Cspan Senate Banking Hearings: Automakers

The Big 3 and UAW are back on capitol hill today, Begging.

- Senate Banking Hearings: Automakers CSPAN.ORG

- UAW made an obvious but strong point about the lack of oversight or guarantees of T.A.R.P.

"If the government could provide a blank check to Wall Street, then the government should be able to provide a bridge loan to the automakers."
Ron Gettelfinger

- Once again Chrysler has nothing to offer. Robert Nardelli their C.E.O made a point to say that all Chrysler vehicles will increase in fuel efficiency from the 2008 to 2009 model year.

As opposed to coming out with the same model every year, just charging the consumers more. That is essentially admitting to fraud by the automakers, if all they were doing is changing badges on the cars and paperwork. Chrysler needs to go, they are a company that has historically lacked vision and creativity. How hard is it to ask the automakers to fire ineffective people.

- Ford really sounds like they try harder than any other automakers in their business plan, and in their proactive reorganization plan that was implemented before this most recent economic downturn.

Wish Farewell to Chrysler

"It's like...an open book test...writing an essay where each automaker's allowed to bring whatever books they wanted with them into the test. Chrysler brought crayons and a coloring book."

The Big 3 auto makers are mighty optomestic about their sales the next couple of years. [Jalopnik]

Fords Plan

GM's Plan

Chrysler

Ford wants you to buy more of their crappy cars.

The Ford motor company today released its new buisness plan for congress to review and hopefully incorporated within their decision when they grant this bailout.
FORD MOTOR COMPANY BUSINESS PLAN [CSPAN] PDF

overview & Key Points page 1-7 out of 33

What ford wants you to know:
-the Auto industry supports five million jobs in all 50 states and spends $12 billion
annually on research and development in the U.S. pg. 2

-"While we have much more work ahead of us, Ford did not wait until the current crisis to begin our restructuring efforts, but has already begun a fundamental restructuring in the way we do business. Our early efforts showed promise before the credit and economic crises hit earlier this year." pg. 2

-"The auto sector is one of the first to suffer from bad economic conditions –
indeed, spending on new vehicles historically represents about 4% of GDP and
therefore is closely tied to economic conditions." pg. 4

Translation, we were the first to suffer in this recession, because consumers stop consuming unnecessary crap. Like a new car every 2 years, why is it necessary to have the exact same car come out with relatively few improvements every year? The 07 Ford f-150 looks just like the the 06 f-150. How about alternating production lines every year to avoid over saturation

-The recession and financial crisis has resulted in automotive industry sales volumes at the lowest annualized level in 25 years. pg. 5

- We ask congress for additional incentives incentives for consumers to trade in

older vehicles and move to more fuel-efficient vehicles.
We need the consumer to buy more crap, and we will make it look like we are doing something environmentally friendly. If a person has a old Monte carlo that still gets 20 miles per gallon but have no note to pay or full coverage insurance. It is not in the persons best interest to buy a 21,000 dollar car at 350 per month(That is 5 years of payments with no interest calculated.) in financing fees and insurance for a new car will at least run 150 a month for full coverage insurance and drives 3000 miles a quarter. Then that cost a boat load more to drive and be environmentally friendly. 3000 divided by 20 equals 150 gallons of gas per quarter for the monte carlo equaling 420 dollars spent every quarter on gas which is 1680 per year. Mean while the "Fuel efficient" car gets the recommended mileage which is 35 miles per gallon. Using the same formula as for the Monte carlo would equal out to 240 a month in gas. That is 960 dollars spent on gas per year, now add in the 350 dollar a month car note and that is 4200. add in the additional 1800 dollars in insurance per year and that is a grand total of 6350 a year to go green. Hating the environment would save you $4670 dollars. Now this number doesn't include maintenance for oil tires and all other things that are necessary for maintenance of a car. But no way does the maintenance of the Monte Carlo wost 15,000 every 5 years. I vote no on this part, you want a loan from the people so that you can try to trick them in taking out a loan from you for the next 5 year?

- Ford plans to consolidate their 4 divisions(North America, South America, Asian Pacific, European) Deemed no longer neccessary do to the advances in communication. pg. 7
LAYOFFS

-blah blah blah blah blah lies blah blah lies blah 7-33
Im tired of reading it. Hope that is a good overview..

Sounds like a good start, I am sure they are way ahead of GM or Chrysler. Due to the fact Ford identified the market shift earlier than the others.

