Oracle of Delphi

It's was not just the engine, but it was the whole Northstar System which included the powertrain/chassis/braking/steering system that was developed by Cadillac.

If you keep it long enough, it will become a collectors item and the value will increase as with all things.

I really don't care what you think or say, you don't pay my bills, and I don't see your name on my paycheck. Talk to me when you can prove your accusations. I'll be waiting a long long time for that, because you can't ... Better than everyone else? Hardly, I admit my mistakes on a daily basis ... Odd your post sounds like someone else on this board, with similar spelling mistakes too ... But your right, I'm not going to waste my time on someone in the virtual world who is just full of piss and vinegar. You're right it's just the INTERNET after all and you matter not, at least to me. So I won't waste anymore keystokes on you ... Any further responses from you will be met with silence from me, as I just don't care, but then I never did.

David Barkholz Automotive News February 16, 2009 - 5:06 pm ET General Motors is expected to identify more than $1 billion in savings from additional plant closings and factory work-rule changes when it files a viability plan with the U.S. Treasury on Tuesday, said a source familiar with ongoing stakeholder negotiations. The carmaker and the UAW are expected to bargain deep into tonight. Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, R-Mich., said today that Congress expects a commitment from GM bondholders to let the automaker pay off a sizeable portion of its $30 billion debt with company stock in lieu of cash. "People had better put their best foot forward because these plans will be the basis for funds going forward," McCotter said. GM and Chrysler LLC are required to file restructuring plans Tuesday detailing how they plan to cut costs and eventually repay $17.4 billion in federal loans that they are using to survive the worst industry downturn in decades. GM's board was scheduled to convene via a telephone conference call today to review a draft plan of the automaker's viability plan before its submission to Treasury. More plant closings The source said GM must shrink, and that means more plants shutdowns. The carmaker may list the number of plants it must close without identifying specific factories, the source said. That would help the UAW to win rank-and-file ratification for any major changes without alienating workers at the plants scheduled for closure. Work rule changes also are a critical bargaining item, the source said. Even before the 2007 UAW contract talks, GM had launched a program called "True North" to achieve the industry's most-efficient labor rules for assembling vehicles and producing parts. The 2007 contract mandated lower wages for newly hired workers, and outsourced non-production jobs such as forklift drivers. The current crisis is an opportunity for the "True North" program to make further progress and meet federal loan conditions, which require GM and Chrysler to bring work rules in line with those of the Japanese transplant automakers in the United States, the source said. Without requiring additional wage cuts, the UAW could help save GM more than $1 billion annually through factory rule changes, the source said. For example, the UAW could agree to reduced skilled trades job classifications from as many as 15 in some plants to just two: electrical and mechanical. Worker break times could be reduced. A provision called "full utilization" could be eliminated, the source said. That rule requires UAW skilled trades members to be present in equal numbers to outside contractors making repairs or doing construction in a plant, the source said. Most savings eyed Other cost savings are available. The UAW could agree to reduce "absenteeism pools" of workers, who are hired to fill in for employees who don't show up for work. "These things can take a lot of costs out without ever hitting worker wages," the source said. GM and UAW spokesmen declined to comment on the talks. Auto analyst David Cole said he expects sweeping changes in GM's viability plan. Plant shutdowns, dealer reductions and labor concessions are needed to keep GM out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Cole said. "That's the last thing the union wants," said Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. He said he would not be surprised to see GM clarify the fate of its distressed brands: Saturn, Hummer and Saab. Retiring GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz, in an interview with Automotive News published today, said Saturn probably would not survive long-term. "This plan is going to get our attention," Cole said. "It will not be minimalist by any means." It's unclear if there will be enough time for the UAW to approve concessions to its GM and Chrysler retiree health care trusts. The U.S. Treasury wants the UAW to take equity instead of cash for half of the $20 billion that GM still owes its Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association. That will be an issue to be negotiated past the deadline, the source said. Meanwhile, a parallel set of talks have been under way at GM's smaller rival Chrysler with the union and its creditors. Chrysler, controlled by private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP, has been granted $4 billion and is seeking an additional $3 billion in aid. Both GM and Chrysler have buyout and early retirement offers to almost all of their nearly 91,000 hourly workers as they work to cut costs and bring in lower-cost workers. Ford Motor Co., which so far has not requested federal assistance, would likely ask for similar concessions granted to GM and Chrysler. Link: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti...paign_id=alerts

Dynasty

Let's wait until tomorrow and see what Project Renaissance says, shall we?

