"What's good for GM is good for the country"

[Mark]

More than 50 years ago, then-General Motors President Charles Wilson reportedly said "What's good for General Motors is good for the country." Today, his counterpart could say what's bad for General Motors may be bad for the country. And things are bad for General Motors today.

Its economic slump, and that of the rest of the U.S. auto industry, stems in part from the same forces that sank other U.S. manufacturers: the soaring costs of pensions and health care. These are problems that must be resolved in both private industry and government programs.

... analysts express serious concern that because of its immense size, the woes of the auto industry may eventually affect the national economy, even family budgets. Economists say that if the credit ratings of Detroit's Big Three are downgraded sharply, as they already have been in GM's case, the resulting financial turmoil could have a direct effect on money markets and mutual funds, which are heavily invested in automakers' stocks. In turn, that would affect many Americans' savings and retirement accounts.




Unions are killing the golden goose, again

[Wes_Turner]

It is a matter of old history now, that GM made concessions to United Auto Workers in the 1970's, that have proven bad for business today. I remember, as a union member in another industry, of the amazing deals like a pension of full salary after 30 years and full medical benefits included. How many other union workers have negotiated such a dream contract? Virtually none.
The real question is, how did GM place itself in such a predicament. The future liability issue should have been apparent even then. I am quite sure now, that GM will try to unload this liability on the Federal Pension Guarantee Board.
Does this matter successfully villify unions in general? Only if one believes that the working man does not deserve collective bargaining and representation when dealing with a large employer. Ordinary working folks are more vulnerable than ever with Bush trying to eliminate the safety net, the exportation of jobs, employers dropping health insurance for workers and a decline in real wages for many workers.

[rodney]

Why not blame the White House for not doing anything about healthcare in this country?

[Hanshi III]

There was a very interesting article the March 18 2005 issue of Executive Intelligence Review regarding GMAC.

Not sure if a google search will throw it up ?

[latent]

I say we bury the company right smack in the middle of downtown detroit. Chevys are junk and have been since the middle seventies.

[Ghost Rider]

Originally Posted by latent I say we bury the company right smack in the middle of downtown detroit. Chevys are junk and have been since the middle seventies.

Did you know American-branded cars are more reliable than European makes, on average? Check Consumer Reports, April 2005. They graph reliability by continent. Of course, Asian-brands came out on top. Note: A Honda made in Ohio was counted as Asian in this survey.

Also, American cars have improved so that they are about as relaible as Japanese makes were maybe 15 years ago, or thereabouts. Of course, in that time, the Japanese improved too, so we still haven't caught up.

[Wes_Turner]

There was a time, in a less complicated past, when European cars were the world standard for quality. An original VW beetle was a good example of this. Today's vehicles are far more complicated, with many more opportunites for quality defects. European cars will be among the most expensive to repair, given the rise of the Euro and the decreased value of the dollar. If you see an especially good deal on a used BMW or Mercedes, you might want to keep this in mind. Toyota and Hyundai are often rated as especially high quality these days. Sometimes price is no assurance of a high quality, reliable car.
General Motors has a lot at stake with its newest models, as the company struggles to met its pension obligations. This is not something to motivate car shoppers, looking for the best possible deal. We all stand to loose however if GM fails, as it represents 1% of our GDP (gross domestic product). Jobs and the balance of payments are on the line.

[slugradtke]

We need to keep people working here doing good jobs and getting good pay for it .Their money keeps things going here for all of us!

[latent]

Originally Posted by Ghost Rider Did you know American-branded cars are more reliable than European makes, on average? Check Consumer Reports, April 2005. They graph reliability by continent. Of course, Asian-brands came out on top. Note: A Honda made in Ohio was counted as Asian in this survey. Also, American cars have improved so that they are about as relaible as Japanese makes were maybe 15 years ago, or thereabouts. Of course, in that time, the Japanese improved too, so we still haven't caught up.

Quality control issues overlooked during assembly can and should be corrected by the local dealerships.
Mr. Goodwrench in my opinion has evolved into drop a dime shadetree mechanics relying entirely upon tech guidence as provided by the factory.

