Sunday, November 23, 2008
More on the Auto Company Bailout...
Michael Moore on the Bailout
I don't always agree with Michael Moore, but he hits it right on the head in this interview. I've been a car guy as long as I've known what a car was, and as long as I've been working on and around cars I've known that the American car industry was digging itself a very, very deep hole.
What's so frustrating about General Motors in particular is how they refuse to trickle their own innovations down fast enough. They had fuel injection in 1958 and abandoned it, while the European carmakers developed it. As Moore says, they arrogantly said "The people will buy the cars that we make." ... until they didn't, and even then they refused to evolve. Their C3I computer control system and DIS ignition systems were fantastic and modular, they bolted them to most of their cars in the 90's ... but put nothing into truly revolutionary engine design. The Saturn twin-cam and the Quad-4 could have been SO MUCH BETTER, but they only managed to produce as much power in 1.9 to 2.4 litre forms as the Japanese carmakers were doing with 1.6 to 1.8 litres. Cadillac gets the wonderful Northstar engine, but the rest of the line doesn't.
One analogy I use all the time is that the 2 top-selling cars in Canada all through the 90's were the Civic and the Cavalier. I know every inch of a Cavalier. They break all the time. I know far less about the Civic. You don't see them as much.
I do see one problem with Moore's theory about forcing the automakers to make what the governemt wants them to make: A lot of Americans DO still believe in the Big Three's dogma. They've been trying to impose CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) numbers on them for years. All the carmakers have to say is, "We offered cars with better fuel economy, but people bought more of the gas-guzzlers, so our average fuel economy went up! Nothing we could do!" In a free market, the people are free to buy whatever they want. How can the government expect to dictate an average beforehand?
So to bail them out or not? To answer Larry King's question, "Who will build cars in America?", all you have to do is increase import tariffs and the foreign companies will build more factories here and employ more of us. They already are... the Civic and Corolla are both made right here in Canada! I really don't believe the companies will be allowed to go bankrupt, but even if they did, I don't think it would be as cataclysmic as many believe. There are only 50,000 CAW workers left working in automotive or automotive parts manufacturing. It would barely effect the national unemployment rate, and only drop CAW membership by 20%.
It will be interesting to see what happens. Personally, I like the scenario of a loan with MAJOR strings attached, namely that the American car companies can build only what the public needs, not what they want. Call this the Al Gore scenario. Development money should go into battery and supercapacitor technology to make series hybrids more realistic. Large vehicles for transporting 7 or more people will be rationally designed, not tarted up to look like something you could take across the desert with 1000 lbs of unnecessary plastic and 200 bhp of unnecessary engine. It's a great idea ... but nobody would buy it and the companies would tank anyway. Oh well.
I don't always agree with Michael Moore, but he hits it right on the head in this interview. I've been a car guy as long as I've known what a car was, and as long as I've been working on and around cars I've known that the American car industry was digging itself a very, very deep hole.
What's so frustrating about General Motors in particular is how they refuse to trickle their own innovations down fast enough. They had fuel injection in 1958 and abandoned it, while the European carmakers developed it. As Moore says, they arrogantly said "The people will buy the cars that we make." ... until they didn't, and even then they refused to evolve. Their C3I computer control system and DIS ignition systems were fantastic and modular, they bolted them to most of their cars in the 90's ... but put nothing into truly revolutionary engine design. The Saturn twin-cam and the Quad-4 could have been SO MUCH BETTER, but they only managed to produce as much power in 1.9 to 2.4 litre forms as the Japanese carmakers were doing with 1.6 to 1.8 litres. Cadillac gets the wonderful Northstar engine, but the rest of the line doesn't.
One analogy I use all the time is that the 2 top-selling cars in Canada all through the 90's were the Civic and the Cavalier. I know every inch of a Cavalier. They break all the time. I know far less about the Civic. You don't see them as much.
I do see one problem with Moore's theory about forcing the automakers to make what the governemt wants them to make: A lot of Americans DO still believe in the Big Three's dogma. They've been trying to impose CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) numbers on them for years. All the carmakers have to say is, "We offered cars with better fuel economy, but people bought more of the gas-guzzlers, so our average fuel economy went up! Nothing we could do!" In a free market, the people are free to buy whatever they want. How can the government expect to dictate an average beforehand?
