Not going to be Europe either. Their tax systems and heavy govt % of GDP cripple their economic growth rate. Look at how stagnant they've been over the last 10 yrs. Plus they are dying off as the birthrate in Europe is below replacement level. You will see stangant grown or even persistent recession in Europe before you see any kind of blockbuster growth spurt.

Unemployment in Germany is 12% right now and is epidemic, and their overly generous unemployment policies are to blame, the costs of which are bourne by employers, cutting into income that could otherwise be used for R&D and growth.

The Chinese economy will keep rolling along but the expense of energy is going to hurt them a lot more than us because they are a lot less efficient users of energy, not in total but in getting X work out of Y amount of energy we get far more output/product per unit of energy here.

Everybody dooms and glooms the US economic outlook to death but the fact is we are far better situated to get through any economic disaster than any other nation.

 

Because its hip to be down on America in liberal circles, especially in the media which has been found to be more liberal as a percentage than the City of Berkeley, Calif. Everything from Europe is hip, trendy and to be emmulated to these people, whether that be social policy or automobiles. Everything American is reviled because it stands for American arrogance and tyrany and backwardness.

Hmm, I'm one of those California liberals that's a mismash of conservative/liberal. My liberal friends think I'm liberal, my conservative friends think I'm conservative. Anyways, I've only owned/bought GM cars. My parents emigrated/escaped from central Europe, so visiting their homeland makes me? My wife is ultra-liberal and first generation Asian-American, when shopping for our last car she wouldn't even entertain looking at European/Japanese car makes. She went to UC Berkeley and is a lawyer, that makes her?

We both complain to all our friends about the anti-US car bias and try to promote US cars despite my wife's '00 Impala experience (steering rack replaced at 65K miles, rear brakes failed over 3 times, front brakes/rotors warping every 10K miles, too many recalls to count). Despite all this we're talking about our next car, it'll either be a GM car or Dodge Magnum; that makes us?

Why the diatribe: I'm getting a little tired of all the liberal/California bashing that happens in threads like this.

Back to topic, here in Cali both liberals/conservatives bash US cars because foreign makes are considered hip/cool. However, I'm happy to say more new US cars are on the road lately in the Bay Area such as: Caddys/300 Cs/Magnums/Malibus/Mustangs.

 

ProudPony, you should know that the latest "cruise control issue" isn't the first time that Ford (supposedly) has had a problem with electrical system related fires. Similarly, the Crown Vic "issue" wasn't the first time Ford dealt with the fuel tank placement issue.

 

well yes, its odd that a trained mechanic can't tell if he has the oil filter on correctly, but thats still IMHO under the "human error" column.

the ford fires happen because after the cruise control module stops working there is a chance the switch will overheat and catch the brake fluid on fire. this all happens seemingly at random, without human intervention, roughly 6 - 12 hours after the vehicle was last powered off.

the ford fires are nothing like the CRV fires

 

Just to comment on the oil filter thing, I changed the oil on a Toyota Solara yesterday and was amazed. The oil filter sits at an upward angle from the motor just next to the exhaust manifold. You could not fiil the filter with oil because you had to tip it upside down to put it on the car. Crazy.

 

I just know you're not apologizing for someone being stupid enough to put an oil filter on top of an exhaust manifold, are you???

 

I dont see any country beating out the US anytime soon so the constant stream of verbals attacks against this country isn't going anywhere.

The only country that does have the ability to severly wound the US economically is China with their ultra-cheap labor and Government controlled deflated currency. The problem is for China is that if the US goes into another recession or economic slow down in 06/07 we will bring the Chinese economy down with us. Considering that over 10% of all Chinese exports to the US are bought by Walmart alone you can see that China as well as many European countries depend on our economy for their survival.

One main factor to the US deficit other then the obvious that we spend too much money is that many countries around the world have poor performing and/or stagnant economies. Other then growing our own economy and increasing the GDP while keeping spending the same (very unlikely) the only way to reduce the deficit is for other economies around the world to expand and grow their economies so we can sell them stuff and offset our trade imbalance. Until other countries get with the program and improve their own economies our trade imbalance will continue to be a negative influence since we can only pro-up so many foreign countries economies that soley depend on US consumers for their survial for so long.

 

[QUOTE=ProudPony]Ford did the same thing though. The 750k unit recall was voluntary, not government mandated - no different than MBenz' situation.



Was there NHTSA safety investigation into Mercedes? Nope

Did they catch fire? Nope

Mercedes did a recall because of poor quality not because of saftey. They are not the same.


As for the rest of the stuff you posted saying how bad MB is, so what. I never said they never have problems or that they are the greatest since sliced bread. I have never even been in one and odds are I never will.

What I do find strange is that you spent an hour of your life digging up recalls on 15 year old cars to prove that Mercedes does have recalls when no one was arguing otherwise.

 

As long as everyone admits Cadillac builds a higher quality car than Mercedes, I'm happy.

Next.

 

India.

 

Exactly. I think you and I have been reading the same articles. The deficit is not good but its a byproduct of having a good economy while everybody else's sucks...

 

I was just discussing that with someone the other day. It seems on point.

 

Real question should be (IMO obviously), why don't they pack their S*** and get the hell out of this arogant backward country then? Europe is so hip and great, why are they here? Our country sucks, our products suck... Leave then... please, cuz yer snooty asses are stinkin' up the joint! Don't mind me, I just hate the friggin' press, have I mentioned this before! Useless bunch of self rightous save the world asses! Hip to be anti-American, how unreal is that, what a load! Hip to be against your own country, they should be f-ing ashamed! I can't even fathom that there is such a term! Fbodfather posted a very good letter, elsewhere on this board that talks about being at the top! I can't remember the author, but its a pretty good read, and IMO relates to this BIAS against US and our companies!

 

THE PENALTY OF LEADERSHIP - by Theodore F. MacManus

In every field of human endeavor, he that is first must perpetually live in the white light of publicity. Whether the leadership be vested in a man or in a manufactured product, emulation and envy are ever at work. In art, in literature, in music, in industry, the reward and the punishment are always the same. The reward is widespread recognition; the punishment, fierce denial and detraction. When a man's work becomes a standard for the whole world, it also becomes a target for the shafts of the envious few. If his work be merely mediocre, he will be left severely alone - if he achieve a masterpiece it will set a million tongues a-wagging. Jealousy does not protrude its forked tongue at the artist who produces a commonplace painting. Whatsoever you write, or paint, or play, or sing, or build, no one will strive to surpass, or to slander you, unless your work be stamped with the seal of genius.

Long, long after a great work or a good work has been done, those who are disappointed or envious continue to cry out that it can not be done. Spiteful little voices in the domain of art were raised against our own Whistler as a mountebank, long after the big world had acclaimed him its greatest artistic genious. Multitudes flocked to Bayreuth to worship at the musical shrine of Wagner, while the little group of those whom he had dethroned and displaced argued angrily that he was no musician at all. The little world continued to protest that Fulton could never build a steamboat, while the big world flocked to the river banks to see his boat steam by.

The leader is assailed because he is a leader, and the effort to equal him is merely added proof of that leadership. Failing to equal or to excel, the follower seeks to depreciate and to destroy - but only confirms once more the superiority of that which he strives to supplant. There is nothing new in this. It is as old as the world and as old as the human passions - envy, fear, greed, ambition, and the desire to surpass. And it all avails nothing. If the leader truly leads, he remains - the leader. Master-poet, master-painter, master-workman, each in his turn is assailed, and each holds his laurels through the ages. That which is good or great makes itself known, no matter how loud the clamor of denial. That which deserves to live - lives

 

That's it!