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Automotive News & Views United Automobile Workers of America (UAW)
16663 messages, Last post on Nov 08, 2009 at 9:32 PM
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Replying to: dallasdude1 (Dec 16, 2008 6:24 pm) Many people have liberated themselves from the Big Three after a negative ownership experience, and have no desire to give them any more money, whether it's directly by purchasing one of their products, or indirectly through an infusion of taxpayer dollars. dallasdude: This typical UAW worker is a far cry from the UWA worker which the corporate owned media outlets have created. Having talked to former plant supervisors from GM, and read articles and editorials written by both union members and plant supervisory personnel, I agree. They are worse.
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Perceptions of Detroit Are Miles From Reality By Warren Brown Sunday, December 14, 2008; Page G02 Originally appeared at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/12/AR2008121201927.- html Perception is everything, or almost everything. If anything is to be learned from Detroit's beg-fest on Capitol Hill, it's at least that much. Perception influences reality. Thus we have the General Motors "confession," its "commitment to the American people" published on the second page of the Dec. 8 edition of Automotive News, an industry trade journal. It presents an object lesson in perception versus reality. Reality: The "confession" is a rehash of sins committed by a GM that existed 20 years ago, stupidities so enormous -- pathetic product quality, dismal marketing techniques, all trumped by corporate arrogance -- they opened the ports to foreign competition and paved the way for defections of generations of American consumers to Toyota, Nissan and Honda. * * * Perception: It is that the GM of 20 years ago is the same GM today -- the same insular corporate culture, a Midwest car company wedded to the belief that the only good horsepower is more horsepower, a corporation unalterably opposed to even the most reasonable fuel economy and clean air regulations. That is the GM and, by implication, the Detroit that Washington loves to hate -- the one whose corporate heads lawmakers were eager to decapitate when U.S. car executives came to Capitol Hill in recent weeks seeking billions of dollars in federal emergency loans. Reality: That old GM disappeared in the early 1990s. It was replaced by a company that continued to make mistakes -- for example, initially establishing its Saturn group as a stand-alone company and wasting money on the horrid Pontiac Aztek crossover utility vehicle. But the new GM at least recognized its errors and moved with reasonable dispatch to correct them. ad_icon * * * Perception: GM has refused to undertake a needed, major restructuring. Reality: That's baloney. But seemingly intelligent politicians such as President-elect Barack Obama have been swallowing it. Even a cursory review of GM's corporate actions over the past decade shows that GM has invested much energy and enormous sums of money into integrating its once-too-far-flung global operations into one global unit; increasing product development, design and manufacturing efficiencies; and greatly improving product quality and innovation. But based on comments from Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), to the effect that GM must stop resisting change, one wonders whether either of them has bothered reading Harbour Consulting, J.D. Power, or any other available, objective reports detailing GM's recent progress. * * * Perception: GM is opposed to making fuel-efficient vehicles. It is wedded to big trucks. Reality: GM is no different from Toyota or Nissan -- or Suzuki. It is wedded to making money. Until a few years ago in a United States awash in cheap gasoline, that meant making as many trucks as possible, because light trucks, powered by U.S. consumer demand, were more than 50 percent of new-vehicle sales. Small, fuel-efficient cars barely constituted 4.5 percent of the market. The problem there involved a U.S. Congress that refused to exercise leadership and tamp down consumer demand for petroleum by raising federal fuel taxes, as much as it did Detroit's alleged resistance to fuel economy. * * * Perception: GM was alone in pursuing truck dollars. Reality: That's more baloney. Nearly all car companies doing business in the United States went after that money. But here's the kicker: An amalgam of Southern states gave hundreds of millions of dollars in tax incentives to GM's foreign rivals to build nonunion assembly plants in their region. Beneficiaries of those states' "business-friendly" policies included BMW, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota -- all of which used taxpayer dollars to set up nonunion truck plants to go after the truck business dominated by union-represented GM, Ford and Chrysler manufacturing facilities. They went after the truck money. Toyota launched and re-launched its Tundra pickup. Heck, even Suzuki has cobbled together a full-size Equator pickup. * * * Perception: GM does not know how to make small cars. Reality: GM knows darn well how to make small cars. It's been doing so for decades in Europe, South America and Asia. The problem is, absent high fuel prices, GM has no earthly idea how to get Americans to buy small cars -- at a profit to GM. * * * Perception: Americans have been demanding the small cars that GM and Detroit refuse to build. Reality: That's more perceptual junk. The reality is that most American consumers seek fuel economy only when pump prices are high. Take a look at what is happening now in the U.S. market for new vehicles. With average pump prices below $2 a gallon for regular unleaded, sales of small, fuel-efficient cars such as the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and Ford Focus have plummeted farther and more quickly than those in the general vehicle market. The Civic that was hot in May 2008 with 53,299 sales was not in November with 17,690 sales, according to the Automotive News Data Center. Ditto the Corolla, 52,826 sold in May 2008 versus 21,807 sold in November; and the Focus, 32,579 sold in May versus 8,194 sold in November. But Ford has been forced to restore two shifts and overtime work to meet demand for its re-engineered 2009 F-150 pickup truck . . . and Nissan is retooling its taxpayer-assisted, nonunion plant in Canton, Miss., to take on Detroit in the commercial truck arena. * * * Perception: All Detroit needs is deep restructuring and federal bailout money for long-term viability. Reality: Wrong. Detroit needs what America sorely needs -- a Congress with the leadership chutzpah to devise and implement industrial and energy policies that will help to keep native manufacturing industries alive. Detroit's problem isn't poor products or lack of products. It's a national government still wedded to the debilitating siren song of cheap gasoline. It's a nationally collapsed financial system. And it's governmental hypocrisy -- our willingness to pour tax dollars into foreign enterprises, most of them not unionized, while griping about doing the same for homegrown, unionized manufacturers largely responsible for building America's middle class. |
