Well, if you're in a communist country, you keep pumping it out, you pay the workers, and then you eventually starve and your nation eventually fails.
If you're in a capitalist country, your company goes away, new companies come along that make things people want, and life gets better and better overall.
If you're in America 2009, it's probably somewhere in between.
Here's the Drudge headline right now:
GM TO CLOSE MOST FACTORIES FOR SUMMER
Posts
37 comments:
http://www.myfoxla.com/dpp/news/dpg_gm_shut_down_lwf_0422092431348
Sources: GM to
Temporarily Shut Down
DETROIT - Two people briefed on the plan say General Motors Corp. will close most of its U.S. factories for up to nine weeks this summer because of slumping sales and growing inventories of unsold vehicles.
The people did not know exactly when the shutdowns would occur, but both say they will include the normal two-week closure in July to change from one model year to the next. Neither person wanted to be identified because workers have not been told of the shutdowns.
GM spokesman Chris Lee would not comment other than to say the company notifies employees before making any production cuts public.
GM is living on $13.4 billion in government loans and faces a June 1 deadline to restructure or seek bankruptcy protection.
Bye Bye GM...Bye Bye Chrysler.
What will we do with alllll those crappy cars sitting on allll those lots all over the country???
This is a 30 year story.
I guess it all started with Chevy Nova and the Ford LTD..... then it went down the hill.
In college, I used to drive an AMC Hornet ... yeah and that was a lot of fun !
Summer of rage, 2009.
Are you ready?
That's the best and most lucid analysis you've posted all year, Keith.
Keefer,
Should we care about the Iranian hostage situation?
Been reading this blog long enough to get that America is the enemy..
It is really unfortunate because their offerings were actually just starting to become appealing once again.
And, all you Japanese car douchebags. Japanese cars are no better than American cars. And, if we had fair trade on this country, you probably would not be able to afford them.
So, while all of you are gleeful that another American industry has been shipped overseas and or has been killed by unfair trade, let me know who is going to be left to buy the crap that YOU sell.
But alas, most of you don't sell shit and are probably that 60-70% of the parasitic populace who work for the government and/or have a job that is dependent upon government spending.
I hope you all get what you wish for. Oh, and if they go out of business, who do you think is going to pay the retirement and healthcare bills?
Fucking Idiots.
Years ago after living with two British Leyland products (MGB and TR7) partially built by Joe Lucas, Prince of Darkness, I decided to buy Detroit iron - specifically a Chevy. It was the late seventies with all the Rube Goldberg emissions gear. I never did get my chance to fulfill my dream of feeding the damn thing to Roger Smith piecemeal but I sure wanted to. But I'm not taking any joy in GM's demise even though the MG and TR turned out to be the better cars (if you account for the fun factor).
I hope Obama has something nice for all those poor factory workers. They are partly the reason people who make over $250,000 are paying higher taxes now.
All this recent manufactured optimism is about to get punched in the nose with brass knuckles...
Where's the idiot that was defending these shitty auto companies and their grossly inept, greedy and corrupy unions a few weeks ago. We went hammer & tong here until he/it gave up and finally went away, tail between legs...
Well, stupid, idiot moron, you better hurry down to your local GM dealer, because:
1. Hummers only go UP in value
2. Buy NOW before the price goes up and there are shortages of GM vehicles
3. and the Best Reason:
THEY MAY NOT BE MAKING ANY MORE GM ANYTHING SOON.
Idiots. Shit management and worse products and corrupt greedy unions.
GM couldn't even engineer and
make a good knife or fork.
DIE GM. DIE CHYSLER. DIE UAW and ALL UAW MEMBERS DIE.
America: Turd World Bannana Republic Nation of Nothing and serial Corruption.
DIE AMERICA DIE.
Come on Keith! Just because you're not "rich enough" to park one in your 5-car garage in the UK, does'nt mean that USA made cars are crap. As a matter of fact, Detroit-built cars are better than ever!!! Nice Solid Machines! I wish I could afford the payments and higher insurance costs myself.
I'd love to buy a brand NEW US MADE Chrysler, Jeep, Cadillac, Pontiac, Buick, Dodge, Hummer, Ford or Chevy!! But as for me, I cant afford one. (Unless they dont care if I'm late on my payments now and then, but why go thru all that stress of the repo-man? I'm a construction worker. I've always bought used cars.
If you add all the other brands of cars on the market in the USA, I would say its almost an overkill - with several more new brands on the way like Tesla and Fiat, yet selection is a GOOD thing! - if the makers can afford to sell "low volume units" - and still make a profit - that is.
