January 31, 2007
C&A CEO Resigns
Bankrupt U.S. auto interiors supplier Collins & Aikman Corp. which plans to sell off its business units, said on Wednesday that Frank Macher has resigned as president and chief executive officer.
Bet he got a huge compensation for quitting.
I use to work at Collins and Aikman, from 2000-2003, and got caught up in the big lay-off in 2003. Things were bad at the time I involuntarily quit. We had to bring our own pens in, they would only buy pencils and they limit how much paper we could buy each month.
How did C&A get into such a spot?
2 things, the Board of Directors and under bidding to get programs.
The B of D were shady, buying businesses that belonged to themselves for outragous sums and then liquidating them only months after C&A bought them.
The also under bid to get programs. One of the programs I was working on at C&A, the Jeep Liberty front & rear fascia, we were bascially attaching a $20 bill to each fascia. That is how much they underbid to get the program thinking that they could get Chrysler to raise their prices after the program launched.
Collins & Aikman announced in November that it would sell its operations in whole or in parts rather than emerge from bankruptcy. It filed for court protection from creditors in May 2005.
I still have plenty of friends that are working for C&A, although the plant I was working at was closed down last year.
C&A is in bad shape and may not last long enough to be picked apart and sold.
This is what can happen to a company when the executives don't have the companies best interest in their sites.
January 30, 2007
Today in Automotive History
1920 : Future Mazda-maker founded
Chrysler also converted auto plants into factories for tank manufacturing during WWIIThe Toyo Kogyo Company, Ltd., was founded in Hiroshima, Japan, on this day. In 1960, the company began manufacturing Mazda automobiles
January 29, 2007
Blogsphere Blames Unions For Automaker Problems
I found a link over at Instapundit to a Mickey Kaus article in which Mickey talks out of his ass and follows the media like a lost sheep.
Unionism Is Too the Problem: Labor costs--and specifically work rules--are part of what's killing all the unionized auto manufacturers while their non-unionized competitors thrive building cars in the U.S., according to CNN Money. The famous $1,400/car health care burden is only a piece of it:Other labor costs add to the bill. Contract issues like work rules, line relief and holiday pay amount to $630 per vehicle - costs that the Japanese don't have. And paying UAW members for not working when plants are shut costs another $350 per vehicle.
You know something Mickey, your talking out your ass. Do some fucking research instead of just following what the american automotive hating media says. He points to this article on CNN:
But for all the bad decisions these companies have made by not listening to their customers, they aren't entirely to blame. Structural inequities between the U.S. and Japan - notably in labor costs and currency - account for a big chunk of Detroit's problems.
I can guarantee if trade were equal, Japan didn't subsidize their automotive companies and the Big 3 were putting out great designed cars there would be no problems right now.
Why is it that everyone is blaming the worker? It's easier then doing research I guess. Hate what your jealous of and don't have is that it?
Guess what jackass, Toyota line workers make the same amount of money that Big 3 line workers make. Quality of Japanese and American automakers are the same, despite what the CNN article says. A small amount of research would confirm that, hell just look through my blog and you can find out that information.
Health care is the biggest chunk. GM , for instance spends $1,635 per vehicle on health care for active and retired workers in the U.S. Toyota pays nothing for retired workers - it has very few - and only $215 for active ones.
So you show that Toyota are cheap bastards. You work for them all your life and they screw you when you retire, if you make it that far. Do you know that Toyota doesn't exactly follow OSHA rules and doesn't care about Ergonomics. Talk to any Toyota Line employee and they will tell you how many people have gotten canned after getting hurt while at work.
On the revenue side, it is easier to apportion blame. The lack of pricing power by American producers, brought on by poor quality
Again, a little research would show you that American quality is just as good or even better then Japaense quality. But you won't read it in the media, because the media is hoping the American industry fails. You didn't read about the nearly 10 MILLION vehicles that Japaense companies have recalled just in the past month did you? But when an American company has a recall, no matter how small, you will read it in big assed letters on the front page.
So before you go spouting off that it's the Unions fault for the state of the American Auto Industry maybe you should do a little research first. Also take a look at the perks and salaries of the management that have run the companies in the ground before solely blaming the Unions.
So Mickey Kaus, you can kiss my Automotive Industry worker, Union loving, white, hairy ass.
Learn how to do research before spouting off like a sheep.
Job Hunting Update
Well things are not going to great on that front.
I did have a interview on Wednesday. I didn't get any warm fuzzies from it though, actually the opposite. I am thinking this company doesn't really want to hire anybody.
This was one of the companies that contacted me before Christmas for an interivew but then kept putting me off.
During the interview they mentioned that they work 50 hour weeks with plenty of 60 hour weeks, but of course only pay for a 40 hour week. Now I have nothing against overtime, and I know it comes with the territory but to tell me you expect 10-12 hour days but will only pay for a 8 hour day is something that will not sit well with me.
