Quote:
Originally Posted by Fun_in_TN
Yes, come over to the Dark Side  As a very satisfied Mustang owner I say the more the merrier. Having owned mine for four months now, it's probably the most fun I have had driving. My first car was a '77 Camaro and I swore I'd have a Z28 5th Gen. GM squashed my dreams by holding off on the Z28.
I debated long and hard as to whether to pre-order an SS or go with the Shelby and have been watching these forums religiously to see if I made a bad decision. While I still love the look of the Camaro, I worry that GM may short change the loyal Camaro owners. My Ford dealership has bent over backwards from the original deal, to follow-on customer satisfaction calls, to free service, and the list goes on and on.
Enjoy your Pony---you won't regret it!  |
You're comparing a dealer's responsibilities to GM's responsibilities. GM builds cars. Dealers sell them. There are good and bad dealers everywhere. In order to justify my decision in a Camaro, I am securing a test drive through a mediocre dealer, Crown Chevrolet. I also test drove a Mustang at Laird Noller Ford, another unimpressive dealer locally. At the end of the day, neither dealer has done much more than I have expected of them. Crown has offered me a Corvette test drive since there aren't any Camaros in their lots right now, which earns them bonus points, but they'll probably claim they can't follow through with it when they see that I am under 25 years of age.
GM is legally responsible for its distribution of cars to dealers, not customers. Because the law binds GM to allocation agreements with dealers, early orders and customers have no sway over the ordering process. This is a common problem with high-demand cars, and it baffles me to this day that the Camaro buyers on this site are not familiar with this common problem. It is the lesser of 2 evils. The other evil is a monopoly system where GM buys out its dealers and sets fixed prices. While I love GM for its intensive product development, performance traditions, classic products, and high-quality builds, I do not represent GM, and therefore stand against GM becoming a monopolistic force in the market. No automaker should be allowed to centrally control all of its sales outlets. That is dangerous for the capitalistic system.
You have a choice, in other words. You can have a monopoly that fixes prices, kills competition, and raises prices in the long run or you can wait for the car you were promised at the price we at Camaro5 told you to get in writing. Either way, there is no instant gratification for ordering your car. If GM became a monopoly in the dealer market, then you get your car when they feel like it. They can demand all the money up front because there is no competing dealer offering a better alternative because GM owns them all. On the other hand, you can place your order, track your order, pay when it arrives, and wait like everyone else. Neither way gets you your car today, but I think it is very clear which one is the best option.
I'm not happy about having to post this sort of logic again, so please read it again to make sure you all got it. Dealers and automakers have different responsibilities.
Dealers deal cars. Automakers make autos. It's all in their names. Stop expecting them to do anything else.
In a more direct response to your post, you are right to point out that your good experience led you into getting your car. It is a good car, and, as much as I side with Chevrolet over Ford, they are both contributing to the greater American good.
