man & nature # 120 ~ it's a crying shame - emphasis on "shame"
Tuesday, March 31, 2009 at 08:55AM 
Part of our household fleet • click to embiggenCurrently, albeit temporarily, our household car fleet consists of 5 cars, 2 of which are off to college and 1 of which is soon to be departed from our employ. Within the week we will return to our normal fleet number of 4.
We have 4 cars because of where we live. To wit and to borrow a Ulysses Everett McGill line from O Brother, Where Art Thou? - "Well, ain't this place a geographical oddity. Two weeks from everywhere!"
While we're not 2 weeks from everywhere, we are, in fact, about 30 miles more or less from everywhere - 30 miles from the wife's office, 30 miles from the college kids' summer jobs, 30 miles from a really good restaurant, 30 miles from most necessity-goods stores, and so on. We are lucky enough to live in a very small village (pop. 800) that has a doctor, a pharmacy, a good liquor store, a decent sized grocery store, a pizza parlor, a movie theater (open 10 months of the year), a bank, a NAPA store, a bowling alley, 2 drinking establishments, 1 diner, 2 gas stations / convenience stores, a good deli/bakery, a 9-hole golf course, a handful of movie rental stores, and 3 or 4 beauty salons, but the fact remains that we are still very car dependent.
I bring this car thing up because I just can't get the picture of our Car Warranty Commander-in-Chief out of my head. I mean, who the hell could have dreamed that the Great Speechifier would be lecturing us about the reliability rankings of a Buick? Good grief, it's not like The Man doesn't have enough problems to deal with without having to add the title of Car Salesman to his resumé. As David Letterman is often heard to state, "I wouldn't give his problems to a monkey on a rock."
However, whatever the problems in the Oval Office, the problems facing the US auto industry seem almost insurmountable and I'll use the picture of our driveway as an example of why I think that is so.
I can not imagine how the US auto industry is going to meet, much less surpass, the products that are sitting in my driveway. Simply put, there are precious few cars in the US auto industry offerings that come close to matching what is sitting there. When it comes to build quality, standard equipment levels, warranty, fuel efficiency, and price point relative to the aforementioned, the US auto industry has been asleep at the wheel. Of the few cars they offer that come close to those in my driveway, all are johnny-come-latelys to the party and they are following the leader as opposed to leading the pack.
Case in point, the most recent addition - the Suzuki SX4. We need an AWD in the fleet. There are times when the wife has to travel great distances over back country roads during the Winter and the security of AWD is very desirable. But, we also want a fuel efficient car and the Subaru Impreza was OK for an AWD however the Suzuki is considerably better in that regard - and it even offers on-the-fly selectable 2W/FWD for slightly better gas mileage than its AWD mileage rating.
In addition to that, the car offers, as standard, so many things that are really important - alloys wheels, 4W disc brakes (ventilated front), ABS w Electronic Brake-force Distribution, Electronic Stability Control with Traction Control, front/rear stabilizer bars, side-impact airbags, roof rack rails, and a long list of "comfort and convenience" features. All of that for just a skosh over $15K (and that's without Suzuki resorting to "employee pricing" and/or other discounts) for an AWD car that is currently averaging 27mpg in all-around driving.
To my knowledge, there is not anything that Detroit offers that even comes close to the Suzuki SX4 at any price. That's too bad because there are quite a few of these vehicles on the road up here in the north country where they must outnumber AWD Subarus 4-1.
IMO, the problem stems from one incontrovertible fact - the industry single-mindlessly pursued the easy money that came from catering to a very profitable but unsustainable slice of the market and just ignored the rest. In short, short-term thinking, long-term buffoonery.
This is truly a very, very sad state of affairs - for the country, the industry, the workers, the economy, and the American car buyer. Good luck to anyone who has to deal with fixing this long-time coming mess.
Reader Comments (8)
he he. Just wait to see how a car can get apart in the FIAT (Fix It Again Tony) models. You will be surprised that there's never and ending to the worse.
I was shocked when I heard that, in the event of bankruptcy or dissolution of GM or Chrylser, that the UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT would back the vehicle warranties... huh? huh? What a mess and it's gettin' dirtier by the day.
I was more shocked by the fact that Ausable Forks has 3 or 4 beauty salons?
And why, pray, does a college student need wheels. Where I was at college, I wasn't allowed a vehicle within 20miles of the centre of town. A trip each way at each end of term in the family car carted me and all belongings. Many took the train. When I was there, I walked or used a bicycle.
Once owned a Subaru Impreza, too (basic model). Lots of fun, but the biggest gas guzzler I've ever owned.
Nice House.
Hey Jimmi - that's our neighbor's house - and that's what $50K will get you in Au Sable Forks.
50K? Is it insulated?
AND... the SX4 has the ever-so-rare built-in roof rack for the canoe. Very important. I bought my Cayman because of the roof rack - true SPORT utility vehicle.