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[RJ749]

Gee, I hope this new "car czar" will be as effcient as the gummint drug czars have been

and

after the gummint blows $$??? billions, the 3 auto companies may get to go bankrupt anyway.


When oil companies failed in the 80's, the USA population was not interested in bailouts.  Same deal with the textile industry mass failures as well as other entire industries.  Times have changed.....

Of any concern I have over the entire "bailout" it is the czar appointment.  I don't seem to recall good things when a czar of any kind is involved.  Maybe that's why we call them a czar in the first place.

[Mrs Rooster]

 Another one for Portland Oregon.

Premiere Ford, Beaverton Mitsubishi latest to close
by Jeff Manning, The Oregonian
Tuesday December 09, 2008, 10:15 PM
A dismal year for local auto dealers continued this week with the demise of two more dealerships and the layoff of more than 100 employees.

Premiere Ford in Gladstone shut down last Friday, putting 56 people out of work. Premiere owner Joe Khorasani said he intends to close his Beaverton Mitsubishi dealership later this week, idling another 45.

"We'd been trying to sell the store in the last couple months," said Khorasani, who bought Premiere Ford three years ago. "No one has the appetite to buy a dealership right now. It's a brutal, brutal time."

Ford Motor Co. will divvy up the approximately 150 new cars on the Premiere lot among other local Ford dealers. Those dealers will honor the service warranties of Premiere Ford customers, Khorasani said.

Khorasani said his two other operations -- Hyundai dealerships in Gladstone and Hillsboro -- will remain open.

Years after getting his start as a lot attendant at Ron Tonkin Chevrolet, Khorasani has never seen such a confluence of negative trends: wildly fluctuating gas prices, the stock market declines, mounting layoffs, and an inability by some dealers and consumers alike to get financing. Those factors have combined to drive many dealers out of the business.

"It's terrible," Khorasani said. "It's not a matter of trying to make a profit. It's a matter of survival."

Three years ago, Khorasani had five dealerships, 330 employees and annual sales of about $275 million. Now, he's down to two dealerships, 60 employees and annualized sales (based on the past three months) of between $20 million and $25 million.

"We had a good business plan, we cut expenses," Khorasani said. "But if we can't get money from our finance company, we can't make it."

It's ironic, Khorasani said, that the Big Three automakers are going hat-in-hand to the federal government for enormous loans to stay alive when their own finance companies won't loan money to their dealers. Khorasani shut down his Lincoln-Mercury dealership on Southwest Canyon Road three months ago.

The closure of Khorasani's Ford and Mitsubishi stores brings to 21 the number of Oregon auto dealerships to close this year.

Khorasani said he still owes about $30,000 in commissions to his sales staff at Premiere Ford. But he won't be able to pay them until the sales close, which he estimated will be about Dec. 20.

Customers of Premiere Ford or Beaverton Mitsubishi with questions can get additional information at 503-353-0800.

-- Jeff Manning

[Hugh Janis]

Come on guys, this is in the humor section!

Early transportation barons were in shipping and railroads.  Made instant millionaires out of many.  These were replaced by airlines and automobiles.  Again, made instant millionaires out of many.  It was painful when the railroads began shutting down now it's happening to banks and automakers.  It's the natural cycle of economics and should be allowed to progress.  I've never bought a new car or truck in my life.  I shouldn't feel obligated now (even with my tax dollars)

[iski]

Jim,

The idea of a "car czar" is funny, except for the part where it's not funny.......

Mike

[miker]

Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have.
The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases.

- Thomas Jefferson

We could not socilize medicine without gnashing of teeth and beating of breastses but car czar, no problemo. 

[grc]

Of any concern I have over the entire "bailout" it is the czar appointment.  I don't seem to recall good things when a czar of any kind is involved.  Maybe that's why we call them a czar in the first place.

I was wondering just what the qualifications would be for that job.  Will it be necessary to know anything at all about the auto industry, or will any political hack do?  After the comments he made about the current administration, I rather doubt  they will ask Iacocca.

Jerry

[RJ749]

I was wondering just what the qualifications would be for that job.  Will it be necessary to know anything at all about the auto industry, or will any political hack do?  After the comments he made about the current administration, I rather doubt  they will ask Iacocca.

Jerry

He said to let the companies work it out without a Czar like he did.

[RJ749]

Just in, the bail out is in trouble with Republicans.

[CVOJOE]

This is going to get ugly.

  Roger nailed it, thus endeth the lesson. 

[SPIDERMAN]

Maybe it's just me, but if they ever find out who killed Jimmy Hoffa they should give them a medal. Labor Unions came into being because of greedy bastards like the Corporate CEO's who keep showing up in Washington with their hands out. Unions were a good thing and wage and salary scales were within reason. Then along comes the mob and the unions became just another racket and the whole country jumped on the anti-union bandwagon when President Reagan (a man I respect and admire) broke PATCO. So here we are, at the mercy of Corporations so large and powerful that their demise becomes a matter of National Security. CEO's who make more money in one year than even the highest paid UAW worker couldn't hope to earn in two lifetimes. And who are we jealous of ?  The guy in the union. Fine then, bankrupt the country to save the company. Makes sense to me. 

