What's new
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

Have you seen the horrendous Korean crap they slap a bowtie on in Europe??

GM is not the same animal it was when it was building K5s, and that is a good thing. Holden, Opel, Vauxhall, etc. are all GM brands, but the development nowadays really is global. You can't really think of GM rebadgeing a Holden, because Holden IS GM. A new GM vehicle may be basically developed by engineers in Europe for manufacture and sale on several continents. Likewise a vehicle may be developed here in the US for manufacture and sale someplace else. There aren't really Opel, or Chevy, or Holden engineers anymore, just GM engineers. Developing vehicles is expensive, why reinvent the wheel when similar cars can be sold around the world? Corvettes, big SUVs and fullsize pickups are the exception. They mostly just sell in the US. The Daewoo thing is a little less clear cut, but keep in mind GM's fastest growing market at the moment is China. Due to the way GM screwed up basically everything from 1970 to 2000 (except of course our beloved fullsize pickups and SUVs), there is no longer enough growth in North America or Europe to keep GM in business.
 
Hang on

There's another Indian company, Mahindra, that will be introducing trucks and SUVs in the US next year. They've been in business for a couple of decades and make farm equipment too. I saw an ad for their tractor on tv the other day. :confused:
 
I'm actually kind of intrigued by some of the Mahindra trucks they have pitched for the US market. Small (think 80's Toyota, LUV, original S10, Ranger, Ram 50, etc), coil sprung IFS, solid rear axle, small diesel, and bare bones. Price is supposed to be low. I'm interested to see what they show up with.
 
Our esteemed Jek has an Aveo that his wife drives. He loves the little thing, although I really don't like cars like that. I never have liked driving small cars, unless you consider the Toyota Supra a small car.
 
OP, you're an absolute idiot.


Leave the country before making stupid ass comments.


Not everywhere is the same as here. Different markets = different cars moron

people in europe don't drive K5's because A) They suck compared to new european cars B) Gas is $8 a gallon there.


your post really pissed me off.
 
Ben B. said:
OP, you're an absolute idiot.


Leave the country before making stupid ass comments.


Not everywhere is the same as here. Different markets = different cars moron

people in europe don't drive K5's because A) They suck compared to new european cars B) Gas is $8 a gallon there.


your post really pissed me off.
Click to expand...

:confused: Aparently you live with your head deeply buried in the sand. The US auto market will follow Europe. People will not be able to afford, or want to to drive gas hogs. You will see more and more small cars and less and less SUV and trucks.(except the ones being used as yard ornaments and flower pots)
$8.00 a gallon gas! You bet! It is coming to a station near you soon.
BTW GM just announced the closing of 4 North American plants that manufacture trucks and SUV. The Hummer may be going down the tubes soon also. They are concentrating on Hybrids and more electric vehicles.
This came after Fords announcement of a 20% cut back in trucks and SUVs.
The market for Big SUV/ Truck vehicles is not going down hill. It has fallen off a cliff.
The Asian car makers, as usual are light years ahead of American auto makers. They saw these high gas prices coming and are prepaired for it. While American auto makers play catch up, the Big Three are being are being left behind
 
In Italy (at least) you could see a Chev Matiz next to a Daewoo Matiz. Not odd to see identical cars sold with different names on them, but with the same name in the same market? Seemed to be a bad idea to me.

Then again, anyone that is really "up" on the cars for the market will know what is what. Sort of like the Pontiac Vibe. It's a rebadged Toyota Matrix, nothing more, except when I looked at it, a $1000 higher price tag, and half the warranty.

Saw lots of Daewoo's in Europe. Europeans aren't stupid, they wouldn't buy the cars if they had problems. The Daewoo's initially in this country seemed to have issues, just like the early Hyundai's.

I'd love to see Opel's over here (again). The one I drove in Germany was a blast. Six speed manual trans station wagon that would cruise at 130MPH all day long. Won't get that sort of ride/qality out of even a higher end US GM product IMO. The Matiz...not so comfortable driving that through twisties at 80MPH lol.

And as an edit, putting GM emblems on these cars will probably ENHANCE GM's worldwide image...I suspect they are known for lumbering, inefficient pieces of junk elsewhere. Or for that matter, here too.
 
AuH2O said:
I'd be ashamed to drive a K5 in Europe now; maybe some of these drivers in their Asian crapmobiles will think we have some kind of kinship and wave to me
Click to expand...


