dw57

Bailout Nation Mentality: Ford Workers Reject Further Concessions

not sure that Ford wasn't just lucky. they hocked every thing back 2006. for billions. when they could. now maybe that was the right choice (looking back). but at the time every one thought that was a really bad choice. and there a lot of other reasons that F didn't want a bailout. can't forget the Ford family, had they had a bailout, they would loose control of the company. hard to overlook that too. But they have done really well and so should be commended for that. but they are very much a truck company still. and they need new cars. and lucky (and really good timing) they have some of those in the pipe line (and some that came out this year too). but unless the car market gets well (how likely is that?) they too will be in trouble, per their own testimony, under oath

Auto Sales and Manufacturing: Unsustainable Pace of Recovery

sales always slip in September. no question that this month will be a big drop off from last month. and the C4C program was what the domestics (and many others) have been running for many years now. i suspect that there will be some expansion in sales later, just not as much as in the past. the consumer is tapped out, and isn't interested in any thing but real good deals, short of an absolute need for a new vehicle

Renault Plans to Return to U.S. Car Market

not sure that Renault should really want to return or that buyers have forgotten how bad they were (Renault can only hope thats true). same as Fiat. they wanted Chrysler because it could rebrand their cars. but I still don't see where the money to rework said cars is going to come from. since neither Fiat or Chrysler has money to do that. But Renault really doesn't need Saturn after all they have Nissan. Not sure just how well Saturn's new plan will work out. They will have to pay for every engineering change in real cash as opposed to internal money

Seven Car Companies Pulling Ahead Despite Recession

doubtful that any one here will buy them (unless that giant sucking sound pulls our standard of living down really soon)

cause if you look at the wonder car, you will noticed things you expect as standard are extra.

or not present at all


On Jul 09 02:02 PM donzelion wrote:

> Leaving out Tata is a mistake. While they may be years away from
> putting vehicles into circulation in N. America, if you buy the emerging
> markets thesis, they'll be among the greatest beneficiaries.
>
> In 15 years working in the Middle East, I've watched Japanese, German,
> and Korean brands push American brands to the sidelines (fuel efficiency
> has absolutely nothing to do with it in these parts, where gas is
> still less than a dollar per gallon). For the last 3 years, Tata
> has been gaining traction, but is still far beneath the radar in
> the States.

Seven Car Companies Pulling Ahead Despite Recession

thats 20 MPG in town, not just on the highway.
which is difficult to find in small cars, let alone a big truck
bigger problem is that its on the most version of those trucks
would have worked wonderfully well in a much cheaper version though


On Jul 09 11:38 AM axelrod608 wrote:

> >> "The auto industry's depression started..." " Happened right
> after Clinton ..." Sorry, Theresa, it started generations before
> your frame of reference. My father quit working at Fisher Body (
> the old timers will remember GM's 'coach' division) in the 1930's
> because of inhuman working conditions and labor/management violence.
>
>
> I grew up in a Chevy town where labor/management feuds were ongoing
> for decades. The old saying "united we stand, divided we fall" has
> been the working motto of the US automakers for generations, pushing
> them toward the cliff.. All it took was for organized, well run
> companies to start competeing.
>
> US automakers have for decades claimed they couldn't make a competitive
> small car and kept making motorized livingrooms and motorized family
> rooms and gigantosaurus trucks. And it worked great while gas was
> less than $2 a gallon. GM is touting it's new hybrid Caddy Escalade
> that gets, drum roll please, 20 MILES TO A GALLON !!!! What an accomplishment,
> right ??? My buddy has a Class A MOTORHOME
>
> The real irony is that all 3 US automakers make competitive small
> cars in other countries. When you figure it out, let me know. caise
> I'm clueless why they just don't do it here. Their business plans
> are just plain bass ackwards.

Seven Car Companies Pulling Ahead Despite Recession

of course it helps if you have such easy ways to keep others out of your market. they don't even really have to have laws.
their own people will do it for you

On Jul 09 02:20 PM Marky61 wrote:

> Hyundai is a spectacular case study in world domination. Remember
> that crack about Hyundai in Glengarry Glen Ross? Nobody's laughing
> anymore. Another reason for its success, missed by the author, is
> its endorsement of Walkaway Protection, a Canadian company that provides
> innovative "gap insurance" when a customer has to return a vehicle
> due to layoff, illness or other legitimate reason. Hyundai's protection
> plan for buyers was an inspired moment. Fifteen years from now, Hyundai
> will be the world's largest automaker, not Ford or Toyota.