B B

[RJ749]

U.S. House passes auto aid
Next up: Senate, where prospect is less certain


Harry Stoffer
     
 
 
WASHINGTON -- The House of Representatives approved emergency U.S. aid for Detroit's automakers, setting up a showdown in the Senate where prospects for passage are less certain.
The legislation would provide an immediate $14 billion in loans to prevent the collapse of General Motors and Chrysler LLC and set the stage for government stakes in automakers and Washington-directed restructurings.
The Wednesday night House vote, 237-170 in favor, was expected.
"We are hastily reacting to very fast-moving events," said Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., at the outset of the House debate.
 
 

[grc]

..................................................................... CEO's who make more money in one year than even the highest paid UAW worker couldn't hope to earn in two lifetimes. And who are we jealous of ?  The guy in the union. ......................................
B B

Yup, makes a lot more sense to blame that overpaid and underworked union guy instead of the greedy CEO or government incompetents & crooks for all our economic problems.  The fact that any such argument wouldn't hold water for more than a second doesn't seem to keep lots of folks from making the argument, however.

I've been reading lots of letters to the editor in the local newspaper lately from folks who don't have union jobs, like the one today where a gentleman said he made $13 an hour and didn't see why his taxes should help bail out those overpaid UAW members with the gravy jobs.  Well, first he needs to understand that the $73 per hour number thrown around in the media isn't real, it's a calculation that uses all labor related expenses, including all retiree costs, and divides that number by the current year's production hours.  When you have an old corporation like GM that has shrunk dramatically over the past 20 years, it's not surprising that retirees outnumber active employees.  That situation will definitely skew that labor cost calculation.  The truth is that the typical seniority employee working on the assembly line makes roughly $26 per hour (52k per annum).  That is a pretty decent wage, but it isn't going to make anyone wealthy.  And that wage only applies to seniority workers; the labor contract has had a dual wage clause for many years now whereby new employees start out at roughly half the senior employees wage scale.  As for the gravy job, if that was actually true then why is it that we constantly had problems trying to hire and keep new employees?  Unlike the old days when a new hire was signed up, given a physical, and started working the same day, in my last 10 years we had prescreening performed, then we put them through a full week orientation and physical training program before they set foot on the plant floor.  After all of that, we lost half the applicants in the first week and between 80% and 90% over the first month.  So much for gravy train, do nothing jobs.

All I ask is that this country treat all of us fairly and equally.  If we as a country do not want to help the manufacturing sector survive, so be it.  But we need to take back all those billions that have been handed out to those crooks who don't make a damned thing and just sit around moving money around the board while slicing off a percentage for themselves.  Talk about your overpaid, do nothing jobs.

Jerry

[RJ749]

 When you have an old corporation like GM that has shrunk dramatically over the past 20 years, it's not surprising that retirees outnumber active employees.  

How many UAW members work at the companies that will be a part of this year’s auto talks?

There are 180,681 UAW members employed at Chrysler, Ford and General Motors. Of these, 177,498 are covered by the national agreements that will expire Sept. 14, 2007. The remaining 3,183 UAW members at Chrysler Jeep in Toledo, Ohio, negotiate a local contract distinct from the national agreement. Certain Delphi employees who have rights under the GM Benefit Guarantee also will be affected by the outcome of these negotiations.

An additional 419,621 retired members and 120,723 surviving spouses will also be covered by the agreements negotiated this year. Their pension payments and retiree health care benefits are subject to the terms of the UAW national auto industry agreements

WOW, Jerry you said it.  540,344 retirees and surviving spouses.  That's a big load to pull with 178,000 workers.

[hard10]

How many UAW members work at the companies that will be a part of this year’s auto talks?
...
WOW, Jerry you said it.  540,344 retirees and surviving spouses.  That's a big load to pull with 178,000 workers.

Is this not the exact problem that "we the people" have been talking about since the Regan era? As the population gets older, those still employed are going to have to pay the load. Therein lies the problem with the Social Security System as we know it.

[grc]

Is this not the exact problem that "we the people" have been talking about since the Regan era? As the population gets older, those still employed are going to have to pay the load. Therein lies the problem with the Social Security System as we know it.

Yes indeed.  We wouldn't have this problem if those pesky people would just drop dead at 65 like they used to, but with all the advances in medical intervention there are just too many people living past traditional retirement age.  I don't know of an easy answer, since I'm guessing not many folks will voluntarily agree to kick the bucket to make life easier for the kids.  Too bad our "leaders" chose to ignore this problem along with the excessive debt (private and government) problem.  Seems our government leaders are guilty of the same short sighted management as those folks in the auto business.  Gives me a lot of confidence in them being able to tell Detroit how to run the show. 

Jerry