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What is your take on the Big-3 hearings
Most of you know I'm within a stone's throw of the Big-3's (that's the DOMESTIC Big-3) headquarters. And in one capacity or other I have worked at/for/with them indirectly including Nissan, Toyota, Saab, Volvo and Rolls-Royce.
Here, nearly one auto job supports in one way or another five other jobs here in Michigan. Nationally it is 1:10.
Opinions?
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What is your take on the Big-3 hearings
Okay. A few questions:
How many of you have stock in the auto industry?
Anyone have family retired or working for the B3 or a supplier? And if so, does that influence how you see the situation?
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What is your take on the Big-3 hearings
Yooper: Sounds like you may need to go belly up just to protect your ASSets. A fabricator friend was screwed by the same client I had (who didn't screw me) for $4000 under that 6-month go-back. I spoke to other guys who have been taken for $150,000 by other guys. This same jerk had boasted to me while I was working for him that he gone bankrupt twice before soley because his accountant said it was time to keep some profits. I got out before he could get me. And a year has passed so I'm in the clear.
I have to wonder what happens if you simply don't have the money if they go back 6 months? BTW, a majority of those funds don't even go to creditors---they go to the so-called Trustees who take that money as fees. They were really upset with me that I either owed more than the equipment was worth, or was not desirable to resell like a gas engine dump truck, or a had a UCC filing gainst it (no UCC filing ---they take it and sell it for pennies on a dollar)
Greg, I emerged from Chapter 7 last March so I know the cascade effect is real. Right now it's Michigan, soon it will be nationwide. 90% of my customers work(ed) or are related to the auto industry. Simply put, if someone doesn't have a job, they have no money to eat let alone get work done.
In the bigger scheme of things, when it comes to the economy it's like playing musical chairs.
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What is your take on the Big-3 hearings
Unions. Who here has worked in the auto industry?
As a business owner myself albeit small, unions are a necessary evil. My dad was a union carpenter, and later a business owner. Unless you have worked for the car companies you have no idea of the ingrained anamosity that exists between a car company's mangement and their employees. And between the company and their suppliers. I worked 10 years for a supplier for the Big 3 and the nearly all the foreign makers. I was in a unique postion where I befriended the sales and engineering people and got to hear stories that would make your blood curdle. The B3 would beat us up so badly over price they demanded to see our books and then would literally dictate what profit we were to make---what other business does that and gets away with it? To top it off they would come back a few months later and tell us to reduce the price even more. When I left 10 years ago it got to the point we were having to wait as much as 6 months to year to get paid from them. In some cases they would renegotiate the payments even lower. The culture eventually invaded our company to the point we had internal departments competing for profitability--"profit centers" they called them. For example, office supplies used to be free to any department--just go to the stock office and request it. Then one day that stock office became a profit center. You had to pay for EVERYTHING. SO what happened? Some managers whose bonuses were now tied to their staff's spending told their staff not to buy ANYTHING--i.e. STEAL IT from another department. I came in one day and my desk had been ransacked by another department. I called this "internal cannibalism". The company went from 3,500 employees world wide with 35 plants to zero a few years later after the owner killed himself--he got caught up in not paying HIS suppliers just like what was done to him.
My point? Unions were created to keep management from abusing the workers---plain and simple. Unions in one form or another will be with us until Kingdom come.
Just one man's perspective.
I do agree, however it is time for change. But old habits die hard, The auto industry has 100 years of history and all of it isn't necessarily good.
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What is your take on the Big-3 hearings
Don't kill the messenger, okay guys? Here's a website that has been plastered on our local TV stations and in the newspapers---maybe you saw it about what has been happening about the topic. Hints: Alabama Gov. Shelby, a "Boy" and a "cott"--you do the math.
We're all brothers here--north and south, east and west--and this is just a discussion amongst friends, so don't take this out of context or personally, 'cept for Kenny 
Link:
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What is your take on the Big-3 hearings
Chief, I take it you're a satisfied customer? :P
Back in the '90's Nissan got their tit-in-a-wringer with the Feds about the supposed perception of "reliabilty" of their cars. Turns out they were replacing items on cars that they knew were bad---like seat belts--fuel lines-- and not telling anyone when the car came in for even an oil change.
I used to get Technical Service Bulletins from Mitsubishi as part of my job. Every week for about a year--until told them to stop sending them--I would get 1-5 bulletins about things that were going wrong on their cars. I'm talking MAJOR issues--out of balance axles and drive shafts, warped brake rotors, engines stalling, engine fires, suspension part breaking.
I did work for Infiniti too. Same thing. Some cars had 7 layers of pearlescent paint that was nearly impossible to match.
A Mercedes engineer from Germany told me the build quality was so bad that the widths of the cars varied so much--the width of your finger--that they had to use three structural pieces across the car instead of one like the Big 3 do because the cars are more consistent.
When I worked with BMW the Z3 convertible had MAJOR water leak issues at the trunk because the plant "forgot" to install a rubber seal that was 6' long and 3 inches high. What did they do about it? Nothing.
When I worked with Porsche we got 700 cars in from Germany that sat in New Jersey with 3" of standing water in the cabin. Why? They were made in Germany when it was cold, then sent here and sat in the summer sun. A "rat hole" or void in the sheet metal near the trunk and quarter panels were filled by hand with globs of Vaseline to stop water. The sun melted the Vaseline and Voila! Water leaks!
How come nobody rants about other stuff they own like:
Their tractor,
Hot water heater busting,
Furnace crapping out,
TV going out,
AC going out,
Termites,
Fast food
Spouse ;P
I'm jis' sayin' ya'll.
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