GM joins Ford in jettisoning the minivan market

"VMan" > wrote in message
news:Lo2hh.75764$rv4.45820@edtnps90...
> The Impala is a horrible police car. The transmission doesn't last and
> where I live it didn't make it as a taxi either.
>
> I don't know where you live but a Corvette used by police enforcement?
> Palm Beach or Malibu?

Police have a wide variety of different models used as police cars.

I never suggested that using them as regular cruisers was good.

Neither is top posting.

Jeff

> "Jeff" > wrote in message
> news:fd1hh.1255$od6.771@trnddc04...
>>
>> "Joe" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>>>> So rather
>>>>> than trying to fix the problem, they're getting out entirely.
>>>
>>> It's kind of amazing, really, that GM is the world's largest company and
>>> there are so many markets that they don't even sell to. They don't even
>>> care. For instance, they had unreliable junky diesel trucks that nobody
>>> would buy. They let that drag on forever. They didn't field a 4-door
>>> small (now considered mid-sized) SUV for a long time. They made a
>>> half-hearted effort with the stretched S-10, but that was just a pile of
>>> junk. They just watched while Jeep and Ford ran away with a huge
>>> market. How about this - no extended cab pickup until 1988. 15 years
>>> later to the market than the 2nd slowest. How about a competitor to the
>>> Mustang? Nope. Police car? Nope. How about something you could use for
>>> a Taxi? Nope.
>>
>> Actually, the Chevy Impala is used both as a taxi and cop car.
>>
>> For that matter, Corvettes, Camaros and Tahoes are used as polices
>> vehicles, too.
>>
>> <...>
>>
>
>

"VMan" > wrote in message
>
> I don't know where you live but a Corvette used by police enforcement?
> Palm Beach or Malibu?

The CT state police even had a Ferrari for a while and a Corvette or two. I
see a Camero in our area on a regular basis. Some of these cars come from
drug busts.

So are bicycles. LOL


mike


"VMan" > wrote in message
news:Lo2hh.75764$rv4.45820@edtnps90...
> The Impala is a horrible police car. The transmission doesn't last and
> where I live it didn't make it as a taxi either.
>
> I don't know where you live but a Corvette used by police enforcement?
> Palm Beach or Malibu?

The is a difference between vehicles 'used' by police and 'police' vehicles.
Naturally a police department car use whatever they choose for bicycles to
Hummers, and the do. but that does not mean they are certified for
patrol/pursuit work. There are one three vehicle sold in the US that are
'certified police vehicles.' The Ford Interceptor is by for the number one
choice, by
around 80%. Followed by Impala and the newly certified Dodge vehicle.
There are a whole group of vehicles, mostly 4X4 that are sold for 'security'
service, some of which have been mentioned. The explorer and the Jeep are
the most often used. Of the departments we serviced, in six eastern states,
many that bought FWD certified police cars, because they were a few thousand
dollars less expensive and more fuel efficient, eventually when back to the
Interceptor. Some like the Pa State Police, ban the use of FWD cars for
pursuit work.


mike


"Jeff" > wrote in message
news93hh.7530$hy6.3272@trnddc05...
>
> "VMan" > wrote in message
> news:Lo2hh.75764$rv4.45820@edtnps90...
>> The Impala is a horrible police car. The transmission doesn't last and
>> where I live it didn't make it as a taxi either.
>>
>> I don't know where you live but a Corvette used by police enforcement?
>> Palm Beach or Malibu?
>
> Police have a wide variety of different models used as police cars.
>
> I never suggested that using them as regular cruisers was good.

Mike Hunter wrote:
> The is a difference between vehicles 'used' by police and 'police' vehicles.
> Naturally a police department car use whatever they choose for bicycles to
> Hummers, and the do. but that does not mean they are certified for
> patrol/pursuit work. There are one three vehicle sold in the US that are
> 'certified police vehicles.' The Ford Interceptor is by for the number one
> choice, by
> around 80%. Followed by Impala and the newly certified Dodge vehicle.
> There are a whole group of vehicles, mostly 4X4 that are sold for 'security'
> service, some of which have been mentioned. The explorer and the Jeep are
> the most often used. Of the departments we serviced, in six eastern states,
> many that bought FWD certified police cars, because they were a few thousand
> dollars less expensive and more fuel efficient, eventually when back to the
> Interceptor. Some like the Pa State Police, ban the use of FWD cars for
> pursuit work.

I can certainly understand that. I am certain that the police Impalas
have uprated suspension, etc. but the basic dynamics of the chassis is
not so good for high speed handling. I've been told it's basically a
stretched Lumina and it shows. Now my comments are based on the '05
and earlier, I have not driven the '06 yet.