2008 Ford Recalls

May 14, 2008 Ford recalls over 650,000 pickups for brake hose
April 28 2008 Ford Recalls F-250, F-350 Trucks for Fire Hazard
Feb 27, 2008 Ford Recalls 470,000 Mustangs to Update Air Bags
Apparently Ford thought it would be fiscally conservative and install the wrong airbags
Feb 11, 2008 Ford Recalls 57,000 More Trucks, SUVS for Fire Hazard
Feb 11, 2008 Ford recalling vehicles over door handles and fuel hoses
Jan 21, 2008 Parts shortages delay repairs of fire-prone Fords
Dec 6, 2007 Ford recalls 1.2 million trucks for engine flaw
Aug 3, 2007 Ford recalls 3.6 million vehicles
in less than two years ford has recalled over 5.9 million vehicles in 2 years. If they made a good product they can sure save money from repairs and lawsuits. Or take their time building a car they can find these problems before you let these deathtraps on the road.
If every repair takes 200 dollars not including lawsuits that is 1.19 BILLION in loses over your own product.

Take the number of vehicles in the field, A.
Multiply it by the probable rate of failure, B.
Multiply the result by
the average out-of-court settlement, C.
A x B x C
equals X.
If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one.

Edward Norton "Fight Club'
Its clear that that is the formula, hurray unregulated capitalism.

UAW is good at making demands

Now the UAW speaks up, they were not concerned with this during the last contract talks.
UAW to Congress: The autoworkers union calls on the government to give aid to GM Get a deal done Ford and Chrysler before Congress adjourns. (CNN.com)
Since they are fighting for this bailout, I know its a bad idea. If any congressional leader elects to give the money to the auto companies based on this plea, then they are spineless just like I thought.

"Congress must not adjourn with the Bush administration in place without an
agreement,"
UAW President Ron Gettelfinger.

That sounds like a demand instead of a request, from a person who didn't see this coming. Now they suddenly know how to fix the car industry! 2 years ago they didn't see this crash coming. Yes it is a crash, it is time to stop calling it an economic downturn. Its time for economist and people in the financial sector to stop acting like they know whats going on. Every week it is some new anomaly in the system they are trying to explain for the reason why the bailout isn't working. Can't they admit this is a completely new situation that can't be fixed by using the economic models that got us into this mess. The people old enough to remember the depression, are not the same people that pulled us out of the depression. Just because they have a government title, does not mean they know anything when it comes to the financial sector. In fact it probably means the opposite.


Business in the areas of the big 3 factories agree with a bailout (CNN.com)

Damn the big 3

Ford, GM, & Chrysler are losers.
The are good at Loosing jobs
They are good at Losing their damn minds.



Why would anyone buy this vehicle if you aren't a Government organization like the FBI? Edmund's.com describes the Ford Excursion as

The Ford Excursion followed in this tradition. This full-size SUV was manufactured between 2000 and 2005, and holds the distinction of being the longest and heaviest sport-utility vehicle ever produced. With seating for up to nine passengers.

9 Passengers? How many families are that size anymore. In the 50's 60's and part of the 70's it was not completely out of the ordinary to see a family of 5 or 6 but 9 is just ridiculous. What is the purpose of 9 passengers, why not just rent a Winnebago if you want to go a trip. But the thought that it was necessary to build such a big vehicle in mass production is just crazy. It highlights are arrogance as a population and the arrogance of the big 3. If We will build it they will buy it. It is not just the big 3 who are involved in feeding on this consumer driven culture, pun intended. All of the automakers have a ridiculous vehicle:

Toyota Sequoia: Seats 8


What is the sense of these big ass vehicles, of course they are fun to drive and makes little people feel protected on the road. You can accomplish the same thing by buying a Tank, and you would get about the same gas mileage as driving these behemoths.

The current state of the U.S. auto market is horrible due to unrealistic expectations and bad leadership. When the Unions forced a renegotiation of their contracts last summer the leadership didn't think about the future of the American Auto Economy. It wasn't a secret that sales & Demand where down. Yet the Unions asked for guarantees to keep the factories of the big energy wasting vehicles open in Detroit. The understanding is there that the Union leaders were looking to secure jobs in a state that is already wasting away. This was their one chance to demonstrate the Vision and get the upper hand on negotiations yet they failed. Just like the industry. This was the Union chance to truly do what is best for workers. Within negotiations they could have asked for many more things that makes sense except the dumb things they agreed to:

assisted their contracts last year
1. 2 new factories equip ed to create "Green Friendly cars"
a. One of those new factories be in Detroit Michigan
b. Another factory to be built in an economically viable area(Not Michigan or the rust belt)
2. Discontinue the creation of large SUV's that are not economically viable
a. If there is no demand why are they creating these super vehicles
b. Has anyone seen a truck lot lately, they have plenty

This is what they agreed to, keep in mind how long can they keep these agreements with a 120 year old business model.

1. Company commitments to invest in new products for its existing U.S. facilities, as well as a moratorium on plant closings.

2.The UAW also was able to secure a commitment to hire 3,000 temporary workers into full-time, traditional employment.

How are they going to keep these commitments to the unions. 3000 temporary JOBS haha, what is UAW going to do if GM doesn't provide these jobs, LOL Nothing out of nothing is Nothing squared.

Yes we need to give another bailout since this is such an important part of our country. They should only give it on these conditions.
1. Fire all the Leadership at those organizations.
A. UAW
B. GM, Ford, Chrysler
I. Just because the the Ford family shares a name with the company they own
they should not be the defacto owners
2. Force the The big 3(GM, Ford, Chrysler) to release all of those patents they have collected to prevent alternate technology to be used. Those should become owned by the general public and should be able to be used by any engineer or company.

A. GM this month said it lost $4.2 billion in the third quarter and almost $73
billion since the end of 2004.(blogger)
3. The big 3 should get rid of all lobbyist that should save 7 million
4. Agreements with developing car companies to mass produce their vehicles
a. Tesla Motors
b. Studebaker Electric bring it back

$30 billion losses + GM = A company ahead of the curve

"Our natural resources are limited, so we have to stay ahead of the technological curve." Chevy Designer Bob Boniface

Now that is a bold statement coming from a company who just lost $15.5 Billion in the last year. Earnest Meyer of MSN Money reports

"The news from Detroit just gets grimmer. With gas prices soaring, sales of fuel-guzzling SUVs and trucks are plummeting. The Big Three that once ruled the industry -- General Motors, Ford and Chrysler -- are cutting costs, shuttering plants and laying off workers. GM's share price is hovering near its lowest point in half a century; the company announced a whopping $15.5 billion loss in the second quarter of 2008."

I just don't have an idea how, this is Chevy staying ahead of the technological curve. Gas is already past $3.50. Staying ahead of the curve shoulda/woulda been around the $2.50 mark. That would of required Detroit to try to do something productive for their market, than the big oil companies and the middle east.
2010? How long have hybrid cars been around? The Toyota Prius was on sell in 2000, Honda Insight 1999, Honda Civic Hybrid 2002, Ford Escape/Honda Accord 2005. Ok. These are not electric vehicles, so Chevy is still ahead of the curve, right? Wrong!
Electric Cars have been around for years, or at least the concept and technology. Even Thomas Edison had an electric vehicle according to the Smithsonian Institute records. A site American History has a picture of him next to his vehicle.

In 2003 the Tesla Motor Company was Incorporated in the heart of Silicon Valley, California. The goal of the company was to create an efficient, good looking electric vehicle. They don't have nearly the market share of any of the big 3, and alto less funding. yet with $105 million dollars, they have created a great car with huge demand. Which was one of the answers often given by the big 3 in the 90's, is that there just is not a demand for electric vehicles. They were wrong, there is just not a demand for shitty looking electric vehicles. If the Big three invested less than 4% of their 2nd quarter losses they could have easily built this vehicle, and kept thousands of jobs.
Video of the Tesla Sportster:

TAX CUTS=Performance Enhancers

When the allegations came out that BARRY BONDS(the best hitter ever)used Performance enhancing drugs, one would have thought that he crashed the economy and pushed gasoline prices up. Besides the fact that Baseball is a game, and not some mythical activity that trumps is to be a beacon of light in the world.
First, who never cheated in sports? Dont lie, that includes taking a time out while acting injured, distracting the ref to get away with fouls, over the back foul not called in basketball, an illegal block in football, fighting in the dog piles in football, Flopping in Basketball & Soccer, spitballs, corked bats, betting scandals, but performance enhancing drugs is a determent to the game. fact many sports accepts cheaters in there most cherished halls, THE HOF. I didn't realize that the Hall of fame fame was sacred, I though it was to enshrine and remember the best who played the game. The players that can not be forgotten while telling the narrative history of a sport.

- The lovable Chicago Cubs allegedly laid the precedents for the Black Soxs Scandal of 1919 (Boston Herald Link)

- Hall of Fame Picther Gaylord Perry admitted to scuffing the ball, and using spitballs to modify the projectory of his pitch, which is illegal under MLB rules.

Gaylord Perry -- the only pitcher in history to have won the Cy Young Award in both leagues -- fooled hitters and umpires for 22 years. An admitted proponent of the spitball, he entitled his autobiography Me and the Spitter. He contended that he rarely threw it, however, maintaining the idea that he might use a spitball was enough to put the hitter at a disadvantage. He heightened suspicion by his odd, herky-jerky delivery.(HSW.com)

- Whitey Ford (P)THE New York Yankees

They used to call the righty "Black & Decker" for his creative use of mound tools. As legend goes, Sutton put a note in his glove that he was sure would be inspected by an umpire: "You're getting warm, but it's not here." Ford later admitted he used his wedding ring to cut baseballs and something he called "gunk," a mixture of rosin, baby oil and turpentine.
And the old farmer? Gosh, he wasn't the least embarrassed by any taint. He was darn proud.
"If I were Kenny, I'd go shake their hands with mine full of pine tar so that they'd stick to 'em," Perry said. "That's what I used to do. The day before I pitched, I'd do it with Vaseline. (Opposing players) would say, 'What are you doing?' And I'd say, 'Gettin' ready for tomorrow night.' " (USA Today)

- Hall of Fame Player Joe Morgan admitted playing with corked bats. (ESPN)
- Hall of Fame player TY COBB was just an all around bad human being

It’s impossible to list all Ty’s acts of violence. But here are a few. 1907: Slapped a black groundskeeper; when the man’s wife protested, he grabbed her by the neck. 1908: Assaulted a black laborer; shoved a black chambermaid down the stairs. 1909: Slapped a black elevator operator for being “insolent.” When a night watchman (also black) broke it up, Cobb slashed him several times with a knife. Fined $100. 1912: Pistol-whipped a would-be mugger to death; pummeled a crippled fan. 1914: Threatened a butcher with a gun and pistol-whipped his black assistant. Babe Ruth said it best: “Ty Cobb is a prick.”(Maxim)

-Babe Ruth - THE SULTAN OF SWAT, The BIG BAMBINO - The best player to ever play both Pichter and An everyday player and hit 714HR's in a time where that number was unheard of....

.was a known womanizer. Knowing to father at least 1 child outside of his marriage.

Dorothy Ruth Pirone, whose father was Babe Ruth but who did not learn the identity of her natural mother until she was 59 years old, died yesterday at her home in Durham, Conn. She was 68 years old.Dorothy Ruth Pirone, whose father was Babe Ruth but who did not learn the identity of her natural mother until she was 59 years old, died yesterday at her home in Durham, Conn. She was 68 years old. For most of her life, Mrs. Pirone was led to believe that her mother was the baseball star's first wife, Helen. Over the years, Mr. Ruth and his first wife gave conflicting birth dates and details. It was not until 1980 that Mrs. Pirone learned her real mother was Juanita Jennings, a woman she had grown up knowing and loving as a close family friend.
Last year, Mrs. Pirone wrote a book about her father, ''My Dad, the Babe,'' which was co-authored by Chris Martens and published on the 40th anniversary of her father's death, Aug. 16, 1988.(NY Times Obituaries)

I understand that the term "Performance enhancer" has become the definition of banned substances in competitive sporting events. As defined by dictionary.com to enhance is to

1. To make greater, as in value, beauty, or effectiveness; augment.

That seems simple enough, to make greater effectiveness; to augment performance.
What is the different in quarterbacks, pitchers, everyday players injecting cortisone shots in there muscles so that they can perform. If they were unable to play EFFECTIVELY without the shot, and the shot makes them play effective, then is that not by definition to enhance? yeah yeah, I know what the common excuse is, "The cortisone brings them to 100 percent, steroids and the clear makes them play above their ability." What does that mean, when people say they are playing above their ability? If they are performing at a level that is quantifiable better than their previous ability, then by default their ability level perception needs to be modified when analyzing a player. But maybe that is to disconnected from common logic since most people will never be professional athlete. It is safe to assume that a majority of the population will have children, are will be guardians of children(adoption, foster system).
If someone had a child who made C's throughout elementry but in the transition year in between elementry and middle school the child's guardian was encouraged by the administration to enhance their childs performance in the class room to avoid the child falling behind his classmates. The summer time the guardian/parent takes the child to all types of tutors(Practice equivalent in sports) put the child on ritilan, adderal(Performance enhancers) to help them focus and calm down. The new semester at school the child brings home all B's a great improvement, and the following year bring home straight A's. Would their be any parent of other failing students saying, that child is using performance enhancers and performing above his ability and make sense? I sure hope not, because that would be insane and call out over 1/3 of today's students in the education system.
Why are there separate expectations for athletes, what do people really expect. Everyone hats steroids, but no one said anything when the statistics started to soar. Superior performance is what everyone wants, in life and in sports but don't want to think about the societal implications of making examples of athletes. What would an office place be without performance enhancers like Coffee(Caffeine), pharmaceuticals prescriptions(Depression drugs, ADD drugs, ADHD drugs,), Many drugs that are illegal without a prescription, much like steroids. Sports are merely a reflection of society, you have your crazies, your cheaters, your naturally extraordinary people, innovators. But a reflection, when home-runs where being hit every day taking baseball out of sports purgatory(Post-Strike) American sports fans could care less how it was done but the results were nice, much like the economy. When Americans found out the how then the results became a problem, now look at the economy. Just think TAX CUTS=Performance Enhancers, they cant last for ever and the effects of taking them last along time.