Oracle of Delphi

Yes we can! :sign0200:

I bent Space and Time to bring you this early.

And Vauxhall is owned by whom? :rotflmao:

Do you know that you and the candidate have the same last name, XXXX?

Are you not working in the daytime anymore are are you doing both?

Lightning

Not at all, I hear things are bad back home in North America. Just trying to do my part for my friends back home.

Job seekers with no ties to any particular location often seek jobs in big cities like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles or San Francisco. But are these the places where they're most likely to find a job? Not according to the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Job seekers are better off looking in such cities as Sioux Falls, S.D., Idaho Falls, Idaho, and Rapid City, S.D. All of these cities registered the lowest unemployment rates in July 2008. Low unemployment rates seem harder to come by in today's economy. Jobless rates were higher in 338 of the 369 U.S. metropolitan areas surveyed this July, which means 92 percent of cities have seen an increase in their unemployment rates. Only 25 areas reported lower rates, while six areas had no change. The national unemployment rate in July, 6 percent, was up 1.1 percent from 4.9 percent last year. Only nine areas registered rates below 3 percent this July and just 40 cities had unemployment rates below 4 percent, down from 91 areas at the same time last year. In total, 153 cities had an unemployment rate higher than the average, 205 areas had rates below it and 11 areas had the same rate. Despite these startling figures, several cities have low unemployment rates and sizable job growth. Here are 25 cities with the lowest unemployment rates and the job growth they're experiencing, according to the BLS. 1. Sioux Falls, S.D. Unemployment rate: 2.3 percent Last year: 2.3 percent Job growth: 1.6 percent 2. Idaho Falls, Idaho Unemployment rate: 2.4 percent Last year: 1.6 percent Job growth: N/A 3. Rapid City, S.D. Unemployment rate: 2.5 percent Last year: 2.6 percent Job growth: 0.8 percent 4. Bismarck, N.D. Unemployment rate: 2.6 percent Last year: 2.5 percent Job growth: 2.0 percent 5. Houma, La. Unemployment rate: 2.7 percent Last year: 2.9 percent Job growth: 2.4 percent 6. Morgantown, W.Va. Unemployment rate: 2.8 percent Last year: 3.4 percent Job growth: 2.7 percent 7. Logan, Utah Unemployment rate: 2.8 percent Last year: 2.3 percent Job growth: N/A 8. Fargo, N.D. Unemployment rate: 2.9 percent Last year: 2.6 percent Job growth: 1.3 percent 9. Casper, Wyo. Unemployment rate: 3.0 percent Last year: 2.7 percent Job growth: N/A 10. Billings, Mont. Unemployment rate: 3.0 percent Last year: 2.3 percent Job growth: 1.7 percent 11. Lafayette, La. Unemployment rate: 3.0 percent Last year: 3.1 percent Job growth: 2.4 percent 12. Ames, Iowa Unemployment rate: 3.1 percent Last year: 2.8 percent Job growth: N/A 13. Midland, Texas Unemployment rate: 3.1 percent Last year: 3.2 percent Job growth: 2.4 percent 14. Iowa City, Iowa Unemployment rate: 3.3 percent Last year: 2.8 percent Job growth: 1.5 percent 15. Lincoln, Neb. Unemployment rate: 3.3 percent Last year: 3.2 percent Job growth: 1.2 percent 16. Great Falls, Mont. Unemployment rate: 3.4 percent Last year: 2.7 percent Job growth: N/A 17. Charlestown, W.Va. Unemployment rate: 3.4 percent Last year: 4.1 percent Job growth: 0.5 percent 18. Des Moines, Iowa Unemployment rate: 3.5 percent Last year: 3.1 percent Job growth: 0.7 percent 19. Portsmouth, N.H. Unemployment rate: 3.5 percent Last year: 3.1 percent Job growth: 0.0 percent 20. Missoula, Mont. Unemployment rate: 3.5 percent Last year: 2.6 percent Job growth: -2.0 percent 21. Salt Lake City Unemployment rate: 3.5 percent Last year: 2.7 percent Job growth: 0.9 percent 22. Provo, Utah Unemployment rate: 3.6 percent Last year: 2.8 percent Job growth: -1.2 percent 23. Sioux City, Iowa Unemployment rate: 3.6 percent Last year: 3.6 percent Job growth: -1.6 percent 24. Odessa, Texas Unemployment rate: 3.7 percent Last year: 3.8 percent Job growth: 3.5 percent 25. Pocatello, Idaho Unemployment rate: 3.7 percent Last year: 2.4 percent Job growth: N/A Link: http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-1...teId=cbmsn41644

