Live in Interesting times: Hyundai/ Kia want FCA

SidecarFlip wrote:
I would NEVER buy a GM product after the 'bailout fiasco'.. GM 'Government Motors' should give every American Citizen over the age of 18, a new vehicle to offset the taxpayers money they received.

How soon people forget.

Ford came out smelling like a rose! If people only knew the truth:

"A Ford TV ad slams competitors for accepting bailout funds, even though the company’s CEO lobbied for the bill. The company — the only one of the Big Three not to receive a bailout — feared a collapse of GM and Chrysler at the time would have hurt suppliers and, in turn, Ford itself. Ford Chief Executive Officer Alan R. Mulally also asked Congress for a “credit line” of up to $9 billion in case the economy worsened.
In other words, Ford was for government bailouts before it was against them.
Although Ford did not need money from the $80 billion bailout program, Ford did receive $5.9 billion in government loans in 2009 to retool its manufacturing plants to produce more fuel-efficient cars, and the company lobbied for and benefited from the cash-for-clunkers program — contrary to the ad’s testimonial that Ford is “standing on their own.”

SOURCE: FACTCHECK.ORG

I always saw Fiat as a negative when thinking about reliable or solid automobiles and it was a serious concern when I bought my 2015 Ram. I looked at Dodge trucks when I purchased my 2005 Ford and had same impression when you looked in 2010. I don't attach emotion to my vehicles and look at them as tool for the current and projected job I want done. When my Ram no longer serves its purpose, I will look for the right tool without regard to previous purchases because a lot can change in the 10+ years I typically own a vehicle as evidenced by both our purchases.

I have seen Hyundai/Kia build up their quality since they entered the US market. The styling and personal fit do not suit me, but I would consider including them in a search of that class vehicle if I needed one.

I would NEVER buy a GM product after the 'bailout fiasco'.. GM 'Government Motors' should give every American Citizen over the age of 18, a new vehicle to offset the taxpayers money they received.

How soon people forget.

Bedlam wrote:
You didn't list one Fiat vehicle unless you like the Jeep Renegade.

That's semantics. FCA is the manufacturer of record for the 300C, Challenger and Jeep, therefore FCA makes those autos and Flash is right.
I believe that you meant that Fiat didn't bring any auto's into the FCA merger that you have an interest in. In that case, you would be right.

Either way, it would be interesting if Hyundai or Kia purchased the profitable vehicles from FCA. This is my first Chrysler product and I really like it a lot. I liked at Dodge Rams in 2009 and 2010 when I bought my Tundra and hated them. They looked cheap, I was concerned with quality, etc. Fast forward to 2015 and I was narrowed down to Ram and Ford gas trucks when I stumbled across my current rig, for sale used. Ram has really improved their product and got me interested again. In another 8 years, I hope they are around to give Ford and GM some competition when I look to buy another truck.

dodge guy wrote:

bucky wrote:
No, it would dump them to the bottom of the reliability ratings.
Subaru has worked hard to attain their customers loyalty, let's not screw it up. They even have very decent looking models now.
I really don't understand the poor ratings for Ram. Maybe the owners also own another Daimler/FCA product and lumped them all together.

I don't know where Subaru gets there good ratings from? I've worked on far more Subaru issues than other makes. Oil leaks, AC problems, Trans issues! I don't recommend a Subaru to anyone! Chrysler Jeep Dodge and Ram have great quality vehicles. I have yet to have to do any repairs on them like I do with Hondas, Toyotas and GM cars.

Subaru is very popular in the northwest and many are running around with high mileage. I never bought one only because I have owned 4wd trucks for bad conditions and mountain driving. I live in a temperate climate where those conditions usually don't come to you, you have to go to them.

Flashman wrote:

Bedlam wrote:
The only Fiat that interests me is the 124 Spider which is a modified Mazda Miata and I would prefer the Mazda over it. FCA really does not have any autos in which I have interest and this appears to be case with other posters in this thread.

Really?
300C, hellcat, jeeps
I think some of the most interesting vehicles on the market.

You didn't list one Fiat vehicle unless you like the Jeep Renegade.

wilber1 wrote:

SidecarFlip wrote:
One thing to keep in mind is, just because they 'want' to buy Chrysler / FCA son't mean the SEC will approve it. Good example is the Cabelas / Bass Pro buyout. The SEC still hasn't approved that.

According to Wikipedia, FCA is an Italian controlled company incorporated in the Netherlands with its headquarters in London. I wonder how much influence the SEC would have.

Quite a lot. They're traded on the NYSE and therefore subject to US SEC regulation within the US.

Insider trading? No. First off, posting here isn't trading. :)

Second, the postings made are speculative in nature. The person posting and the person with the speculative information don't KNOW it's likely to happen, they're just speculating that it could, likely large based on FCA wanting to sell and considering who currently has the money to buy and could benefit in terms of product lines. One could just as easily speculate that FCA would spin off the unprofitable divisions. If one did use the speculation here as a basis for trading, that's no different from thinking, "Hey, I've seen articles indicating that self-driving cars are becoming a thing. Perhaps I should buy some stock in a sensor company."

It's also really not clear whether one should use this information to buy or sell stock in Hyundai/Kia or FCA ... Mergers like this go bad as often as they go good and Hyundai/Kia would be getting a company with quite a lot of outstanding debt.

Have fun speculating!

Flashman wrote:

Bedlam wrote:
The only Fiat that interests me is the 124 Spider which is a modified Mazda Miata and I would prefer the Mazda over it. FCA really does not have any autos in which I have interest and this appears to be case with other posters in this thread.

Really?
300C, hellcat, jeeps
I think some of the most interesting vehicles on the market.

Really...

Some of the least interesting cars made, well, if you like retro looking (60's) cars. those fill the bill. Jeeps don't count. Jeeps are in a different world. 300C is a boat and the rest are 60's throwback muscle cars with no sophistication.

Gas motored RAM's are notorious for issues. Most people on here have the Cummins option, that makes the engine somewhat reliable, at least moreso that the gas motors.

bucky wrote:
No, it would dump them to the bottom of the reliability ratings.
Subaru has worked hard to attain their customers loyalty, let's not screw it up. They even have very decent looking models now.
I really don't understand the poor ratings for Ram. Maybe the owners also own another Daimler/FCA product and lumped them all together.

I don't know where Subaru gets there good ratings from? I've worked on far more Subaru issues than other makes. Oil leaks, AC problems, Trans issues! I don't recommend a Subaru to anyone! Chrysler Jeep Dodge and Ram have great quality vehicles. I have yet to have to do any repairs on them like I do with Hondas, Toyotas and GM cars.

Bedlam wrote:
The only Fiat that interests me is the 124 Spider which is a modified Mazda Miata and I would prefer the Mazda over it. FCA really does not have any autos in which I have interest and this appears to be case with other posters in this thread.

I remembered those in the 60's. They rusted on the showroom floor. Nice looking vehicle, real rust bucket. They flopped in the 60's.