GM to close plants

What’s good for General Motors is Good for America; they used to say when I was a kid.

It’s not simple competition from Japan and Korea that did them in.

It’s the price, value, quality of cars.

I own 2 American made vehicles. A pickup truck and a Buick Lesabre. Both are good vehicles turn of century models with over 100,000 miles on each.

To buy back either one of them new today is a $30,000 plus proposition.

I have spent $5000 in repairs in the last few years on the pickup. And, perhaps $2000 on the Lesabre not including warranty work.

Here’s the question. How much is the formula we used to call nickel and dimeing us to death out of kilter? Or, how much will I have to spend per year before continuing to fix and drive these two vehicles no longer makes sense?

My sense is I can spend $5000 per year per vehicle for the next 150,000 miles and be money ahead. That’ll buy a lot of transmissions and engines if need be.

And that’s why cars no longer sell for GM.