Notwithstanding what rocky would post, the fact is that the UAW has never done anything to make us believe they really care about their product, just about contracts and wages, yet if their product was made with excellence and quality, the Japanese product would be the one to wither on the vine...the UAW has never done ANYTHING to inspire us to buy their product, except to advertise to "Buy American" but continued to give us poor product, until recently...
Your above statement goes to show how little you know about unions !!! Nobody cares more about their jobs than true blue union workers because they have to try to be the best to justify their wages and the UAW plants I've visted have won quality awards, after quality awards !!! The bottom line is (like beating a old drum) is currency manipulation, lack of tariffs on foreign made products, and corporate greed, is what is destroying manufactoring in this country both union and non-union. How much more must the blue-collar sacrifice to make you globalist happy ???
However marsha7, knows it all and those union workers are evil beings because they want to be able to afford a modest home, car, and feed their family !!! Oh lets not forget a meager retirement !!! That is asking too much from a multi-billion dollar corporation who will give its top executives pay raises while losing $38.7 billion and slashing the pay of others by 70% because some Chinamen, will do it for $0.42 an/hr and we all now know the "free market" MUST dictate the labor rates for the U.S. because we are a bunch of greedy pseudo-capitalist and must find a way to save another buck no matter what damage it may cause to your neighbor !!! :sick:
Exactly my view! Precision/longevity simply is missing and remains so...case in point, my wife's 2003 Denali. If I didn't purchase the extended warranty, I would be into $3,000 of repairs to date for a so-called professional-grade truck with 57K miles! What profession, UAW Grade??
I already switched to BMW...my wife was considering and Enclave but is now adamant to purchase a Highlander...thus HIGHTAILING it fast to Toyota!
Hi Rocky! As you can see from my previous post, the last GM we will ever purchase was my wife's 2003 Denali.
We can argue all day/night but the bottom line is the burning continues for me. This STRIKE garbage and the management greed has to stop or the bleeding will continue because the customers are getting very savvy these days.
The fault lies together as one industry that needs a new model to survive. Simple as that. No emotion just cooperation.
>"The bottom line is (like beating a old drum) is currency manipulation, lack of tariffs on foreign made products, and corporate greed, is what is destroying manufactoring in this country both union and non-union. How much more must the blue-collar sacrifice to make you globalist happy ??? "
What kind of tariffs should be placed on the Toyota, Honda, Nissan, ETC, that are build right here by American workers? Maybe enough to force the companies to possibly resort to poor quality parts to keep the cars in the price range?
Maybe enough to force them out of business here. So all those American workers that are actually being paid according to their job skills, can loose their jobs. But that would probably be OK, as they aren't UAW and therefore sub human. :sick:
OK, they had their pay restored to 2006 levels. Wagoner gets $2.2 million. And that other $13.2 million? Most of that will only be gotten if GM stock goes up.
If you only look at North America profit last year you would say they do not deserve the pay going back to '06 levels. NO profit, low pay!!! However these guys do not just run N.A., they have the rest of the world also and GM is running gangbusters every where else. Decisions Wagoner and others made 5 years ago are paying off and GM is expanding tremendously. They have cut salaried/development and design significantly by going global yet because they are expanding so rapidly, outside of US is doing great.
The place where GM hurt last year was in good ole US. But if you look at the vehicles in the last 3 years here they have been pretty much top of the line home runs if not at least competitive by most any measure. Quality is above average if not at the top. They are bringing investment cost down. They are working on a car that, if it beats Toyota and succesful, will change the way many Americans think about GM which is really what it needs.
enough rah rah and facts. What more should they have done? I think if they had the foresight to see that gas would double in 2 years they could have cut the capacity of the large trucks. Just too many plants for these kind of gas prices. However no one either really saw this coming 2 years ago or did not care. Even Toyota, they who are perfect, put out a brand new truck and put in way too much capacity. Tundras are sitting everywhere and they are reducing capacity. Monday morning quarterbacking is easy. We all new the ride would stop someday but it took 35 years to really happen and even yet this may be temporary.
The other issue is what the heck do you think Wagoner should make? Oh I know, nothing, fire him and we can bring in anybody and they could do just as good. You know what I think of that. Good top execs from GM are leaving GM and getting much higher paying jobs at companies like Pepsi. One lady left GM and is now the #2 person at Pepsi, probably making 2-3 times what she made at GM.
And for a little light on what top 500 company CEO's make:
The chief executives of America's 500 biggest companies got a collective 38% pay raise last year (2006), to $7.5 billion. That's an average $15.2 million apiece. Exercised stock options again account for the main component of pay, 48%.