I don't know why people get so upset about a company going out of business. Yes, it's rough on the employees. That's a given. But isn't it just part of the evolution of business? Countless companies have been started and then have gone out of business over our lifetimes. It's a risk they take. Granted, GM is not a typical company due to its size and iconic image. But it's still just a company and companies do fail.
Was gonna post John Lee Hooker/Boom Boom Boom Boom, but found something much better.
What a sad day for America. For the life of me, I don't know why people like you Keith, love to root against the American worker. GM is going to close out all of the plants for good; in a few weeks they will go "bankrupt" and then open up factories in Mexico and of all places, communist China.
And for all of you yuppies who think their job is safe, your job will be outsourced too. The American worker is competing against third world workers in China, India and Mexico.
My father-in-law, a very good man, spent 32 years working for General Motors.
4 years ago I told him GM was going to go bankrupt and to get all of his money out of the company.
He did.
Hey lets hand the unions another trillion dollers so they can all get their 100,000 a year for nothing as always.
GM and Chrysler are finished. They had 30 years (along with Ford) to show some leadership, some imagination, some guts, but, not much happened. They kept building those damn big SUVs to accommodate the ever increasing size of the American butt.
They kept kicking the can down the road.
Now they're out of road and the can is busted to pieces.
Here's hoping Citigroup, Goldman, BOA and Mozillo go with them.
If we have to replace those 2 iconic American companies, we can replace those Wall St. hustlers who destroyed this country.
Is this when the riots start
I will not miss either GM or Chrysler, but will feel sorry for the workers, but then again, the auto union is a good part to blame for the demise. If an auto maker cannot sell crappy autos, then they need to be out of business. Just like Oldsmobile (which by the way was one of the top selling autos in the USA during the 1970's and into te 1980's, when their usefullness has run its course,,,,bye bye. And that is the way it should be, not dumping taxpayer dollars down the toilet ,,,like Wash DC has done (both sides of the aisle) and speaking of toilet, that is where the Congress should find itself.
Michigan already has a 12.6% unemployment rate. It will break 15% guaranteed and maybe even hit 20% by this time next year. They will need to wall off a green zone within Detroit - it happened in the movie Robocop right?
Silicon Valley is the next Detroit.
Yes, GM had improved quality and had narrowed or closed the gap. Still, PERCEPTION of quality is what sells cars. Mercedes Benz had a significant drop in quality during the 90's but their cars still sold as quality perception can "stick" be a generational phenomenon. GM is still encumbered by their past reputation. Fair-minded people can understand that unions exist to counterbalance the financial power that employers have over employees but they also realize that unions can employ political power in ways that are detrimental to the long term success of their company.
It's not GM alone who is to blame for this bankrupcy, and even less the unions. car makers in other countries have unions too, and they've never had to make the kind of consessions that auto workers in Detroit have over the last few years. The reason foregin manufacturers can make better cars at comparable prices to the Detroit three is one of politics. European and asian car manufacturers have a protected home market, providing them with a buffer. U.S. industrial policy, on the other hand, has favored outsourcing. Now it's GMs operations in Brazil that are the company's most profitable, and that has nothing to do with the kind of cars they make. It's about the business terms offered to them by the respective countries' governments. As for 'reinventing america after the crash', it would have to include rebuilding the U.S. industrial base, which is going to require protecting U.S. industry. Free trade policies makes no sense unless everyone's doing it. (there are more preconditions for making free trade make sense,I know, but that's off-topic)
Just 2 days ago GM was given another 4.2 billion to keep the lights on till mid may......now they will be closed for almost 3 months......They will no reopen half of those plants! Bet on it!
The real question you should ask yourself is why is the govt allowing the idled plants around the country dissassemble and ship out all the machinery...How will we make tanks,planes armaments etc when the shit hits the fan ie WWIII? WE are sooooo screwed when this happens.
this is just a political play by GM. it's the five year old holding his breath tantrum thing to get more money from the american taxpayer.
it will probably work too.
Anon said:
But alas, most of you don't sell shit and are probably that 60-70% of the parasitic populace who work for the government and/or have a job that is dependent upon government spending.
GM and CHYSLER DO "SELL SHIT". THATS WHY THEY ARE DEAD
I hope you all get what you wish for. (ME TOO-DEAD CHRYSLER AND GM AND A FUCKED OVER/DEAD UAW) Oh, and if they go out of business, (YES, THEY ARE) who do you think is going to pay the retirement and healthcare bills?
