Posted on 04/17/2006 12:21:00 AM PDT by vertolet
Another auto plant is closing in Michigan. This time it's a Chrysler assembly line moving to, of all places, Russia. A Russian automaker says it's buying the Sterling Heights assembly line from Daimler Chrysler. That line builds the Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Stratus. The company will now produce the cars in Russia under license from the German-American automaker.
I agree Sir. But, inside tracking will show on the latest benchmarks on quality, that improvements on the latest models (Jeep, 300 class, Caliber, Town n Country Van, are even beating Toyota in some areas. As I said in a previous posting, it is expected that we will surpass Toyota in all benchmark quality points, including gaining market share, by 2008.
Smart Manufacturing is being implemented as we speak and it's thrust is why our benchmarks are succeeding.
Arrowhead>>>----->
Well I certainly hope so.. Crysler has done a lot of things right over the years, but quality has been their problem for decades... If they can get that under control... AND stop going cheap on interior fit and finish for their higher end models... they'll have a shot at world class status.
Agreed!
You can measure GDP based on what you can buy, PPP, or you can measure it based on what you produce, without regard for currency adjustments. If you took all the goods and services produced by China and sold them for US dollars, they produce about $1.5 trillion a year.
Well, with all do respect, I will not reveal my position at the company. And to answer the tail end of your comment, I am certainly not a Global nut. But, that is where we are headed and unless we are ready to kill the goons who are spearheading New World Order, then we will just have to improve our conditions the best we can. "Hear is the patience and faith of the saints."
Arrowhead>>>---New World Order-->
Like HamiltonJay said, unions bring there own unique set of problems, one of which is corporate-level greed, but, they have also served a purpose in staving off pushing workers to a point of no return. History has shown that corporate level goons are much as a "fearful master" than government themselves. Power at the top in the private sector is no less susceptible of creating an indentured and economic slavery than the puppets in our own government, or any government for that matter.
Power at the top of unions is no different. But, just as a corporation is judged guilty by association, so are unions. Those at the top become greedy and no longer look out after the best interests of the whole. Higher echlons of power in unions right now are protecting their investment accounts more so than being concerned with their membership dues.
The unions are fueled by three different revenue sources: Membership dues, retiree and pension fund investments, and the controversial "joint" accounts with companies. Of the three, two are investment-oriented sources of income while the one is membership driven.
Rank n file members are always complaining that higher officials do not seem to represent the interests of the whole. They have noticed that these officials seek more to maintain what they have than to seek increase in it's membership. I think rank n file members are more in tune with the reality without even seeing why high officials are leading them to their ecnomic demise: It is not because of collective bargaining issues as much as it is the greed that drives them to protect the investment driven accounts.
Rank n file members have been very cooperative with global trends. Perhaps too cooperative for my taste. But, the classic RUSH mentality of unions, while he protects the status quo of corporate greed, is nothing more than hypocrisy at best.
RUSH? Come on AlexW! I hope your intelligence is not that narrow. Rush caters to the right at the expense of what is right. Look, I refuse to be categorized in the narrow right, left, and in-the-middle aspects of the political spectrum. Conscience is my guide and asserting what I believe is morally right is my compass. Rush is neither. His views are tainted by money and ratings. And often, he is wrong about his diagnosis of the issues and the prognosis in resolving them.
Now, please, do not assume that because I rail on Rush that I am a loose goose leftist. That is far from the case. I am neither Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, or the other pet names for specific political factions. I am God-fearing, a husband, and father. And it is by virtue in the experience of those titles that I derived my solutions to problems, whether they be political, economic, or otherwise. It is in that vein that I am critical of people like Rush Limbaugh. He does not think outside the box when he is given that paycheck. He too is consumed with power and ranks with all the other righters and lefters in the powerbroking business. So, please, expand your horizons and do not quote Rush to me.
Arrowhead>>>---->
Great. Another "documentary" for Michael Moore to make.
You said a mouthfull! I've been burned by those clowns more than once. My guess is that the agency uses the fact book squad as a dump for all the hacks that are too much work to fire. Government service --ya can't beat it!!
Most of the union bashing is done by Rush-followers and not by Rush himself. After all, Rush is a dues paying union member-- some broadcaster/announcer guild that he works with to keep his syndication options wider.
Let's be fair. Some business owners are greedy, break laws, and rob people. Same with some union bosses. Most people either side of the picket line are regular human beings, and as such are good people just doing their jobs.
The CIA Factbook uses Purchasing Power Parity in order to compare the standard of living between countries. $50 in Panama goes further than $50 in New York City, for instance, so Purchasing Power Parity shows you that a guy with $50 in Panama will have a higher standard of living than a guy with $50 in NYC.
But that's not GDP. That's the CIA's adjusted version of GDP.
Actual GDP is the Gross Domestic Production of a nation; that's all of the widgets and services that a nation provides. There is no adjustment. Count the widgets; count the services. That's real GDP.
Divide real GDP by your population and you'll get GDP per person.
That's not Purchasing Power Parity. GDP as stated in PPP terms is another thing altogether.
Somehow, I find that a just a leeeeettle hard to believe!
By the way, if you have REALLY seen the GM financial picture, you will see that they are well over extended. Your narrow conclusion in blaming the unions for the financial decisions of fund managers is just plain naive. There is nobody to blame for GM's financial woes than those whose run the corporation. And the last I seen, that was not the unions.
Go ahead, you can have the last word on this one...
Arrowhead>>>----->
Many Chrysler oriducts are already getting better quality ratins than Daimler (with the exception of the American-built E-Class).
"Go ahead, you can have the last word on this one..."
It is midnight here and I am too sleepy to go deep into this.
I do not claim that the Unions are the only problem that GM has, but they are a BIG problem.
My conversation with a third part company that was doing work in a Detroit GM plant left me shaking my head. What the union required was a pure horror story.
Also, try to get a replay of what Rush reported today.
Union workers being paid for not working.
Part of that is because they didn't want to start dropping Hemis into the Intrepids.
They did away with the Chrysler Concordes at about the same time too. Which is what I drive (and I love it although it's getting a bit old now)...
Really?
Exxon NOT going for every cent possible is illegal.
What statute are you referring to that makes "NOT going for every cent possible" illegal?
2. Ford and GM have the worst management in corporate America, and the most inefficient line workers outside of the public sector.
F-ck "smokestack America." Maybe if the morons in the auto industry would look at a successful company like Boeing, which has downsized its once bloated labor force considerably, and has been practicing strategic outsourcing (as opposed to the knee jerk kind) since the late 1940s, maybe they wouldn't be in the toilet.
Makes me proud to drive a Hyundai Sonata, soon to be built in the US of A.
I once owned a Chrysler product....NEVER AGAIN. It was the worst piece of junk I ever encountered.
Soon there will be no US makes of cars.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.