Flip em off back then romp on it...Make sure youve got flowmasters or something on it too:D
 
Thunder said:
:confused: Aparently you live with your head deeply buried in the sand. The US auto market will follow Europe. People will not be able to afford, or want to to drive gas hogs. You will see more and more small cars and less and less SUV and trucks.(except the ones being used as yard ornaments and flower pots)
$8.00 a gallon gas! You bet! It is coming to a station near you soon.
BTW GM just announced the closing of 4 North American plants that manufacture trucks and SUV. The Hummer may be going down the tubes soon also. They are concentrating on Hybrids and more electric vehicles.
This came after Fords announcement of a 20% cut back in trucks and SUVs.
The market for Big SUV/ Truck vehicles is not going down hill. It has fallen off a cliff.
The Asian car makers, as usual are light years ahead of American auto makers. They saw these high gas prices coming and are prepaired for it. While American auto makers play catch up, the Big Three are being are being left behind
Click to expand...



That's exactly what i'm saying, but i said it in a dumb/pissed off manner.

I've lived in Europe most of my life. Cars there HAVE to be small and HAVE to be fuel efficient.

OP is a dimwhit and knows nothing other than his blue collar american life and thinks all people should drive K5's or a brand new Chevy Aveo is nothing compared to a K5 bla bla

EVERY single one of the cars he listed is better than a K5 for today and the future market.
 
I am only 36, but I believe I will witness the end of our hobby in my lifetime. Not only the hobby of off-roading, but the hobby of building and driving any high performance vehicle. The moster's with the 50" tires and big block motors, or the muscle car, the import tuner car, the street rod, the lowrider, or any high performance, heavily modified automobile will just become too expensive to drive. When gas is $8 or $10 a gallon, a cruise in your '55 Chevy with the supercharged big block will be very expensive. Owners will also have to worry about vandalism on their vehicles. The "environmentalists" would no doubt vandalise any vehicle that wasn't "green" enough. They have already done it to H2's. I believe in perhaps another decade they will be doing it to anything that has more than 4 cylinders. I also believe I will see the rationing of fuel in my lifetime. Imagine if you were limited to only 10 gallons of gas a week, or even a month, per household.

I am finally in a position where I can afford to build me up a toy, but I fear I will not have long to enjoy it.
 
I just don't understand the mentality that leads to statements like, "Korean cars are stupid" or "Chevy is dumb to put their logo on THAT car!" C'mon folks, even if you can't afford to travel, do a little reading and a little thinking.

Korean cars get pretty good gas mileage. Gas is expensive. Too me, this combination of statements does not equal "stupid." Perhaps a better way to state your opinion, a way in which I would fully support your opinion, would be more like, "I really like to be able to get out to the middle of nowhere with my truck on the weekends. I really enjoy the hobby of working on a vehicle that doesn't require a computer to diagnose, and there's just something pleasing to me about the rumble of a V8. Having it all made out of steel is nice too. Korea (or modern America for that matter!) just doesn't offer anything like that, and since I have the reasonable good fortune to live here and afford such a vehicle, I love my old Chevy!"

Now, this might come across as politically correct b*llsh*t, and I hate that, but the truth is that unless you offer coherent reasoning behind your randomly spouted pronouncements of hatred, it just comes across as childish and ignorant.

Chevy is putting the bowtie on small cars in Europe (and elsewhere) to try to broaden their market. The fact that it didn't work on you is irrelevant, you're already a loyalist. They're trying to suck in the guy who's been driving Nissans, or Renaults, or Hyundais for years. And as others here have stated, GM's full size truck/SUV business, the only profitable segment of their company, has hit a brick wall with the current fuel prices.

Ok, I'm done ranting :) But c'mon people, think for a second (as others here have stated also) about where where other people are coming from. Not everyone A) lives in a big, open country. B) pays only $4.00/gal for gas. C)is an automotive enthusiast/hobbiest, D)can afford to "just buy a quad or something" instead of a small car to get to work.

You don't have to have any sympathy for other people...I certainly don't. Hell, you don't even have to relate to them, but you DO have to ponder their situation and how it differs from yours to avoid sounding like a 6th grader in a debate.
 
Word to that! We enjoy the vehicles we do because of the conditions we had. South Africa, where I lived for two years, has/had old GM iron. However, that was in a day that gas (petrol for them) was cheaper then America. Then, even poor, working class Africans could afford a chevy. But when gas became expensive (=$4.50 gal in 2005) the old Chevys quit running. Now they gather dust and rust under the African sun. Now they drive 3- and 4-cylinder econoboxes that get at least 30 mpg's in the city. America is now, where South Africa was ten years ago. We will see more of that "Korean crap" and econoboxes here real soon, and they're going to sell, when they didn't have a chance 5 years ago. I remember in high school, $60 would fill the burb, now, $75 gave 2/3 a tank in my Yukon, depressing? yes. Will it change? likely not. Get used to it.



As for the Chevy Matiz next to the Daewoo Matiz, GM took them over in 2005 (iirc) and just rebadged, with no redesigning. They weren't sold at the same time.
 
