從GM車主的角度回顧美國通用汽車公司的輝煌與淒涼曆史 (組圖)

今天，曾經是世界上最大的汽車製造企業的美國通用汽車公司申請破產保護，給曾
是美國國民經濟三大支柱的汽車工業劃了一個極不光彩的句號。雖然奧巴馬總統全
力支持通用汽車公司的改革計劃，新的通用汽車公司的前景充滿了很難預測的多種
因素。

在美國買第一輛汽車時，就聽朋友說美國車的質量靠不住。結果，這麽多年，從來
沒有買過美國車。

租車時倒是開過Buick-別克，

甚至凱迪拉克-Cadillac，兩個字可以形容，舒適。

今天紐約時報刊登了一組讀者提供的曾經擁有的GM生產的汽車照片，作為一個紀念
吧。

"This photo was taken in 1960 by my mother on a trip from Massachusetts
to California to visit her family after my father died. In those days you
could drive right up to Old Faithful, have it to yourself and count on it
blasting off every hour on the hour. The 1951 Chevy Deluxe (4-door, with
fender skirts) was just as faithful, smoothly making the trip without so
much as a murmur of discontent." -- Virginia Grahame
Location: Old Faithful - Yosemite National Park，Photo: Virginia Grahame

 "An American icon. The cherry red Chevy in front of the ice cream parlor,
the flag, all from Murphy's CA on highway 49. Too bad it's not my car."
-- Bob Dales,Location: Murphys, Calif.，Photo: Bob Dales

 "Is GM dead? I found this truck parked at a cemetery. With GM heading to
bankruptcy, I thought this scene couldn't have been staged better." -- Enrique
Stiglich,Location: New Orleans，Photo: Enrique Stiglich

"The Pinnacle and excesses of GM's glory days, a 1959 Cadillac Fleetwood."
--Tom Bottoni,Location: Virginia，Photo: Tom Bottoni

 "1986 Pontiac 6000" -- Gene Bell
Location: Hollis, N.Y.，Photo: Gene Bell

"1972 Chevy Impala. Purchased new in '72, still run's like a top. One owner."
 -- Pam Lucas,Location: Dungeness, Washington，Photo: Pam Lucas

"This photo was taken in 1956. It was a 1954 Corvette, 51st off the assembly
line and the first to be offered in a color other than white. I was 20 years
old and one happy puppy!! Talk about 'the good old days.'" -- Richard Roberts，
Location: New York, New York，Photo: Richard Roberts

"1953 Oldsmobile" -- Edward Levy
Location: Stuart, Florida，Photo: Edward Levy

 "Here is the Pink Titanic about to hit an iceberg. Taken on Mardi Gras
day, Royal St New Orleans. I've been saving this photo for today." -- Bob
Dales，Location: New Orleans，Photo: Bob Dales

 "My son and I own matching Z28 Camaros. Stored winters, always hand washed!"
 -- Sol Rothenberg,Location: Livonia, Mich，Photo: Sol Rothenberg

"My new 1972 Corvette, loved it despite all its flaws." -- Joe
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan

 "My father, Harley, was an Oldsmobile man and I grew up in the back of
them. He used them long and hard and in 1984, just as our 1971 Delta 88
was reaching the end of its useful life, my uncle who lived several states
away became ill and suddenly died. My father, Harley, needed a new car in
a hurry car and purchased a brand new Oldsmobile Cutlass at our small town
dealership, it was the last car he would ever own.
After that trip he used the car rarely and by the time he passed away in
1995, the car had just 60K miles on it. After another 6 years of gentle
use by my mother, I finally inherited the car.
Since I am in the Foreign Service and live overseas, the car spent a lot
of time in storage. After agonizing over it for many years I finally decided
to sell it last fall. One of the last things I was able to do before I sold
the car was get a photo with my 2 year old son, also named Harley, with his
grandfather’s car." -- Thomas Kreutzer。Location: Monroe, WA，Photo: Thomas
Kreutzer

 "Clementine, a 1973 Chevrolet Caprice convertible, 400-cubic inch V8, a
beloved rust bucket learning project, patched everywhere from rust caused
by salted Canadian winter roads. I owned her about 5 years and we enjoyed
countless summertime cruises through the mountains and islands of British
Columbia Province, as well as Washington and Oregon States, top down and
stereo blaring." -- Leonard Ryan，Location: Texada Island, British Columbia,
Canada，Photo: Leonard Ryan