truth about domestics

Ford - UAW talks

Ford Motor Company has announced that their UAW members have approved contract concessions and also changes to the Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association (VEBA) retiree health care fund.  The deal will allow Ford to fund up to 50% of it’s health care trust obligations with stock shares.  The agreement will allow Ford to remain competitive while still avoiding aid from the U.S. government.  For more, head on over to Autoblog.

President Obama

Members of the Obama administration’s autos task force will be touring various facilities in Detroit today.  Activities include a test drive of the Chevrolet Volt extended range electric vehicle and also a tour of Chrysler’s pickup truck factory in Warren.  For the full story head on over to The Associated Press.

To be honest, I’m not a fan of this “Auto Task Force” that has been put together to figure out what’s best for the domestic auto industry.  First off, the group is led by Wall Street financier Steven Rattner and Steelworkers union official Ron Bloom.  I don’t know about you, but what is a person from Wall Street doing there?  The banks received huge loans without hardly a single question asked, and they made a much bigger error than the Domestic 3 did.  When was the last time that the steelworkers union was big in this country?  We get a large portion of our steel from overseas because we let our own steel industry die off, similar to what is going on in the auto industry.  If this crap continues, there will be no high paying jobs left in America, we’ll all be buying Chinese cars, made with Chinese steel, praying that we don’t get in an accident because it will end up looking like this.

GM Canada

Canadian autoworkers will be facing a wage freeze through 2012, decreased vacation time, and higher co-pay to benefits plans under a tentative deal with General Motors Canada.  This deal is a part of GM’s plan to get billions of dollars in Canadian government funding.  33,000 workers are affected in the deal, but as many have stated, concessions are a much better option to the alternative.  For more on the story, head on over to Reuters.

I’m glad to see that the unions are cooperating with the D3 to help reduce their overhead costs.  Maybe this will change the perception that many people have about the unions.  It is not entirely their fault that the Detroit 3 are struggling.  Sure their wages have been high, but isn’t that what America is all about?  People try to better themselves in any way they can.  So when the companies made money, the unions wanted more money.  I don’t think it is fair to blame them for this.  Now that the companies are hurting, the unions are taking pay cuts, reducing their numbers, and increasing productivity, yet they still don’t get the credit they deserve.

Toyota Crashing

Toyota is seeking a loan from the Japanese government; their financial services branch is seeking government-backed loans because of the global crisis. This comes after news that Toyota expects to report its first annual loss since 1950.

Even though they are currently selling the most fuel efficient car in the United States, they are still feeling the pain of the deep global economic depression.  Those who represent the domestic automotive companies as irresponsible because they are seeking government loans should reconsider their argument after reading this news.

Read the entire article here.

2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee

Once again, Jalopnik has come through and found images of the 2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango full-size SUVs.  They offer up an interesting comparison with side by side with the current models.  To be honest, I’m not a big fan of Chrysler design but these new offerings look pretty sharp.  Much more modern, with tighter tolerances between body panels.  Chrysler is also claiming that the new vehicles will offer a 19% fuel economy improvement, and also have Consumer Reports reliability 40% better than industry average.  I wish Chrysler the best of luck in accomplishing those goals.

GM concept cars

I would like to dedicate this article to anyone who thinks that only the workers at the D3 are affected by their current situations.  General Motors has announced plans to slash it’s marketing in North America by $800 million this year alone.  While this number includes vehicle incentives, it will also come from other areas, such as print and television ads.  They also announced that they had eliminated leasing in Canada and would be reducing leasing in the U.S.  According to Chief Financial Officer Ray Young, leasing is “…an expensive form of incentive.”  For the full story, head on over to The Business Insider.

Abandoned GM Plant

In a recent USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, 1 in 4 Americans say they are for continued government funding for the American automakers.  This is down from 61% approval found in December, before the government approved bridge loans for the Detroit 3.  According to Porter Stansberry, head of Stansberry & Associates Investment Research, the more people understand what is wrong with General Motors, the less willing they are to support more money from the government.

I see a major flaw in this reasoning, because from everything I read on the Internet, most Americans have no clue what is wrong at GM.  GM had 8 recommended buys from Consumer Reports this month, they have won tons of awards in the past few years.  Their quality, warranty, pricing and products are better than they have ever been.  I am constantly bombarded by people who say no one buys their vehicles, well GM still outsold Toyota last year in the U.S.  Toyota barely outsold GM throughout the world, so it’s a bit of a stretch to say that no one buys their vehicles.

Maybe people are against support because they don’t feel that it affects them.  I will be posting an article later today that outlines how GM is cutting back, starting with a $800 million cut back in their marketing budge.  Think about all of the marketing companies that will be affected, the empty billboards, cable providers will lose out on revenue, magazines and newspapers will lose out on missed ads as well.  The affect of people not supporting AMERICA and American businesses is starting to have an affect. 

In Japan, people fight to see Japan survive, and to see Japan do well.  It’s in their culture.  Toyota wants Honda to win, and to see Mazda succeed, because it’s in Japan’s best interest.  In America, it’s every man for himself.  If I can get ahead by putting you down, then I will do just that.  We should be pulling together and realizing that what happens to the Domestic 3, will affect us all.  It already has and it is going to get worse until people learn what the true problem is with GM and Chrysler…overall public stupidity.  People need to stop pushing the stereotypes that their cars are not competitive and take the time to read the facts.  They are safety leaders, fuel economy leaders, technology leaders, and besides that, they employ directly and indirectly, millions of people in this country.

2010 Dodge Charger / Chrysler 300C

Tucked deep in the pages of the Chrysler Viability Plan were photos of the 2010 Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300C!  Finally, some good news about Chrysler.  The cars certainly look improved, as they feature upgraded interiors and refreshed body work.  Also a part of the plan for these two vehicles is a target of 25-28 mpg (highway), which would be pretty impressive for such large RWD sedans.  The discovery, and a great comparison to today’s models, can be found at Jalopnik.

Pile of cash

General Motors has posted a $9.6 billion dollar net loss for the fourth quarter, a larger loss than what was anticipated by Wall Street.  The company also burned through $6.2 billion in cash during the last 3 months of the year, ending the quarter with $14 billion in cash, about what it needs to continue operations.  Based on most economic predictions, things are going to look like this for at least the next 2 years, so get used to hearing about more layoffs and more red ink for major corporations.  For the full article, head on over to CNN.

GM-Chrysler

Ok…I don’t really understand this whole article…so bare with me.  According to an article on the Financial Post, General Motors bondholders could push for a merger with Chrysler if they believe their investment would be better protected.  Just so I don’t screw anything up, get the details from the link.