Chrysler Merge

[Don Jordan]

I heard something the other day about Chrysler and GM merging... then I haven't heard any more. I read GM sales are down over 40%.

What's happening? I feel guilty. While I have 2 Plymouths and a Chevrolet my daily driver is a Toyota. I trust American made through the 60s but I just don't have confidence in what's being turned out now.

I remember when a friend bought a new Honda. We all laughed - it was so small. (sort of like a Nash Metro). But then they started getting bigger.

I have an English motorcycle (Triumph) - they've been shut out by the Japanese as well.

Remember the Vincent Black Shadow? BSA? Greeves?

What's happening?

[PatS....]

What's happening?

More people are buying Japanese than Domestic. Simple. If it continues, the Domestic makers go under. Simple.

Foreign makers don't pay retirement benefits, or health care, or decent wages, so they can build better and sell cheaper. Simple.

Retirement benefits, health care and decent wages are hard fought for things that will disappear with the domestic auto makers.

We are going backwards, not forward, in worker benefits. Back to the 30's I think.

If WE don't buy domestic, who will?

How will homegrown makers survive?

They won't.

Simple.

[greg g]

I think in terms of market driven product, both GM and Chrysler are way behind the curve and both take too long to bring new product to bear. Chrysler is better, but the stuff they have just doesn't have the appeal. the Calibre tanked, the Avenger is more ho hum, the Challanger is a nice piece but is this the time for a retro performanc car??? GM is cash strapped and had too much product in inventory, Both companies costs are way out of wack. They take in more revenue selling money than they do selling product.

So unless GM gets a chunk of the bailout money, how they can afford lunch much less Chrysler is beyond me. GM's quality control is supposidly much better then a few years ago but What do they have that anyone wants now. Getch a new Cadillac Escalsde Hybrid.... small cars at the GM stable are and have been Vega esque for a long time. We drove an Impala rental in Hawaii, nice, comfortable, fairly good on gas, but bland in spades.

So Dodge is gonna build Trucks for Nissan, they have decided to get the Hornet from Nissan instead of the Chinese Cherry. And GM is shutting down truck plants. On the other side of the street Ford is shutting down dealerships at the drop of the hat.

Locally we have a Magna (former MOPAR NEW PROCESS GEAR) plant that builds transfer cases for 4 wheel drive vehicals. They are barly keeping the lights on lately.

Can't see how any of it is going to stay viable for much longer.

[pflaming]

I think Ross Perot years ago best described what is happening. He was referring to Washington D.C. when he said there was a ". . . big sucking sound back east!". The ". . .sucking sound" is also in the auto industry.

But the 'big three' was building for the parts business not for durabilty and that caught up with them. I was a sales man for a mfg and complained about parts failure, their answer, " Don't you realize how many of those we sell a year? why would we want to lose that income?" I no longer work there. Yet I still have an 87 T Bird. When I finally parked it out back, it had 290,000 miles on it, still had the original spark plugs and plug wires, the original transmission and the engine still did not use oil. It had a 5.0 engine, with a sports suspension and still passed smog. Fun car to drive. Just couldn't part with it.

[B-Watson]

What's happening?

More people are buying Japanese than Domestic. Simple. If it continues, the Domestic makers go under. Simple.

Foreign makers don't pay retirement benefits, or health care, or decent wages, so they can build better and sell cheaper. Simple.

Retirement benefits, health care and decent wages are hard fought for things that will disappear with the domestic auto makers.

We are going backwards, not forward, in worker benefits. Back to the 30's I think.

If WE don't buy domestic, who will?

How will homegrown makers survive?

They won't.

Simple.

The lower wages, etc. has another side effect. It decreases the disposable income of Americans and Canadians. I include Canadians because the exact same thing is going on up here. Manufacturers are either using offshore factories for their parts/products or they are setting up shop with low wages, etc. And just as in the U.S., GM, Ford and Chrysler are closing plants in Canada.

Low disposable income means less income to buy cars, electronic items, furnishings, homes, etc. And that results in fewers sales for cars, electronic items, furnishings, homes, etc. Which means layoffs, plant closures, etc. and that turns into recessions and depressions.

And less disposable income means lower income and others taxes being collected by the various levels of government, which leads to governments running deficits.

It's a nasty downhill spiral. North American businesses and governments just do not seem to be able to see things in the long term, only for the next 6-12 months. And we all pay for it in the end.

We are actually going farther back than the 1930's when unions began winning a better deal for the working man and woman.

Bill

Vancouver, BC

[Fireball]

Big news coming tomorrow...

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AI...050463/1148/rss25

[dezeldoc]

Big news coming tomorrow...

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AI...050463/1148/rss25

It says the link is no good anymore??

[Fireball]

It says the link is no good anymore??

Strange, to me it opens normally. Well here it is in text format

GM will announce 'important changes' on Friday

Robert Snell / The Detroit News

DETROIT -- General Motors Corp. is expected to announce "important changes" to its automotive operations Friday when the automaker releases third-quarter financial results, according to an internal e-mail obtained by The Detroit News.

According to the e-mail sent to company executives Monday, CEO Rick Wagoner and President and Chief Operating Officer Fritz Henderson will announce changes to employees at 11 a.m. Friday that address challenges "brought on by the volatile global economic situation."

"Clearly given the challenges the industry is facing, we're probably going to have to make additional adjustments," GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson said today. "It's a very challenging time right now."

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It is not spelled out in the e-mail what specific changes might be announced. But late last month, Wagoner and Henderson wrote in another letter to executives that the automaker will have to cut more white-collar jobs later this year and early next year, including involuntary layoffs, suspend the company match in employee 401(k) retirement accounts and make other benefit cuts.

GM's sales in the United States are down 20.3 percent this year and the automaker has lost approximately $70 billion since 2004.

GM and other automakers are coping with the lowest U.S. sales market in 17 years.

On Monday, GM reported its October sales slumped 45.1 percent to 168,719 vehicles, the steepest slide among Detroit's Big Three automakers.

The worsening auto market has led GM to enter negotiations to acquire rival Chrysler LLC from majority owner Cerberus Capital Management LP. One deal on the table is for GM to sell a majority of its 49 percent interest in GMAC Financial Services in exchange for Chrysler. Cerberus, which owns 51 percent of GMAC, could keep a small stake in a combined GM-Chrysler.

You can reach Robert Snell at (313) 222-2028 or rsnell@detnews.com.

[dezeldoc]

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AI...050463/1148/rss25

This article is no longer available online for free

[Paul Beard]

General Motors has asked the govt. for 10 billion to buy Chrysler. I heard this on the radio. If gm is losing money why would anyone least of all to govt. lend them money to buy another car comp. that is not doing very goo.

[Frank Elder]

There was a long thread on this already check search. Maybe 2 weeks ago.