An oil change & tire rotation on my chevy pickup resulted in my being stranded due to a flat tire. The lug nuts were ground on so tight I could not change the flat tire. A tranny service evolved into a major issue recently. I parked my truck in the garage of a new million plus home that was closing that very day and guess what happened. Couple a gallons of bright red tranny fluid all over the place.

The article in todays paper about the decline of detroit might ought to read GM and detroit.

[inventor]

Originally Posted by rodney Why not blame the White House for not doing anything about healthcare in this country?

nice hit the nail on the head, as the art states $1,600.00 in healthcare per car made in the USA. What is the difference in healthcare costs in US vs rest of the world, I think we pay about double per capita of the next closest. So that would remove $800.00 per car if our healthcare was just competitive and not overcharging us. What are the exact numbers.

[Ghost Rider]

Originally Posted by latent Quality control issues overlooked during assembly can and should be corrected by the local dealerships. Mr. Goodwrench in my opinion has evolved into drop a dime shadetree mechanics relying entirely upon tech guidence as provided by the factory. An oil change & tire rotation on my chevy pickup resulted in my being stranded due to a flat tire. The lug nuts were ground on so tight I could not change the flat tire. A tranny service evolved into a major issue recently. I parked my truck in the garage of a new million plus home that was closing that very day and guess what happened. Couple a gallons of bright red tranny fluid all over the place. The article in todays paper about the decline of detroit might ought to read GM and detroit.

Visited a Plymouth dealer several years ago, to get a window mechanism replaced. The mechanic left a wrench inside the door. Caused quite a rattle. I could net get to it without removing the mechanism again, so it went back to the dealer again. I was a little steamed.

[Perseus]

Originally Posted by inventor nice hit the nail on the head, as the art states $1,600.00 in healthcare per car made in the USA. What is the difference in healthcare costs in US vs rest of the world, I think we pay about double per capita of the next closest. So that would remove $800.00 per car if our healthcare was just competitive and not overcharging us. What are the exact numbers.

It differes all over, The Canadians and french claim it`s free but you have to get on a waiting list. I`m sure you can go to countries in africa or India and get a medicine person to shake some rattles and do a dance over you quite reasonable.. You get what you pay for!

[inventor]

Originally Posted by Perseus It differes all over, The Canadians and french claim it`s free but you have to get on a waiting list. I`m sure you can go to countries in africa or India and get a medicine person to shake some rattles and do a dance over you quite reasonable.. You get what you pay for!

Well in justabout every developed nation they have socialized health care. Germany, Holland, and so on. They have longer life spans than americans and from what I remember we were double the cost of any other nation on the face of the earth. So they live longer hmmmm yep righty logic says ours is better. By the way get you head out of you know where, open your eyes generally the only people who come to the USA for surgery are here because we will give them free treatment, but not our own. By the way the super rich of the world when they get sick you will see them going to switzerland and germany, where they pay half the price, but clue that is not why they are going there.

[WestEndKid]

Maybe you people would rather have the illegal's make all the cars over here. It really galls me when someone says the wages are to blame. Obviously you who are anti-union are very low on the IQ scale. Why should all these casino operators get away with paying low wages? They know the work force here is very dumb and plentiful. Smarten up and fight to get whats rightfully yours, your right to a fair wage. The reason casino's pay there employee's every two weeks is because of the extemely low wage scale. The two week check gives the worker a false sense he has a good deal of money.

[JAYRRR]

Originally Posted by diane Are you prepared to give up your pension in solidarity with your anti-union opinions? Or do you not recognize your part in the strangling of the corporate fowl?

At one point in time Unions were good for employees. The days of John L. Lewis and the UMW or a good example.

But sadly that is not the case anymore. Unions dues are just another form of legal theft foisted upon employees. Union jobs are nothing more security blankets for incompetent workers.

For example, Before I got my retirement and was able to pay my dues the Union (Teamsters)could not do enough for me. If I had a question It was answered If I needed help w/ my retirement packet(DISABILITY job related) I got the help. but once the state determined that I no longer needed my disability pay I got squat.

Why does a steel mill need to have a welderassigned to every shift?? Why can't that welder be assigned to work on the floor in addition to sleeping in the welding shack?? In steel mills the welder is the biggest "get paid to sleep job" there is.