Re: GMs predicted death

Sounds like "Dr. Z" is falling into the same trap that Riccardo's mismanagement team got into in the '70s...the "sales bank." It's rather obvious that the sales and manufacturing divisions aren't talking to each other again. This is one of the first things that Iacocca had to tackle once he took over at Chrysler in '78...the plants would churn out cars, and tell Sales to sell them...even though no one was buying! At least they shut down the plants this time to try to balance inventory. In the '70s, the plants would just keep churning out cars and filling up every vacant lot in Michigan with them!

Nissan had a similar problem in '75, once the gas crunch eased. Greedy for quick profit, Nissan was filling boats up with their biggest model, the 610, hoping that US buyers would gobble them up to replace their US-made gas guzzlers. Didn't work...'75 610s were seen languishing on dealer's lots as late as the '77 model year. People never talk about it now, but between '75 and '77, Nissan almost gave up on the US market entirely. The only thing that saved their bacon were their mini-trucks. 280Z sales weren't enough to turn much of a profit at all. As a result, there were lots and lots of unsold Nissan

610s and 710s parked on vacant lots all around Southern California as dealers tried to plow through the surplus, often only taking year-old cars at 30% discounts from wholesale. It was at that time that they abandoned the Datsun name, going with the corporate Nissan.

The local Chrysler-Jeep dealer here is bulging with unsold 300s and Pacificas, but cannot keep Calibers or even Magnums in stock. Trucks also aren't moving anymore and they're even offering "$2000 off" Cummins diesels. While the new 300 initially was a hot seller, it got a reputation (at least out west) as a ghetto ride, and now sales have tanked.

It was even worse that you say. In '78 we were looking at a Nissan smaller car. Good Lord it had a non standard shift pattern. Why they would try that I'll never know, having had several Datsun 510s in the family in the early 70s that had the std. pattern.

Same here for the 300s, with Magnums selling a little better. I drive by a nearby Chrysler dealer every few days. In the summer he suddenly had a lot full of 300s and trucks. They are going very slowly, but the Calibers are seldom seen on the lot. Recently very well equipped new 4wd 3.5L Magum's have been selling for a very low price here. I would have bought one, but a two week rental taught me their outside vision is inadequate for me.

No doubt the absolutely awful F10, Nissan's first attempt at FWD, and a complete sales disaster.

It's even worse in the 300, about as badly designed new car there is for side or rear vision. The only thing I remember being worse was a chopped '49 Merc!

I bought one with a 289 Ford that ate a valve for $600 in '79. Had extreme chop. I pulled out the 289, put in a junkyard Ford engine and slushbox, and-took a air chisel and cut the whole top off the car, windshield and all. Completely decapitated it. Put on imitation "Brooklands screens" and painted it with stolen TWA Red imron.

Sold it a couple of years later and he drove it off a boat ramp in the Muddy Mississippi near Hannibal. Probably still down there.

The Magum I drove had poor front vision as well, with that high middle of the hood. The poor vision keeps me from buying one at todays '06 clear out prices.