Auto Execs Fly Corporate Jets to D.C., Tin Cups in Hand

[Tinia2]

Originally Posted by Kevlar281

I'm sure certain aesthetics had to be sacrificed to make the Volt as energy efficient as possible. Yes $40,000 is a lot of money and for the record in will be out in 2010.



I'd take a GM over a Honda any day of the week and twice on Sunday. You do realize there are still parts of this country where buying American or at least buying something that is perceived as American means something right?


I'd say out of the big three GM is the only one who "gets it" and their foresight to produce an electric car shows that.

I agree with most of what you have posted. However, perhaps it is Ford that "got it" the most:
Ford Scion Looks Beyond Bailout to Green Agenda
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/24/bu...l?ref=business
http://www.ajc.com/biz/content/share...f9b4a189e.html
"“One of the things that I feel very encouraged about is the president-elect and where he’d like to take this country in terms of energy, and I completely buy into his vision,” Mr. Ford said in an interview, his first since the Big Three approached Washington lawmakers about a rescue plan.
He can afford to take a longer view because Ford, unlike G.M. and Chrysler, does not need an immediate infusion of government aid to stay in business."
"The company has enough cash on hand — $18.9 billion, as well as a $10.7 billion line of credit with private lenders — that will keep it running through 2009 without cutting development of its next generation of more fuel-efficient cars.
While Ford cannot continue to burn cash indefinitely, it is also not on the verge of bankruptcy like G.M. and Chrysler. And the health of the company presents a unique opportunity for Mr. Ford, 51, who has been chairman of the company since 1999 and served five years as its chief executive."
“One of the things we need to sort out as a country is batteries,” Mr. Ford said. “We really don’t want to trade one foreign dependency, oil, for another foreign dependency, batteries.” The main producers of batteries are Asian manufacturers."
"Mr. Ford has been Detroit’s most vocal environmentalist since becoming the first family member to run Ford since his uncle, Henry Ford II.
"Even when Ford was living off profits from its big sport utility vehicles, he was pushing to take the company in a greener direction. Ford was the first automaker to bring to market a hybrid version of an S.U.V., the Ford Escape, and it is introducing a new line of Ecoboost engines next year that will cut fuel consumption by up to 20 percent."...............

As for hybrids, there is a thread somewhere in GC about them.
If you were to compare the costs (fuel, operation, maintenance) of the same vehicle, gas vs hybrid, you would find out:
That the gas model cost less up front.
And the amount of gas savings with a hybrid would break even after (well) over 80,000 miles. And that was calculated when gas was over $3.50/gal.

[PM_Mama00]

Originally Posted by preciousjeni

I should have said "how much the union workers cost" which is the issue I'm getting at. However, they do make an incredible salary for their skill level.

Originally Posted by PM_Mama00

I take it you've never met a Union line worker. You've never seen the blood sweat and tears they put into their job. The hours they spend away from their family to put food on the table, going to bed before their own children go to bed because they have to be up at 2 or 3am to make it in for the early shift. They deserve that money. Auto workers are the hardest workers I know. And most aren't even Union. Most are temps who are trying to get into the Union so that they don't lose their job and can get benefits that are hard to come by these days.

x

[Tinia2]

Originally Posted by PM_Mama00

x

^^^Many workers sweat, many workers get up at o-dark in the morning.
Not too sure what makes auto workers different than others in the comment above.

And perhaps I am wrong but I believe that most of the Big Three workers are Union members.
It is the other plants than maybe something much less than fully Unionized.
2008 VEHICLES BUILT BY UNION MEMBERS
IN THE UNITED STATES & CANADA:
http://www.uaw.org/uawmade/auto/2008/index.cfm
What is missing on the above list?
Well, this may give the answer:
http://www.pe.com/business/local/sto...0.2f6117c.html

And while locating the above, I came across the following. Which caused me to re-think a few matters.:
Autoworkers Making $70 An Hour? Not Really
New Republic: Debunking The Myth Of The Exceedingly Well Paid U.S. Autoworker
http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.ht...2-56dfc3323682
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/...n4630103.shtml

[Tinia2]

Very interesting video shot by/for Detroit News:
Ford's most advanced assembly plant operates in rural Brazil
http://info.detnews.com/video/index.cfm?id=1189
the very last sentence is real interesting.

[preciousjeni]

Originally Posted by Tinia2

And while locating the above, I came across the following. Which caused me to re-think a few matters.:
Autoworkers Making $70 An Hour?[/URL]

Right - That's why I clarified between "making" and "costing the employer" that amount of money. Autoworkers have crazy benefits...even better that government employees.

[preciousjeni]

On another note, why do unions push to establish themselves in companies where the workers don't want them?

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by preciousjeni

On another note, why do unions push to establish themselves in companies where the workers don't want them?

And what about the getting rid of the secret ballot part of "card check" stuff? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employee_Free_Choice_Act It's kind of funny that this is in the Chambliss/Martin runoff ads since Georgia is a right to work state. I guess Chambliss is depending on anti-union sentiment.

It just seems odd to me that if the union offers clear benefits to workers than you'd need public pressure to get people to support it. Secret ballot ought to get the job done.

[madmax]

Originally Posted by preciousjeni

On another note, why do unions push to establish themselves in companies where the workers don't want them?

Why do non union scabs participate in union bashing of companies where the workers do want unions?

[preciousjeni]

Originally Posted by madmax

Why do non union scabs participate in union bashing of companies where the workers do want unions?

Ah you wisely edited your post. I was going to say, I suppose it would be hard for me to be a scab as I've never personally been involved with a company that had unions... plus the fact that my mother has been part of the same union for oh I don't know...decades? So, my livelihood was essentially dependent on the work she (and they on her behalf) did.

Try better next time.

[preciousjeni]

Originally Posted by PM_Mama00

x

Low skilled + overtime + union backing = the salary they make. I get that.

ETA: No one "deserves" any salary. We all have a market value and some of us have artificial values assigned to us whether it's through union backing, government assigned salary grades, etc.

[UGAalum94]

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...592658,00.html

This covers the problems in the Germany auto industry.

"More than 1.5 million workers in Germany depend on the automobile industry for their jobs. But that industry is now facing one of its worst crises ever. Respected giants BMW and Mercedes are particularly exposed as sales plummet."


I think the stats for October mentioned in the article were that US auto sales were down 32%, down 15% in Europe.

Will someone remind me why consumerism was such a bad thing? It seems like there could be some benefits here.

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...592658,00.html

This covers the problems in the Germany auto industry.

That link isn't working for me ...I'm getting a 404 error, in German no less..lol. business is missing an "s"

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...592658,00.html

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by AGDee

That link isn't working for me ...I'm getting a 404 error, in German no less..lol. business is missing an "s"

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...592658,00.html

Thank you. I fix the link. I don't know how I managed to cut it out in the middle of the link, but I'm all for more multicultural 404 messages.