And they said they pay low but promise a bonus if they hire you on full time, but didn't have any open positions they could forsee.
Ya, no warm fuzzies at all.
So I kept on searching, but nobody is hiring right now. All the calls I get from head hunters are for the south, actually have had 3 calls for a Quality Manager position at the Hyundai Plant in Montgomery, AL.
Today in Automotive History
1989 : Yugo files for bankruptcy
Students at the School of Visual Arts in NYC were given the assignment to give new purpose to the now useless Yugo; they were displayed at an LA auto show in 1996Global Motors, the American company that imported the Yugo, filed for bankruptcy. The Yugo was a Yugoslavian-made economy car that sold for thousands of dollars less than its nearest competitor. Its astonishingly low price made it a popular car for a few years in the mid-1980s, but the car's flaws soon became apparent. It was underpowered, unreliable, and, famously, you could punch holes in the body with a wooden pencil. The cars were also poorly warrantied, to the dismay of thousands of disappointed Yugo owners.
January 26, 2007
Friday Doggie Blogging
I have been remiss in torturing you people with pictures of the puppies.
Maggie is supporting her Football team, even though they suck
Lance says "Whaaaat"
Cute Puppy Butt!
Today in Automotive History
1906 : Wogglebug steams competition
The General Lee evades the law once moreAmerican driver Fred Marriott set a new land speed record of 127.659mph in his steam-powered "Wogglebug" at Ormond Beach, Florida. It was the last time that a steam-powered vehicle would claim a new land speed record.
January 25, 2007
Wierd Google Searches
Checking my sitemeter hits I came across a strange google search, in which I am #6 for!
Automotive Executives Screw The Little Guy Again
I think I have made it pretty clear on who is responsible for running the Automotive Industry into the ground.
And now those same people feel they have done such a great job (Ford just reported a record loss of 12.7 BILLION for 2006) that they deserve bonuses.
The United Auto Workers is upset over the possibility that Ford Motor Co. may pay bonuses to some managers and top executives, and the issue is threatening to delay progress on competitive operating agreements at some Ford factories, according to sources familiar with the situation.Ford says it won't make a final decision on the bonuses until March. The payouts are designed to reward progress on the company's turnaround plan.
The executives haven't done a damn thing and yet they feel they deserve to get a bonus for the crappy work they have put out last year. Oh, you can bet the Union is fired up and pissed off about this, especially since they took a paycut in 2006.
Union leaders believe their members deserve just as much credit for whatever progress has been made. Moreover, they want to make sure Ford understands it cannot ask union members to make sacrifices at the bargaining table while it sends bonus checks to high-paid managers.The UAW will be negotiating new contracts this year with all three Detroit automakers in talks that are expected to be among the most difficult as Ford, General Motors Corp. and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group are battling to restore profits amid intense competition.
You can bet that giving bonuses for poor performance is not going to go over well at the bargaining table when the company asks the Unions to give up a lot. That is pure bullshit, why should the little guy give when the big guys get bonuses.
Neither Ford nor the UAW would comment on the dispute, but a union source told The Detroit News that published reports suggesting the UAW is ready to strike over the issue are overstating the situation. The source said the union and Ford remain committed to resolving this and other issues in a manner that addresses the needs of both Ford and its hourly workers.The automaker has met with Bob King, head of the UAW's Ford section, and told him the union is acting prematurely by suspending talks on plant-level operating agreements designed to make the automaker more competitive with foreign rivals, according to one source.
Ford told King there is nothing to be gained by agitating workers about an issue unrelated to the agreements and the union is putting jobs at risk by delaying progress on them.
Unrelated to agreements?!!!
You have got to be fucking kidding me. Ford is asking workers to take cuts, will be asking them to take ever bigger cuts in September while they ply Executives, who ran the company into the ground, with bonuses?!!! Who is fucking whom?
Ford has not yet taken action. "There has been no decision made as to whether or not these bonuses will be paid," spokeswoman Marcey Evans said Wednesday.
Which means they want to see what the Union is going to do before deciding to give out the bonuses.
Bonuses could have been paid out last year, but the board vetoed the rewards because it feared such a move would look bad against the backdrop of plant closures and layoffs.
So I guess a 12.7 BILLION loss isn't motivation enough to not give bonuses.
If Ford does go ahead with the bonuses they will see the results of their stupidity come September when the contracts are open.
Mr Weenie and I were talking about it last night and we both fear a long, drawn out strike. A strike that Ford can not afford to happen.
Worst Car Names Ever
Car Connection compiled a list of the worst car names ever. Is your car on it?
Ford ProbeIn a single stroke, Ford managed to alienate half the potential buyers of this otherwise not-bad sporty two-plus-two coupe. The unfortunate connotations bothered many women in the same way that hearing that banjo theme from Deliverance tends to put most men on edge. Not one of Ford's better ideas.
