Category: Auto Industry

Chrysler Workers are on Strike

No Comments

45,000 members of the UAW at Chrysler went on strike today.

As I’ve said earlier, given that there already was a model for a contract as a result of the one signed with GM, this means that either the circumstances (far fewer retirees at Chrysler) or the culture (Cerberus is a private equity firm, and perhaps they are looking at pumping and dumping) that is driving this.

My guess is that Cerberus is not an auto firm, and are not interested in being one. They want to resell Chrysler at a later time, and are pushing hard for concessions so that they can generate a quick sale or go public and reap the rewards.

A Strike Deadline is Set For Chrysler

No Comments

This Wednesday.

This highly irregular. Normally, the contract negotiated with the target firm is adopted across the industry.

I can think of two potential things driving this, either the differences between GM and Chrysler are driving significantly different contracts, or Cerberus Capital Management is coming from a very different philosophy on running the company.

If it’s the latter, it means that the private equity firm is intending to flip and flee, which is beyond even the incompetent and crony laden management at GM.

I think that it’s the latter, and that Cerberus wants to treat Chrysler like a chop shop treats a stolen car.

Sounds Like the UAW Strike is On.

No Comments

Sounds like they are expecting that there will be a strike, but perhaps it’s posturing, sometimes the rhetoric ratchets up just before a settlement.

UAW shocked by GM’s failure to recognize worker contributions; sets strike deadline for 11 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 24

The UAW announced today that due to the failure of General Motors to address job security and other mandatory issues of bargaining, the union has set a firm strike deadline for 11 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 24.

“We’re shocked and disappointed that General Motors has failed to recognize and appreciate what our membership has contributed during the past four years,” said UAW President Ron Gettelfinger. “Since 2003 our members have made extraordinary efforts every time the company came to us with a problem: the corporate restructuring, the attrition plan, the Delphi bankruptcy, the 2005 health care agreement. In every case, our members went the extra mile to find reasonable solutions.

“Throughout this time period,” said Gettelfinger, “it has been the dedication of UAW members that has helped GM set new standards for safety, quality and productivity in their manufacturing facilities. And in this current round of bargaining, we did everything possible to negotiate a new contract, including an unprecedented agreement to stay at the bargaining table nine days past the expiration of the previous agreement.”

“This is our reward: a complete failure by GM to address the reasonable needs and concerns of our members,” said UAW Vice President Cal Rapson, director of the union’s GM Department. “Instead, in 2007 company executives continued to award themselves bonuses while demanding that our members accept a reduced standard of living.

“The company’s disregard for our members has forced our bargaining committee to take this course of action,” said Rapson. “Unless UAW members hear otherwise between now and the deadline, we will be on a national strike against GM at 11 a.m. EDT on Monday, Sept. 24th.”

The UAW negotiating team will remain at the bargaining table, Rapson said, throughout the night and up until the 11 a.m. deadline.

Nothing yet on CNN about a strike starting, though.

Update: it appears that the balloon has gone up. The UAW is now on strike against GM.

Anyone Got a Spare Flux Capacitor?

No Comments

It appears that the car made famous in back to the future, the De Lorean, is re-entering production next year, albeit in a hand built form. At $58K, it’s pretty cheap for a handbuild (and cheaper than the original adjusting for inflation), and it might actually succeed, if just because they are shooting for lower numbers (about 2/month) for success than the original, which was intended for mass production.

The company that’s doing this, which sells refurbed De Loreans right now, has about 200 of the original engines on hand, though one hopes that they can coercesome more horsepower out of it.

Evil Incompetent Executives Failing Up

No Comments

I see this as a classic market failure. Bob Nardelli being named head of Chrysler is an indication of how corrupt and self serving our “manager” class has become. (Full disclosure, I worked for this guy when I was at GE Transportation Systems working on locomotives, but I never met him).

Here is a guy who engineered massive stock losses at Home Depot, and walked away with bonuses as a result….Great steward of shareholder value there…huh?

He’s gotten the job because it’s a way for other managers to guarantee that they fail upward too.

This is corrupt, plain and simple.

He said he hoped his own compensation would not become an issue in Chrysler’s ongoing contract talks with the United Auto Workers union.

Yes, I sure you don’t want that to be an issue, you contemptible greedhead.

Nardelli said Chrysler’s established restructuring plan is adequate but added that as a private company the automaker will look to move quickly to monetize some assets, with a focus on cash flow rather than reported earnings.

That one’s pretty easy to read: Cerberus bought Chrysler for what amounts to a few magic beans, and they are going to treat it like a chop shop treats a Lexus.

Our system of values in the US is more f%$#ed up than Osama bin Ladens.

These are Called “Death Throws”

No Comments

Basically, all that the private equity firm was interested in was the dealer network. Chrysler will not be manufacturing cars in 5-10 years. It will simply be rebadging them.

Chrysler reportedly near import deal with Chinese automaker
greement to import Chinese subcompacts reportedly close to final approval; news comes as concerns linger over the safety of Chinese-made goods.
July 3 2007: 8:21 AM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Chrysler Group is set to give final approval to a deal that would have a Chinese automaker build small cars for it to sell in the United States and Western Europe, according to a newspaper report Tuesday.

The deal between Chrysler and China’s Chery Motor Co., which comes in the wake of growing concern among U.S. consumers over the safety of Chinese-made goods, was in question after DaimlerChrysler agreed to sell a majority stake in Chrysler to private-equity firm Cerberus Management.

But the Detroit News reports that Chrysler CEO Tom LaSorda is in China finalizing the agreement.

The paper said the deal will be announced in Beijing on Wednesday, which, given the difference in times zones, is just before the Independence Day holiday here.

Chrysler had first confirmed that it was holding talks with Chery on the Friday before the New Year’s holiday here, another time that minimized news coverage.

….

Catholic Church to Abandon Italy

No Comments

Seriously. Sane driving in Italy is about as likely as a corruption free Washington, DC, or a profanity free New York city.

The only way the Catholic Church can follow these rules is to leave Rome.

Forgive me, Father, for I have tailgated

For L.A. drivers already in gridlock hell, Vatican’s new road commandments strike little fear.
By Bob Pool and Tami Abdollah, Times Staff Writers
June 21, 2007

n a city that worships the automobile, it may take divine intervention to get motorists to live by the Vatican’s new Ten Commandments for drivers.

That was the view of motorists as they contemplated “Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of the Road” — and whether it was faster Wednesday morning taking the 5 or the 101 between the San Fernando Valley and downtown.

The new road rules call for “courtesy, uprightness and prudence” and condemns the use of cars as “an expression of power and domination” or for sinful purposes.

But while some drivers acknowledged they pray that they’ll find a parking space, they wondered if Vatican guidelines are really the solution to stopping that black Hummer from tailgating on the Santa Monica Freeway.

This week, the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers issued commandments, along with a suggestion that drivers perform the sign of the cross before switching on the ignition. It also recommended reciting the Catholic rosary, whose “rhythm and gentle repetition does not distract the driver’s attention,” as the council put it.

Roadways “shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of mortal harm,” states the second commandment.

…