Seven Car Companies Pulling Ahead Despite Recession

well Ford was in trouble long before now.
they bet the company with loans.
and they told every one that would listen that if we don't hit 10 million in sales, they will be in the same boat as the other 2.
guess what?
I doubt we will get there



On Jul 09 11:36 AM jackooo wrote:

> Ford is not a good stock bet. Why? Because as GM and Chrysler emerge
> they will lower prices as they have no debt and Ford, with debt,
> will also have to lower prices.
> Thank you Obama.

Seven Car Companies Pulling Ahead Despite Recession

well i think you answered you own question.

they don't have to pay for benefits (probably because they are supported by the state)

and they have a much lower standard of living.

my observation wasn't they are 'good' for us or 'bad'. just that
we beat the American version all the while buying those from over seas.

while we might not see it today.
but if the unions hadn't settled for benefits long ago.
they wouldn't exist today

On Jul 09 10:56 AM TeresaE wrote:

> Germany and Japan, yes. Their citizens enjoy similar standard of
> living to ours (at least our old one).
>
> Korea? Not so much. If the union was truly a "for the worker" union,
> care to explain why so many American companies are sending so much
> work there?
>
> Might have to do with the fact that they don't have to pay crap,
> or retirements, or benefits.
>
> Keep believing the hype that unions are "good" for us. Come to Michigan,
> look arund to see what the unionization of our state has brought.
>
>
> Virtually, the only jobs left are union and since they continue to
> fire their best customers, their numbers are dropping like flies
> (finally).

Seven Car Companies Pulling Ahead Despite Recession

so far the only company that is surviving really is Subaru. all of the others are down on their luck

odd
why is that so many hate the UAW but will by union made products from other countries? if you bought some thing from Germany, Japan, or Korea, and it wasn't made in the US. guess what? union labor made that vehicle

Why I'd Avoid Toyota, The #1 Automaker in the U.S.

just noticed an error. Toyota is not the number 1 manufacturer in the US, they are the number in the world. but they still don't sell as much as GM in the US

Why I'd Avoid Toyota, The #1 Automaker in the U.S.

mostly its not the quality. its the appearance of quality. its also how the customer gets treated by the dealer/company when issues arise. and you also pay a lot more for a comparable Toyota or Honda, or Nissan. as for whether GM or Chrysler survive, depends. how many cars sell in total this year, next year and the year after? If we don't get back to 12 million, no body will be making money. and fewer cars will be available, causing guess what? much higher prices!
and you do realize that only the domestic plants for Toyota, Honda and Nissan aren't unionized? every one of their Japanese plants is unionized and has been for decades.
and the business rules in Japan are quite different. I used to work at one of them. had we been in the US we would have been in bankruptcy. but it didn't and wouldn't happen in Japan (or Korea either more than likely)
and as far as cars people want to buy. its seems that would be domestics. as GM still sells the most vehicles in the US. and the top 20 vehicles sold still has a lot of domestics in it (about 10 of them to be precise).


On Jun 22 06:12 PM Alfredo Martinez wrote:

> Long term, GM and Chrysler will one again go bankrupt as soon as
> politicians turn off the spigot of taxpayer dollars. Government
> ownership doesn't work, period. Companies like AmTrak continue to
> lose billions, their success is purely determined by how much taxpayer
> pork their high-paid team of lobbyists can obtain.
>
> It's the same dynamic for GM and Chrysler. With the public increasingly
> opposed to corporate bailouts, I wouldn't count on GM and Chrysler
> to be solvent in the coming years.
>
> Companies like Toyota and Honda have become dominant simply because
> they manufacture a higher quality product that consumers actually
> want to buy. Consumers have voted with their dollars. This trend
> will only continue as consumers are increasingly turned off by bankrupt
> Government Motors' and Chrysler's poor quality and taxpayer funded
> bailouts.
>
> The "Asian" car companies are manufacturing more "American" cars
> than the Big 3. Chrysler builds a large amount of vehicles for the
> US market in Mexico and GM is building more and more in China. American
> consumers are able to get a high quality, american made product from
> the Japanese, and these companies aren't fleecing Americans by stealing
> taxpayer dollars. Sounds like a win-win to me.
>
> These taxpayer bailouts were more about bailing out the UAW than
> they were about saving American jobs, and as long as the UAW runs
> the show at the Big 3, they're destined for failure.

