This isn't about University education - YOU brought up the question of what kind of labour can ou get for $8/hr and I pointed out that $8 buys you different level of skills in different countries, In the US (and Canada) $8 doesn't get you an experienced plummer, electrician or assembly line worker. I suggest that in Japan, China (and Mexico) it does? Either way - it was you that (mistakenly) said an $8/hr labourer was unqualified for almost anything (totally disregarding the country where this labour is performed) - go back and read your original post (below).
"Would you hire an electrician or plumber for $8/hour.....you'd be swimming in your bathroom or get zapped when you plug in your toaster"

 

Wow - hard for me to read that statement and not conclude it was made by someone with a huge self ego. We either agree with you or we are in denial and that's the truth? - interesting assumption.

 

I LOVE my HHR.

I HATE Toyota.

If I didn't love cars and I wanted to 'blend in' with the other cars on the road, I would have bought a Toyota. But I wanted something unique and bought an HHR. And the thing has 20,000+ miles and NO PROBLEMS. F$&% Toyota.

 

Me too!!!

Very ture!

"May I quote you!" Oh I already did!

 

i like my hhr ss

toyota just doesn't make anything "sporty" anymore and the scion tc doesn't count!!! now if toyota brought back the mr2 in turbo form,supra,and celica,i don't think we would be having this conversation.

i'm not bashing gm or chevy,so with that said,let's list the positives.

1. with the development of the hhr and cobalt ss cars,they have answered the call of the tuner guys,matter of fact all "american" companies have stepped up to the plate,well dodge anyways. what i mean is till the srt-4 came out,turbo cars was pretty much did not exist (except your saabs,vw,sti/evo and porche which are all$$$$$) this is where gm win over younger buyers and the guys like myself who remember the 300z,mr2,supras,vr-4's,and other small turbo cars.

2.-the negative.- toyota have the reputation on it's side. true ANY vehicle can leave you stranded,but toyota does have that never say die motor. in chevy's defense,thier was the guy that put a million miles on his truck with the original motor with no issues.

in short,if toyota had some "performance" cars like mentioned above or in the same price range as gm,i think we would see more people flocking to toyota.just my opinion.

 

I believe the more generic term here in the states is "POS" since there is the legal definition of "lemon".

 

Mighty mouse couldn't be more right.

I have owned 2 Cavaliers, 1 Lumina, 1 GMC Sonoma, a Chevy S10 and still own my C5 Z06. First off, you wouldn't think in a million years that the Vette was made by the same company who sells the G5 Pursuit/Chev Aveo. In my opinion, if it wasn't for the aura and ohh and ahh effect of the C6 Vette, GM would be in as poor or worse shape then Chrysler (bottom of the list). You can tell where they put their resources. I have always defended GM over the years, but aside from the Vette, joint effort of Vibe/Matrix(consumer reports-recommended) with Toyota and maybe the Sierra/Silverado, they cut corners on most of their other vehicles. It's their own fault 100% and not unlike other industries, the poor results from being complacent can't be overturned in 3 months of hard work. By buying a new HHR SS I was hoping they had turned the corner on build quality, but my obvious first impression is that they haven't. It will take years for GM to re-build its name and as a result, will have to build in Mexico or cut back in quality parts to off-set the $$$ damages. The consumers will ultimately suffer. If Toyota can build a car for $1500 cheaper due to wages and benefits, you will likely always get a better product and increase the value of your name.

I am with mighty-mouse, once Toyota and Honda hit the market with something as cool as the HHR SS, Corvette (though I doubt it), Camaro or other vehicles, GM will unfortunately lose a lot more customers. The scary part is that not only are the young kids buying these imports, but every day I see older people who used to drive Buicks and Oldsmobiles driving Corollas and Civic Sedans.

Canauk: Not a huge self-ego, not a small one either. Just have an opinion and am not afriad to voice it, IXNAY all the political correctness (not a liberal).

 

I don't mind you voicing your opinions, that's what these forums are all about and you certainly don't need to be politically correct - just don't accuse anyone who disagrees with you as being in denial - we all have opinions, they may not agree with you but we have the same right to voice them and doing so doesn't mean we are in denial, simply means we have a different point of view.

Quote - "That's the truth and if you disagree then my opinion is that you are in denial."

 

well the reason you're seing older people driving imports is for gas lol!!! i also think the two companies are thinking differently. toyota doesn't care about performance. they are answering the call of america and the world,offering cars with an avg. of 35mpg or better,then you add toyota name and they can sell like hotcakes.

gm is offering the same thing,but also still looking out for us motor heads. toyota will tell you "you want performance??? see out lexus line,which then you will pay$$$$. good quality,but in todays world,everyone is trying to save$$$.

 

I just heard a radio ad for Chevy this morning about how they have 10 models that get 30 MPG or better. And those 10 models are more than Toyota and Honda.