GM and Chrysler got the bailout money - not Ford. I knew a Ford salesman who made a killing selling cars to people who refused to buy new GM and Chrysler vehicles.
The sad thing is Buick, for example, had great manufacturing out of their Canadian plant. Their 3800 Series 3 engines were fucking indestructible (100% cast iron engines) and got pretty good gas mileage. But it was mated to a transmission from hell.
The cars were extremely comfortable and semi-dependable, but they were poorly designed. I inherited a Buick LaCrosse CXL that was super luxurious and slightly sluggish, but I couldn't get two sets of suitcases in the trunk. If I could have done that, I would have kept the damn thing.
I had a Ford truck but things like the water pump failed at 70k miles. It also had rust develop in spots that that particular generation always had it develop at.
An American car that's reliable is the exception, not the rule. The government giving them all that money was a bad investment.
When a Prius can hold more luggage with three people in the car over a Buick LaCrosse, something's wrong.