Maybe you don't like domestic cars, but you can at least try to buy American anything else. I went to Sears to buy a shovel for my garden. They had a bunch of Chinese-made shovels that were a lot cheaper, but I bought the one brand of shovel that was made in the U.S.A. Likewise a 75-foot rubber hose that should last forever. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a nozzle that was made here.
As for myself, I'll keep buying Buicks and Cadillacs as long as they keep making them.
They are taking out full size truck capacity. As I said above there is too much capacity at all OEM's. GM is taking 2nd shifts out of 4 plants. Question is why are they not closing 2 plants down and running the others at full capacity. Makes no fiscal sense unless their hands are tied by the union. Do they have an agreement to keep plants running? I do not know but at least the workers get 80% of their pay.
pick ups are down 16% and full size SUVs down 28% for everyone.
As a side note, Ford looks to be settling with the CAW with very little pain. They keep their full wages and no two tier system except new hires get 70% of the pay for three years. NO where near the UAW agreement.
GM has 3 assembly plants in Canada. One full size truck. With the above cuts GM could easily shut down the Canada truck plant.
I agree, when buying stuff at Sears or Target or wherever, pay a little more for an American product that is hopefully made better than the import, because the price differential is often inconsequential and the better quality if often the American product...
But the exact opposite is true for cars, as they are the second-most expensive purchase (multiple purchases, actually) we make, and the quality and longevity are quite important...we do not get that from the union-made product, despite all of rocky's ramblings...
circlew quote..."Precision/longevity simply is missing and remains so...case in point, my wife's 2003 Denali. If I didn't purchase the extended warranty, I would be into $3,000 of repairs to date for a so-called professional-grade truck with 57K miles! What profession, UAW Grade??"...THIS is the problem, that our products, except for a few, are overpriced boat-anchors, and the fact that UAW folks want to earn a living and have a retirement seems to have eluded the work force that they need to make a product that does not fall apart and that people want to buy...
62vette quote..."But if you look at the vehicles in the last 3 years here they have been pretty much top of the line home runs if not at least competitive by most any measure. Quality is above average if not at the top."...while this is good to see, it may be too little too late...so they tout their "quality ratings" of their current products...what about the billions/trillions we have wasted on the junk they made since the 1970s???...it is NOT just about the past, it IS about 3 companies that have sold us junk for 3 decades, causing us to desert them in droves, and now that they finally make a decent product, after 30 years, they expect us to flock back to them like lemmings...frankly, we ain't seen enough good product yet to cause us to abandon Japanese cars, esp when those cars are now made by American workers who really DO care about their jobs, simply because they can LOSE them for making bad product...UAW workers get paid forever thru Job Bank for sitting on their collective a**es...I guess those at the job bank cannot be accused of making junk since they are doing nothing but collecting welfare from GM et al...
rocky, I am designating YOU as the "Closer", meaning when the last resident has left Michigan, and the last UAW worker clocks out, YOU are empowered to turn off the light switch when you leave...
UAW workers get paid forever thru Job Bank for sitting on their collective a**es...I guess those at the job bank cannot be accused of making junk since they are doing nothing but collecting welfare from GM et al...
it IS about 3 companies that have sold us junk for 3 decades, causing us to desert them in droves,
rocky, I am designating YOU as the "Closer", meaning when the last resident has left Michigan, and the last UAW worker clocks out, YOU are empowered to turn off the light switch when you leave...
At least the above is a little over zealous. The last american three still have about 50% of the US market ( and that is with 3 large companies now competing with about 10 new large competitors that were not really there 30 years ago) with GM at about 22% retail even with a 28% drop in large SUV sales. So we will probably not see a major rise in GM penetration in the US but I FEEL we are at about the bottom. Yes there are many who are pissed off with good reason but there are many, many more that are not and will look to buy domestic, especially with the improvements made.
The fact that the Jobs bank even EXISTED is ludicrous, but thanks for updating me on its demise...
No doubt the Big 3 will survive, and I certainly hope they do...but they have abused us Americans for many years, virtually demanding our loyalty regardless of the quality of the cars they turned out...while Buy American sounds good, they really have to make a product worthy of our dollars for us to buy...only recently are they finally "getting it"...at least the carmakers are, but the unions never will, and are incapable of doing so...
For Christ sakes, it's a whole different vehicle made with a whole different midset than your '03 Denali. I've NEVER had any major problems w/ my Buicks, and Buick HAS been near the top in quality and satisfaction the last several years.
