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2008 Minivans - READ ONLY

1261 messages,  Last post on Feb 27, 2008 at 7:47 AM

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What is this discussion about? Toyota Sienna, Honda Odyssey, Chrysler Town and Country, Dodge Caravan, Hyundai Entourage, Mazda MAZDA5, Kia Sedona, Car Comparisons, Car Buying, Van

#438 of 1261 Re: Canadian minivan against Japanese and Korean ones? [marine2] by dennisctc Oct 07, 2007 (2:17 pm)
Replying to: marine2 (Oct 07, 2007 2:02 pm) But where is the billions of dollars in profits going? Are they staying here and creating jobs for other Americans? Does it help strengthen our dollar and cut our balance of trade?   Don't forget about investment in capital, tooling, and technology. It takes a lot of time and money to develop a new vehicle...money spent on tooling new components like engines, trannys, LED lighting, seating etc....
#439 of 1261 Re: where is billions of dollars of profits going? [marine2] by hansienna Oct 07, 2007 (3:15 pm)
Replying to: marine2 (Oct 07, 2007 2:02 pm) Which begs another question: "Where are the billions of dollars in loses coming from" when a company is losing money? Replies to this message: marine2 (Oct 07, 2007 6:10 pm)
#440 of 1261 Re: Honestly.... [dennisctc] by tedebear Oct 07, 2007 (3:24 pm)
Replying to: dennisctc (Oct 07, 2007 1:30 pm) I don't know where you're getting your info at, but I have neighbors and friends working at plants here in Detroit and could name names, getting double and triple time. Guys getting in a 6am, driving a hilo for a few hours, then skipping out with sup's approval to got boating in the afternoon. Smoking inside an enclosed space like an SUV is wrong   I am a UAW employee. I'm not a production worker but we are all covered by the same national contract as far as wages are concerned. There is no such thing as triple time.   Some workers imply that they are getting triple time on holidays because everyone gets 8 hours holiday pay, whether they work that day or not. Then, if you work that day, you get double time in addition to that. That's not the same as triple time.   Also, if someone goes in, works a few hours and then leaves they are taken off the clock and their pay stops at that point. It's all a matter of if going boating in the afternoon is worth more than the money you'll lose by taking off work.   I agree that smoking in a customer's vehicle is wrong. I guarantee that if a supervisor caught someone doing it in the plant I am associated with the person would get some time off. Smoking is not permitted at all inside our plant, much less a customer's vehicle.
#441 of 1261 Re: where is billions of dollars of profits going? [hansienna] by marine2 Oct 07, 2007 (6:10 pm)
Replying to: hansienna (Oct 07, 2007 3:15 pm) Which begs another question: "Where are the billions of dollars in loses coming from" when a company is losing money?   Invester's stocks and bonds. Employee's 401-K and IRA's.   Anyone know where all their 401-K's and IRA's are invested in?
#442 of 1261 Re: Honestly.... [dennisctc] by mfletou1 Oct 07, 2007 (7:40 pm)
Replying to: dennisctc (Oct 07, 2007 1:30 pm) Exactly. You won't see that at Honda and Toyota because the inmates aren't running the asylum.   As for R&D, maybe some of you are finally getting it. Because of years of capitulation to big labor, the Big Three aren't able to invest the same as Toyota, Honda, and now Hyundai on R&D, and the end results are inferior products. Not to say that Detroit isn't capable of putting out decent cars, of course.   My larger point is that fundamentally, I'm a free market guy. I've changed as I've gotten older (and I'm not old, I'm still in my 20s!) Four or five years ago, I would only buy American out of that sense of guilt. But I've been left stranded and abused (literally actually) by an American company that I finally got driven to Toyota, and I haven't looked back. I'm not longer convinced its the "right" thing to do, in fact I feel like by settling for inferiority, I'm basically enabling a flawed industry that needs drastic reformation. Replies to this message: tedebear (Oct 07, 2007 8:10 pm) marine2 (Oct 07, 2007 9:47 pm) KarenS (Oct 08, 2007 7:38 am)
#443 of 1261 Re: Honestly.... [mfletou1] by tedebear Oct 07, 2007 (8:10 pm)
Replying to: mfletou1 (Oct 07, 2007 7:40 pm) As for R&D, maybe some of you are finally getting it. Because of years of capitulation to big labor, the Big Three aren't able to invest the same as Toyota, Honda, and now Hyundai on R&D   It's called corporate greed. GM management complains that they are losing $1,500 per vehicle because of higher labor costs than Toyota. However, that doesn't keep the top executives at GM from averaging 250x more money per year in salary and bonuses than their average production worker.   I read a statistic recently that said if GM would go back to the 60s, where the top executive salary was "just" 20x more than the average worker, they would turn that $1,500 loss per vehicle into a $1,000 profit. Replies to this message: marine2 (Oct 07, 2007 9:47 pm) KarenS (Oct 08, 2007 7:38 am)
#444 of 1261 Re: Honestly.... [tedebear] by marine2 Oct 07, 2007 (9:47 pm)
Replying to: tedebear (Oct 07, 2007 8:10 pm) I'm going to carry this over to the other thread (Minivan Shopping - Domestic vs. Foreign) where it belongs. Wish they had an open forum for this. Replies to this message: KarenS (Oct 08, 2007 7:38 am)
#445 of 1261 Re: Honestly.... [marine2] by KarenS HOST Oct 08, 2007 (7:38 am)
Replying to: marine2 (Oct 07, 2007 9:47 pm) The Auto News board would be the best place to start a new discussion. You might want to look through the current topics as there may be something already suitable.   Automotive News & Views
#446 of 1261 This is cool.... by dennisctc Oct 10, 2007 (4:45 am)
Note the LED pipe lighting Same as the new Chryslers   future minivan Replies to this message: ateixeira (Oct 10, 2007 10:16 am) marine2 (Oct 10, 2007 2:20 pm) hansienna (Oct 10, 2007 2:39 pm) carcom2 (Oct 10, 2007 5:59 pm)
#447 of 1261 Strike is on by ateixeira Oct 10, 2007 (10:07 am)
As of 11am, UAW is on strike against Chrysler. Likely will delay the arrival of the 2008s, so it might hit them where it hurts.

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