So to bail them out or not? To answer Larry King's question, "Who will build cars in America?", all you have to do is increase import tariffs and the foreign companies will build more factories here and employ more of us. They already are... the Civic and Corolla are both made right here in Canada! I really don't believe the companies will be allowed to go bankrupt, but even if they did, I don't think it would be as cataclysmic as many believe. There are only 50,000 CAW workers left working in automotive or automotive parts manufacturing. It would barely effect the national unemployment rate, and only drop CAW membership by 20%.
It will be interesting to see what happens. Personally, I like the scenario of a loan with MAJOR strings attached, namely that the American car companies can build only what the public needs, not what they want. Call this the Al Gore scenario. Development money should go into battery and supercapacitor technology to make series hybrids more realistic. Large vehicles for transporting 7 or more people will be rationally designed, not tarted up to look like something you could take across the desert with 1000 lbs of unnecessary plastic and 200 bhp of unnecessary engine. It's a great idea ... but nobody would buy it and the companies would tank anyway. Oh well.
Friday, November 21, 2008
O.M.F.G.
For those who missed the "Sarah Palin is a complete fool" bus, here's further proof... she gave an interview at a ceremony where the governor "Pardons" a turkey, saving its life... but there's a guy killing turkeys in the background while she does it!!!
Click here for surrealism
Favourite quote? "Certainly we'll probably invite criticism for even doin' this too, but at least this was fun!" ... as a turkey's life drains out its neck behind her.
I'm not an animal activist by any means... I eat the meat that I'm built to eat, but there's just something sick and surreal about this scene!!!
Click here for surrealism
Favourite quote? "Certainly we'll probably invite criticism for even doin' this too, but at least this was fun!" ... as a turkey's life drains out its neck behind her.
I'm not an animal activist by any means... I eat the meat that I'm built to eat, but there's just something sick and surreal about this scene!!!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
On golden parachutes and CEO salaries...
There has been a lot of furor in the press lately about the Detroit Three CEOs taking their private jets down to Washington to ask for a handout from the government. I'm not going to discuss the financial hole that they've been digging for thirty years, but I do have to comment on the grassroots complaining about salaries.
I am very lucky to have the job that I have. People work a lot harder than I do for a lot less money. I have a skill and knowledge that other people don't, which makes me well-suited for the work that I do, but that isn't always a requirement at my place of work... it tends to be an exception.
Now, I am not the boss. I am FAR from being the Big Boss. The people who occupy such posts, as the leaders of companies that operate in the billions of dollars, got to where they are for a reason. They excelled in lower administrative positions after years of business school or law school, they proved their mettle as heads of divisions, vice-presidents, and so on. They are gluttons for punishment... those who head companies which employ unionized workers literally cannot make a decision without criticism.
The company that employs such people needs to do whatever it can to keep them, or they will leave. They know exactly how much demand there is for people of their calibre. This is, literally, why they get paid the big bucks. You could pay someone less, but they wouldn't be as good. Of course they want a contract upon their hiring guaranteeing them a big lump of cash upon their dismissal - they know they can get it! They should have a jet to fly around in. They're the face of a gigantic corporation. The fact that these particular guys run corporations which have been dying a slow death for three decades notwithstanding.
This is the same reasoning I apply when members of parliament vote themselves a raise. THIS NEEDS TO BE A HIGH-PAYING JOB. If it wasn't, well-qualified, well-educated people wouldn't want to run for office! There needs to be competition among the best our country has to offer for these positions. They aren't going to take a pay cut unless they are way more noble than the average human, and I don't trust someone who is that noble.
A great example of this is Political Science students. You rarely see someone with a degree in Political Science actually running for office. They're too smart for that. What does that say?
I am very lucky to have the job that I have. People work a lot harder than I do for a lot less money. I have a skill and knowledge that other people don't, which makes me well-suited for the work that I do, but that isn't always a requirement at my place of work... it tends to be an exception.