Sorry to hear this croc, what kind of car do you have? I don't know what kind of shoe that is, but looks like the guy was pigeon toed, I noticed there is no real heel showing on the print ... This kind of vandalism sucks ...

Oh but I am special now, and I was then too, which is why I was offered a position on the GM Audit Staff back then, but I decided to go to Opel instead, seemed like the better choice back then. You really should read what I wrote instead of wanting to see something that is not there, where in what I wrote did I say I fired them? What I said was GM fired those managers. Please go back and reread that. I'm not sure what renduncies or believeing are, I guess Hooked on Phonics worked for you ... :rotflmao: Know this too, I won't be leaving on 02/17/09, much to your dismay I'm sure ... I don't know why you hate, when all I have for you is love ... Even more so now, since I just went through a cancer scare that a few people here know about, I found out last week that I don't have it, but it was two months of Hell, and I had to go through more $h! in that two months, than you could ever throw my way ... So yeah, I'm all about the love now ... Enjoy your day, I know I am, life is too short ...

Different impression, not at all, my 1st post is the same as my 2nd. Actually I told them what I wanted and they had to comply ... If not, it would be reported to their divisional management and to GM. In my particular field at the time I was the SME, and I enforced on those 4 plants what GM wanted done. I was so good at what I did, so much so, I was asked to join a special team to make sure all GM plants in North and South America complied. You either did as instructed or GM fired the managers who didn't. Two in Canada thought GM was joking, sadly they didn't work at GM long. Funny how the rest soon complied ... But as I said I don't do that anymore, but I'm still good at it ...

If you are referring to this sig it's the Corvette Stingray. Link: http://www.autoblog.com/2009/02/11/chicago...ingray-concept/

I buy my Mobil 1 there when I am home, that's about it ...

Ahh I was wondering where you were, I've missed you .. As a matter of fact all four plants reported up through me on one particular subject of which I was the SME at that time, oh by the way, I am still very good at my old job, even though I don't do it anymore ...

Inside Doraville:

John Revill Automotive News Europe February 16, 2009 06:01 CET ENLARGEAlain Visser will focus more on Opel’s sales strategy. General Motors is restructuring its sales, marketing and aftersales operations in Europe to give its Opel, Chevrolet Europe and Saab brands more autonomy. The move is likely to include a greater role for Chevrolet in Europe as GM’s entry brand while also making it easier for Saab to be spun off into a separate company. The change also will allow each brand to be more responsive to market conditions, Brent Dewar, GM Europe’s head of sales, marketing and aftersales told Automotive News Europe. “This year will be as challenging as 2008. We want to speed up decision making and focus our resources,” Dewar said. New focus on sales As part of the initiative, three GM Europe executives will take control of sales and marketing at the company’s key brands March 1. 1. Alain Visser becomes GM Europe’s vice president for Opel. Visser’s old job was GM Europe chief marketing officer, a job that is being abolished as the company gives the former group-run responsibility to the brands. 2. Wayne Brannon will become GM Europe’s vice president for Chevrolet. Currently, Brannon is executive director of Chevrolet Europe. 3. Jan-Ake Jonsson remains managing director of Saab. GM’s Vauxhall brand in the UK will be unaffected by the change, with its managing director, Bill Parfitt, reporting directly to Dewar on sales matters. Dewar said GM Europe’s multibrand structure had served the carmaker well but, “We will now transfer to a setup with more autonomy for the individual brands.” Dewar said making the changes now will allow Opel, Chevrolet and Saab to develop their own marketing strategies for the launches key of models this year. Opel will launch a new generation of its Astra lower-medium car, Chevrolet will introduce the Cruze lower-medium car and Saab will launch a new 9-5 medium-premium car. European solution Dewar said there would be some cost savings as a result of the reorganization, although this was not the main reason for the change. “We started with the multibrand model and now we are going to the next level. Europe is not a one-size fits all solution,” Dewar said. “Chevrolet is very different from Opel and both are different from Saab.” Chevrolet is GM’s value-for-money brand in Europe. Opel is its mid-priced volume seller and Saab is a near-premium carmaker. Chevrolet’s Brannon said the restructuring will boost the brand’s profile in Europe. “We intend to be more of a player in Europe,” he said. Despite the economic downturn, Chevrolet increased its sales in Europe, including Russia and Turkey, by 10.7 percent to 507,000 cars last year. Brannon provided an example of how the structural change should make the brands more responsive. He said that earlier this month he arranged the movement of 400 Chevrolets from one country to another with a 45-minute phone call. “That is the kind of responsiveness we want in future,” Brannon said. “It would have been much slower under the old structure.” Other areas where marketing could be changed include pricing and marketing campaigns adapted to fit each market. Saab’s Jonsson said the new structure would let the carmaker react faster to changes in the market. Said Jonsson: “We will not be working through many different layers and we can better focus our brand.” Link: http://www.autonews.com/article/20090216/A.../902159953/1179