I hate to put it this way, as it justifies all the negative comments made about GM, but if you HAD to buy GM, Buick is probably the safest bet.
Bob, I understand your frustration from 30 years of bad experiences plus union experiences, but from what I've read, 38% of new Malibu sales are conquests from Camry. That's significant (it may be 38% of conquest sales, I'm not sure, but still significant). If they have a good experience w/ their Malibu, then word of mouth may start to do for Chevy what it did for the [non-permissible content removed] in the '70's. Same would go for the Lambda CUV's, and the G8. If conquest buyers like them than word of mouth will spread.
Bush has sent things to congress to do. They need to start doing things to fix the low value of the dollar such as quitting spending money we don't have. Quitting sending out rebate checks for money we don't have. Quitting lowering interest rates which will raise the value of the dollar which will lower oil costs. Allowing oil production in areas of this country such as the President reminded them yesterday.
Hi Rocky! As you can see from my previous post, the last GM we will ever purchase was my wife's 2003 Denali.
I am not sure what is wrong at GM. It is probably a combination of poor management, disgruntled workers, cutting corners and bad engineering.
I just happily turned in our two week rental car. It was a 2008 Equinox AWD LT. Easily the worst vehicle I have driven for several years. It reminded me of an experience with a rental Vega back in the early 1970s. The only positive I will say is the 21 MPG mixed driving was good. There is no way this vehicle was as nice as the Trail Blazer I rented last year for two weeks. This was not the stripped version. It had CD/XM. Of course neither one worked. They have a 2 FM stations we like so that was no big deal. Just expect a new low mileage Alamo vehicle to be working. Did I say it was poor riding and lots of road noise? It was hard to hear the road noise over the engine noise. It liked going into high gear at around 1200 RPM. Then the engine would vibrate something awful up to about 2000 RPM. Alamo did refund me $90 for not having the Trail Blazer there when I arrived. I can guarantee I will not settle for an Equinox ever Again.
For those who live & work in the Euro zone, oil prices have been steady for the past 6 months. As imidazol97 noted in #2688, lower interest rates cheapen the dollar & that leads to higher prices at the pump for those of us who earn dollars.
The good news for you buy-American guys is that the gutless dollar makes imports more expensive. The bad news for all of us is that oil is one of those imports. You can't have it both ways.
Quote: "Bob, I understand your frustration from 30 years of bad experiences plus union experiences, but from what I've read, 38% of new Malibu sales are conquests from Camry. That's significant (it may be 38% of conquest sales, I'm not sure, but still significant)."
Cooter, you may not believe this, but I am ECSTATIC that Chevy quality has jumped up, and, another "you may not believe this", I have been contemplating trading in my 2004 Crown Vic for a used DTS, or, after reading other's posts, possibly a Lucerne, since a poster said it was basically a DTS w/o the Caddy name...
So, for all the railing I do against the UAW and Big 3, I am considering a GM product, as I have been led to believe that their quality has improved greatly, esp Caddy and Buick...I really do want us to re-establish our industrial base, but it cannot be done if we make junk, and we have made junk for too many years...an occasional Vega is one thing, but the entire line of some carmakers has been junk for decades...this is not Bob saying this, this is the market saying this, as we have not deserted the Big 3, THEY HAVE PUSHED US AWAY.....
yes, I DO have memories, CRYSTAL CLEAR memories, of the 70s, 80s, and beyond, when the Big 3 made vehicles of such poor quality that to call them boat-anchors would be a compliment, and I believe that the Big 3 have dug themselves a hole so deep they may need years of EXEMPLARY quality to bring us back in droves, instead of a trickle...
Make something to earn my business, and I will give it to you, even if it is made by the UAW...(ssshhh, don't tell rocky or I may never hear the end of it...:):):)...)
Driving Impressions The 2008 Chevy Equinox's fully independent suspension setup offers a satisfying balance between ride comfort and competent handling. It dispatches bumps and surface irregularities with ease, and long trips are especially relaxing thanks to its quiet, well-insulated cabin. We find fault with the standard electric power steering, however, which is overly light and slow to respond. The performance-oriented Equinox Sport addresses this criticism with a better-connected hydraulic setup, and of course is the go-to choice for buyers who expect sharp handling dynamics and versatility in equal measure.
I guess then Edmund's can just go buy one. I would not even rent another one. And over some of the lava roads we travel looking a land it made lots of banging noises. It is just not in a league with the Trail Blazer or Explorer. Those are the two we generally rent over there. And neither of them holds a candle to my 07 Sequoia. Sorry GM has chased off a long time buyer.