Now, I am not the boss. I am FAR from being the Big Boss. The people who occupy such posts, as the leaders of companies that operate in the billions of dollars, got to where they are for a reason. They excelled in lower administrative positions after years of business school or law school, they proved their mettle as heads of divisions, vice-presidents, and so on. They are gluttons for punishment... those who head companies which employ unionized workers literally cannot make a decision without criticism.
The company that employs such people needs to do whatever it can to keep them, or they will leave. They know exactly how much demand there is for people of their calibre. This is, literally, why they get paid the big bucks. You could pay someone less, but they wouldn't be as good. Of course they want a contract upon their hiring guaranteeing them a big lump of cash upon their dismissal - they know they can get it! They should have a jet to fly around in. They're the face of a gigantic corporation. The fact that these particular guys run corporations which have been dying a slow death for three decades notwithstanding.
This is the same reasoning I apply when members of parliament vote themselves a raise. THIS NEEDS TO BE A HIGH-PAYING JOB. If it wasn't, well-qualified, well-educated people wouldn't want to run for office! There needs to be competition among the best our country has to offer for these positions. They aren't going to take a pay cut unless they are way more noble than the average human, and I don't trust someone who is that noble.
A great example of this is Political Science students. You rarely see someone with a degree in Political Science actually running for office. They're too smart for that. What does that say?
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Support our Troops!
I support our troops. I say we get them the hell out of harm's way so people will stop shooting them and blowing them up.
The Canadian Forces should fall back to Fort Louisbourg. If the Taliban tries to come up the St. Lawrence we'll hold them off there.
The Canadian Forces should fall back to Fort Louisbourg. If the Taliban tries to come up the St. Lawrence we'll hold them off there.
Congratulations to the USA
Go America... slightly more than half of you (52.3%) thought that a change in political direction was a good idea!
I'd be more impressed if it hadn't been so close... that's a large number of people who thought change wasn't necessary...
I'd be more impressed if it hadn't been so close... that's a large number of people who thought change wasn't necessary...
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Gross generalizations about the right wing....
I find many things about the right-wing, and the religious right in particular, very confusing. One of their favourite topics, which I have a perhaps surprising view on, is abortion.
I was adopted as a baby. My birth mother gave me up for adoption, and my parents who raised me as their own had me from the time I was days old. I am, of course, grateful to my birth mother for deciding to let me live.
The trick is what I know about my birth mother. She was a university student. She had similar ancestry to my parents who raised me. No history of addiction, disease, insanity or anything like that in her family. In other words, I had a chance.
Forcing unfortunate women in unfortunate situations to give birth is just forcing another unfortunate person into the world. Someone who will, in all likelihood, end up a right-wing redneck, thus continuing the species. And you thought they didn't believe in evolution. I'm painting with pretty broad strokes here, of course, but you have to draw a line somewhere.
I was adopted as a baby. My birth mother gave me up for adoption, and my parents who raised me as their own had me from the time I was days old. I am, of course, grateful to my birth mother for deciding to let me live.
The trick is what I know about my birth mother. She was a university student. She had similar ancestry to my parents who raised me. No history of addiction, disease, insanity or anything like that in her family. In other words, I had a chance.
Forcing unfortunate women in unfortunate situations to give birth is just forcing another unfortunate person into the world. Someone who will, in all likelihood, end up a right-wing redneck, thus continuing the species. And you thought they didn't believe in evolution. I'm painting with pretty broad strokes here, of course, but you have to draw a line somewhere.
Cash Grabs
Michigan Police Chiefs Admit Speeding Tickets Are About Money
The above article tells how speeding ticket revenue has jumped in the Detroit area, in part to offset a decline in property tax revenue. I know how people will think... CASH GRAB!
I, however, am strongly supportive of such cash grabs when they affect my area. In fact, I wish they would bring back Photo Radar to Ontario and put it EVERYWHERE.
The reason is simple. Though I enjoy driving spiritedly, I'm not stupid enough to speed past a photo radar trap. THEY WERE MARKED. Let the stupid people pay their speeding fines, let the police services and municipalities have the revenue, and keep MY taxes lower!
It's a voluntary tax for idiots, and I'm all for it.
