Unfortunately I had my car into the dealer again re: second remote doesn't work,tire sensor light and front left strut.....and my issue is not the dealer as they have been great, it's the build quality and obviously cheap parts. They are getting ticked off at this car and the Cobalts too!!!Owner is telling me it is embarassing the problems of wiring harnesses not even hooked up or peices that are just missing. All are assembled in Mexico......I guess nuff said.

 

I hate 'the shop'
Every single time it means only one thing: I wont be driving my HHR

 

It's a Matrix with Pontiac influence...

 

It has everything to do with our economy. Besides greedy lenders, and people living beyond their means, why else do you think they are losing their houses? That's right, there are no jobs left in this country. They all went overseas. A quick look around Detroit, Cleveland, etc. will show you this.

I agree with you there. Cars, nowadays have too many gidgets and gadgets that can go wrong, and cost you $$$ down the road. Manufacturers need to go back to using the KISS principle. That being said, I hope to find me a '68 Chevy C-10 one of these days. :)

 

Parts of Michigan are a ghost land because of outrageous union demands and the Democrats they hired to enforce their failed policies....but that's another thread..

An old C10 would be a great truck! It will run forever!

 

I think unions are a mixed blessing, even for the membership. I am a member of the American Federation of Musicians, because it's the only place I can get affordable all-risk insurance on my instruments and other gear. (Approximately $20,000 worth of "work tools.") On the other hand, they do next to nothing about helping me FIND work, and many of the gigs are contracted at far below minimum scale.

Biggest problem with the UAW, from the car-makers' viewpoint, is the cost of all the pensions. But we are beginning to see that same problem with Social Security.

 

Absolutely...same with CAW here. They ruled with an iron fist for years and many thought that they were untouchable.....now plants are closing. I have no problems with paying someone god money if they show up to work everyday and work hard....but with the unions, the bad apples are more then just a few....they flourish and ruin for the good ones....but the good ones don't need the union anyways, they will always have work.

 

I think the UAW was smart to negotiate contracts where the line workers get some pay during plant shutdowns, especially now that the makers have started doing these whenever the inventory gets too high.

But 90% of base pay (which IIRC is the current rate) is a bit too greedy.

Still, the pension costs are the real killer, and unfortunately that seems to hold true everywhere, whether or not unions are involved. When we boomers were first starting to work, someone failed to plan for the numbers of us who'd retire, and the huge increase in post-retirement longevity.

There does not seem to be a solution to this that doesn't "screw" someone, somewhere. Pity.

 

Sorry to even further derail this thread, but I agree with you about the unions being a mixed blessing. The idea of the them is good and all, but I think they cause more problems than what they actually help. The problem with GM and the UAW, is that everyone (management, UAW, and the workers) had their hands in the cookie jar, and they eventually ran out of cookies.

 

True as that may be, it would take a thorough audit of GM to decide whether union or the management has been the biggest problem. The company has for years--and persists in the practice--offered identical vehicles under a handful of competing brand names, complete with separate part numbering systems, dealership networks and advertising. The most obvious example is the Cadillac trucks & SUVs. When they rolled out the Escalade, the official line was that the company had set some kind of industry record for getting a vehicle through the development cycle. But I attended several press events where even their P.R. guys admitted that 18 months was a ridiculously LONG time, considering that all they'd done was taken a Suburban and changed the trim and badges.

And for the life of me, I can't understand why anyone would pay a premium price for a 'Burb just to get the Caddy badge on the grille.