Edmunds.com | Inside Line | Auto Observer Your Account | Help | Directory
You are here:
![[F]](http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/townhall/webxicons/site.gif){kind=small}
Forums
Automotive News & Views United Automobile Workers of America (UAW)
16738 messages, Last post on Dec 03, 2009 at 10:07 AM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
|
Replying to: lemko (Dec 14, 2008 6:55 am) |
|
|
Replying to: lemko (Dec 14, 2008 6:55 am) After burning through the 1st installment with nothing to show for it, the domestic car makers demand tens of billions in additional "loans", saying that if they're not allowed to "borrow" more, they can't possibly repay what they "borrowed" previously. They get everything they ask for but go down the tubes anyway because they can't control labor costs while building affordable, attractive cars. The government, broke & with no hope of recovering this money from the now-defunct Big 3, raises income & excise taxes through the roof. Taxpayers, their disposable income a fraction of what it once was, stop buying new cars. Soon, the import dealerships go out of business. Only used-car lots survive, but not for long. State & local governments, starved for revenue because they're no longer collecting taxes on new car sales, hike income & property taxes. Now taxpayers can't even afford to buy used cars, & soon the used-car lots fold up. But in every cloud there's a silver lining, & a vibrant new industry emerges: used shoe stores, which cater to taxpayers who can't afford cars & must now walk everywhere. The largest of the used shoe retailers is...Lemko's Quality Footware Emporium, which offers a full range of certified pre-owned shoes as well as easy financing. ("No Credit? No Problem! We Won't Let You Leave Barefoot!") Lemko, now the wealthiest man in the greater Philly metro area, can finally afford to indulge his childhood fantasy. He imports a glossy black Mercedes Benz S600 V-12 & moves into a mansion once occupied by a hedge fund manager. |
|
|
|
|
Replying to: gagrice (Dec 13, 2008 5:30 pm)
|
|
|
Replying to: dallasdude1 (Dec 14, 2008 7:11 am) True, but but the business/sales people are needed to create the market/value of the product produced. I know lots of engineers and no doubt most are very smart and gifted, but several I know have the personality of a pencil. The IPOD's success has more to do with Apples marketing machine than engineering of the product. I've worked with many small manufacturing companies where the top sales people are compensated much higher than the top engineers. Congrats on the accomplishments of your eldest son. While I was a management major and my wife Pharmacy (very similar studies to Chem E with an extra 2 years), we attended a school that has a huge engineering program and we hung around many engineering students. Chem E is definitely a demanding program and anyone who earns a Chem E degree is not lacking in intelligence. Yeah, math is not a universal ability. I always struggled with math. My wife breezed through it. In college, she would keep taking calculus classes as electives because she was good enough at it to not go to class and still able to ace the exam. She did that with 3 or 4 classes in calculus. It made me sick that she would attend the first week of class, get the lesson plan for the semester, and only show up on the days of tests and the final exam and get A's. I OTOH, would attend every class, go to study sessions and squeak by with a C. So far it looks like our daughters got her brains. Thank god.
|
|
|
Replying to: dallasdude1 (Dec 14, 2008 7:11 am) DETROIT -- Oscar Gray achieved the good life during 28 years of hard work at Delphi Corp. -- a six-figure income, a nice home in Holly and two vehicles. But as Michigan's auto industry tanked in recent years, the forklift operator lost huge amounts of overtime pay and gradually sank into financial ruin. Saddled with $469,000 in debt, he declared bankruptcy last month. Gray didn't lose his job. His health isn't failing, and he is not going through a divorce -- the typical reasons many declare bankruptcy. Gray has been losing overtime. His gross pay was cut $16,000 one year, sliding to $87,000, and may dip again because Delphi is considering a Chapter 11 filing. "You count on something your whole life and then it gets jerked around," Gray said. While layoffs have soared, it's often autoworkers still on the job who are drowning in debt. http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0509/18/A01-318432.htm Maybe you have a better term to describe that kind of IGNORANCE. It is giving too much money to someone ill equipped to manage it. |
|
|
Replying to: dallasdude1 (Dec 14, 2008 7:31 am) Some interesting stuff how the decline of the UK automotive industry from 1945-2005 is paralleling lots of stuff going on here. 1945-2005 During the war all production was concentrated on war materials. After 1945 Britain became the world's largest automobile exporter, providing 52% of the world's exported vehicles in 1950. In 1953 Morris merged with Austin to form the British Motor Corporation (BMC), becoming the UK's largest producer. BMC specialized in small, economy sedans and sports cars, with 4 cylinder engines. By the late 1950s, West German automobile manufacturers were benefiting from the Economic miracle and rapidly gained market share, followed soon by the French and Italian producers, and the UK lost most of its continental market through neglect and stagnation. At the end of the 1950s, the Rootes group acquired Singer. In 1966 BMC merged with Jaguar Cars and Pressed Steel to form British Motor Holdings, which then merged, in 1968, with the Leyland Motor Corporation, which had by then acquired the Rover Company and the Triumph Motor Company, to form the British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC) as Europe's fourth largest automaker.