Jamie LaReau Automotive News February 16, 2009 - 12:01 am ET DETROIT — Bob Lutz says General Motors' struggling Saturn brand probably won't survive. "My personal favorite would be to see Saturn survive and prosper," GM's vice chairman told Automotive News. "But frankly, the reality is that that is probably not going to be the outcome." He added: "We spent a huge bundle of money in giving Saturn an absolutely no-excuses product lineup, top to bottom. They had a better and fresher lineup than any GM division, and the sales just never materialized. So we have to act on that. It's our duty." New Jersey Saturn dealer Stuart Lasser took Lutz's comments as confirmation of his worst fears. "That really seals our fate," said Lasser, owner of Saturn of Denville, Saturn of Mount Olive and Saturn of Livingston. "I think they knew this fact months ago, and they never shared it with us." Lutz, who announced last week that he will retire by year end, said GM lacks the time or resources to help the brand make a comeback. On Dec. 2, GM told Congress it will focus most of its resources on its "core brands" — Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC — and make Pontiac a niche brand with one or two products. That left Saturn, Saab and Hummer in the cold. GM put Hummer up for sale in June. Saturn and Saab are under review. GM has told Saturn dealers that it has allocated funds to build Saturn vehicles through 2012 and in some cases 2013. But it has not committed money to future products. Saturn's sales fell 21.7 percent to 188,004 in 2008. GM had hoped to sell about 100,000 units annually of the Aura sedan, the 2006 North American Car of the Year. But the car hasn't come close to that target since its August 2006 launch. Last year 59,380 were sold. Lutz doesn't fault dealers: "We have some very excellent Saturn dealers who've made a commitment to the brand." Some Saturn dealers say GM damaged the brand with its Dec. 2 announcement. "I would agree with the comment that saying that Pontiac is under review probably had some impact on Pontiac sales," Lutz said. "Saying that Saab is under review probably had some impact on Saab sales. "But the lack of Saturn sales has been ongoing for a couple of years," he added. "The Aura never really made its volume commitments, the Vue is halfway there, and the Outlook has not done nearly as well for Saturn as the Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia." Lutz said he isn't sure why Saturn has not done better. "The fact is," he said, "we don't have the time or the resources to take 10 years to figure it out and possibly turn it around." Link: http://www.autonews.com/article/20090216/A.../902160352/1021

It's long gone by now, I just found a bunch of my Linden pics of when they were ...

That we are nothing alike, you don't even like Thai ...

For those who loved the old Saturn ... MW 1991 Preview Saturn Assembly Plant Spring Hill Tennesee http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuuE9ZxGxTQ...=1&index=46

To bad GM can't afford to advertise new products like they use to ... This was when the L car was new ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FClvV_WwM&NR=1

I have traveled around the world, here are my top three cities that I call home away from home. What world cities do you like? 1. Rome, Italy 2. Quito, Ecuador 3. Alexandria, Egypt Honorable mentions: Zurich, Switzerland Santiago, Chile

I'm Conservative, European and very Catholic, Latin Mass Catholic ...

Hit a nerve? Hardly ... Let's just see what the future brings, shall we? As far as lighting someone's ass, that is just your online persona talking, they real you is shyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy ...

At one time, Linden assembly, along with Baltimore, Doraville and Wilmington assemblies were under my control as a subject matter expert. I thought I would share this with you, it makes me sad when I think about all the people that use to work at Doraville, Baltimore, and Linden ...

Bobby won't want your Ewe if your Ewe is has kids ... :rotflmao:

You have to give up the RWD porn ...