Daihatsu Charade
It's not really a car, it's just pretending! This was one of those econo-boxes that was not merely humiliating to drive, it embarrassed its owner each time its name was uttered. "I drive a Charade." Good-bye, prom date! (See also: Ford Aspire.)
Pontiac Aztek
The name's not even spelled correctly, for openers. And it didn't help matters that the vehicle itself resembled a dumpster on wheels. The Aztec civilization stood no chance against the ugliness (and illiteracy) of this General Motors sheetmetal horror show.
Isuzu Big Horn
Sometimes, size really does matter! The associations conjured up here are surely not what Isuzu intended. That's what happens when things get lost in translation.
Mazda Protégé
Someday, it hopes to be a real car, we suppose? Tagging your car a junior partner is forever pegging yourself a Robin, not a Batman. And who wants to be Robin?
Toyota Yaris
A Toyota what? Maybe it doesn't matter as long as the first name is there, but Yaris sounds like the noise you'd hear issuing from the gullet of an exotic animal. Or maybe it is a small animal? (Sorry, dude, my Yaris left a mess on your rug.)
Mitsubishi MirageHmm, famous mirages. The Flying Dutchman? Cher's musical talent? A "mirage" is something that's not really there, a figment of your imagination -- when in distress, especially. Not the hot ticket for a car name, eh?
Geo Prizm
It doesn't separate light waves, just you from your cash. At least this thinly disguised, rebadged Toyota Corolla sold by Chevrolet was an okay car under its goofy nameplate.
Nissan Altima
A made-up word that attempts to evoke positive associations -- in this case, height/achievement, we think. (See also: Subaru Justy, Toyota Camry, Olds Alero, Chevy Lumina, etc.)
Pontiac Banshee
This name never reached production, because luckily for Pontiac, someone consulted a dictionary before the concept escaped GM's design studios. A Banshee's shriek heralds imminent death, among things - someone page the liability lawyers!
Dodge Swinger
You'll also find ads for these on the back pages of adult magazines. Okay, it was the '70s, but still - why not just call it the STD?
AMC Gremlin
Do you really want to own a car named after annoying small problems that are next-to-impossible to fix? Courtesy of the same folks who brought you the Pacer.
Mercury Mystique
Way too close to "mistake" for comfort. (A Mercury executive made just that slip-up at one of the press introductions for this car.) The third or fourth attempt by Ford to build a "world car" that not even the U.S. was much interested in.
Volkswagen Touareg
Impossible to pronounce or spell correctly without lessons, this name takes the cake for being the most gratuitously recondite car name of the past 30 years - not to mention its unfortunate link to a slave-trading North African tribe.
Chevy Camaro
This one apparently has double-entendre meanings in other cultures, such as "shrimp" -- or worse. (See also Chevy Nova; it "doesn't go" en espanol.)
Today in Automotive History
1905 : Brit scorches Daytona Beach
The Dudgeon Steam Carriage stampArthur MacDonald of Great Britain set a new land speed record of 149.875mph at Daytona Beach, Florida.
January 24, 2007
Today in Automotive History
1860 : New engine runs on fire, not water
Glenn CurtissFrench inventor Etienne Lenoir was issued a patent for the first successful internal-combustion engine. Lenoir's engine was a converted steam engine that burned a mixture of coal gas and air. Its two-stroke action was simple but reliable--many of Lenoir's engines were still working after 20 years of use. His first engines powered simple machines like pumps and bellows. However, in 1862, Lenoir built his first automobile powered by an internal-combustion engine--a vehicle capable of making a six-mile trip in two to three hours. It wasn't a practical vehicle, but it was the beginning of the automobile industry.
January 22, 2007
Michigan Can Not Catch A Break
Michigan is having a very bad time of it right now, with the auto industries being it's main industry. Unemployment is 7.1%, the highest in the country, who has an unemployment rate of 4.1% (at last check).
Pfizer Inc. announced Monday it will cut 10,000 jobs, as the world's largest drugmaker seeks to cut costs by up to $2 billion a year amid fierce competition from generic drugs.The company plans to close three research sites in Michigan and two manufacturing plants in New York and Nebraska. It may also sell another manufacturing site in Germany and close research sites in Japan and France. (emphsis mine)
Pfizers research facilities are in Ann Arbor, they supply a lot of revenue to Ann Arbor and a lot of jobs will be lost.
UAW Builds Up Strike Fund
The United Auto Workers has amassed a war chest worth nearly $900 million and is keeping a grip on spending as the union and Detroit automakers brace for what promises to be some of the toughest contract talks ever.
The UAW contracts with the Big 3 all end in September, with contract talks usually starting in August.
It is going to be a nasty fight between the UAW and the Auto Makers this year. Mr Weenie and I are already adjusting our spending and saving more than usual because we know a strike is more likely to happen then it's not.
The UAW members are not going to give up much and the Auto Makers are already insisting that they give up alot.
