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Complete Auto News Updated
Daily - If you want to know what is happening with GM and the
Auto Industry this is a must read! This is your one stop place
for GM NEWS !!!
Remember to buy GM and tell your friends
and neighbors to buy GM. If the "new" GM doesn't make it, we
won't either.
Vi Springer VP HR GMNRA/OTHCP
Farewell to
GM, from a factory rat’s disloyal daughter
"It’s been nearly a quarter of a century since my dad
punched a clock for the last time, but he’s still got his tools,
the ones he used for 37 years in the die room at a Chevy spring
and bumper plant, though they don’t get much exercise anymore.
My parents moved into senior housing a couple years back, and if
something breaks, Dad just calls maintenance. The only thing he
fixes now is supper, a job he’s taken over from my mom, who
suffers from dementia. Dad is 83 and, like his former employer,
he’s seen better days.
Back when I was a kid growing up on the northwest side of
Detroit, everybody we knew was connected in some way to the Big
Three. The streets in our neighborhood were named after Ivy
League colleges, but it was a solidly blue collar area; block
after block of modest little houses plunked down like tokens on
a life-size Monopoly board, most of them crammed to the rafters
with kids. Every morning at six thirty, with the precision of a
choreographed dance, back doors would open and men would emerge
and, after hasty goodbye kisses from women in curlers, they
would vanish into the steel jaws of the great automotive giants,
only to be belched out again eight hours later, twelve during
model changeover time.
“Generous Motors” (with the help of the U.A.W.) put the food on
our table and the roof over our head and the money in my
parents’ bank account, money that financed much of my education,
supplemented by what I earned from my own well-paying summer
jobs at my dad’s plant, one of the perks that went along with
being in a GM family. My dad, the only son of an itinerant
laborer from Arkansas, was lucky to graduate from high school.
On the other hand, like most of the kids I grew up with, viewed
college as a birthright. I even tacked on three years of law
school. Such a huge change in just a single generation, made
possible by virtue of a strong union and a robust industry.
And how did I return the favor? How did I express thanks for my
newfound upward mobility? I packed my bags, moved to California
and, like millions of my fellow baby boomers, promptly went out
and bought a Japanese import, which I subsequently traded in for
a Volvo.
On News Hour late last week, I listened to an interview with
Micheline Maynard, New York Times senior business writer and
author of two books about the decline of the American car
industry. According to Maynard, the demise of General Motors
comes largely as a result of changing brand loyalties among baby
boomers. By 1990, half of all Americans under age 45 did not own
American cars. Just as we rebelled against our parents’ taste in
music and clothing and hair styles, so we came to reject their
choices in transportation as well.
Okay, maybe we had good reason. American cars didn’t last as
long, or so the thinking went. They weren’t as fuel efficient.
But how hard did we try, really? How much comparison shopping
did we actually do? The truth is, in my case, and in the case of
many of my peers as well, it never occurred to us to buy an
American-made car. And so we went blithely on our way, tooling
around in our imports, listening to Bruce Springsteen sing about
decaying cities and forgotten workers, and we never even made
the connection.
All I ask is that we take a second look. Start by reading this
article, Misconceptions about the Quality of American Cars
Continue.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=114x16660
My husband and I have decided to only buy American from here on,
figuring better late than never. He likes his new GM car, a
Yukon hybrid. It’s good for a big guy like him, and for hauling
big dogs and navigating country roads, and the mileage isn’t bad
for an SUV. When the new Chevy Volt comes out, I’ll trade in my
Mini.
Yesterday morning, as I drove home from San Francisco on Highway
101 in a sea of foreign-made cars, listening to the bankruptcy
news, I called my dad to see how he was holding up. He sounded
tired. Like many in his generation, he put his faith in big
institutions, things he thought would last forever. Now he
wonders what will happen next. His dental and vision care
coverage will end July 1. After that, who knows? (Though in
another few months, his own wife may not even recognize him,
which puts things in a certain perspective.)
My dad could always fix anything, from a toaster to a ten-ton
press, and even, on occasion over the years, his daughter’s
broken heart. He’s my institution. After we hung up, I thought
of a line from Middesex, the brilliant novel by Jeffrey
Eugenidies: “Grow up in Detroit, and you see the way of all
things. Early on, you are put in close relations with entropy.”