Wingnut

Not at all, just pointing out they don't have money to do the bread and butter cars, so how on earth can people like you who want the niche RWD cars to go forward, think that GM can afford to do that?

A story from the Crain sisters, Automotive News and Autoweek, reports that General Motors has cut product development spending for 2009 in an effort to save approximately $1.5 billion next year. Reductions in engineering, design and R&D work on future models has been rumored for the last week, possibly causing the delay (or death) of a few select models. However, the Camaro and Volt haven't been affected by the cuts (no surprise, since they're all but complete), and the new Buick LaCrosse, Chevrolet Traverse and Cadillac CTS Wagon should hit the market has planned, late next year and early in 2010. After the story surfaced earlier today, the Detroit News got in on the action and spoke with GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson who said of the AN report, "We think they are probably overplaying this a little bit." We'll see. Link: http://www.autoblog.com/2008/10/29/gm-dela...g-through-2010/

And Bill Clinton too.

Don't laugh to much, you may end up with a Pontiac Trabant, before the brand is retired.

Automobile

October 29, 2008 - 1:00 pm ET UPDATED: 10/29/08 5:03 p.m. EDT DETROIT (Reuters) -- General Motors and Cerberus Capital Management LP have resolved the major issues in a proposed GM-Chrysler merger but the final form of any deal will depend on the financing and government support available, sources familiar with the talks said today. Both sides have agreed that GM CEO Rick Wagoner would lead the combined automaker, the sources said. A merged GM/Chrysler would be the largest automaker by global sales. Another source familiar with the talks told Automotive News today that the report of agreements on the major issues was not accurate. The Reuters report was backed up in part by stories published today by the Associated Press and The Detroit News. But other major news outlets had not yet reported the information by 4 p.m. EDT. As GM seeks some $10 billion in U.S. government aid to support the deal, Chrysler owner Cerberus is in its own set of intense discussions with banks to refinance $9 billion of Chrysler debt, the sources told Reuters. The lending consortium -- which includes JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs Group, Citigroup Inc. and Morgan Stanley -- has not made a decision yet and talks are complicated because lenders have sold part of the debt to other investor groups, the sources said. GM has been in talks with Cerberus about buying Chrysler since last month, but the discussions have been snagged by difficulty in securing investment or financing at a time when credit is tight and global auto sales are rapidly declining, others close to the talks have said. A decision by the Bush administration to provide the government's first funding for the auto sector since the $1.5 billion bailout of Chrysler in 1980 has been widely seen as the merger's best chance for success. The UAW has been approached by GM in the course of the talks with Cerberus, people familiar with the negotiations said. As a condition of government support, GM has offered to merge the auto operations in a way that protects as many jobs and as much of the Chrysler sales volume as possible, sources have said. Analysts have been skeptical that the merged automaker, which would control some 33 percent of the U.S. market, could be turned around quickly since GM and Chrysler are seen to be struggling with many of the same problems, including excess production capacity and too many dealers. GMAC ROLE SEEN KEY One element of the GM-Cerberus talks has involved GMAC, the GM-affiliated finance company in which Cerberus owns a controlling 51 percent stake, people with knowledge of the talks have said. Cerberus is keen to increase its holding in GMAC and has considered merging it with Chrysler Financial, Chrysler's captive finance company, at a time when the financial firms stand to benefit from new government steps aimed at the tight credit markets, sources said. GMAC, which has some $20 billion in outstanding debt and has faced a tougher market for its financing, said on Tuesday that it had been approved to borrow through the U.S. Federal Reserve's recently created commercial paper facility. A U.S. Treasury spokeswoman said on Wednesday that GMAC and other automotive finance companies could sell distressed assets in upcoming auctions to shore up their balance sheets. S&P IS SKEPTICAL Meanwhile, credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's said it would continue to monitor the situation. "It is important to note that we do not view the potential for any eventual transaction involving GM and Chrysler -- or any other automaker -- even in combination with government support, as a panacea for these companies' credit concerns," a statement released by S&P said this afternoon. "New access to funding could slow the erosion of these companies' liquidity. However, rapid and massive changes would likely be integral to a business combination, raising the possibility of a financial restructuring or strategic bankruptcy filing by one or more of the parties to facilitate such changes. (Managements of both GM and Chrysler insist they will not pursue such strategies.)" Link: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti...paign_id=alerts