The UAW members are not willing to give up much because we daily hear of the extravagence that the executives spending and there outrageous salaries. Salaries that are not earned since they are the ones that made the decisions to put the companies in the positions that they are currently in.
It's going to be an interesting Fall this year. Just hope I get a job soon to build up our "war" chest.
The Third Recall Of The Year
And lets say it all together ...
And it's STILL NOT an American company!
Toyota will recall 533,000 Tundra trucks and Sequoia sport-utility vehicles, in an extension of a recall from 2005 that counted 775,000 similar vehicles.The 2004-06 Tundra and the 2004-07 Sequoia are affected by the recall, which stems from a problem with the steering and suspension components. A front lower ball joint could wear prematurely, making it more difficult to steer, a spokesman told the Associated Press.
Toyota spokesman Bill Kwong said the defect may be the cause of 11 accidents resulting in six injuries.
Today in Automotive History
1912 : Bridge to Florida Keys opens
On the day after his acquittal, Preston Tucker celebrated in Chicago, driving one of the few automobiles actually produced in the $28 million ventureFlorida East Coast Railroad opened, running between Key West and the mainland. The railroad closed in 1935. Three years later, the roadway was paved, bringing automotive traffic to the Florida Keys for the first time.
January 19, 2007
Nigarian Scam Hits Big Time
It just isn't the little stupid people being taken in by the Nigerians anymore.
The longtime treasurer of Alcona County was accused Wednesday in an embezzlement scheme in which he may have served as both perpetrator and victim, sending up to $1.25 million in county funds and his own life savings to con artists after falling for one of the notorious online Nigerian banking frauds.
Yep, someone used County funds to send to a Nigeria Scam.
The Second Recall Of The Year
And it's still not an American company.
This sort of makes my day.
Honda Motor Co. is recalling 81,000 Accord sedans in the United States because of faulty wiring in an airbag sensor on the driver's side, U.S. regulators said on Friday.
The First Recall Of The Year
And it's not an American Company.
Toyota must be getting big, because the media seems to be exposing their cover-ups more and more.
Toyota Motor Corp. plans to recall about 533,000 Sequoia SUVs and Tundra pickup trucks in the United States to repair faulty components that could make the vehicles difficult to steer.Six injuries and 11 accidents were reported as a result of the defect, Japan's top auto maker said on Friday.
But in every Toyota article I read they have to throw this in there:
Toyota, on its way to becoming the world's biggest auto maker ahead of General Motors Corp
I don't see the relivence to the topic of the article.
Toyota last year recalled more than a million vehicles in Japan and 760,000 units in the United States, but the publicity has done little to hurt it. Toyota boosted its global sales by 9 percent in 2006, fueled largely by a 13 percent jump in sales in the United States.
That is because there has been very little publicity about any of their cover-ups.
"Toyota has a lot of goodwill built up," said Christopher Richter, an auto analyst at CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets
So I guess killing a couple dozen people with their defects is ok because they have "goodwill" built up?
Since Toyota has become so big they are now becoming a target in the media because they are being classified as a "big" Corporation now.
Mark my words, the beginning of the end.
January 18, 2007
Life Update
So where have I been? I know it's been awhile since I last posted.
Nowhere.
Doing nothing.
No calls ...
No interviews ...
No nothing.
It's getting pretty depressing, especially since the frigid weather has set in.
I am coming to terms with the fact that I probably wont' be getting a job until March/April. That is the usual time when companies start hiring again. They don't do much hiring right now.
I am having a hard time pulling out of my funk, but I am trying. Finding projects to do and I am a puppy sweater making machine.
Adultry Will Get You Life In Michigan
If you are married and plan on cheating on your spouse you better think twice about it because that act could get you life in prison.
In a ruling sure to make philandering spouses squirm, Michigan's second-highest court says that anyone involved in an extramarital fling can be prosecuted for first-degree criminal sexual conduct, a felony punishable by up to life in prison.
As if Michigan isn't having enough problems with governmental budgets we will now be paying money for people to be prosecuted for having an affair. No wonder the Governor has to raise taxes.
"We cannot help but question whether the Legislature actually intended the result we reach here today," Judge William Murphy wrote in November for a unanimous Court of Appeals panel, "but we are curtailed by the language of the statute from reaching any other conclusion.""Technically," he added, "any time a person engages in sexual penetration in an adulterous relationship, he or she is guilty of CSC I," the most serious sexual assault charge in Michigan's criminal code.
I don't see people rushing around to get that law changed either. And you know that spouses that have been cheated on are right now running to lawyers and the police to get revenge and have their cheating spouse thrown in jail.
But still how did this ruling come about?
The ruling grows out of a case in which a Charlevoix man accused of trading Oxycontin pills for the sexual favors of a cocktail waitress was charged under an obscure provision of Michigan's criminal law. The provision decrees that a person is guilty of first-degree criminal sexual conduct whenever "sexual penetration occurs under circumstances involving the commission of any other felony."(emphasis mine)
But still how does selling drugs for sex equate to life in prision for adultry?