GM Eulogies - Let's Move On

not sure that we can look forward to much now that GM has 'died'. we can look forward to a lower standard of living cause all of the 'new' professions that were suppose to supplant the 'old' ones are in as much trouble as the 'old' ones. and since we workers are all competing with every one else (developed vs developing) the race to the bottom is definitely on!

examining each of the new ones
biotech lots of hype, but little to no results. and its not some thing we will do when we don't care about science

IT this is also a dead end. business has killed it off.

higher education - not sure why we would have this much longer if can't find some field that has long term viability

Web innovation - not sure whats meant by this.


product design - already exiting the US. so no future here either

useful forms of financial innovation - not sure this isn't an oxymoron. but we were consider preeminent in it. till we showed that it was just a hoax

GM's Pending Bankruptcy: How Buying a Car Is Going to Change

well considering that he tried to turn around C when he was in charge and couldn't not sure there is a lot to be proud of. or the fact that the take over took in 30 billion to the Daimler coffers when they really needed it. and the first year after the take over, C added 5 billion to the coffers again. but after that, the German management brilliance lead to losses from then on to the point that C was so damaged it couldn't be recovered and they sold it for a song to Cerebus who only really wanted the finance arm any way.
and they only barely kept the lights if that


On May 30 04:01 PM Teutonic Knight wrote:

> Rick -
>
> Good article, good comments overall, and timely.
>
> Dr. Dieter Zetsche is a smart and tough guy who was credited with
> turning around a then ailing, dwindling in quality Mercedes Benz
> into today's renewed, and re-invigorated company. Sure the guy
> has some visions.
>
> Of late, he grabbed 10% stake in Tesla. He even cut himself loose
> from Chrysler with over a $B write-off.
>
> In contrast, our government seems to go the other way. Does Obama
> have any credentials in economics and finance, other than a law degree
> and some inner city services?
>
> Sad, very, sad, getting to be tragic, and even more tragic.

GM's Pending Bankruptcy: How Buying a Car Is Going to Change

well considering that the private (business/personal debt) exceeds all government debt not surprised. and thats cause our incomes have been collapsing for so long (last up tick was in the middle to late 1990's). and to keep things going wall street invented easy credit.


On May 30 02:38 PM bankownedbyamerica wrote:

> Total credit market debt as a percentage of GDP has risen from 130%
> of GDP in 1952 to 350% of GDP today. The various bailout and stimulus
> schemes enacted in the last year will drive this percentage above
> 400% in the near future. When a country allows this much debt to
> accumulate versus its GDP, they have done something seriously wrong.
> The country’s politicians, business leaders, and citizens have all
> contributed to this disaster.
>
> I came across this interesting site..check it out url.moosaico.com/10424
> Econ & Finance Articles Updated Daily

GM's Pending Bankruptcy: How Buying a Car Is Going to Change

not sure why Chrysler won't own up to the dealership closing that was their call, all the government did was agree to it based on the companies proposal. really bad part is there has been no help as promised by the company. but that maybe more of a case that sales are so bad nobody needs the inventory. and i would suspect the short time window was based on the short time window to get out of bankruptcy. and that was to keep sales from collapsing all together.
haven't heard any thing about lien holders being ripped off. since that would require those who hold loans to the company, bond holders are NOT LIEN HOLDERS. they have no collateral pledged . they should have bought a CDS/CDO to cover a default. since that isn't all that unusual.



On May 30 02:29 PM Mr. Ed, Jr. wrote:

> This has gone way too far with these 2 car companies. Billions and
> billions of dollars thrown down the rathole, and a thug administration
> ripping off lienholders and taxpayers to benefit their union friends.
> Shutting down Chrysler dealerships with no chance of the business
> owners to salvage anything-- that is disgraceful and unnecessary.
> (Neither Chrysler nor Obama's thugs will admit responsibility for
> the decisions on the dealership closings... I wonder why )
>
> I will never buy another car from Chrysler or GM. I will not support
> this fiasco in any way. Ever.