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Automotive News & Views United Automobile Workers of America (UAW)
16666 messages, Last post on Nov 10, 2009 at 9:45 AM
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Replying to: circlew (Nov 16, 2008 5:33 pm) Through the decades, workers in the building trades have always had to cope with recessions on their own. Some of these are carpenters, drywallers, roofers, heavy equipment operators, etc. Mostly they are resilient and adaptable. UAW workers have been shielded from reality by Big 3 management capitulation to ridiculous union demands. |
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Replying to: lemko (Nov 18, 2008 7:36 am) Apparently, you don't have much company. When I got my driver's license back in the 60s, GM's share of the U.S. auto market was in the neighborhood of 55%. So big & so successful was the company that management's biggest worry was that the government would step in & break it up. (It's widely believed that the Justice Department was prepared to move if GM's market share had reached 60%.) Today, GM's share is less than 20%, which means that an awful lot of Americans have gone elsewhere. The company has managed to squander what was the most profitable franchise in automotive history. And now we're expected to bail it out? |
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Replying to: jimbres (Nov 18, 2008 8:08 am) Yeah, and I know exactly where I'd tell them all to go. Hopefully there is some kind of cosmic justice and they will all soon find themselves unemployed or underemployed and all their beloved imports are towed away to the repossessor's lot or the scrap yard.
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Replying to: lemko (Nov 18, 2008 8:19 am) GM has had 30+ years to respond to the challenge posed by Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai, BMW and Mercedes. For the most part, it has either failed miserably or succeeded only by avoiding direct confrontation (abandoning cars to focus on trucks and SUVs). GM had the home team advantage, and it squandered it. When I read DeLorean's book, On a Clear Day, You Can See General Motors, I was shocked at how relevant it remains after 30 years. GM has been poorly managed for too long, and top management has focused on just about everything BUT making top-notch cars. It has survived on sheer size, the truck market and a dwindling customer base that refuses to consider vehicles from other manufacturers. That is not the fault of people who bought something else. |
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Replying to: lemko (Nov 18, 2008 7:36 am) What do you call the ongoing loss of market share of the Big 3 to the foreign brands? Every American exercises his/her free will to buy the vehicle that is best value to them and meets or exceeds their needs/expectations. Obviously, the foreign brands have been doing a better job than the Big 3 in this regard. |
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Replying to: xrunner2 (Nov 18, 2008 8:43 am) And that vehicle is either a Buick or a Cadillac for me!
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Replying to: lemko (Nov 18, 2008 8:19 am) So how does this make things better?
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Replying to: grbeck (Nov 18, 2008 7:46 am) Would that need a chapter 11? Have to imagine that the corporate culture of a Toyota, Honda or Nissan is very different from GM. The GM workforce, without a union, and first level supervision maybe could be trained into that culture. Top and middle management would have to be replaced similar to a new U.S. President's administration such as what Obama and Emanuel are now doing. Obama is bringing in his people, but of course retaining apolitical career government employees and grunts. Is there any way that elements of top/middle management at Toyota, Honda and Nissan could be induced to join a Phoenix GM? What a challenge. This would be like a head coach of a Super Bowl Team leaving it and taking over the worst team in the NFL with aspiration to build it into a Super Bowl contender. |
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Replying to: jimbres (Nov 18, 2008 8:58 am)
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this is simply a supply and demand production thing here. Most of us middle-aged population here in the States feel like The General has been dead and dereft of creativity for about 40 years. We don't feel the Big Guy has our best interests at heart by any stretch. Product has been tolerable but doesn't light our fire. I say no to a bailout for the States. Maybe SAIC of China(their Chinese build partner)can purchase bits and pieces of GM, including some experts who don't mind moving to China, and work to build for the burgeoning car-buying public there. Beggars can't be choosy, eh? |
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