Look at this "a person is guilty of first-degree criminal sexual conduct whenever "sexual penetration occurs under circumstances involving the commission of any other felony"
Charlevoix prosecuting attorney John Jarema said he decided to appeal after police discovered evidence that Waltonen may have struck drugs-for-sex deals with several other women.Cox's office, which handled the appeal on the prosecutor's behalf, insisted that the waitress' consent was irrelevant. All that mattered, the attorney general argued in a brief demanding that the charge be reinstated, was that the pair had sex "under circumstances involving the commission of another felony" -- the delivery of the Oxycontin pills.
The Attorney General's Office got a whole lot more than it bargained for. The Court of Appeals agreed that the prosecutor in Waltonen's case needed only to prove that the Oxycontin delivery and the consensual sex were related. But Murphy and his colleagues went further, ruling that a first-degree CSC charge could be justified when consensual sex occurred in conjunction with any felony, not just a drug sale.
To understand how the whole Adultry equals life in prison you need to understand this:
Among the many crimes Michigan still recognizes as felonies, they noted pointedly, is adultery -- although the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan notes that no one has been convicted of that offense since 1971.
Yes, Michigan has on in it's laws that Adultry is a felony.
So what are they going to do about it?
But Michigan's Supreme Court majority has held that it is for the Legislature, not the courts, to decide when the absurdity threshold has been breached.Whitbeck noted that Murphy's opinion questions whether state lawmakers really meant to authorize the prosecution of adulterers for consensual relationships.
"We encourage the Legislature to take a second look at the statutory language if they are troubled by our ruling," he wrote.
So far the Legislature isn't doing anything about it.
Toyota Blames Owners For Defective Engines
If you haven't guessed by now that Toyota is very good at keeping things quite and out of the media here is another chance to think that.
Jeff Meckstroth, a New Orleans stockbroker, bought a Lexus RX300 in late 1998 because of the luxury brand's reputation for quality.(emphasis mine)Two years later, Meckstroth's opinion of Lexus, and its owner Toyota Motor Corp., changed when the engine in his car came to a clunking halt and the automaker blamed him for the problem.
Just goes to show Toyota is just like any other car company, blame the owner and refuse to pay to fix it.
Meckstroth's long-running legal battle with Toyota, which grew into a class action over oil sludge damage, is expected to come to an end in early February.Toyota Motor Sales USA, the U.S. sales arm of Japan-based Toyota, and lawyers representing car owners have reached an agreement that would cover engine repairs and incidental damages caused by oil sludge for up to eight years after the purchase of certain vehicles.
If Toyota is willing to pay for the damages must mean there IS something wrong.
The number of customer problems is not known, but the pool of covered vehicles is estimated to be between 3 million and 4 million, based on sales figures. Notices have been sent to about 7.5 million original and secondary owners of the vehicles, according to plaintiffs' lawyers.
3 - 4 MILLION ESTIMATED
And nothing in the paper until now, a little blurb within the Automotive section in the newspaper.
Oh and Toyota knows how many, they are just unwilling to let that number out.
Maintaining its reputation for quality is a top concern, said Toyota spokesman Xavier Dominicis. Toyota already has been working with customers to remedy the issue, he said.
Blamming the customer is a good way to keep that reputation for quality shiney.
Toyota, without admitting a defect to the engines, acknowledges that some owners who changed their oil regularly experienced sludge problems.(emphasis mine)
As I stated in the beginning, Toyota is very good about keeping problems hiden and out of the media.
Today in Automotive History
1919 : Bentley Motors founded
The 1930 Bentley Sedanca CoupeBentley Motors was established in London, England. A manufacturer of sports cars and luxury automobiles, Bentley was acquired by Rolls-Royce in November, 1931. From that point forward, the Bentley line acquired more and more features of the Rolls-Royce, until the two makes became nearly indistinguishable.
January 11, 2007
Today in Automotive History
1937 : Violence erupts At GM Plant
Strikers at the Chevrolet plant in Flint, 1937Twelve days into a general sit-down strike at the General Motors (GM) factory in Flint, Michigan, General Motors security forces and the Flint Police Department moved in to evict the strikers. A pitched battle broke out at Fisher body plant #2, as strikers held off police and GM security with fire hoses and jury-rigged slingshots, and the police responded with bullets and tear gas. The many picketers outside the plant assisted the strikers however they could, breaking windows to ventilate the factory when police filled it with tear gas, and creating barricades with their own vehicles to prevent police from driving past the plant's open doors. Finally, Governor Frank Murphy ordered the National Guard in to stem the violence. The sit-down strike lasted 44 days, and ended in GM's surrender to the demands of the United Auto Workers Union (UAW). GM was the first of the "Big Three" auto makers to make a deal with the UAW. The era of repressive labor practices in the auto industry was ending.