Deep cuts in light-truck production announced by General Motors on Monday have dealt a blow to striking UAW members at American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. With the cuts, American Axle can produce almost all the North American axles it needs for GM for the rest of year at its Mexican axle plant in Guanajuato, said a source familiar with the strike negotiations.
Throughout the country, businesses grappling with declining fortunes are cutting hours for those on their payrolls. Self-employed people are suffering a drop in demand for their services, such as music lessons, catering and management consulting. And growing numbers of people are settling for part-time work out of failure to secure a full-time position.
The erosion of the paycheck has become a stealth force driving the American economic downturn. Most of the attention has focused on the loss of jobs and the risk of layoffs. But the less-noticeable shrinking of hours and pay for millions of workers around the country appears to be a bigger contributor to the decline.
Though official unemployment has risen only modestly, to 5.1 percent, the winnowing of wages and working hours for those still employed has become a primary cause of distress, pushing many more Americans into a downward spiral, economists say.
Moreover, this slippage is a critical indicator that the nation may well be on the verge of a recession, if not already in one.
Drop in hours
Last month, the hours worked by those on American payrolls dropped, compared with six months earlier, according to an index maintained by the Labor Department. The last time the index moved into negative territory was February 2001, when the economy was on the doorstep of recession.
A similar slide emerged in August 1990, one month into what proved an even more severe downturn.
Paycheck erosion occurs for the worker actually doing the work compared to the "executive" at the top.
ABC reported last night that in 1980 the top executives made 40 times the average worker. In 2008 it is 433 times as much. Think that makes the workers feel like taking more pay cuts?
They also talked about how some people are pushing for a change. The executives tend to cluster their friends on their boards who cluster them on their own other boards, etc.
I stunned a phone person when I talked to shareholder division at a company who wants to only send info by email. I told her I wanted paper. She said I could just mark that choice on the proxy I had received. I told her I don't bother with votes because the banks and funds which hold shares control everything; there's no reason for shareholders to feel they have any impact.
The last time I had impact on a major company was reporting workers in a local utility taking a nap hour in our PUD where there was no building occuring for electrical trucks to be there and another time when I saw one parked out of the utility's service area next to the public library which also is next to porn shops (interesting side-by-side there). No other businesses open in the area. I got a call back that they appreciated the information and would be using their hidden odometer to check on the worker's daliances.
DETROIT -- The UAW this morning struck a General Motors assembly plant that makes the hot-selling Chevrolet Malibu sedan. Members of UAW Local 31 in Kansas City, Kan.,walked out at 10 a.m. EDT at GM's Fairfax assembly plant. The stoppage came after GM failed to reach a local operating contract with the union, said a secretary at UAW Local 31. Another UAW local has been striking GM's crossover assembly plant near Lansing, Mich., for the last few weeks.
Is it the last gasp?? Will GM outsource to off-US plants? Why strike? It doesn't affect me directly but it seems to make little sense, just blown opportunities to absorb the change together.
As opposed to the biggest suckball??? If it is a job "anyone" at the plant can do, then there is nothing wrong with using seniority to assign the jobs.
Because GM wants to assign jobs to anyone on the line and the UAW wants assignments by seniority. You know, easier jobs to the highest paid thing.
Where did this come from?
First the UAW only paid one rate for assemblers in the past. Skilled trades got higher of course.
The new rules does allow a lower wage for "non" critical something jobs but I am sure that senority will put the older guys on the higher wage jobs.
I have not read anywhere anything about why there is a stirke other than it is a "local agreement" issue. Actually they say it is due to the AA strike and that is the only reason I have found.
I understand now. There are all kinds of non line jobs in the plant. Many hourly are quality inspectors off line. Cars are taken at the end of the line and put thru testing/inspection, say driving over road for windnoise or rattle detection. IN the past the senior guys got first choice at these jobs. However often these guys were, well lets say, just not very hard workers and there was basically nothing GM could do about it. So GM must be trying allow the supervisors to pick the people they want to do these type of critical jobs.
Here is what is really happening. If the UAW was really serious about this issue they would not be settling at all the other plants. They are only striking at the hot vehicle plants.
Industry analysts have speculated that the UAW is trying to pressure GM to coax American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc. into ending a bitter nine-week strike. GM accounts for 80 percent of American Axle's business. About 3,600 UAW workers at five American Axle plants have been on strike since Feb. 26.
