. with vw, s cheat code in place the car performed better and got BETTER MPG, S. So some science. carbon is in the fuel. when fuel is burned it is released. same engine. 2 - tunes-. Tens of thousands of perfect fuel efficient and fun cars were scrapped. For the record. was a diesel mechanic.
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Mike
If you want material for 5 more videos. Studebaker Packard merger, James Nance made Biden look smart. I don't know if this wound have worked, but James Nance's plan to merge Nash Hudson Studebaker and Packard into one company, using shared components, like GM might have got them in a different destination, making it to 1987 and inventing the cross over suv (AMC Eagle) A interestingly side note, the engineering side of AMC (Jeep)and. drove Chrysler design. Nice to see them get some cars to design. Remember the proud indepents, given their size they made a oversized footprint on automotive history.
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If you want material for 5 more videos. Studebaker Packard merger, James Nance made Biden look smart. I don't know if this wound have worked, but James Nance's plan to merge Nash Hudson Studebaker and Packard into one company, using shared components, like GM might have got them in a different destination, making it to 1987 and inventing the cross over suv (AMC Eagle) A interestingly side note, the engineering side of AMC (Jeep)and. drove Chrysler design. Nice to see them get some cars to design. Remember the proud indepents, given their size they made a oversized footprint on automotive history.
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WALTER
GM also produced the Bolt full electric and bought all of them back and scrapped them as well as the batteries would catch on fire - Biden called GM the -Leader- in EV tech and in the 1970's when the oil crisis hit they changed their Ohio plant from building the most iconic Camaros and Firebirds with V8 engine to the Chevy Vega which started to rust before they left the plant in which they were build. The dealers all knew this and sold all buyers rust proofing which didn't work and the engines were oil burners. After a year or two, owners had to put in a quart of oil with every gas fill up.
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GM also produced the Bolt full electric and bought all of them back and scrapped them as well as the batteries would catch on fire - Biden called GM the -Leader- in EV tech and in the 1970's when the oil crisis hit they changed their Ohio plant from building the most iconic Camaros and Firebirds with V8 engine to the Chevy Vega which started to rust before they left the plant in which they were build. The dealers all knew this and sold all buyers rust proofing which didn't work and the engines were oil burners. After a year or two, owners had to put in a quart of oil with every gas fill up.
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Aussie
The emission regulator in the USA was asleep at the wheel and it was the university of West Virginia that discover the cheat on VW's. They informed the emissions regulator who took it from there. But for VW it wasn't a f--k up it was pure criminal intent. They designed a device to intentionally break US law. They wanted to be the world biggest car manufacturer and they intended to break any law no matter how big or small to achieve their aim. All they've achieved is that their Nazi past still hasn't really left them yet.
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The emission regulator in the USA was asleep at the wheel and it was the university of West Virginia that discover the cheat on VW's. They informed the emissions regulator who took it from there. But for VW it wasn't a f--k up it was pure criminal intent. They designed a device to intentionally break US law. They wanted to be the world biggest car manufacturer and they intended to break any law no matter how big or small to achieve their aim. All they've achieved is that their Nazi past still hasn't really left them yet.
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Marc
Same guy who came up with lead in fuel, also came up with CFCs as a refrigerant.
DDT was used as a mass pesticide, sprayed directly into poor people's homes and streets in the USA
Asbestos was used knowing it was dangerous
Phosphorus the same
Car companies are just a means to sell us oil and now lithium (which is in some dodgy countries, so maybe one day we'll get a well run company, but they're few and far between (Tesla is not one of those, as owners who need repair work are finding out)
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Same guy who came up with lead in fuel, also came up with CFCs as a refrigerant.
DDT was used as a mass pesticide, sprayed directly into poor people's homes and streets in the USA
Asbestos was used knowing it was dangerous
Phosphorus the same
Car companies are just a means to sell us oil and now lithium (which is in some dodgy countries, so maybe one day we'll get a well run company, but they're few and far between (Tesla is not one of those, as owners who need repair work are finding out)
reply
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