I have an F-150 & an Expedition!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Noel
What's a tie rod??:confused:
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I have an F-150 & an Expedition!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Noel
What's a tie rod??:confused:
What I stated makes perfect sense. You are just missing the point. I stand by what I said. The UAW is not the problem. Sure, there are some flaws that have contributed to added cost, but not substantially when compared to other factors. You can always find some wasteful spending in any large organization. However, unfair trade practices allowed by our government, and mismanagement by GM Executives over the years, have taken a far greater toll on the company than the UAW ever did. You have only to look at the tenures of Roger Smith and Ron Zarella, and the direction they took the company, to see they did more damage to GM than high wages and benefits ever could. Neither one had any business running an auto company.Quote:
Originally Posted by honker88
I sat in a meeting, and listened to Roger Smith explain how GM used to have 50% of the U.S. auto market, but over the last several years GM’s market share had eroded to about 33%. He went on to explain how he expected GM to lose even more market share over the next several years. How could the Board of Directors elect a CEO to run the company that planned to lose in the marketplace? A CEO should have a plan for winning in the marketplace.
Then came Ron Zarella with his hair brained brand marketing scheme. It was doomed for failure from the beginning, and GM lost more market share. There are more blunders I could cite, but I think you get the idea.
So what’s wrong with good wages, a pension, and healthcare? Why do you begrudge them those things? I worked one summer in an auto plant. It was what made me go back to school and finish my degree. On the 2nd shift, the area of the plant I worked in would heat up to 100+ degrees. The foreman would come around at the start of the shift, and hand out salt tablets and a roll of paper towels to wipe off sweat. I would use the entire roll by the end of my shift. It was a miserable place to work. Personally, I think they deserved every penny they were paid. I realize work conditions in the plant have improved, but that’s not reason to devalue their jobs.
It’s funny how we sit around and ooh and aah over the mega salaries paid to professional athletes for playing a child’s game. We would all love to be in their position. Yet, we think the guy that goes to work every, and works hard to support his family and give them a good life style, doesn’t deserve decent wages.
What makes the wages and benefits the UAW negotiated artificially high? I contend the transplant companies’ wages are artificially low. There was a time in this country when most manufacturing jobs paid very good wages. However, as manufacturers began to leave this country in favor of cheap labor overseas and in Mexico, pressure was put on the remaining U.S. manufacturing workforce to accept lower wages and benefits that are more in line with what workers are being paid elsewhere in the world.Quote:
Originally Posted by honker88
Again, look where the foreign owned manufacturers established plants. They built them in states that traditionally paid workers low wages. They are the some of the same states people left during the great industrial migration for better paying manufacturing jobs in the north. The lower wages and benefits paid by the transplants has resulted increased downward pressure on wages for other U.S. workers, and the outsourcing of jobs to other countries. I ask again, how do lower wages, and a reduced standard of living benefit us in this country? That is the question you did not address.
Your assumption that the price of a $20k GM car is inflated by 7% is wrong. The price of the car is not going to change because production costs are lower. Pricing on cars it pretty much dictated by what the market will bear. Each segment of the car market (small cars, mid-size cars, luxury vehicles, etc.) has a limit customers will pay. That is how manufacturers price their vehicle. If you price it beyond that limit, it will not sell. The only thing higher production costs mean is there is less profit in the car for the manufacturers. If the manufacturer reduces its costs by reducing wages, they are not going to pass that savings on to you, the customer.Quote:
Originally Posted by honker88
Last ford I had was assembled in Canada. I just bought a GMC 2500. Why should I take the advice of a morbidly obese drug addict? (referring to Limbaugh...and that's not name calling, just factual description)
Quote:
Originally Posted by dnf777
Obama smoked pot, did cocaine and is addicted to Nicotine, why would you listen to him either? Or are all those things OK if you're skinny?
You're right. So I assume you voted for Al Gore and John Kerry, since George W Bush did all those things as well. And who said I was listening to Obama? I just don't let Rush Limbaugh dictate my thought process or behavior. (I'm not saying anyone else does either, before I get jumped on.....just seems lots of Rushisms are echoed here) I love political debate, but I can watch and listen to the talking heads myself.
No actually I never gave those qualifiers, you did. If your qualifier is you don't take any information from anyone who has had an addiction problem or is overweight you might be a little short on reading material.Quote:
Originally Posted by dnf777
So why "save" GM and not Chrysler?
All I said was "drug addict". Nobody, including Rush disputes that. You in fact gave the other qualifiers. And no, I don't take serious advice from drug addicts. (we could debate that term as well, ie coffee drinkers, chocoholics...but I'm referring to narcotic abusers who illegally obtain them)Quote:
Originally Posted by IowaBayDog
And I don't discriminate against morbidly obese people. But in his case its part of a constellation of conditions that all point to an inability to control one's desires. FYI, morbid obesity and overweight are not the same. One is a social judgement, the other is a medical condition.
Again, I'm not an Obama supporter, or even a democrat for that matter, but I just can't stand hypocrisy!!!!
I agree Rush is a blow hard, but hey, aren't we all in our own way?
Do you listen to him at all?
Does he say anything that mirrors your opinion or position?
Is your hatred, him or his positions?
Is it that you loathe his hypocracy, at least on the drug issue, so much that anything he says must be somehow suspect and not worth any analysis?
Do you think he does a good job pointing out the lefts hypocracy?
Do you think he does a good job pointing out the MSM bias?
I am not sure. It seemed Gov. rhetoric from the beginning favored GM over Chrysler being able to survive. However, the Gov. did put in some money to sweeten the deal for Chrysler bond holders at the 11th hour to try to stave off bankruptcy, but some bond holders refused go for the deal.Quote:
Originally Posted by kjrice
I would like to see Chrysler come out of this okay. However, I’m a little skeptical of the deal with Fiat. Chrysler is still dealing with some quality issues or their own, and Fiat is well known for quality problems. Fiat was rated “below average” in quality and reliability in Europe, finishing 20th of 25 brands in J.D. Power's Customer Satisfaction Index Study in Germany, France and the UK. Other than the infusion of cash, I just don’t see how Fiat is going to help Chrysler make it.