I believe this tactic will not work since GM can get axels alternatively. This just shows that more change needs to happen. Get ready for continued bloodshed.
They need to get back to simplicity, compassion, moderation, humility and wisdom on both sides to move forward as a new partnership based on these basic ingredients. Only then will trust build follow by success for all. You hit me, I hit you will never get to win-win.
Since the 1970s, so much of this great nation’s great wealth has been funneled to the richest 1% that everyone else has had to run faster and faster just to stay in place.
Sending women to work bought us some breathing room. Having fewer children bought us some more. We quit saving and got another short respite. Finally, the only way that the bottom 90 to 95% of the country could postpone a serious drop in the standard of living was to use home equity and credit and hope and pray that things would somehow get better before the bills came due.
Well, darn it, it didn’t turn out that way! I wonder what’s next - rescinding of child labor laws?
There is nothing wrong with the American worker, nothing wrong with the middle class. There is something terribly wrong with a democracy that allows a tiny but increasingly powerful, privileged elite to take for itself such a disproportionate share of the nation’s wealth.
Excellent post! Here is something that will bring you back to center.
Throw away holiness and wisdom, and people will be a hundred times happier. Throw away morality and justice, and people will do the right thing. Throw away industry and profit, and there won't be any thieves.
If these three aren't enough, just stay at the center of the circle and let all things take their course.
I new I would end up going through the shredder for my comments but at this point I don't care if anyone disagrees with my position !!! :P Did I read that post right ? Bob, purchased a Buick ???? :surprise: :surprise: :surprise: :surprise:
Comments
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=125948
Notwithstanding what rocky would post, the fact is that the UAW has never done anything to make us believe they really care about their product, just about contracts and wages, yet if their product was made with excellence and quality, the Japanese product would be the one to wither on the vine...the UAW has never done ANYTHING to inspire us to buy their product, except to advertise to "Buy American" but continued to give us poor product, until recently...
Your above statement goes to show how little you know about unions !!! Nobody cares more about their jobs than true blue union workers because they have to try to be the best to justify their wages and the UAW plants I've visted have won quality awards, after quality awards !!! The bottom line is (like beating a old drum) is currency manipulation, lack of tariffs on foreign made products, and corporate greed, is what is destroying manufactoring in this country both union and non-union.
How much more must the blue-collar sacrifice to make you globalist happy ???
However marsha7, knows it all and those union workers are evil beings because they want to be able to afford a modest home, car, and feed their family !!! Oh lets not forget a meager retirement !!! That is asking too much from a multi-billion dollar corporation who will give its top executives pay raises while losing $38.7 billion and slashing the pay of others by 70% because some Chinamen, will do it for $0.42 an/hr and we all now know the "free market" MUST dictate the labor rates for the U.S. because we are a bunch of greedy pseudo-capitalist and must find a way to save another buck no matter what damage it may cause to your neighbor !!!
-Rocky
I already switched to BMW...my wife was considering and Enclave but is now adamant to purchase a Highlander...thus HIGHTAILING it fast to Toyota!
Regards,
OW
We can argue all day/night but the bottom line is the burning continues for me. This STRIKE garbage and the management greed has to stop or the bleeding will continue because the customers are getting very savvy these days.
The fault lies together as one industry that needs a new model to survive. Simple as that. No emotion just cooperation.
Regards,
OW
How much more must the blue-collar sacrifice to make you globalist happy ??? "
What kind of tariffs should be placed on the Toyota, Honda, Nissan, ETC, that are build right here by American workers? Maybe enough to force the companies to possibly resort to poor quality parts to keep the cars in the price range?
Maybe enough to force them out of business here. So all those American workers that are actually being paid according to their job skills, can loose their jobs. But that would probably be OK, as they aren't UAW and therefore sub human. :sick:
Kip
Here's the IPO of the AR Index
And this week's Big Three Report
OK, they had their pay restored to 2006 levels. Wagoner gets $2.2 million. And that other $13.2 million? Most of that will only be gotten if GM stock goes up.
If you only look at North America profit last year you would say they do not deserve the pay going back to '06 levels. NO profit, low pay!!! However these guys do not just run N.A., they have the rest of the world also and GM is running gangbusters every where else. Decisions Wagoner and others made 5 years ago are paying off and GM is expanding tremendously. They have cut salaried/development and design significantly by going global yet because they are expanding so rapidly, outside of US is doing great.
The place where GM hurt last year was in good ole US. But if you look at the vehicles in the last 3 years here they have been pretty much top of the line home runs if not at least competitive by most any measure. Quality is above average if not at the top. They are bringing investment cost down. They are working on a car that, if it beats Toyota and succesful, will change the way many Americans think about GM which is really what it needs.
enough rah rah and facts. What more should they have done? I think if they had the foresight to see that gas would double in 2 years they could have cut the capacity of the large trucks. Just too many plants for these kind of gas prices. However no one either really saw this coming 2 years ago or did not care. Even Toyota, they who are perfect, put out a brand new truck and put in way too much capacity. Tundras are sitting everywhere and they are reducing capacity. Monday morning quarterbacking is easy. We all new the ride would stop someday but it took 35 years to really happen and even yet this may be temporary.
The other issue is what the heck do you think Wagoner should make? Oh I know, nothing, fire him and we can bring in anybody and they could do just as good. You know what I think of that. Good top execs from GM are leaving GM and getting much higher paying jobs at companies like Pepsi. One lady left GM and is now the #2 person at Pepsi, probably making 2-3 times what she made at GM.
And for a little light on what top 500 company CEO's make:
The chief executives of America's 500 biggest companies got a collective 38% pay raise last year (2006), to $7.5 billion. That's an average $15.2 million apiece. Exercised stock options again account for the main component of pay, 48%.
http://www.forbes.com/lists/2007/12/lead_07ceos_CEO-Compensation_Rank.html
Per that list $2.2 million is a bargain. For '05 Wagoner was #407 with $2.6 million.
As for myself, I'll keep buying Buicks and Cadillacs as long as they keep making them.
pick ups are down 16% and full size SUVs down 28% for everyone.
As a side note, Ford looks to be settling with the CAW with very little pain. They keep their full wages and no two tier system except new hires get 70% of the pay for three years. NO where near the UAW agreement.
GM has 3 assembly plants in Canada. One full size truck. With the above cuts GM could easily shut down the Canada truck plant.
But the exact opposite is true for cars, as they are the second-most expensive purchase (multiple purchases, actually) we make, and the quality and longevity are quite important...we do not get that from the union-made product, despite all of rocky's ramblings...
circlew quote..."Precision/longevity simply is missing and remains so...case in point, my wife's 2003 Denali. If I didn't purchase the extended warranty, I would be into $3,000 of repairs to date for a so-called professional-grade truck with 57K miles! What profession, UAW Grade??"...THIS is the problem, that our products, except for a few, are overpriced boat-anchors, and the fact that UAW folks want to earn a living and have a retirement seems to have eluded the work force that they need to make a product that does not fall apart and that people want to buy...
62vette quote..."But if you look at the vehicles in the last 3 years here they have been pretty much top of the line home runs if not at least competitive by most any measure. Quality is above average if not at the top."...while this is good to see, it may be too little too late...so they tout their "quality ratings" of their current products...what about the billions/trillions we have wasted on the junk they made since the 1970s???...it is NOT just about the past, it IS about 3 companies that have sold us junk for 3 decades, causing us to desert them in droves, and now that they finally make a decent product, after 30 years, they expect us to flock back to them like lemmings...frankly, we ain't seen enough good product yet to cause us to abandon Japanese cars, esp when those cars are now made by American workers who really DO care about their jobs, simply because they can LOSE them for making bad product...UAW workers get paid forever thru Job Bank for sitting on their collective a**es...I guess those at the job bank cannot be accused of making junk since they are doing nothing but collecting welfare from GM et al...
rocky, I am designating YOU as the "Closer", meaning when the last resident has left Michigan, and the last UAW worker clocks out, YOU are empowered to turn off the light switch when you leave...
Job banks are gone with last contract.
rocky, I am designating YOU as the "Closer", meaning when the last resident has left Michigan, and the last UAW worker clocks out, YOU are empowered to turn off the light switch when you leave...
At least the above is a little over zealous. The last american three still have about 50% of the US market ( and that is with 3 large companies now competing with about 10 new large competitors that were not really there 30 years ago) with GM at about 22% retail even with a 28% drop in large SUV sales. So we will probably not see a major rise in GM penetration in the US but I FEEL we are at about the bottom. Yes there are many who are pissed off with good reason but there are many, many more that are not and will look to buy domestic, especially with the improvements made.
No doubt the Big 3 will survive, and I certainly hope they do...but they have abused us Americans for many years, virtually demanding our loyalty regardless of the quality of the cars they turned out...while Buy American sounds good, they really have to make a product worthy of our dollars for us to buy...only recently are they finally "getting it"...at least the carmakers are, but the unions never will, and are incapable of doing so...
Regards,
OW
Ours is wonderful!
Then buy the damn thing!!!!!
For Christ sakes, it's a whole different vehicle made with a whole different midset than your '03 Denali. I've NEVER had any major problems w/ my Buicks, and Buick HAS been near the top in quality and satisfaction the last several years.
I hate to put it this way, as it justifies all the negative comments made about GM, but if you HAD to buy GM, Buick is probably the safest bet.
Bob, I understand your frustration from 30 years of bad experiences plus union experiences, but from what I've read, 38% of new Malibu sales are conquests from Camry. That's significant (it may be 38% of conquest sales, I'm not sure, but still significant). If they have a good experience w/ their Malibu, then word of mouth may start to do for Chevy what it did for the [non-permissible content removed] in the '70's. Same would go for the Lambda CUV's, and the G8. If conquest buyers like them than word of mouth will spread.
I suggest these 3,500 lay-off workers sitting in front of White House until Bush starts to do something on this amazingly high oil price.
Who wants to buy from a company where everyone is always pissed-off and greedy??????????????????????????
Regards,
OW
This does not make me happy or sad. Things need to change. Simple, no?
Regards,
OW
Bush has sent things to congress to do. They need to start doing things to fix the low value of the dollar such as quitting spending money we don't have. Quitting sending out rebate checks for money we don't have. Quitting lowering interest rates which will raise the value of the dollar which will lower oil costs. Allowing oil production in areas of this country such as the President reminded them yesterday.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I second that!!!
I am not sure what is wrong at GM. It is probably a combination of poor management, disgruntled workers, cutting corners and bad engineering.
I just happily turned in our two week rental car. It was a 2008 Equinox AWD LT. Easily the worst vehicle I have driven for several years. It reminded me of an experience with a rental Vega back in the early 1970s. The only positive I will say is the 21 MPG mixed driving was good. There is no way this vehicle was as nice as the Trail Blazer I rented last year for two weeks. This was not the stripped version. It had CD/XM. Of course neither one worked. They have a 2 FM stations we like so that was no big deal. Just expect a new low mileage Alamo vehicle to be working. Did I say it was poor riding and lots of road noise? It was hard to hear the road noise over the engine noise. It liked going into high gear at around 1200 RPM. Then the engine would vibrate something awful up to about 2000 RPM. Alamo did refund me $90 for not having the Trail Blazer there when I arrived. I can guarantee I will not settle for an Equinox ever Again.
The good news for you buy-American guys is that the gutless dollar makes imports more expensive. The bad news for all of us is that oil is one of those imports. You can't have it both ways.
Cooter, you may not believe this, but I am ECSTATIC that Chevy quality has jumped up, and, another "you may not believe this", I have been contemplating trading in my 2004 Crown Vic for a used DTS, or, after reading other's posts, possibly a Lucerne, since a poster said it was basically a DTS w/o the Caddy name...
So, for all the railing I do against the UAW and Big 3, I am considering a GM product, as I have been led to believe that their quality has improved greatly, esp Caddy and Buick...I really do want us to re-establish our industrial base, but it cannot be done if we make junk, and we have made junk for too many years...an occasional Vega is one thing, but the entire line of some carmakers has been junk for decades...this is not Bob saying this, this is the market saying this, as we have not deserted the Big 3, THEY HAVE PUSHED US AWAY.....
yes, I DO have memories, CRYSTAL CLEAR memories, of the 70s, 80s, and beyond, when the Big 3 made vehicles of such poor quality that to call them boat-anchors would be a compliment, and I believe that the Big 3 have dug themselves a hole so deep they may need years of EXEMPLARY quality to bring us back in droves, instead of a trickle...
Make something to earn my business, and I will give it to you, even if it is made by the UAW...(ssshhh, don't tell rocky or I may never hear the end of it...:):):)...)
Chevy's new Malibu grabbing sales from foreign car buyers (Straightline)
Edmund's unbiased review of Equinox
Driving Impressions
The 2008 Chevy Equinox's fully independent suspension setup offers a satisfying balance between ride comfort and competent handling. It dispatches bumps and surface irregularities with ease, and long trips are especially relaxing thanks to its quiet, well-insulated cabin. We find fault with the standard electric power steering, however, which is overly light and slow to respond. The performance-oriented Equinox Sport addresses this criticism with a better-connected hydraulic setup, and of course is the go-to choice for buyers who expect sharp handling dynamics and versatility in equal measure.
Whoa, while this may reflect on GM, it's still the DEALER doing this. I wouldn't buy ANY car from ANY dealer who artificially jacks up the price.
HEY ROCKY!!!!!! DID YA HEAR............... :surprise:
With the cuts, American Axle can produce almost all the North American axles it needs for GM for the rest of year at its Mexican axle plant in Guanajuato, said a source familiar with the strike negotiations.
Coalescing
The erosion of the paycheck has become a stealth force driving the American economic downturn. Most of the attention has focused on the loss of jobs and the risk of layoffs. But the less-noticeable shrinking of hours and pay for millions of workers around the country appears to be a bigger contributor to the decline.
Though official unemployment has risen only modestly, to 5.1 percent, the winnowing of wages and working hours for those still employed has become a primary cause of distress, pushing many more Americans into a downward spiral, economists say.
Moreover, this slippage is a critical indicator that the nation may well be on the verge of a recession, if not already in one.
Drop in hours
Last month, the hours worked by those on American payrolls dropped, compared with six months earlier, according to an index maintained by the Labor Department. The last time the index moved into negative territory was February 2001, when the economy was on the doorstep of recession.
A similar slide emerged in August 1990, one month into what proved an even more severe downturn.
ABC reported last night that in 1980 the top executives made 40 times the average worker. In 2008 it is 433 times as much. Think that makes the workers feel like taking more pay cuts?
They also talked about how some people are pushing for a change. The executives tend to cluster their friends on their boards who cluster them on their own other boards, etc.
I stunned a phone person when I talked to shareholder division at a company who wants to only send info by email. I told her I wanted paper. She said I could just mark that choice on the proxy I had received. I told her I don't bother with votes because the banks and funds which hold shares control everything; there's no reason for shareholders to feel they have any impact.
The last time I had impact on a major company was reporting workers in a local utility taking a nap hour in our PUD where there was no building occuring for electrical trucks to be there and another time when I saw one parked out of the utility's service area next to the public library which also is next to porn shops (interesting side-by-side there). No other businesses open in the area. I got a call back that they appreciated the information and would be using their hidden odometer to check on the worker's daliances.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
The stoppage came after GM failed to reach a local operating contract with the union, said a secretary at UAW Local 31. Another UAW local has been striking GM's crossover assembly plant near Lansing, Mich., for the last few weeks.
This makes sense...good for everyone!
Regards,
OW
What do I know...
Regards,
OW
Regards,
OW
As opposed to the biggest suckball??? If it is a job "anyone" at the plant can do, then there is nothing wrong with using seniority to assign the jobs.
Still, it hardly seems worth striking over.
Where did this come from?
First the UAW only paid one rate for assemblers in the past. Skilled trades got higher of course.
The new rules does allow a lower wage for "non" critical something jobs but I am sure that senority will put the older guys on the higher wage jobs.
I have not read anywhere anything about why there is a stirke other than it is a "local agreement" issue. Actually they say it is due to the AA strike and that is the only reason I have found.
do you have a link?
link title
Regards,
OW
Here is what is really happening. If the UAW was really serious about this issue they would not be settling at all the other plants. They are only striking at the hot vehicle plants.
Industry analysts have speculated that the UAW is trying to pressure GM to coax American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc. into ending a bitter nine-week strike. GM accounts for 80 percent of American Axle's business. About 3,600 UAW workers at five American Axle plants have been on strike since Feb. 26.
They need to get back to simplicity, compassion, moderation, humility and wisdom on both sides to move forward as a new partnership based on these basic ingredients. Only then will trust build follow by success for all. You hit me, I hit you will never get to win-win.
Regards,
OW
Sending women to work bought us some breathing room. Having fewer children bought us some more. We quit saving and got another short respite. Finally, the only way that the bottom 90 to 95% of the country could postpone a serious drop in the standard of living was to use home equity and credit and hope and pray that things would somehow get better before the bills came due.
Well, darn it, it didn’t turn out that way! I wonder what’s next - rescinding of child labor laws?
There is nothing wrong with the American worker, nothing wrong with the middle class. There is something terribly wrong with a democracy that allows a tiny but increasingly powerful, privileged elite to take for itself such a disproportionate share of the nation’s wealth.
Throw away holiness and wisdom,
and people will be a hundred times happier.
Throw away morality and justice,
and people will do the right thing.
Throw away industry and profit,
and there won't be any thieves.
If these three aren't enough,
just stay at the center of the circle
and let all things take their course.
Things always balance.
Regards,
OW
-Rocky