NO ONE WILL PAY FOR A FUCKING IMBESCILE THAT TURNED SCREWS FOR A LIVING FOR $70/hr OR A RETARDED FIREMAN 75% OF THEIR WORKING PAY EITHER.
Fucking Idiots.
NO SIR, YOU, ARE THE "FUCKING IDIOT" AND UNIONS ARE DEAD.
April 23, 2009 12:19 AM
Oh BTW, AMERICA IS DEAD TOO.
Fuck American Greedy Shitbirds.
DIE U PIGS
Detroit Riots '09
Summer of Rage, Death and Destruction 2009.
Obama and your lightweight, tax-cheat crew, YOU HAVE BLOWN IT, Bo Jangles! You cannot get out-of-debt with MORE DEBT. Even a 10 year old crack dealer from the South Side of Chicago knows you will get croaked for doing that. Where did YOU go wrong? Pure Comedy Genius, Washington DC...
GM and Chrysler are Dead. You gots a lots of ssplaining to do weezie..
'There are never enough seats on the last train out of the station'
-Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
All Aboard!
"Japanese cars are no better than American cars."
Depends on which car you're talking about. The corvette is great. So is the G8. So are most of the trucks.
But yes, the Civic for example is much better than the Cobalt. The Altima, Camry, and Accord are better than the Impala. The G35/G37 or 335i resoundingly beat the Monte Carlo.
"And, if we had fair trade on this country, you probably would not be able to afford them."
Are you kidding? Many "import" cars are now made in the USA. Nissan, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, BMW, and Subaru have factories in the US.
In fact, GM cars are more of an import car than the "imports" since most GM cars come from Mexico and Canada.
OoooooBaaaaammy!
Gimme Cheese.
I hope to buy a Chevy Tahoe this winter. I'll use it in lieu of a motor home and sleep in it @ campsites.
Let's hope it doesn't become my permanent home.
Anton Chiguhr
Apparently all those workers get close to their regular paychecks, despite not working for 9 or so weeks.
I read that GM plus the state unemployment benefits will make them whole - or close to it. Does anyone in business do math any more?
I agree with above poster, many of those plants will not re-open....
Anonymous re Japanese cars; you have a point in quality; I do think American cars are dogged unfairly.
However I thought of another reason AM cars got themselves into so much trouble and no one is mentioning it and I think it's far more important than legacy costs.
I said to my son as we were driving in a $3400 car he just bought for cash, amongst cars on freeway and lots packed to the gills with cars and not a human in sight. I said if people were only paying what they could pay cash, everyone would be driving a hooptee and we'd be in the fancy car. And then the light bulb went on. One reason Am cars are high priced is probably because everyone bought them on credit or at least the majority. You don't have to think about the price as much if you're paying it off very, very slowly-think how long contracts have become. So the prices went up as far as the market could be pushed...Everybody could pay more and more, sure they could. And then the whole structure of the auto industry was built around the expectation of a certain profit margin. What nobody is saying is the car industry probably can't cut prices very much. For one thing, we'd realized not only did we get taken for a ride on house prices[no way those could be justified]we got taken for a ride on our rides.
Grandma PKK
"Love America said...
What a sad day for America. For the life of me, I don't know why people like you Keith, love to root against the American worker."
Because they are so F*cking stupid, greedy, lazy and corrupted.
Ring any Bells, Dipshit?
DIE AMERICA. DIE GM. DIE CHRYSLER. DIE UAW.
DIE U PIGS
tick, tick, tick, tick....
"Sources: GM to
Temporarily Shut Down
DETROIT - Two people briefed on the plan say General Motors Corp. will close most of its U.S. factories for up to nine weeks this summer because of slumping sales and growing inventories of unsold vehicles."
9 weeks of the corner boys unemployed, huh?
Get Ready for the Detroit Riots of '09.
Good Night and Good Luck.
"Anonymous said...
Apparently all those workers get close to their regular paychecks, despite not working for 9 or so weeks.
I read that GM plus the state unemployment benefits will make them whole - or close to it. Does anyone in business do math any more?"
Retarded UAW autoworkers paid not to work. You wonder WHY America sucks and is DEAD? Pay a retard dimwit NOT to work. Fuck that. Let them starve OR figure their way out like everyone else not a retarded pussy autoworker.
FUCK GM. DIE UAW. BOYCOTT AMERICAN MADE PRODUCTS ALL TOGETHER.
SUMMER OF RAGE & DEPRESSION OF'09.
LET'S GET IT ON!
PUNISH THE GUILTY.
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