January 10, 2007
He Jinxed Me
Just before the traditional shut-down of the auto industry for Christmas (1 week between Christmas and New Years) I received 2 calls, 1 from a Head Hunter and 1 from a company for a job I applied to over Monster. They both wanted to set-up interviews.
As it came down to the wire for shut-down they both said we will schedule something the first week back after New Years ...
Well of course all during Christmas break Mr Weenie was telling everyone that I had 2 interviews after the break ...
The first week back I didn't hear anything so on that Thursday I emailed both the head hunter and the company ...
Heard fom the company on friday saying they would contact me when they had the interviews scheduled ..
On monday this week I re-emailed the head hunter because I hadn't heard from him ...
Yesterday (Tuesday) while perusing Monster I came across the job that the head hunter was suppose to get me in for a interview, it was freshly posted tuesday ...
So I applied over Monster for the same job the head hunter was suppose to get me an interview for ... the salary expectations were $3k under what I make, so maybe it was a salary issue with them but I won't know because the head hunter won't get back with me.
And I don't think the other company is really going to set-up interviews because it doesn't really take that long (1 1/2 weeks now) to set-up interviews with 3 people at the company.
I never tell anyone about interviews, either getting them or how they went, when I am trying to find a job
I feel its a jinx. I am not a superstitious person except when it comes to interviews. So I feel Mr Weenie jinxed me by telling everyone about my pending interviews.
The longest I have had a lay-off for is 8 weeks. I think this time it's going to be much longer than 8 weeks. I haven't even had a call in almost 2 weeks now.
Today in Automotive History
1942 : Ford makes Jeeps
A Spindletop oil derrick on its first day of operation in 1901The Ford Motor Company signed on to make Jeeps, the new general-purpose military vehicles desperately needed by American forces in World War II. The original Jeep design was submitted by the American Bantam Car Company. The Willys-Overland company won the Jeep contract, however, using a design similar to Bantam's, but with certain improvements. The Jeep was in high demand during wartime, and Ford soon stepped in to lend its huge production capacity to the effort. By the end of the war, the Jeep had won a place in the hearts of Americans, and soon became a popular civilian vehicle. And that catchy name? Some say it comes from the initials G.P., for "General Purpose." Others say it was named for Jeep the moondog, the spunky and durable creature who accompanied Popeye through the comics pages.
January 08, 2007
My Underware Says ...
| What Your Underwear Says About You |
 You're a closet exhibitionist who gets a thrill from being secretly naughty. |
Letters To The Editor
In the Detroit Free Press they had an Opinion page entitled "Auto Chiefs Haven't Face Up To Reality" and a couple of the letters written in by people stuck a good chord with me ...
Excess executive payAfter reading "Family stays in control, Ford insists" (Dec. 29), I continually am appalled at the salaries of executives in the United States. Even the executives who preside over companies with sinking share value continue to pocket huge compensation packages, such as Ford.
In the 1960s, the average executives earned around 40 times what the rank-and-file workers earned. Today, the average executive makes over 500 times what the average worker earns. Yet American employees work the longest hours in the industrialized world. And for what? Pay cuts? Reduction in health benefits? Layoffs?
Executives in Japan typically earn 11 times the average employee. Considering how well Toyota is doing, couldn't we learn something from them?
I have always bought American made cars. However, because of overinflated salaries, bonuses and stock options of the executives of the Big Three automakers, at a time when we have been losing market share, I have all but given up on ever buying American again. I have always made a point of spending my money at companies that see their employees as assets, not something that can be tossed to the curb.
Linda Larson
Sterling HeightsDon't blame the unions
Among the many letters concerning the misfortunes of Ford or the good fortunes of Toyota, some have been derogatory of the UAW and unions in general. Many have said that the union's outrageous demands have set the tone for U.S. industry's failure to compete. As a 30-year-plus member of the UAW, I might agree to some of that. But those same people, many obviously not members, seem to forget that they, too, benefited from union successes.
The UAW, Teamsters and other unions also helped set the tone for what is considered a fair standard of living for hardworking individuals. Even today's white-collar service employees must surely recognize that benefit packages as an employment enticement would not exist had not the unions made them a fact in contract agreements over the years.
But now, after management complacency or indolence failed to notice foreign competitors' gains in the market, those apparently not in the know want to blame the union guy. Somehow, they see management's failure to pay attention to market trends as the union's fault. They see management's failure to re-invest profit into technological research and buying quality materials as the union's fault. They see executive decisions to pay these clueless managers six-figure salaries with stock options instead of making the foresaid reinvestments as the union's fault. And all the while completely forgetting what workers' shop conditions and treatment were like before the unions took hold.
Kenneth G. Maluchnik
Lincoln Park
International Auto Show
This week starts the press preview of the new vehicles at the Auto Show.
2007 Ford Interceptor (Concept Vehicle)
Car and Truck of The Year Winners
Chevy Silverado and the Saturn Aura ... GM wins both awards like Honda did last year.