GM's owned Daewoo, or a controlling interest in them, since at least the late 90's.
 
romeolimagolf said:
I am only 36, but I believe I will witness the end of our hobby in my lifetime. Not only the hobby of off-roading, but the hobby of building and driving any high performance vehicle. The moster's with the 50" tires and big block motors, or the muscle car, the import tuner car, the street rod, the lowrider, or any high performance, heavily modified automobile will just become too expensive to drive. When gas is $8 or $10 a gallon, a cruise in your '55 Chevy with the supercharged big block will be very expensive. Owners will also have to worry about vandalism on their vehicles. The "environmentalists" would no doubt vandalise any vehicle that wasn't "green" enough. They have already done it to H2's. I believe in perhaps another decade they will be doing it to anything that has more than 4 cylinders. I also believe I will see the rationing of fuel in my lifetime. Imagine if you were limited to only 10 gallons of gas a week, or even a month, per household.

I am finally in a position where I can afford to build me up a toy, but I fear I will not have long to enjoy it.
Click to expand...
Don't write off the old iron just yet. I believe that gas will soon be priced out of nearly everyone's wallet here in the US. I don't believe that people will be so quick to give up their old iron though. I have said it before, if you just bought a 1970 Hemi 'cuda, are you really going to give it up? Would you really give up your K5, or would you be more likely to scream and yell until a technology is released that allows these vehicles to continue for many years. It may be a technology that is already being developed, or a new breakthrough, but I don't believe that the majority of us that drive the old iron are going to go away without a fight.
 
I'll keep my Blazer for a long time. I'll just use my piece of crap American Neon (25/35mpg) for my DD as gas hits $5, $6, $8, $10 a gallon. It would be delusional to think gas will ever get significantly cheaper, if anything the rate of increase of gas prices will accelerate. China and India have 2 billion people who will be using more and more oil every year. There is no way supply will keep up with demand. Don't give up your muscle car or big truck, just drive it less. I'm not happy about it either, it is just the way it is. :(
 
That is why I picked up the Astro, I don't drive the Blazer more than a couple of days a week, and then mostly for short trips or wheeling.

However, many people are already feeling the crunch of the gas prices at $4 a gallon, and a very large percentage of the country will not be able to afford $6. When it hits that point, either a) Congress will try to do something and most likely make the matter worse, or b) Unemployment will skyrocket and the economy will collapse.
 
Yup for a guy earning minimum wage and commuting a long way to work, it will be cheaper to be unemployed. :doah:
 
Well... There might be one thing good about our old iron. It may be big enough to fit a nuclear reactor and drive forever. Either that. Or there is always the basic compact Infinite Improbability Drive conversion.
 
Oh, I am already working on the compact infinite improbability drive. Best way I can think of to save gas.:D
 
Hi folks,

well, people over here actually like older American cars, but they certainly do have the reputation to be gas guzzlers and to be extremely expensive. It's mainly due to the gas prices, if I'd fill up my Diesel K5 i'd roughly have to pay about 315$ :haha: (about 200 Euro). There are a lot of m1009/1008s and Cummins powered Rams, but if you see the prices for these trucks over here, I'm sure you'd freak out. 5.9l cummins Ram with 350 000 + miles and 12 preowners is sold for roughly 10- 15 000 $ . CUCVs are still available from surplus dealers for about 12 000 $ ... in very crappy condition.
Generally pre 1980 cars and muscle cars are well-liked, but very expensive too. An additional problem are a lot of rip-off dealers who keep spreading rumors that U.S. vehicles and parts are very expensive and hard to get...
The C/K trucks for example are very, very cheap to maintain compared to European cars. I really can not believe how cheap even quality replacement parts are in the United States. Over here you've to pay at least +250% for most of the spare parts unless you import them for yourself...
Or take the example of a new Dodge Ram 3500 6.7 Cummins Diesel. I found one at ebay (brand new) for about 37 000 Dollars (=only 23 000 Euro), plus shipping and taxes you'd pay about 44 000 Dollars for that truck. Over here it is sold for 56 000 Euro . That are 87 000 $ (!) So it is public opinion that people driving US trucks or cars must be extremly rich pimps :D
So what do we have until now:

high prices for gas + high prices for US vehicles.

But that is not enough; actually there's another threat for a driver of American vehicles. Cars and trucks are taxed after displacement. For an old Chevy Caprice you'd have to pay at least 950 $ a year for emission taxes. Fortunately, Pickups and larger SUVs are classified as light trucks (about 230$ annual taxation), otherwise I'd have to pay (diesel taxation is higher!) 3700 $ for annual taxes. No kidding! I really would have to pay
about 2350 Euro for my old 6.2 Diesel engine!
So no wonder why everybody is driving cars with 2.0l Diesel engines that produce 100-200hp and get 40-43mpg....
just imagine what amount of money you'd burn with a Chevy 454... sad but true.
Nevertheless I'd instantly buy one if I could afford it, I'd love to own a 1978 or 1979 stepside besides my K5. :D:laugh:

Greetings from Bavaria

Flo
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom