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I agree that the Aveo is crap (i would never buy one because it's made in Korea), but i don't think the Cobalt is as bad as you make it out to be. It's no Carolla, but it's not a Kia Rio either. Anyway, that point is debatable. In my opinion the Cobalt is middle to better than middle of the road. Since i live only a few miles from the Lordstown Plant of course i want to see those people employed and making a good living, our entire community depends on that plant
Unfortunately for GM and the people at Lordstown i'm one that won't drive anything smaller than a Malibu, this is due to the fact that i'm a woman of 5'11" w/really long legs. I drove a sunfire (a previous Lordstown product) for 4 years (w/no problems i might add), but there just was not enough leg room for me. I also don't want to die in a collision w/all the semi-trucks and SUV's out there.
Anyway, as an Ohioan i'm sorry to see the Dayton area (Moraine, where they made my Trailblazer) lose a plant as i know they are hurting almost as bad as us in the Youngstown area when it comes to jobs.
The good thing is that i don't believe anyone is really going to lose their job here in the US. GM just offered another round of buyouts and retirements of which i believe 19,000 people participated. Anyone who didn't take the buyout or retirement will have the opportunity to move to another GM plant, possibly Lordstown here in the northeast corner of Ohio. I previously worked for an automotive supplier, so i know those people will have some tough decisions to make.
Anywho, here is an article about Lordstown's new product. Due to start production in 2010.
Quote:
GM plans to introduce a new compact car that will be better equipped than today's compacts, with more amenities and also a 9-mpg boost over today's 27-mpg Chevrolet Cobalt. An all-new version of GM's Korean-made Chevy Aveo subcompact is coming, Wagoner said. GM will also build an all-new 1.4-liter turbo engine for its new compact cars.
GM: Small Is the New Big (http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/jun2008/bw2008063_595262.htm?chan=innovation_auto+design_t op+stories - broken link)
Key to the plan are the 19,000 hourly workers who signed up to leave the company by July 1 through buyout and early retirement offers. GM on Thursday announced the number of takers in the latest round of offers, which amounts to a quarter of the company's U.S. hourly work force.
I too wondered who would buy Hummer from GM. But aren't they still being made for the military? And aren't they being blown to pieces daily in Iraq and Afghanistan? Seems like some specialty manufacturer would be interested.
I agree that the Aveo is crap (i would never buy one because it's made in Korea), but i don't think the Cobalt is as bad as you make it out to be. It's no Carolla, but it's not a Kia Rio either. Anyway, that point is debatable. In my opinion the Cobalt is middle to better than middle of the road. Since i live only a few miles from the Lordstown Plant of course i want to see those people employed and making a good living, our entire community depends on that plant
Unfortunately for GM and the people at Lordstown i'm one that won't drive anything smaller than a Malibu, this is due to the fact that i'm a woman of 5'11" w/really long legs. I drove a sunfire (a previous Lordstown product) for 4 years (w/no problems i might add), but there just was not enough leg room for me. I also don't want to die in a collision w/all the semi-trucks and SUV's out there.
Anyway, as an Ohioan i'm sorry to see the Dayton area (Moraine, where they made my Trailblazer) lose a plant as i know they are hurting almost as bad as us in the Youngstown area when it comes to jobs.
The good thing is that i don't believe anyone is really going to lose their job here in the US. GM just offered another round of buyouts and retirements of which i believe 19,000 people participated. Anyone who didn't take the buyout or retirement will have the opportunity to move to another GM plant, possibly Lordstown here in the northeast corner of Ohio. I previously worked for an automotive supplier, so i know those people will have some tough decisions to make.
Anywho, here is an article about Lordstown's new product. Due to start production in 2010.
GM: Small Is the New Big (http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/jun2008/bw2008063_595262.htm?chan=innovation_auto+design_t op+stories - broken link)
Point well taken. Perhaps my comments came off a bit more negative than I intended but your comparsion is true. I would definitely rate the cobalt higher than a kia rio. I also agree that all of this is always debatable. You also mentioned the Malibu which I think is a very good car and has seen relatively positive reviews so far. You mentioned the 19000+ buyouts/early retirements. I actually think GM plans to move most of the workers from the plants that are closing to the plants where these hourly workers are retiring from. There may not be a big net loss of jobs. Hopefully there will be a positive outcome that will not add to Ohioans pain when it comes to jobs and the economy.
Point well taken. Perhaps my comments came off a bit more negative than I intended but your comparsion is true. I would definitely rate the cobalt higher than a kia rio. I also agree that all of this is always debatable. You also mentioned the Malibu which I think is a very good car and has seen relatively positive reviews so far. You mentioned the 19000+ buyouts/early retirements. I actually think GM plans to move most of the workers from the plants that are closing to the plants where these hourly workers are retiring from. There may not be a big net loss of jobs. Hopefully there will be a positive outcome that will not add to Ohioans pain when it comes to jobs and the economy.