Did you know this years Auto Show is the 100th Auto Show in Detroit. 100 Years of Auto Shows, wow!
January 04, 2007
Toyota Getting Bigger or Just Greedy?
Toyota Motor Corp. is considering expanding its manufacturing capacity in North America and is currently reviewing sites, spokesman Dan Sieger said on Thursday."We are looking at sites," he said, but declined to reveal details.
They just opened a new Truck Plant in Texas in 2006.
You can almost follow the progress of Toyota's dimise as they follow in the foot steps of what is causing the American Auto Makers problems right now.
They Better Not Be Shitting Me
Because if they are I am going to go and Biotch Slap somebody.
A resurgent El Nino and persistently high levels of greenhouse gases are likely to make 2007 the world's hottest year ever recorded, British climate scientists said Thursday. Britain's Meteorological Office said there was a 60% probability that 2007 would break the record set by 1998, which was 1.20 degrees over the long-term average.The reason for the forecast is mostly due to El Nino, a cyclical warming trend now underway in the Pacific Ocean. The event occurs irregularly — the last one happened in 2002 — and typically leads to increased temperatures worldwide.
Of course the Tree-hugging Hippies have to put their 2 cents in ...
While this year's El Nino is not as strong as it was in 1997 and 1998, its combination with the steady increase of temperatures due to global warming from human activity may be enough to break the Earth's temperature record, said Phil Jones, the director of the Climatic Research unit at the University of East Anglia."Because of the warming due to greenhouse gases, even a moderate warming event is enough to push the global temperatures over the top," he said.
"El Nino is an independent variable," he said. "But the underlying trends in the warming of the Earth is almost certainly due to the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere."
Yep, just can't be a normal Earth weather variation thing, gotta throw Green House Gases in there.
I just hope they are right, I want a warm summer this year not a namby pamby so-so warm one like last year.
They Better Not Be Shitting Me
Because if they are I am going to go and Biotch Slap somebody.
A resurgent El Nino and persistently high levels of greenhouse gases are likely to make 2007 the world's hottest year ever recorded, British climate scientists said Thursday.Britain's Meteorological Office said there was a 60% probability that 2007 would break the record set by 1998, which was 1.20 degrees over the long-term average.
The reason for the forecast is mostly due to El Nino, a cyclical warming trend now underway in the Pacific Ocean. The event occurs irregularly — the last one happened in 2002 — and typically leads to increased temperatures worldwide.
Of course the Tree-hugging Hippies have to put their 2 cents in ...
While this year's El Nino is not as strong as it was in 1997 and 1998, its combination with the steady increase of temperatures due to global warming from human activity may be enough to break the Earth's temperature record, said Phil Jones, the director of the Climatic Research unit at the University of East Anglia."Because of the warming due to greenhouse gases, even a moderate warming event is enough to push the global temperatures over the top," he said.
"El Nino is an independent variable," he said. "But the underlying trends in the warming of the Earth is almost certainly due to the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere."
Yep, just can't be a normal Earth weather variation thing, gotta throw Green House Gases in there.
I just hope they are right, I want a warm summer this year not a namby pamby so-so warm one like last year.
Today in Automotive History
1996 : No gas tank on board
GM Chairman John Smith stands with the EV-1 electric car after announcing its arrival at a news conference in Los AngelesGeneral Motors announced that it would release an electric car, the EV-1, in the fall. The EV-1 was sold through GM's Saturn dealerships, and met with modest success. While sales have been quite modest by the standards of internal-combustion cars, the EV-1 is the best-selling electric consumer car of its time.
January 03, 2007
Wednesday Puppy Blogging
The puppies are upset that Michigan lost the Rose Bowl. They thought for sure there lucky Michigan Jerseys would help them win.
There Aunti got them the Jersey's for Christmas.
Us vs Them And Religious Books
What I don't understand is that Congresspeople and News Media keep saying that we shouldn't be getting all upset over the Muslim elected to Congress who wants to use the Koran to be sworn in, because it's "just a book" but yet Muslims can riot and threaten fatwah's to Americans over rumors of a Koran getting flushed down a toliet or squatted over during an interrogation.
Toyota's Demise Is Picking Up Speed
This hasn't been the Year of Toyota. I know, I have seen the headlines where Toyota is going to top GM in production in 2007. Toyota has been in the spotlight alot this year, and not the good kind of spotlight either.
They have had dozens of recalls, a huge sexual harrassement case, and other sundries stuff.
Looks like they are starting 2007 in the same vain
Toyota Motor Corp. has been ordered to pay about 2 billion yen in back taxes and penalties after it was found to have failed to declare taxable income, sources said.The Nagoya Regional Taxation Bureau found that the nation's leading carmaker did not report 6 billion yen during three fiscal years through March 2004.
Of course, you won't see this in the American Media. I found this on a Japanese news website.
