blzrul Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 And it's been that way for years. As a NY Italian living in North Carolina for six years, I could barely go through a month without someone making jokes about yankees and the War of Northern Aggression, etc., with the prevailing hicktown holler being "Yankee Go Home." After a couple of years, I started to realize that if, in fact, all the yankees DID go home, a good part of the south would find itself unemployed, broke, technologically disadvantaged, and very much alone with their one contribution to the world; growing marijuana. It is isn't pot, it would be corn squeezins. And my experience parallels yours. When I moved South I didn't expect any difference except for lots of sunshine and those cool Southern accents. My first day at work, on the ride home, I was behind a Taurus with the bumper sticker "I'd Rather Be Shooting Yankees". I cannot TELL you how happy I was to leave after ten years. Too bad. My favorite Rochester bumper sticker was "War's over. You lost. Get over it". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molson_golden2002 Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 They want $25 billion now, and will probably ask for more, probably much more. If it was only $300 billion I'd do it in a heart beat. We have thrown when all is said and done $2 trillion at Iraq and all its costs, a $700 billion bailout of finance, I think we can save our own industries with this investment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YellowLinesandArmadillos Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 Unfortunately, vision has to be shared within the company. At Toyota facilities, "kaizen" is a word mentioned frequently. The word means "continuous improvement" and is a key factor in Toyota quality. Not only does management get this; so do manufacturing workers. Do you think the UAW and Detroit management share a vision like that? No chance. Maybe, but Toyotas are nortoriously unsafe cars and I would not buy either a Toyota or Honda if you paid me. A Prius is a death trap and the factory tires on those things are worthless and flat out dangerous. The problem is that they hit on something close to people heart, fuel economy at an affordable price and nice interiors. I loved my '95 Dodge Ram truck, but it ended up being a bucket of bolts. Great design, okay interior, good engine, but bad rear end and crap gas mileage. All Detroit had to do was make a few adjustments including lowering the HP a little, keep the price reasonable, add alternative fuel capable and a pickup is a very safe vehicle that now gets a lot better gas mileage. P.S. Next time I get a truck it will be a diesel flex fuel vehicle, if I get a new one, but they should have had an affordable one out already. GM does sort of but isn't marketing it well and it still doesn't get great mileage and costs more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finknottle Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 They want $25 billion now, and will probably ask for more, probably much more. If it was only $300 billion I'd do it in a heart beat. We have thrown when all is said and done $2 trillion at Iraq and all its costs, a $700 billion bailout of finance, I think we can save our own industries with this investment. It would be one thing if there was reason to believe that we could "save our own industries." But unless you are going to carry the big 3 for however long it takes to become profitable, that doesn't happen. Realistically, how long would it take for them get into the black, if all goes well? 3 years minimum? Meanwhile, you have factories and factory workers elsewhere in the US, but owned by foreign companies. Apparently those plants don't count as 'our industries,' so it's ok to put them at an economic disadvantage. This country had the same debate when Reagan let the civilian shipbuilding industry go, and the east coast recovered. But if you are really concerned about having a US-headquartered automobile industry, gather up the money you are willing to spend subsidizing the big 3 and buy their US operations outright. Do the Obama thing where you turn them into a lean, green, productive union machine, and sell it off at a profit. There's no reason to bail out the current investors who made bad choices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Adams Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 Maybe, but Toyotas are nortoriously unsafe cars and I would not buy either a Toyota or Honda if you paid me. A Prius is a death trap and the factory tires on those things are worthless and flat out dangerous. The problem is that they hit on something close to people heart, fuel economy at an affordable price and nice interiors. http://www.iihs.org/ratings/default.aspx Crash tests show that Hondas are some of the safest cars on the road and with the exception of a few Fords, almost no American car even makes the lists of safest cars. Try again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pBills Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 If you go by JD Power & Associates American cars are right there in the mix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Adams Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 If you go by JD Power & Associates American cars are right there in the mix. JDPower used the source doc I linked to for safety. Ford did well. Other American cos. did not. Honda did well. Toyota and Nissan were right behind Honda/Ford. Audi also high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YellowLinesandArmadillos Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 http://www.iihs.org/ratings/default.aspx Crash tests show that Hondas are some of the safest cars on the road and with the exception of a few Fords, almost no American car even makes the lists of safest cars. Try again. No weight to the Hondas, still don't believe those crash tests, according to who and under what circumstances? Not for a guy 6'2" 200lbs. I am not buying it, I have seen too many hondas torn up on the road. Would rather be in a big Mercedes or Volvo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YellowLinesandArmadillos Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 http://www.iihs.org/ratings/default.aspx Crash tests show that Hondas are some of the safest cars on the road and with the exception of a few Fords, almost no American car even makes the lists of safest cars. Try again. They call a large car a Ford Taurus... whatever, you know that is biased... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Maybe, but Toyotas are nortoriously unsafe cars and I would not buy either a Toyota or Honda if you paid me. A Prius is a death trap and the factory tires on those things are worthless and flat out dangerous. The problem is that they hit on something close to people heart, fuel economy at an affordable price and nice interiors. I loved my '95 Dodge Ram truck, but it ended up being a bucket of bolts. Great design, okay interior, good engine, but bad rear end and crap gas mileage. All Detroit had to do was make a few adjustments including lowering the HP a little, keep the price reasonable, add alternative fuel capable and a pickup is a very safe vehicle that now gets a lot better gas mileage. P.S. Next time I get a truck it will be a diesel flex fuel vehicle, if I get a new one, but they should have had an affordable one out already. GM does sort of but isn't marketing it well and it still doesn't get great mileage and costs more. The Prius is no more a death trap than any other compact car out there (whether the Prius is a compact car or not is another matter...I believe it should be considered one, on weight and construction.) You want a death trap...buy a Smartcar. Every time I'm in my truck and see one of those things on the road, I want to hit it just to see if it really does crumple like a beer can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 The Prius is no more a death trap than any other compact car out there (whether the Prius is a compact car or not is another matter...I believe it should be considered one, on weight and construction.) You want a death trap...buy a Smartcar. Every time I'm in my truck and see one of those things on the road, I want to hit it just to see if it really does crumple like a beer can. If I want to ride in a death trap... I just hope in my Jeep with no top and doors on! Ahh... But at least I will go having fun the old fashioned way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Ahh... But at least I will go having fun the old fashioned way! Getting head while doing 80 down the NYS Thruway? Yeah...good times... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Getting head while doing 80 down the NYS Thruway? Yeah...good times... See... This whole safety thing is over blown... Puns intended! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SDS Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Getting head while doing 80 down the NYS Thruway? Yeah...good times... or giving in his case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 or giving in his case. Hey... Take it easy there sparky! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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