The traffic was sluggish, as it often is at that hour and, while
I waited for it to clear, I contemplated the rear end of a shiny
black BMW 750i idling directly in front of me. It had vanity
plates, surrounded by a frame that said “life is a caberet.”
Yeah, right, I said to myself. Tell that to the folks back in
Michigan"
Vi Springer VP HR GMNRA/OTHCP
Just in case you didn't know..
. .
I have been driving for over 50 years... I would think I should
have noticed the little secret on my dashboard that was staring
me in the face the whole time...but NO, I didn't...and I bet you
didn't either...
Have you ever rented or borrowed a car and when arriving at the
gas station wondered... which side is the gas filler cap on? My
normal solution was to stick my head out the window, strain my
neck and look, try to see in the side mirrors or even get out
of the car!
Well ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I'm going to share
with you my little secret so you will no longer look like Ace
Ventura on your way to the gas station or put your neck at risk
of discomfort or injury. Why we were never told, is the mystery
of the century.
If you look at your gas gauge, you will see a small icon of a
gas pump?
The handle of the gas pump will extend out on either the left or
right side of the gas pump?
If your tank is on the left, the handle will be on the left? If
your tank is on the right, the handle will be on the right (see
photo). It is that simple...............duh..............!
Don't feel dumb, just go out and share the world's best kept
auto secret with your friends. ...and
I'll bet you run outside and look at your gas gauge - just to
check!!!
Sen. Fritz Hollings Former South
Carolina Senator
Posted: August 6, 2009 05:46 PM
No one's minding the store
Henry Ford developed the middle class in America by doubling the
minimum wage, providing health care and retirement benefits for
his employees. We in public service trusted business to look out
for the economy. After all, business knew how best to protect
its investment and the nation's economy. As General Motors'
Charlie Wilson said: "What's good for General Motors is good for
the country." That's when business depended on the nation's
economy.
Globalization changed all that. Now business doesn't necessarily
depend on the economy of the country where it is headquartered.
Globalization is nothing more than a trade war with production
looking for a country cheaper to produce. Business now looks to
the economy of the cheaper country, with GM, Intel, and
Microsoft not only locating research and production but awarding
community grants in China. The problem with the economy is that
Congress has yet to cope with this change. We in Congress got so
used to relying on Corporate America to tell us their needs; to
tell us the needs of the nation's economy, that we forgot that
the economy was -- not the responsibility of business -- but of
the Congress.
Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution calls on Congress to
regulate trade. Any hint of this responsibility is avoided by
Congress doing what Corporate America counsels - free trade,
avoid protecting the economy. As Henry Clay said of free trade:
"It never existed ... it never will." But all in Congress go
along with the charade. We Democrats, particularly in the
Senate, can repair a major flaw in our political armor by
becoming pro-business, chanting "free trade," and doing nothing
to have the nation compete in globalization. Investment,
research, development, jobs, trade - literally the economy -
follows production offshored. Congress has no idea of doing
anything to stop the job loss from offshored production and
strengthening the economy unless the President calls for it.
President Obama is talented, capable, and working hard, but he
is inexperienced. It took me years in public service to learn of
Corporate America's greed - its lack of patriotism. I worked
closely with business in the United States Senate, passing many
a trade bill to protect its investment and production - its jobs
in country. But it wasn't until "on the road to NAFTA" that I
was converted to learn of Corporate America's zeal for profit,
which blinded them from the nation's economy. Today, Corporate
America leads the opposition to any attempt by Congress to
regulate trade or protect our economy.
Serving in the state legislature in Illinois and just two years
in the United States Senate before running for the presidency,
President Obama hardly ever debated trade or voted on trade. In
the presidential race the nearest they got to a debate on trade
was that NAFTA was a flawed agreement. But there was never any
understanding or debate about the cause of offshoring. Everybody
was for jobs, but no debate of the loss of jobs to offshoring,
the real loss of the nation's economy. With Larry Summers in
charge of the economy for President Obama, "mum" is the word on
offshoring. Summers has just completed an appearance on Meet the
Press to discuss the economy and jobs. Not a word about
offshoring. Yet the Princeton economist, Alan Blinder, warned in
February 2007 that in the next ten years the United States would
lose thirty to forty million jobs to offshoring. When Summers
was questioned on Meet the Press about a stimulus that was
"supposed to create three to four million jobs when all is said
and done," Summers never suggested anything to slow or stop an
average loss of three to four million jobs to offshoring each
year for the next seven years.
The eminent economist, Roger Lowenstein, in his recent article
on jobs and the economy in the New York Times Magazine never
mentions the problem of offshoring. Paul Krugman, the Nobel
Prize economist, writes regularly about jobs and the economy,
but no mention of losing an average three to four million jobs a
year to offshoring. Business and their economists look upon
offshoring as an opportunity not a problem. That's because
anything that can be produced cheaper offshore from the United
States is bound to be offshored from the United States -
including research, software, law work, accounting work, and
heart transplants.
Economists, like us politicians, respond to the problem of
offshoring with the old axiom of "whose bread I eat, his song I
sing." Economists rely on the shibboleth of David Ricardo's
"comparative advantage" in international trade of productivity -
"English woolens and Portuguese wine." Today, in globalization,
government is the "comparative advantage." China's government
protects and controls not only its labor, but how many babies in
a family, and one's religion. To talk of "free trade" when China
protects and controls everything is fanciful. China's government
even offers incentives to invest and produce in China like us
Southern Governors. China, protecting its economy, has become
the superpower in the trade war as the United States refuses to
protect its economy and remains AWOL in the trade war. Our
country has so many problems and so many wars that President
Obama is not going to confront the problem of offshoring by
getting the country into another war - especially a war that his
economists won't even admit is going on. No one in Washington is
minding the store.
Globalization is grand for profiteers. But it could leave our
nation unable to defend itself. The Harvard Business Review
reports that items needed for our national security, such as
light-emitting diodes, flat-panel displays, and carbon-fiber
components of fighter planes, no longer are produced in the
United States. The nation's defense should never depend on the
favor of a foreign country. Worst of all, the Summers' plan for
the economy of consumption is working - except most of what's
consumed is imported - produced in another country. To create
jobs, one must first create production.
We're well on the road to becoming a banana republic. If the
United States is to remain a superpower, we've got to come in
from the cold in the trade war and pass the stone of industrial
policy. We have an industrial policy for domestic trade with
provisions for interstate commerce, a minimum wage, anti-trust,
price-fixing, etc. Now we must move deliberately into an
industrial policy for international trade. Bit by bit, we can
incrementally protect not the total production, but the basic
production on those items necessary for our national security
such as guns, airplanes and automobiles with tariffs and quotas.
The nation's manufacture of automobiles permitted President
Franklin Roosevelt to have Detroit manufacture the tanks and
planes for World War II. To stop the offshoring and save the
economy, we need to immediately replace the corporate tax with a
5% value added tax. A 3% VAT is more than tax-neutral with
eliminating the corporate tax. Two percent more will pay for
health costs with exemptions and eliminate deficits rather than
increasing them. But the public must appreciate the problem of
offshoring and its solution before Congress will move.
As Adlai Stevenson said, it is time to talk sense to the
American people. We already have government health care and are
rationing health care in the United States. The government
provides Medicare for the senior citizens; Medicaid for the
poor. The government subsidizes health care for business. The
government provides health care for the veterans. And the "free
market" rations health care from children and working America
that can't afford it. The debate should be on how government can
better provide and ration. Once and for all, let's do away with
outmoded ideas about "protectionism" and "free trade." The
fundamental of government is to protect. Our nation was founded
on protectionism. And enough of this trade charade of
entrepreneurship and innovation - windmills and diploma mills --
educate, educate. We're producing a BMW in Spartanburg, South
Carolina, of equal quality as one produced in Munich, Germany.
In fact, Intel used South Carolina's technical training program
to get its Dublin, Ireland, plant up and running. The educated
and skilled in the United States are without jobs. What's needed
to be educated is the President and Congress.
The Congress must make it profitable, once again, to produce in
the United States. Our task is to make business patriotic - to
help instead of opposing the rebuilding of our economy. Our task
is to compete in globalization.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sen-ernest-frederick-hollings/no-ones-minding-the-store_b_253386.html
Sun, 7 June, 2009
Subject: possible salaried
retiree losses
Jack,
As we discussed on the phone here are some
of my concerns which could impact salaried
retiree overall benefits. Please recognize
that I am just expressing my own opinion
based on the overall 2/3 reduction which GM
indicated the Government was mandating.
First, based on the changes which impacted
those of us age 65 and over as of 1/1/09, I
would not be surprised to see health care
benefits for all retirees regardless of age
to be altered. These alterations could
range from elimination to dramatically
higher premiums and deductibles. Since this
is the largest cost program in those five
areas to be reduced I feel GM will take the
biggest savings from the health care arena.
If the eligibility is eliminated for all
under age 65 retirees and the corporation
effectively mandates the retirees current
health care provider to insure regardless of
pre-existing conditions the premiums are
going to be costly.
Second, I believe that the survivor spouse
benefit could also be at risk. While the
current benefit pays at a 65% rate on the
applicable portions I think GM could
possibly reduce the percentage payable in
the same way they increased it from 60% a
number of years ago. Worse case scenario
they eliminate it. Huge cost savings in
this arena. I don't believe they would
affect surviving spouses who are currently
receiving the payment as this would be a
very negative perception in the new GM.
Third, my expectation is that retirees life
insurance will be reduced to it final level
probably 1/1/10. Future retirees will most
likely see their life insurance reduced
effective with the commencement of their
retirement. Here again the corporation
could assist by getting the life insurance
companies to write coverage regardless of
health but the premiums are most likely
going to be costly.
Finally, I hope that I'm wrong on all these
items but I don't think so. However with
mandated government cost reductions retirees
are going to be impacted and not in a
positive manner.
Enjoyed talking to you and if I can be of
assistance please let me know.
Click on the headline above to
read the General Motors Corp. 2009 - 2004 Restructuring Plan
presented to the U.S. Department of the Treasury on Feb. 17,
2009 as required under Section 7.20 of the Loan and Security
Agreement dated Dec. 31, 2008.
Jack, with
the current financial and economic situation this county
finds itself in and the finger pointing that is or is not
going on, I believe the attached link needs as wide a
distribution as possible. Would you please forward it to
the group.
Thank You
Mike
Yanachik
This says it all
This video shows that George Bush
tried to warn Congress starting in
2001 that this economic crisis was
coming, if something was not done.
But congress refused to listen,
along with Barney Franks. This
video says it all.
The liberal AMERICAN media did not
want this video on You Tube, so they
had Time Warner threaten a law suit
(proprietary rights) if it was not
taken off.
This link is of the same video but
is routed through Canada. Everyone
in America needs to see this!
Keep in mind- this is just
ONE
hospital in FLORIDA
....
PLEASE WATCH THIS very SHORT VIDEO. EVERYONE NEEDS TO HEAR THIS. IT
AFFECTS EVERY ONE OF US!!!This
is one reason why we Americans can't afford good health
care...Or, who is able to and should be paying for this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLJxmJZXgNI
Polk Announces Automotive Loyalty Winners
Posted on : 01-21- 2009 | Author : R. L. Polk & Co.
News Category : PressRelease
General Motors Takes Overall Manufacturer
Honors for Ninth Consecutive Year; Honda Debuts in Overall Make
Category; First Ethnic Market Loyalty Award Presented
SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Jan. 20
SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Jan. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- General Motors
received top honors in the Overall Manufacturer category in R.
L. Polk & Co.'s 13th Annual Polk Automotive Loyalty Awards,
presented this evening during the annual Automotive News World
Congress in Detroit. Polk is the automotive industry's premier
provider of consumer loyalty information among new vehicles.
Honda Motor Company was honored as the recipient in the Overall
Make category for the first time. Polk added a new award
category this year - Ethnic Market Loyalty to Make. Toyota took
top honors in the new category.
General Motors celebrated its ninth consecutive honor for the
Overall Manufacturer by demonstrating its customer retention
ability year over year. GM also received awards for several of
its vehicles, including the Chevrolet Silverado, Suburban and
Impala, all repeat winners in their respective categories for
the 2008 model year, which ended Sept. 30. The Chevrolet
Corvette also won in the Luxury Sports Car category.
"At General Motors, we continue to focus on strategies aimed at
retaining our customer base. Being acknowledged by R. L. Polk &
Co. and receiving the Overall Manufacturer Loyalty Award for the
ninth consecutive year is a testament to the success of those
strategies and the strength of our products," said Mark LaNeve,
vice president, GM North America Vehicle Sales, Service and
Marketing. "We are proud to be recognized again this year with
this honor."
Honda, making its debut as winner in the Overall Make Category,
also was recognized as its Accord led the Midsize Car segment.
Toyota and Chrysler both had repeat winners from last year's
Loyalty Awards, including Toyota Tacoma in the Midsize Pickup
category, along with its luxury division's Lexus ES repeating in
the Luxury Car segment, and its LS repeating in the Prestige
Luxury Car category. Chrysler had one repeat winner as Town &
Country won in the Minivan category.
Ford captured two awards: Mustang in the Sports Car category and
Focus in the Compact Car segment. Subaru Forester won the award
in the Compact SUV category, Jeep Grand Cherokee received the
award for the Midsize SUV segment and Land Rover's Range Rover
was honored in the Luxury SUV category.
"In today's business climate, customer loyalty is key to
business success," said Stephen Polk, chairman, president and
CEO of R. L. Polk & Co. "GM is making great strides to keep
customers returning to its brands for new vehicle purchases.
Honda's win is a testament to its increased efforts to improve
products to keep their customers coming back."
POLK AUTOMOTIVE LOYALTY AWARD WINNERS - 2008 MODEL YEAR
CategoryWinner Loyalty %
Overall Awards:
Manufacturer LoyaltyGeneral Motors* 62.53%
Make LoyaltyHonda 56.50%
Ethnic Make Loyalty Toyota 54.55%
Vehicle Segment Awards
Minivan Chrysler Town & Country*37.04%
Midsize Pickup Toyota Tacoma* 18.10%
Fullsize Pickup Chevrolet Silverado*32.77%
Compact SUV Subaru Forester 32.59%
Midsize SUV Jeep Grand Cherokee 21.31%
Fullsize SUVChevrolet Suburban* 20.42%
Luxury SUV Land Rover Range Rover 32.43%
Compact Car Ford Focus 26.15%
Midsize Car Honda Accord32.84%
Fullsize CarChevrolet Impala* 34.01%
Luxury Car Lexus ES* 34.62%
Prestige Luxury Car Lexus LS* 34.83%
Sports Car Ford Mustang16.73%
Luxury Sports Car Chevrolet Corvette 23.90%
*Denotes 2007 Automotive Loyalty Winner
Polk Manufacturer Loyalty Excelerator(TM) Report
Polk's Manufacturer Loyalty Excelerator(TM) Report, which is the
basis for the Polk Automotive Loyalty rankings and annual
awards, is the latest insight into consumer loyalty. This report
was introduced to the automotive industry in 1995 and was
created to provide household loyalty information to
manufacturers at many different levels. It is now used to
provide loyalty percentages for the entire automotive industry
and allows for cross-industry comparisons of loyalty behavior.
The report measures loyalty throughout the entire model year so
that manufacturers may keep abreast of loyalty trends as they
occur in the industry. The Polk Automotive Loyalty Awards
recognize manufacturers for superior owner loyalty performance.
Loyalty is determined when a household that owns a new vehicle
returns to market and purchases or leases another new vehicle of
the same model or make.
About R. L. Polk & Co.
R. L. Polk & Co. is the premier provider of automotive
information and marketing solutions. Polk collects and
interprets global data, and provides extensive automotive
business expertise to help customers understand their market
position, identify trends, build brand loyalty, conquest new
business and gain a competitive advantage. Polk helps automotive
manufacturers and dealers, automotive aftermarket companies,
finance and insurance companies, advertising agencies, media
companies, consulting organizations, government agencies and
market research firms make good business decisions. A privately
held global firm, Polk is based in Southfield, Mich. with
operations in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan,
Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. For more
information, please visit
www.polk.com.
What’s Happening Now:
2008 GM Announces 2008 Global Sales of
8.35 Million Vehicles Record-setting sales performance in
GM’s Latin America, Africa and Middle East and Asia Pacific regions, and
a third consecutive 2 million vehicles sales performance in Europe
during 2008 helped General Motors sell more than 8.35 million vehicles
globally last year. GM’s nearly 3% growth in both the
Asia Pacific and LAAM regions partially offset North America sales that
declined 21%, and growing pressure in Europe that resulted in 7% fewer
sales. Compared with 2007, GM’s total sales were down 11%, reflecting
continuing global economic pressures that include tightening credit,
falling commodities prices and lack of GDP growth. Here are some 2008 highlights: Chevrolet sales in China grows 16%
to nearly 200,000 vehicles; 1.09M vehicles sold in China sets record
with 6 percent volume growth Chevrolet sales breakthrough
500,000 mark with record share; Opel sets sales record in Central and
Eastern Europe with volume up 13% GM beats the industry with more
than 1.27 million total vehicle sales in Latin America, Africa and
Middle East Region, led by top-selling Chevrolet Corsa, Celta and Aveo
GM continues emerging markets
leadership with 2008 market share growth in 14 of 26 markets. Please read the entire press
release: http://email.graction.com/cgi-bin15/DM/y/jdQV0KOLGx0D4Y0mgt0Eu
Wagoner: No Need to Cut Benefits
to Retirees
Last Edited: Thursday, 08 Jan 2009, 9:05 AM
EST Created: Thursday, 08 Jan 2009, 8:08 AM EST
NEW
YORK (AP) -- General Motors Corp. Chief Executive Rick Wagoner said
Thursday the Detroit automaker can survive long-term without cutting
benefits to retired workers.
Wagoner made the remarks on NBC's "Today" show, where he was joined by
United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger. The two made the
appearance from Warren, Mich., ahead of their renewed labor negotiations
scheduled to begin next week.....To read more click here:
http://overthehillcarpeople.com/wagonerletter010809.htm
I was involved with a
conference call today (October 22, 2008) from SPO and they have
verified they are going to sell ACDelco as soon as possible. They do
not know who the buyer will be, but the process of selling the
company is underway.
They are trying to
calm the employees and customers. They did state that employees
considering the "buyouts" will have until Friday the 24th to make a
decision. They do not know how many employees will survive the sale.
It appears to be up to the new owners. We will continue to post
information on the GM web site group.
Who Are These Folks? See
"Members Suite" -
"Pictures Archives -
Page 15 For The Answer!"
Click Pictures To Enlarge
Who Are These Folks? See
"Members Suite" -
"Pictures Archives -
Page 15 For The Answer!"
Click Pictures To Enlarge
Click "Volt"
Picture
American People Need Help!
You could change
the country name to China, Japan, Germany, India, or any other country
the USA trades with and the story would be the same. Why? Please write
and express your opinions at the address listed below. And please
forward this article to all those foreign car purchasers you know. They
are killing the America we love so much!
LOCAL COMMENT Detroit Free
Press
Korean trade pact fails U.S.
BY U.S. REP. SANDER LEVIN •
April 27, 2008
Tom Walsh got it wrong in his April 17 column on
the pending U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement ("S. Korean trade deal
worth close look; But emotional debate casts doubt on it getting
approval in Congress"). It is not an emotional debate, but an economic
one, that has derailed the Korea FTA.
Trade
agreements are about the terms of economic competition between
countries. Our negotiators should be fighting for U.S. businesses and
workers by breaking down tariff and non-tariff barriers to U.S. goods
and services.
Consider
the facts: Korea is the fifth largest producer, and the ninth largest
consumer automotive market in the world. We now have an
$11-billion deficit in automotive trade, which is 87% of the total trade
deficit between our two countries. In 2006, Korea sold
700,000 vehicles in the United States; the United States sold only 4,556
in Korea.
The FTA as
negotiated will simply lock in a structure of one-way trade between the
two industrialized nations and allow the Korean auto industry to
continue an export-driven strategy using the profits from its protected
home market to fund R&D and broader incursions into the U.S. and other
major markets.
The FTA
fails to eliminate the extensive use of discriminatory tax structures
and non-tariff barriers used by Korea to keep its auto market closed. We
also know through experience -- two previous Korean formal automotive
trade agreements that the United States called the 1995 and 1998
"Memorandums of Understanding" -- that it is very difficult to move the
Koreans to end these non-tariff barriers.
By giving
away the 2.5% auto tariff and negotiating down the 25% pick-up truck
tariff without linking it to concrete results in assuring the end of
Korea's unfair non-tariff barrier structure, the Bush administration &
congress has locked in the status quo and worse. Korean
automakers win $217 million in auto tariff reductions from the FTA while
tariff reductions for U.S.
automakers amount to just $12 million.
We cannot
accept a model of trade that fails to stand up for U.S. businesses and
workers in the area that now represents 87% of our trade deficit with
South Korea.
U.S. REP.
SANDER LEVIN, D-Royal Oak, chairs the trade subcommittee of the
Ways and Means Committee in the U.S. House. Write to him in care of the
Free Press Editorial Page, 615 W. Lafayette, Detroit, MI 48226
or at
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080427/OPINION04/
DETROIT --
General Motors Corp.
announced today that
it's taken a stake in a
biofuels research firm
that aims to widely
market $1-a-gallon
renewable fuel as soon
as 2011.
Ya Gotta Love This. Jim
Heller & Martin Carter
Click Picture To Enlarge
The racing website "Jalopnik"
is featuring this photo
taken at the Texas State
Fair on 26 September
2007. It shows a Toyota
racing trailer being
towed by a Chevrolet
Silverado. Jalopnik
concludes that Toyota
does not have a pickup
capable of hauling such
a heavy trailer and
says, "...it's probably
a little embarrassing to
have the competition
hauling you around by
your trailer hitch."
Even Toyota needs a
Chevrolet Silverado.
Thanks to Al Canales for all the work he put into this!
From time to time,
Overthehillcarpeople.com will "poke" fun at
GM , but we agree with the statement below:
"The
bottom line is we need to be positive and
supportive of the positive things GM is
doing and do our best to promote our
products..........It
would serve no purpose to be otherwise."
Don Thomsen
Member of Overthehillcarpeople.com
Click Pictures To Enlarge
Dear Folks,
The attached was taken last June 2008, as Lynette was finishing up with her
Radiation treatments. She is doing just fine now and her hair is growing
back nicely (mine hasn't yet).
We wish everyone of you a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!!!
Click Pictures To Enlarge
Visit "Members Suite" - "Members Current News" to see who these folks are!
Click Pictures To Enlarge
In October
2007 the Old
Southwest
Region once
again came
together for
a little fun
time. We
met on the
Texas-Oklahoma
border for a
little
gambling,
golf and
just plain
fun. The
weather
wasn't so
good for
golf this
year but we
still
managed to
have a good
time.
Sam Brown
Click Picture To Enlarge
Visit "Members Suite" - "Members Current News" to see who these folks are!
Click Picture To Remember When
Click Picture To Remember When
“No one is completely worthless.
You can always hold them up as
examples of what someone should
not be”
Ray Don Powell
Philosopher - Zone Manager
Click Either Picture For The Real Story!
This Will Make You Think And Then Cry!
Interesting To Look Back Now!
August 5, 2009
October
04,
2006
Rick Wagoner Story
Click Picture To
Read Story!
Cover By Bob Supino
From time to time, Overthehillcarpeople.com will
"poke" fun at GM , but we agree with the statement below:
"The bottom line is we need to
be positive and supportive of the positive things GM is doing
and do our best to promote our products..........It
would serve no purpose to be otherwise."
Don Thomsen
Member of Overthehillcarpeople.com
Click Pictures To Enlarge
Do you know these folks? You can see
who they are in "Members Suite" - "Picture Archives" Page 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,
9,10,11,12,13,14 & 15
Click Pictures To Enlarge
Find Many More Pictures Like These In The Members Suite!
Click Pictures To Enlarge
June 1973
- Broken Arrow, OK.
Submitted By Al
Canales & Allen Lamberson
Click Pictures To Enlarge
Click Pictures
To Enlarge
Find Many More
Pictures Like These In The Members Suite!
This Michigan News Paper article
will not be seen in many News Papers across America! Why? Why
has U. S. bashing become the fashionable thing to do? Why do
Americans get in line to drink the Kool-Aid provided by the
Japanese and the News Media. Why can we not see, we (Americans)
are slowly destroying the American economy and our great
country? Please take time to read this article and please take
some action NOW!
If you have
news, pictures and/or documents you will share with the group please e-mail to spoacdc1@aol.com
or regular mail to Over The Hill Car People, 5184 Caldwell Mill RD., Suite 204, Box 190, Hoover,
AL. 35244. Please put a note on anything you want returned and it will be done.
Thanks to Dick Hillman, Ron Humerickhouse,
Sam Brown, Bill Dum, Mike Bommarito, Bill Gay, James Conlee, John
Covel, Dick Arntzenand Mario de Castro for the pictures, documents
and information they have supplied! Thanks
guys! 6-01-04 Many thanks to Mario de Castro for the batch of 1986,
1987 & 1989 pictures!
ACDelco is going to be
SOLD!