The above article tells how speeding ticket revenue has jumped in the Detroit area, in part to offset a decline in property tax revenue. I know how people will think... CASH GRAB!
I, however, am strongly supportive of such cash grabs when they affect my area. In fact, I wish they would bring back Photo Radar to Ontario and put it EVERYWHERE.
The reason is simple. Though I enjoy driving spiritedly, I'm not stupid enough to speed past a photo radar trap. THEY WERE MARKED. Let the stupid people pay their speeding fines, let the police services and municipalities have the revenue, and keep MY taxes lower!
It's a voluntary tax for idiots, and I'm all for it.
Brought over from my Facebook page
The following is a rant I posted on Facebook on Sept 30.
First of all, I'm a CAW member, and make no mistake, I'm very happy to have the job that I have and the benefits that go along with it. I'm certainly a liberal. I am, however, also a realist, and some of the old-fashioned union thinking I've been a party to lately has made me think.
First of all, in this day and age, what does "Out of a job yet? Keep buying foreign!" mean? This bumper sticker has appeared on a lot of vehicles at work lately. I'm happy to say that I drive cars made in Brazil, Japan and England. They are the cars I wanted. As a car enthusiast and former mechanic, I know what breaks. American cars break all the time. I don't want a car that breaks all the time. I also know what I wanted in size, style and fuel economy, and I didn't find it at Ford, GM or Chrysler.
Why should I choose a major purchase based solely on the location of their headquarters? THEY'RE ALL FOREIGN. In fact, as part of the Commonwealth, we should support British cars before American. It's a market, and the American automakers have dug their own hole by producing an inferior product. Case in point: during the 90's, the Cavalier and the Civic battled it out for top seller in Canada. I fixed Cavaliers EVERY FRICKIN DAY. I rarely saw a Civic.
We live in Canada. American automakers are closing their Canadian factories. Japanese automakers aren't. Who is supporting the Canadian worker better? Unless your VIN starts with a 2, your car wasn't made here! Why the sticker? GM is giving their cars away right now, because they have to. Buying a GM, and paying as little as you can for it, does less than nothing for the economy - they're not making a penny at this point. They're the next bailout.
The Japanese-owned factories, for the most part, aren't unionized. There's a reason for this. Unlike the American companies, they don't have a long history of treating their workers like crap! The fact that they don't NEED union representation for their workers makes them a GOOD employer of Canadians, not the devil.
There are now more Canadians employed in retail, medical and education than in manufacturing. Closing a factory is a bad thing, but it no longer has the effect it used to, in spite of the headlines. There are 300,000 people in London, and only a very small percentage working in manufacturing. To talk about the labour movement as a major political force is no longer legitimate.
Wal-mart is also seen as the devil. I shop there. Not a fan, but it's a matter of economy. I'm in it for my family, and I simply cannot afford a high horse. Every dollar I can save will be saved. They also supply hundreds of jobs to unskilled workers, which gets people off of welfare at least. It would be great to be able to shop exclusively at specialty shops and so on, and those who can afford it are very lucky. I say God bless the 7-year-old who made my daughters' shoes. Who wants to run a rubber moulding machine all day? Canada is becoming an exporter of grain and fuel, and an importer of crap. It's better than a manufacturer of crap.
Take bikes, for instance. The best are still made here. Cheap ones aren't, and you get what you paid for. This isn't rocket science. I'd always buy the good stuff if I could, but I can't, not for disposable items like kids' bikes. They ride pink $50 pieces of junk and they will until they stop growing!
Desk chairs are another example I like to use. You can get one at Wal-Mart and have it fall apart within the year, or you can get one at a high-end office supply store and have it last forever. Of course. But I only have $50 to spend. I'll have it again in a year when the seat falls off.
The jobs right now are out there. They're in the trades (NOT the auto repair trade - the OTHER trades) ... it's tough but if you can get yourself trained as an electrician, plumber or anything recognizable (DO YOUR RESEARCH) you can have a paycheque for life. You are NOT entitled to a job.
I know that reality isn't popular (Talk to me about religion or carbon emissions...) but it happens to be where I live. Please comment, good or bad! This all came to me in the shower this morning and I had to get it down!