Referring to the buyouts, i just thought i would mention that we've been getting several inquiries in the Ohio forum about the Lordstown area (actually a very small village, more people work at the plant than live there). Some of the people hoping to go to Lordstown live in NY and another guy works at a stamping plant near pittsburgh. I read that Moraine will stay open until mid 2009 or 2010, so at least it will be there a little while longer. Thankfully, for Ohio's economy the people that retired will be getting pension checks from GM. I guess that will help soften the blow a little. Although, w/out people working in that plant the tax base will suffer.
I previously worked at Delphi Packard Electric (formerly part of GM, now bankrupt supplier) and our hourly workforce in Warren went from 6,550 in 1999 to 650 in 2007 (due to buyouts and retirements, the company made us believe we wouldn't have jobs if we stayed). Anyway, so many of us left that they did hire some people off the street for $10/hr, but most of them have been laid off due to the tough economic times we are facing.
Anyway, they are allowing the people who previously worked under GM (about 600 people at Delphi in Warren) to flow back to GM. I heard today that 100 people from our location are being tranfered to Lordstown, with some others going to MO and MI. I think this is a good thing and is probably one good reason for having a union contract, otherwise these people would probably be done for. I don't think Delphi will have a presence here much longer and i give GM props for agreeing w/the unions to do this.
I too wondered who would buy Hummer from GM. But aren't they still being made for the military? And aren't they being blown to pieces daily in Iraq and Afghanistan? Seems like some specialty manufacturer would be interested.
The military HMMWV was designed and is produced by AM General not GM.
Not being close to Auto mfg plants, I wonder how many UAW auto assembly workers BUY the product they make on the assembly line. Are the employee parking lots full of their production line or maybe those of other makes/or foreign imports?. Just wondering if they buy to help their own paycheck and have a steady job. Steve
Not being close to Auto mfg plants, I wonder how many UAW auto assembly workers BUY the product they make on the assembly line. Are the employee parking lots full of their production line or maybe those of other makes/or foreign imports?. Just wondering if they buy to help their own paycheck and have a steady job. Steve
Well, i can answer this question. Like i mentioned before i live pretty close to the GM Lordstown plant where they make the Cobalt and G5. Our area also has Delphi Packard Electric, which used to be the Packard Electric Division of General Motors.
In the 70s Packard had around 15,000 employees and up til 2007 they still had around 5,000 or so. Anyway, GM Lordstown and Delphi (now down to about 800 employees) are/were our areas two biggest employers after the steel mills closed in Youngstown and Warren.
If you live here you either worked for GM or you have a family member that did. I read once that our area has the highest percentage of GM ownership in the US, but i'm not really positive on that. Our area is very economically depressed and if it weren't for all the GM and Delphi retirees here i think it would be a ghost town.
Let me get back to your question. Yes, most GM employees drive GM. Practically everyone i know gets the GM discount. I used to get it as an Delphi employee, but since taking a buyout, i lost it. Thankfully, my dad and grandfather are retired from Delphi, so i get the discount as long as my family members and/or their spouses are still alive.
I recently went on a tour of the Lordstown Complex and i think i saw 2 foreign cars. Most everything i saw was GM w/a few fords and Chrysler's mixed in. Back in the 70s and 80s, if you drove a foreign car to Lordstown or Packard, it might not be in drivable condition when you left work. I've heard stories of busted out windows, slashed tires, etc.
Of course these types of things don't happen anymore and i see more and more foreign cars driving around the area everyday. Although, most still drive American, and even more drive GM.
I do find it interesting that the salary people that i worked with drove more foreign cars than the hourly people did. I also used to date a guy that worked for GM, but drove a VW GTI. He had the car before he started working there, but i should have known he wasn't a keeper when i saw what he was driving!!!!! HAHAHA! I"m just kidding people!!!
Last edited by CortlandGirl79; 06-09-2008 at 08:06 AM..
Just thought i would share a few more thoughts on the subject.
When i was growing up my dad always told us that if we ever bought a foreign car we weren't allowed to park it in his driveway. Back in the 80s I was always tremendously embarrassed when my dad would wear one of two particular t-shirts. One had a picture of a Japanese airplane dumping appliances, tvs, cars, etc on the US and it said "Pearl Harbor II". The other shirt said, "Hungry? No Job???? Eat your Foreign Car". So that gives you a little sampling of how strongly automotive employees feel about their jobs.
I'll also never forget the day my uncle bought a nissan sports car back in 1991. He took it over to my grandpa's house (a guy who worked in a steel mill for years) and they ended up getting in a fight over it. Just like autoworkers, steelworkers bought american too, because the steel they were making was going into these cars. Unfortunately, my uncle then left on vacation and while he was in Myrtle Beach my grandfather died and they never got to make amends.
My question is, after all of these jobs are gone, after no one around here gets the GM discount anymore, and after all the retirees die, WHO IS GOING TO BUY THESE VEHICLES???????????? GUESS GM DIDN'T THINK ABOUT THAT!!!!!!! It's the same with all the other jobs that got sent overseas. If the people who make the cars (say the Mexicans and Chinese) can't afford them, and we don't have good paying jobs anymore, who is going to buy them?????? Just a thought.
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