If I were expecting to be involved in pursuit driving, I would
certainly want a purpose-built vehicle, not an uprated economy sedan.

nate

Steve wrote:
> Jeff wrote:
>
> > "Steve" > wrote in message
> > ...
> >
> >>N8N wrote:
> >>ow out.
> >>
> >>>The retarded thing is that GM killed the Astro van which was a favorite
> >>>of service techs everywhere and had a little niche all its own. What
> >>>the hell were they thinking? There's no other vehicle to compete with
> >>>it, it still sold, and yet they axed it.
> >>
> >>I disagree. I'm guessing they got out BECAUSE there was another vehicle to
> >>compete with it, and one that took the whole market lock stock and barrel
> >>when it debuted: the Dodge Sprinter. With the option of a small Benz
> >>diesel in addition to the full line of gasoline engines and a very
> >>adaptable body, it pretty well blew the Astro into the weeds.
> >
> >
> > The Dodge Sprinter is a full-size van. The Astro is a mini-van. They are in
> > different market segments.
>
> Not really. The Astro is about as big as a "full size" van of the 70s,
> on a little bit shorter wheelbase. The Sprinter is bigger, but still
> smaller than the B-series it replaced, let alone the Ford E-series. Its
> a delivery/fleet van, which is exactly what the Astro had morphed into
> despite being created as a family "mini" van. It just wasn't very "mini"
> and had the same miserable driver's seating position as full-size RWD
> vans because of the engine "doghouse" being in the way.

The odd thing is that of all those, the Dodge B-series was the most
pleasant to drive IMHO (I have not driven the Sprinter though.) The
only fault I could find with them was that they went through brakes
like mad, and I recall one incident with a lower ball joint failure on
one, but they were used hard on poor city roads. I found the Ford
E-series to feel very ponderous.

nate

In article >,
"80 Knight" > wrote:

> I am in Ontario, and we have Impala's as Police cars, as well as taxi's.

Here in Vancouver the Impala is currently popular as an airport cab, but
the Toyota Corolla is increasingly becoming very common for in town
taxis and even airport use.
A few months ago 4 of us each with a checked bag and a carry on, were
brought home from the airport in a Corolla. It's large space for a
smaller car surprised me; fortunately the three smaller people took the
rear seat and I got the very spacious front seat.

In article >,
"80 Knight" > wrote:

> I am in Ontario, and we have Impala's as Police cars, as well as taxi's.
> Crown Vic's are also used. So are Tahoe's too.
In BC, Canada a variety of vehicles are used as police cars, even some
4WD vehicles where snow conditions are difficult.
It seems that large Ford car is most common and it even keeps it's hub
caps which that obsolete GM car didn't do. <

Just Facts wrote:
> Chrysler, Toyota and Honda must be very excited about this.
>
>> AUTOS November 22, 2006, 1:31PM EST
>>
>> What Do Moms Want? GM's Minivan Issue
>> GM joins Ford in jettisoning the minivan market but is it a smart business
>> move or an admission of defeat?
>> by David Kiley
>
>> General Motors confirmed Nov. 22 that it's getting out of the minivan
>> business to concentrate on crossover SUVs. But the market for the two isn't
>> necessarily the same. The problem is that, like Ford (F)‹which announced it
>> was ceasing production of minivans in September‹GM (GM) just couldn't compete
>> with better products from Toyota (TM), Honda (HMC), and Chrysler. So rather
>> than trying to fix the problem, they're getting out entirely.

Another one bites the dust.....

Pretty soon you'll only be able to buy a crown victoria, f150 and maybe
a fusion.

Tell me, is this just in my area of residence or does this happen all over.

The Honda, Toyota, Nissan dealers don't stock many vehicles, now i'm
sure they also sell less, so maybe this is relative.

Does FORD do anything to control inventory... every ford lot i've been
to is full of vehicles.... many options and colors etc, of all vehicles,
even had 10 mustangs at one of the two ford dealers in a city of
45,000 ppl. You head over to the other dealer, they had 6. The toyota
dealer had only 1 Tundra and no tacomas. Is this because they don't
sell any trucks, probably not.

You don't see toyota, honda, nissan advertising year end clearance
sales... ford does this almost steadily for about 4 months.

Just wondering if there is any inventory control, i am in the lumber
market, and controlling inventory is the FIRST priority, especially in a
failing market.

Steve wrote:
> N8N wrote:
> ow out.
>>
>> The retarded thing is that GM killed the Astro van which was a favorite
>> of service techs everywhere and had a little niche all its own. What
>> the hell were they thinking? There's no other vehicle to compete with
>> it, it still sold, and yet they axed it.
>
> I disagree. I'm guessing they got out BECAUSE there was another vehicle
> to compete with it, and one that took the whole market lock stock and
> barrel when it debuted: the Dodge Sprinter. With the option of a small
> Benz diesel in addition to the full line of gasoline engines and a very
> adaptable body, it pretty well blew the Astro into the weeds.
>
>

Well i've only seen dodge sprinters going by on the mail train line...
never seen one on the road.

Even the cops used Astros, and the department of transportation still
uses them... and central vehicle equipment.. the city had them as well.
Now none of these guys are replacing htem with Venture vans... or
chrysler vans, they are looking for other options