PurdueGuy

so much for being "American."

extended length changes are nothing new, and are especially a good idea if you invest in quality oil that can stand up to it. Of course it depends on what you do with the vehicle as well. 3000 miles is not a miracle number for oil changes.

must be fun to figure out driving routes that don't go under any overpasses...

You don't think they'll pull a Ford & go back to Cavalier?

yup, has nothing to do with where your eyes look (as it kinda makes it seem in the commercial). Just a set of gadgets to help you see as you're going in different directions.

What is "TE" for Spring Hill? *edit* Nevermind, far more information in this thread: http://www.cheersandgears.com/forums/index...c=20114&hl=

How old are those cars you're comparing, and what crash worthiness testing did they have to endure? +1 for "woulda been cool, but light weight & rigidity > lack of b pillar"

why buy when you have free access to any of the manufacturer's cars? I wouldn't bother "owning" a car either, unless it was something collectible.

really quick throw-together, playing off the slogan on the trailer.

I'm not saying prices should be the same, just that they're probably more different than they'll work out to be given some time. With an even exchange rate, the automakers should be coming out further ahead on Canadian vehicle sales. Pricing competition will probably work the Canadian pricing down with time. The lawsuit is dumb.

The canadian vehicle prices do need to work their way down to be more in line, but the fact is it takes time. Are all other goods now costing the same as in the US now that the exchange rate is the same? I doubt it. I takes time, welcome to a real-life economy vs playing with paper.

They canceled the plans to import the Vectra wagon for Saturn.

Unfortunately, that looks more like an advertisement for a joint venture or something, rather than something that embarrasses 'yota.

I think part of the idea is that it's an investment fund, so it should build some of that remaining 30% on its own. I'm not sure if I'm understanding it quite right, though.

overall sounds like a reasonable agreement.

that's the biggest load of crap, and you know it. Workers in more unskilled positions might get paid notably less, but you can't sit there & say "you don't know how hard it is", then turn around & say "they'd pay people minimum wage to do the job." Welcome to the american market, where people can choose their job, and if a job is hard with crappy pay, they won't choose it. and yes, I've worked in a factory.

There are laws that protect unions from that sort of thing.

BeHolden Excitement!

not really - temp workers can be a decent supplement to already skilled & trained workers, but to staff almost an entire factory with temps would be a nightmare. Very few people to do training, quality control would be out the window (it would probably become common knowledge of "don't buy a *fill in car* made between *date1* and *date2*), not enough temps available to fill a factory, etc. It just doesn't work well.

Management probably does need its own "shake-out" and slim-down in areas. I worked as a temp employee in a non-union major manufacturing plant for a year, and did not get hired (though they did call me about a month after I left). I did level 3 work at level 2 pay with no benefits, as did a number of people around me. Here's the thing: when people got frustrated & left their temp jobs, it had nothing to do with the money or job - it was still WAY better than any other job at the same skill level in the area. The reason most of them left was because they felt frustrated by the discrepancy between themselves and the "full time" workers. Why do these manufacturing companies hire temps for such long periods of time? BECAUSE OF THE UNIONS! To keep the unions at bay, they have to create the illusion of job security. They do that by avoiding layoffs of "full-time" employees. The reality of it is the temp employees were simply the lowest level of production employment, and thus were the first to be affected by layoffs. By the lowest level of employees consisting of "temp" employees, they didn't officially have layoffs, and those in "full time" employment felt more secure in their jobs. In fact, they were/are only as secure in their jobs as someone who has worked their way up from the bottom rung of employees. I watched as the good "temp" employees got hired one by one as the openings came. The only reason I didn't get a job offer sooner was because I was a lazy bum & didn't apply for a long time, until after the few/rare hiring waves went through. Good employees moved up, not so good ones didn't. The unions have created their own problem in the manufacturing industry's dependence upon "temp agencies." If the factories could employ people as needed without fear of union, they would hire more people "for real."

The union follow the company overseas? Nice idea, if you ignore every bit of the "overseas" context. Unions in many of these countries are illegal or puppets. China and other countries will have to go through their own process of workers fighting for power to gain it. (perhaps then followed by government alignment with policies, followed by the unions becoming nearly needless, as has happened here).

I support GM, and I support the workers. I do not support the UAW. I'm ready to see the day when manufacturing pay & benefits are determined by economics, not lobby groups. The workers don't deserved to be taken advantage of, but if the unions dissolved, things would balance out after a short period of chaos. Workers can walk from unfair jobs.

nice! Good to see a few products going from here to there instead of the other way around.

yeah... try starting a union in China. Good luck with that. I'd be curious if the person trying to start the union would just disappear one day, or if they'd make an example out of him or her. Probably the quietly disappear one, since the Olympics are coming up and China wants to look all friendly & nice for it.

IN doesn't require front plates. ID does. No way I'm drilling holes in my bumper - I'm making my own plate holders for my saturns. front plates are evil.