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Replying to: rockylee (Dec 17, 2008 7:00 am) If GM had held out in the strikes to resist the UAW, American's newspaper and media types would criticize them for hurting the economy and hurting all those families out of work. The same would have used the other two car companies' actions against GM. If they give in to the demands through negotiaitions, they are Monday-morning-quarterbacked for giving it. It's like the divorced husband after listening to the witching from the wife for years. Nothing suits them. Other countries are subsidizing their car industries. Indeed some helped the ones who have come here to take over the car industry in various ways.Now we're at the pivot point and it's time for our government to do several things. Congress needs to take appropriate action (an oxymoron, I know). In fact they need to harness the transplants and have them help fund the problem they have caused. Congress needs to undo the union agreements for the Big 3 (think Time Magazine's Man of the Year will do that with part of the $600 million campaign funds having come from labor?). It's going to be interesting. |
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Replying to: bumpy (Dec 16, 2008 1:31 pm) |
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Replying to: rockylee (Dec 17, 2008 7:00 am)
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Replying to: tlong (Dec 16, 2008 9:24 pm)  As far as asking where you were at last week well I was joking about seeing you and Wagoner, while I was there. Some of my coworkers did get to meet him (Wagoner) though. Perhaps the next time I go for training in Troy, we will have to meet up? -Rocky |
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Replying to: rockylee (Dec 17, 2008 7:00 am) Reality: That's baloney. But seemingly intelligent politicians such as President-elect Barack Obama have been swallowing it. Don't blame me I voted for the other guy. I think you are seeing our new Prez moving to the center far sooner than I would have guessed. It should make you happy as it is like a third Clinton Presidency. Obama is not buying into the UAW hype. All new simpler UAW contracts are needed to salvage what is left of a Domestic Auto Industry. GM over the last 40 years has been castrated by an overly powerful UAW. Perception: Americans have been demanding the small cars that GM and Detroit refuse to build. Reality: That's more perceptual junk. The reality is that most American consumers seek fuel economy only when pump prices are high. I do agree that Americans are knee jerk buyers. The imports such as Corolla and Civic are still doing even better than 2007 YTD. Corolla is up 5.6% for the year and Civic is up 4.4% with the Fit & Yaris coming on very strong this year. How is the Malibu and Aveo doing YTD? That is more important to GM surviving than how Honda or Toyota is doing. Toyota has not laid off any full time workers. Can you say that about GM? Toyota also has their people doing menial work to keep them employed. Why does GM and the other domestics not use the excess UAW people to shovel snow or mow the lawns? Perception: All Detroit needs is deep restructuring and federal bailout money for long-term viability. Reality: Wrong. Detroit needs what America sorely needs -- a Congress with the leadership chutzpah to devise and implement industrial and energy policies that will help to keep native manufacturing industries alive. I do agree that the 110th Congress is the WORST in the history of the USA. Again I did not vote for any of those losers. As a taxpayer I want to see some Fiscal responsibility. GM has not shown any over the last 20 or more years. What makes you think they will do any better in the future? They have rolled over and let the UAW trample the greatest company on earth into the Michigan dirt. That, I blame on a HORRIBLE management team headed up by Wagoner. When he buckled to the UAW in 1998 he gave up the last chance at survival, to sell a few more SUVs. That was total Stupidity on Wagoner's part. He should have chained the gates and said sorry boys we are moving where we can make a decent profit. Instead he just added to an already lopsided UAW contract and over the last 10 years squandered the wealth of General Motors. The GM you see today is pathetic begging for crumbs from Congress.
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Replying to: gagrice (Dec 17, 2008 7:56 am) -Rocky
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Replying to: imidazol97 (Dec 17, 2008 7:29 am) So what? It would not have hurt the views of most Americans. With the $72 billion that GM has pissed away over the last 4 years they could have built all new factories in states that were not so repressive as Michigan. They could have had the latest and greatest with NO worries about the UAW striking. Not all states in this country are as anti profit as the Midwestern states. Why does Indiana & Kentucky seem to attract both Union and Non Union auto makers while Michigan and Ohio do not? think Time Magazine's Man of the Year will do that with part of the $600 million campaign funds having come from labor? It depends just how much of a pragmatist he turns out to be. I think he is leaning toward spending billions on putting people that are currently out of work and hurting into meaningful jobs. It is hard to look at the over paid UAW workers sitting eating jelly donuts and reading the newspaper as hurting. That is a perception based on reality. Just a small part of the 2000+ pages of UAW contracts that need to be tossed in the fire. The biggest obstacle at the Big 3 for this new President will be their lack of cars that meet the new CAFE standards coming up. Do any domestics have a car for next year that meets the 35 MPG combined mandate? Why should he bail out companies that do not build what the government mandates? You are right it will be interesting. |
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Replying to: rockylee (Dec 17, 2008 8:06 am) That is just not true. We have more tariffs on Imported vehicles than Japan. You are in denial on the global economy. I can tell you the new Congress and President are not in any way going to do anything to slow the World economy. NAFTA was signed by Bill Clinton and you can see this new administration is filled with Clinton people. The only reason the Big 3 and the UAW did well in the 1990s was the Dot.com bubble and the massive market for SUVs and PU trucks. This new President has denounced that kind of vehicle. He is pushing for smaller fuel efficient cars. The only really small car that GM has is the Aveo coming from Korea. How does that help the UAW cause?
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