Yeah, yeah, I got an Italian one too.

Sweat

gm4life will you be changing your sig on November 5th?

I was sadden to read about your brother Cory. I hope you wear your seatbelt at all times.

No one in my house is voting for McCain. Palin you say, well I'm from Texas, so I can smell White Trash a mile off, even if it is from Alaska.

Exactly!

Yeah, Pontiac and the McCain campaign have a lot in common. Yeah I want to be RWD, no, wait I want to be FWD, no wait, I want to sell trucks, no wait Pontiac is car. No Pontiac is GM's performance brand, no wait Pontiac is getting a G3. I guess the fundamentals of Pontiac are sound!

The Chevrolet Cruze may be delayed, but that doesn't mean that more variants of the Cobalt/Lacetti replacement aren't on the drawing board. In addition to the standard four-door model that Chevrolet debuted in Paris, a five-door hatch and a wagon will fill the rest of the range. GM plans to produce the European Cruze in South Korea through its Daewoo operations, along with its plant in St. Petersburg, Russia. The new sedan was designed to meet the needs of a variety of markets, so additional body styles, along with different powertrains, safety specs and ride/handling requirements, will be employed throughout the world. GM announced that the U.S. version would be manufactured at the automaker's Lordstown, Ohio plant and will differ from the variants sold abroad. The Cruze should hit the U.S. market in 2011, but judging by recent reports, we're not holding our breath. Link: http://www.autoblog.com/2008/10/27/chevrol...wagon-variants/

Mitsuoka, that tiny Japanese manufacturer who makes the wonderfully wacky Orochi sea monster, has introduced its latest automotive mash-up, just in time to give us a Halloween fright. It is a derivative of the company's Galue III (the return of the shapeshifter) and is known as the Galue Limousine S50. This shouldn't be confused with the company's Galue 204 Toyota Corolla rebody, or the Galue Convertible, which is based on the Ford Mustang. Instead, this limo is based on the Infiniti M, but incorporates styling touches from such classic designs as the '94 Cadillac Fleetwood, the Rolls-Royce Phantom and the Apple iPhone. While that might not sound too offensive, trust us, it is. Remember the classic Beetles with the R-R grilles? Imagine that on a new Infiniti M35. And out back, that gracefully curved rear has been amended with Caddy taillight protrusions. Where once stood a B-pillar, we now have a foot-wide panel that houses an oversized iPhone-like glass panel. Like the retro-classic Excaliburs of the '70s and '80s, Mitsuoka apparently feels people will like modern running gear hidden beneath "classic" British looks. Priced between 8,016,750 yen (68,600 euros at the exchange) for the 223-hp 250LX to 9,345,000 (80,000 euros) for the 313-hp 350LX 4WD, we think that's a lot of coin for a Frankencar like this. Heck, you could probably find a used Continental GT for about the same. You could even rebadge it as a Hyundai if it makes you feel better. Link: http://www.autoblog.com/2008/10/27/mitsuok...onto-the-scene/