[9] Chrysler UK finished acquiring the Rootes group in 1967, a process it had started in 1964. By 1970 Japanese firms identified the British market as the first major European market to attack because of the relative weakness of the domestic car industry.[10] Stiff competition from Japanese and German cars, a reputation for shoddy workmanship and a breakdown in labor relations brought the British companies to near bankruptcy by 1975. The UK government effectively nationalized the bankrupt BLMC in 1975, rationalising the company into British Leyland, which produced 40% of the cars sold in Britain. The government provided £11 billion (in terms of 2008 £, or $16.5 billion in 2008 $) in bailouts. Wildcat strikes consumed more than 32 million worker-hours in 1977. Management cut employment in half, from 200,000 to 105,000 to cut expenses. In 1977 Chrysler sold its European interests to Peugeot, with Chrysler UK being renamed Peugeot Talbot. After a decline in the UK market's significance for multinational automakers, Japanese manufacturers hoping to get around EEC trade restrictions established manufacturing plants in the UK. Nissan, Toyota and Honda all manufacture passenger cars in UK factories, primarily for car markets in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. After a series of divestitures, British Leyland was renamed the Rover Group, which was eventually acquired by BMW, then split up into various divisions that were sold separately. MG Rover finally went bankrupt in 2005, ending the era of mass production by UK-owned automobile manufacturers. The remnants were bought by the Chinese government-owned manufacturers, SAIC and NAC, which later merged. Former British Leyland car brands include Jaguar and Land Rover, now owned by Tata Motors, MINI, owned by BMW and MG owned by SAIC/NAC. Only 22,000 workers remain employed at successor firms.
|
|
|
|
|
Replying to: dieselone (Dec 14, 2008 7:55 am) I wasn't trying to champion the intellectual class, but rather trying to point out that each has God given gifts. Son number two has his gifts too. Fact is they are more visible and he is living the life of the super star/idol which this society worships. The GQ/Madison Ave looks, sports/basketball abilities, and others which I'm not able or have yet to see. The subtle nuances I do see, such as the manner females do a double take are obvious. I'm not a pushy sports parent, but I sired that prime time display/entertainment, and my ego gets massaged, but I keep that in check. Many have come by to say that he could be a starter in many colleges and or offer scholarships. The trick is getting into a Division 1 school. All that being said we then too must acknowledge that being human entails flaws as well. Many folks are quick to point out these flaws and or lack of character, rather than looking for the positive. A smart man/woman would do some behavior modification, positive reenforcement, and or something subtle to encourage the positive or discourage the negative traits/behavior. We all can change things if we set our minds to it. Employers can create an atmosphere that respects others for their differences and brings people together to innovate. My employer stresses that I should never forget whom I work for. I work for that soldier out in harms way. Hence, we have common ground and I'll go above and beyond their expectations. Refuse to envy others and or pass judgment on coworkers. Its been a blessing to work with others who nurture one another's ideas, all the while respecting differences. Belittling anyone is just another way to massage ones own ego and counter productive.
|
|
| http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oKWxWOEilyQ/SUALWVrWmoI/AAAAAAAAAOI/huhzcE_df-A/s1600-- h/bigthree.jpg | |
|
Replying to: dallasdude1 (Dec 14, 2008 8:51 am) All that being said we then too must acknowledge that being human entails flaws as well. Many folks are quick to point out these flaws and or lack of character, rather than looking for the positive. A smart man/woman would do some behavior modification, positive reenforcement, and or something subtle to encourage the positive or discourage the negative traits/behavior. We all can change things if we set our minds to it. Employers can create an atmosphere that respects others for their differences and brings people together to innovate. My employer stresses that I should never forget whom I work for. I work for that soldier out in harms way. Hence, we have common ground and I'll go above and beyond their expectations. Refuse to envy others and or pass judgment on coworkers. Its been a blessing to work with others who nurture one another's ideas, all the while respecting differences. Belittling anyone is just another way to massage ones own ego and counter productive. Great post. |
|
|
|
|
Replying to: mikefm58 (Dec 14, 2008 8:23 am) I'm not opposed to change and or the evolution of things to come. However, not in such a rapid manner that doesn't allow the transition to go more smoothly. One can look at manufacturing moving south to avoid unions/high wages, only to become unionized again. The rust belt did not shut down. Do you think that China has aspirations of becoming the manufacturing country of the world? How long will it take China to dominate the auto industry? |
|
You are here:
Forums
Automotive News & Views United Automobile Workers of America (UAW)
New? Join Now!
Forum Tools
Search Forums
Browse by Vehicle
Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
Today's Chats
