+1. I was a salaried summer student at GM way back when, and was "caught" doing a union job - measuring the tolerances on battery terminal covers.

After a variety of union meetings I was of course told to stop immediately - no problem with me.

The crazy thing is, none of the CAW guys (Canadian Auto Workers) completed "their" job - it was deemed too menial. The terminal covers (and most of the union guys) just sat there all summer.

 

I received an invitation to the 2008 Hyundai "Adrenaline Tour" at TMS. They had several Genesis Coupes that you could really lean on through an autocross course set-up in a large parking lot there. I was talking with the guy running the show and asked if I could take my HHR SS out for an A/B comparison. He laughed and said, "No, but when we shut down tommorrow, if you are here, I'll leave the cones up for a while and we can do a few comparison times."

Well i came back Sunday afternoon around 5:30 and found the guy, and reminded him of what he said. Well, his professional driver was able to turn a 13.6 best time in the Hyundai, my best after 3 laps was a 14 flat in the HHR SS. I asked the "Pro" if he wanted to try my SS and he went out and turned a 13.8. The guy said if he had spent tha last two days in an HHR he could get a little more out of it, but it certainly wasn't as "Driver Friendly" as the Genesis. I agreed, the HHR will handle pretty darn good, but it needs more attention and the edge is a lot finer than in the Genesis.

I really liked the Genesis. Fit and Finish was very good, real solid throttle repsonse and it was very predictable in the handling department. It went pushy until you used the throttle enough to get it loose with the TC off. It braked better than the HHR. IT DID NOT LOOK NEARLY AS COOL AS AN HHR.
FWIW, I've driven a new Camaro V6 as a rental, and IMHO, the Genesis is a much more refined car. Handling is better, creature comforts are better, and price is better. GM need to address the crappy interior of the Camaro, and fix the fit and finish issues on the Camaro and it will be the equal of the Genesis Coupe.

 

Excellent real-life comparison!

 

I feel Hyundia put it to the US when they first introduced their cars by selling the public a piece of unreliable junk! I would never own a Hyundia I have tried to but American for many years, not always with great luck but at Least American. I should tell you I fell the same way about Audi 1st rust buckets, then sudden acceleration then injector problems all that money for a piece of junk! I really am enjoying my HHR LT!

 

I honestly can't stand the look of the new Camaro....ugly. I would drive my HHR SS anyday over either the Genesis or the Camaro. But if you asked me to choose between those two, I would honestly pick the Genesis, that is unless you would let me take the Camaro SS with the big V8. I would swap the motor out with the 2.0l turbo and stick that beast in the HHR

 

The american public needs to get their heads out of the sand and look around. I would be willing to bet that between the big 3 and all their suppliers, they employ 5% of the american workforce. And I would be willing to bet that another 5% have jobs simply to service those autoworkers (doctors, teachers, mechanics, barbers, waiters, gas station owners, etc etc...). Why would you buy a car that is made overseas?? Get over yourself and your SELFISHNESS and support your local economy...

Even the ones that are "assembled" here, 90% of the parts come preassembled on a boat! bumpers, wheels & tires, engines, transmissions, under-bodies, dashboards, instrument clusters, seats, heck even doors! They are all premanufactured overseas and are simply bolted together when they land here in hick towns that don't know any different (like Montgomery, Alabama... or Chatanooga, Tenessee). All they care about is somebody is coming to hire all their uneducated arses and they don't have to worry about ajob ever again. Who cares that they're making near minimum wage. NOBODY ELSE GAINS FROM THAT!! Plus, the profits are exported too!

Sure we don't have a choice when it comes to TVs and such... but you DO have a choice when it comes to your car. And guess what, they're not that different. A Honda Accord is pretty much the same as a Toyota Camry which is pretty interchangable with a Chevy Malibu or Ford Fusion. I would actually be willing to put either the Malibu or the Fusion against the Camry or Accord.

Try being a true "proud" american and actually support your country's economy. Don't sell out and be a biggit.

Kia/Hyundai also don't to a fraction of the R&D that the big 3 do. They just steal the technology once it has been perfected by somebody else. That's Bull*****. They contribute nothing, invest nothing in our economy, and low-ball local manufacturer's prices only to swoop those profits up and export them to stimulate SOMEBODY ELSE'S ECONOMY!

 

60 years old and I never bought a foreign car. This country needs to start making things again if it wants to get out of the hole it's in.

 

Tell me why a CEO has to make 500 times more than a union worker?

 

well i got to go take a cruise in my hyundai now. my hhr is in the shop again, you know how unreliable these union built domestic cars are lmao.

 

actually I AM VERY anti union. I saw what they did to Flint, MI as I lived there for 4 years. i'm also against any mortal human being taking home that much more money than another.

im simply stating that now isn't the time to fix the above problems. especially when youlre double-f#cking the american taxpayer by buying a foreign car with their tax money! with all the hondas and toyotas bought with cash for clunkers tax dollars, you and every other tax payer just essentially wrote a very patriotic $100-$200 check to the japanese government/economy. Congrats.