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As a man thinks, so he is. Some people are never. Recent Posts
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CarSpace Alternate RouteTurn off the nav system, crumple up that MapQuest printout, and let's find out where the next random turn may take us! Nov 7, 2009 - Ask Dub Schwartz!
Aha! The mask is off and the monster revealed! I suspect you ran into another one of those folks who wants to show how "environmentally conscious" and smarter than everyone else they are, when in reality they're nothing of the sort. Sort of like buying "carbon credits" somehow magically negates Al Gore's extravagant use of enegry in his home and flying around on private jets and gives him a "carbon-neutral" lifestyle. Posers abound!
Nov 6, 2009 - Style Or Substance?
Sounds noble enough, and I'll even give them clever on the marketing side. But when is enough going to be enough on this quest toward the "100% safe car". There's no such thing and every safety feature added to vehicles not only adds weight (I thought mileage was important), cost and complexity to the vehicles, but it also seems to give a signal to a large number of drivers that there's one less thing that they have to worry about while driving their car. The list keeps growing. ABS Brakes - wonderful idea, but some think to seem they mean you'll be able to stop no matter what situation they put themselves in. Daytime Running Lights - another seemingly clever idea to make your car stand out in traffic. Only problem is that as soon as a large number of vehicles had them, you didn't stand out in traffic so much any more. Then there are the mental giants you think DRL's are headlight and run with them at night. I seriously doubt that DRL's have prevented anything. Air Bags - again, I agree they are a good thing if you happen to put yourself in a crash situation, but I get the feeling that some think they don't need to buckle up because the airbag will protect them. Yet we constantly hear news items about fatal accidents where the victim wasn't wearing a seat belt, but people who survived were. The list of future ideas is even scarier. Cars that brake for you, cars that drive themselves. Here's an idea. When you're in control of a couple of tons of steel heading down the road, turn off the cell phone, buckle up, and take care of driving your car!
Nov 5, 2009 - That's MY Job
I was reminded of the film while reading an interesting op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal about how Ford is making it comeback, and how the UAW is throwing a real monkey wrench into the works. The real issue is the job classifications. Ford's UAW contract has lots of them, governing who can and who can't perform specified tasks on the factory floor. So if a machine breaks down, an assembly line can come to a halt while everyone waits for the worker with the proper classification to arrive at the scene. If other workers nearby are perfectly capable of fixing the machine, well, that doesn't matter. The number of job classifications is less than it was a decade ago, but it's still far too many to maximize a factory's efficiency. The classifications and attendant work rules are enforced by union bureaucracies—members of each plant's shop committee, grievance committee, health and safety committee, etc. They're all paid by the companies, as are their legions of corporate counterparts. One man's feather-bedding is another man's job. All this begs a fundamental, and uncomfortable, question. Can a UAW-represented car company compete effectively, long term, with its nonunion competitors? At the very least, companies organized by the UAW have lots of extra costs to bear at their factories located in the U.S. The UAW members at Ford may want it to still be the heydey of their power and influence, but they really need to catch up with modern times before they're left behind wondering what happened to their jobs. Read the entire article at wsj.com
Nov 4, 2009 - News Funnies
As Chrysler sits on blocks, what will Fiat do to fix it? Given that some folks have suggested that Fiat is an acronym for Failure In Automotive Technology or Fix It Again Tony, the headline gave me a little chuckle. Whatever their plan is, it's going to have to be a good one.
Nov 3, 2009 - Get Out And Vote!
Taxpayers have sunk more than $50 billion in bailout and bankruptcy financing in GM and more than $14 billion in Chrysler this year. About half of the debt was wiped out in bankruptcy at both companies. The government received 9.85 percent equity in Chrysler, and 60.8 percent equity and $2.1 billion of preferred stock in GM, and $13.8 billion in debt obligations between the two companies. Yep, that sure is an attractive IPO. I can't see anything wrong with this plan, can you? Read more at reuters.com AR Index 607.97 +6.68 (+1.11%) Stocks of individual interest Dow 9789.44 -78.52 (-0.80%)
Nov 2, 2009 - What A Difference A Bridge Makes
Not only did they agree to the changes in the contract that put them in line with the deals with GM and Chrysler, they did so by voting 83% in favor as opposed to roughly the same percentage in opposition at the UAW plants. Will Ford start to migrate work to Canadian plants? It's not that long a trip over the Peace Bridge to the competetive side of the falls. Read the entire article at freep.com
Nov 1, 2009 - Rubbernecking
This photo is from the Weird Accidents section. Now that's a pothole!
Oct 31, 2009 - Ask Dub Schwartz!
Just be careful that you don't create a creature that eats your finances alive Marty! Happy Halloween!
Oct 30, 2009 - Let The Celebration Begin
Under the terms of the agreement, Sterling Axle was supposed to get new rear-wheel drive work that would have added about 100 jobs. Now, union sources fear that work will be given to Getrag Corp., a German supplier with a nonunion factory in North Carolina. Local union leaders also were told Ford is considering outsourcing other components made at the plant, where 80 percent of workers voted against ratification. "I don't think people here really understood that the work we had been promised was contingent on ratification," said Sterling Axle UAW member Brian Pannebecker, who voted in favor of the agreement and is now helping to organize a petition in support of revote. Exactly what did you think was going to happen here guys? I'm hopeful in that there seem to be at least of few UAW members who realize that the choice is between "winning" and working. Read the rest of the article at the Detroit News
Oct 29, 2009 - Bark Or Bite?
Steve Collins, president of industry trade group the American Automotive Policy Council, said Wednesday that U.S. officials have told the three Detroit automakers that China is expected to begin an investigation under anti-dumping laws into their business practices as soon as next week. The U.S. auto companies export only about 9,000 cars to China annually, Collins said. GM manufactures and sells more than a million cars a year in China, though those sales wouldn't be affected. Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Nissan also export cars to China from plants in the United States, but those won't be included in the investigation, Collins said. As China has been one of the places where auto sales have been growing (a mere 84% increase in September) this kind of feels like the big dog flexing his muscles a bit. Read the entire article at Yahoo Finance
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