However, sources said Toyota sold vehicle parts and components at below-market rates to two overseas subsidiaries, reducing Toyota's taxable incomes by about 2 billion yen.(emphasis mine)The money was used to finance sales promotion costs at the subsidiaries and help improve earnings results, the sources said.
When I say Toyota subsidizes their supplies people think I am lying, well here is proof now.
Toyota has gotten greedy, they are getting too big and will stop at nothing to top the American Auto Makers in the US.
Folks, Toyota is not a god, don't make them out to be one to make yourself feel better about buying a Japanese vehicle.
I know your thinking "but they are made in the US", yes but most of their suppliers are Japanese, with parent companies in Japan. All profits are going back to Japan. And most of the product that the Japanese suppliers here in the US buy are from Japan. Don't kid yourself. Japan isn't helping America buy building it's assembly plants in the US, they are helping themselves by avoiding Import taxes.
Today in Automotive History
1926 : Pontiac is born
An advertisement for the 1902 Studebaker Electric AutomobileGeneral Motors introduced the Pontiac brand name on this day. The new Pontiac line was the descendant of the Oakland Motor Car Company, acquired by General Motors in 1909
January 02, 2007
How Sinful Are You?
| Your Deadly Sins |
| Greed: 100% |
| Sloth: 100% |
| Wrath: 100% |
| Gluttony: 80% |
| Envy: 60% |
| Lust: 40% |
| Pride: 40% |
| Chance You'll Go to Hell: 74% |
| You will die love and feared by many. And you'll be buried in a tomb. |
Live Blogging Presidents Ford Funeral
Since I have nothing but time on my hands, I am watching Presidents Ford Funeral Services at the National Cathedrial ...
They are giving the Eulogies right now ...
President Bush I - Had the audience rolling with laughter, he was very good. Paid homage to Ford respectfully yet adding in some light touches.
Kissenger - Was respectful but somber
Brokaw - Not funny at all, maligned Ford's fashion sense which nobody found funny. Using football as an anology for Ford's presidency.
They were scanning the audience before the services started and I noticed a lack of Foreign dignataries there. I think that is a slap in the face to the US.
Nancy Reagan is there, looking quite dishevialed.
Laura Bush looks like she is going to lose it at any minute.
President Bush II is giving an Eulogy now - Very respectful. Spoke of when Georgia Tech came to pay UM and said they wouldn't play if the black man on the team played. Ford refused to play in the game. Speaking of Fords WWII experience. His experience in Congress and how much he was loved. Ford brought Grace to a moment of great doubt. History will remember his courage and common sense.
Eulogies over ... Band and Chorus
Gospel according to John
Looks like the Reverand Robert Certain from Palm Dessert, CA is presiding over the services. Looks like he used to be in the military because he has what looks like wings on his cloth and a bunch of metals.
Betty looks like she is holding up pretty good.
Sounds like Ford was a deeply religious man.
Band and Chorus again, Denyce Graves is singing the Lords Prayer.
Chief of Navy Chaplins Rear Adm Robert Burt is saying a prayer now.
Jimmy Carter is not paying attention to the prayers, he is looking around the church.
Band and Chorus again.
More prayers.
Band and Chorus again.
The procession out of the church is beginning.
Honor guard is getting ready to remove Ford, it's amazing how the coffin is kept perfectly level while going downstairs.
Betty Ford is being lead out of the church, the procession of people out is starting. President Bush II is helping Betty out of the church.
I just saw some Eagle Scouts in the church.
Bells are tolling.
Presidential anthem playing
President Ford is being put into the hearst
The Ford family are getting into the cars now
President Ford is leaving the National Cathedrial headed to Andrews Air Force Base where he will fly to Grand Rapids, Michigan to be interned at his Presidential Library later today.
Wow is that motorcade hauling ass right now.
1:25pm EST -
Special Air Mission 29000, carrying President Ford has left the tarmac. He is on his way home right now.
3:15pm EST -
President Ford is already on the ground in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They are preforming the arrival ceramony right now.
21 Canon salute
They are playing the Michigan Fight song right now ... hee hee, the Univeristy of Michigan Marching band is there and were the ones playing the fight song.
The Navy guy holding the Presidential flag must be really tired, they showed a close-up of him and he couldn't keep his eyes open.
3:26pm EST-
President Ford has left the Gerald R Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids. The trip to his Presidential Library from the Airport is 45 few minutes by car.
3:57pm EST -
President Ford has arrived at his Library.
They are showing that poor Navy guy again, falling asleep standing up.
Hanging My Head In Shame
That Michigan team that played in the Rose Bowl last night was a disgrace to the uniform.
It's almost as if they didn't show up, I bet the results would have been the same if they didn't show up.
I mean, how could they lost to an 8th ranked team. A team that is well below Michigan statistically speaking.
Michigan proved yesterday that they did not deserve, at all, to be in the BCS game.