First of all, I'm a CAW member, and make no mistake, I'm very happy to have the job that I have and the benefits that go along with it. I'm certainly a liberal. I am, however, also a realist, and some of the old-fashioned union thinking I've been a party to lately has made me think.
First of all, in this day and age, what does "Out of a job yet? Keep buying foreign!" mean? This bumper sticker has appeared on a lot of vehicles at work lately. I'm happy to say that I drive cars made in Brazil, Japan and England. They are the cars I wanted. As a car enthusiast and former mechanic, I know what breaks. American cars break all the time. I don't want a car that breaks all the time. I also know what I wanted in size, style and fuel economy, and I didn't find it at Ford, GM or Chrysler.
Why should I choose a major purchase based solely on the location of their headquarters? THEY'RE ALL FOREIGN. In fact, as part of the Commonwealth, we should support British cars before American. It's a market, and the American automakers have dug their own hole by producing an inferior product. Case in point: during the 90's, the Cavalier and the Civic battled it out for top seller in Canada. I fixed Cavaliers EVERY FRICKIN DAY. I rarely saw a Civic.
We live in Canada. American automakers are closing their Canadian factories. Japanese automakers aren't. Who is supporting the Canadian worker better? Unless your VIN starts with a 2, your car wasn't made here! Why the sticker? GM is giving their cars away right now, because they have to. Buying a GM, and paying as little as you can for it, does less than nothing for the economy - they're not making a penny at this point. They're the next bailout.
The Japanese-owned factories, for the most part, aren't unionized. There's a reason for this. Unlike the American companies, they don't have a long history of treating their workers like crap! The fact that they don't NEED union representation for their workers makes them a GOOD employer of Canadians, not the devil.
There are now more Canadians employed in retail, medical and education than in manufacturing. Closing a factory is a bad thing, but it no longer has the effect it used to, in spite of the headlines. There are 300,000 people in London, and only a very small percentage working in manufacturing. To talk about the labour movement as a major political force is no longer legitimate.
Wal-mart is also seen as the devil. I shop there. Not a fan, but it's a matter of economy. I'm in it for my family, and I simply cannot afford a high horse. Every dollar I can save will be saved. They also supply hundreds of jobs to unskilled workers, which gets people off of welfare at least. It would be great to be able to shop exclusively at specialty shops and so on, and those who can afford it are very lucky. I say God bless the 7-year-old who made my daughters' shoes. Who wants to run a rubber moulding machine all day? Canada is becoming an exporter of grain and fuel, and an importer of crap. It's better than a manufacturer of crap.
Take bikes, for instance. The best are still made here. Cheap ones aren't, and you get what you paid for. This isn't rocket science. I'd always buy the good stuff if I could, but I can't, not for disposable items like kids' bikes. They ride pink $50 pieces of junk and they will until they stop growing!
Desk chairs are another example I like to use. You can get one at Wal-Mart and have it fall apart within the year, or you can get one at a high-end office supply store and have it last forever. Of course. But I only have $50 to spend. I'll have it again in a year when the seat falls off.
The jobs right now are out there. They're in the trades (NOT the auto repair trade - the OTHER trades) ... it's tough but if you can get yourself trained as an electrician, plumber or anything recognizable (DO YOUR RESEARCH) you can have a paycheque for life. You are NOT entitled to a job.
I know that reality isn't popular (Talk to me about religion or carbon emissions...) but it happens to be where I live. Please comment, good or bad! This all came to me in the shower this morning and I had to get it down!
Maybe I'll start a blog.
I haven't really decided yet, but maybe I'll start a blog. I've been sorta-kinda doing this on my Facebook page for a while, but I do find that the urge to get a thought down strikes me more often than I feel like typing a note in facebook, so this may be the answer. Possible topics I may write on include:
-Cars and the automotive industry
-Current events and whether I think they matter
-Bigger topics like abortion etc, if the spirit hits me
-Religion and my lack thereof.
-Cars and the automotive industry
-Current events and whether I think they matter
-Bigger topics like abortion etc, if the spirit hits me
-Religion and my lack thereof.
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