Quality for Ford is actually quite good this line, but their efficiency sucks rocks.

have held the Buick in esteem for a long time. Ford has no bellwether there; it will have to create one.

I think Ford will survive, but I have no idea if it will flourish.

http://mauberly.blogspot.com/

I'd think that the light truck division would be something that would be worth acquiring. You see lots and lots of F150/250/350s out here and there are some very fierce Ford truck loyalists.

Perhaps Ford can raise some cash by selling the passenger car division of Volvo. Heaven knows, that marque has gone to hell since being acquired. Time for some new ownership to bring back the "old" Volvo.

decisions vis-a-vis healthcare issues, with the subtext that those damn union workers are too greedy. Nevermind the fact that management at Ford sucks, the product line pretty much sucks and they don't have a decent product pipeline to speak off.

Yeah, all the unions fault.

^{“Is not our first thought to go on the road? The road is our source, our vault of treasures, our wealth. Only on the road does the ‘traveller’ feel like himself, at home.”
Ryszard Kapuscinski}

From a December 19 AP story:

DETROIT — General Motors Corp. is offering buyouts and retirement incentives to 5,200 hourly workers represented by the United Auto Workers.

GM would not reveal how many workers it expects to leave under the program, but said 5,200 are eligible, spokesman Dan Flores said Tuesday.

More than 34,000 GM workers left last year by way of retirement or buyouts, he said.

The program announced Tuesday will be offered to all UAW-represented hourly employees working at GM's service and parts and operations facilities across the country.
...
GM wants more than 16,000 hourly UAW workers to exit the company. Many would be replaced by workers at the lower tier wage scale approved under a landmark four-year contract with the union. Such new hires would be mainly in non-manufacturing jobs and would receive reduced health care and pension benefits than the workers they replace.

GM anticipates replacing higher paid workers with entry-level employees who will make less.

Current UAW employees earn about $28 an hour, while entry-level wages begin at about $14-$15 an hour, Flores said.

"Certainly, we are focused on cost-reduction efforts," Flores said. "In the U.S., it's a competitive marketplace and customer demand is softening. There is an urgency to cutting costs as quickly as we can."

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I'm curious as to how much skill it takes nowadays to be an auto assembly-line worker, as compared to say, 1960. Anyone have any first-hand knowledge? Automation certainly must have simplified a lot of tasks.

Back in the Good Old Days when the American auto industry had no competition, the overhead costs per vehicle were neither particularly huge as a percentage nor difficult to pass on to the customers. There was also laws and loopholes in laws encouraging employers to enact paid employee benefits rather than to rely upon wages alone as a recruiting tool.

No one forced U.S. manufacturers to provide health insurance at no cost to their workers; it was cheaper than jacking up wages and the accompanying payroll taxes. Win-Win.

Of course, health care costs have increased from 5% of GDP in 1963 to 14.4% in 2001. And the domestic market share of U.S. automakers has dropped from 93% to 65% in the same era.

Hasn't really been a seller's market since the early 1980's.

_{Turn back to the Constitution - and READ it.}

the healthcare issue it is a red-herring for what's "really wrong" with the automakers, Unions. So, perhaps I overreacted, but then again, I am a cubicle boy now, so make of it what you will.

^{“Is not our first thought to go on the road? The road is our source, our vault of treasures, our wealth. Only on the road does the ‘traveller’ feel like himself, at home.”
Ryszard Kapuscinski}

I didn't read the post as Union swipe but as a swipe at our healthcare mess.

Go to your cubicle, young man!

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"The best-informed man is not necessarily the wisest. Indeed there is a danger that precisely in the multiplicity of his knowledge he will lose sight of what is essential."

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

That's veal-fattening pen.

Forget it, Jake - it's AmnesiaTown

*cough*

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"The best-informed man is not necessarily the wisest. Indeed there is a danger that precisely in the multiplicity of his knowledge he will lose sight of what is essential."

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Very practical design, lower curb weight and good mileage.

'mini' SUV's - Subaru Forester, Honda CRV, Toyota RAV4, Ford Escape. Good, fun and practical cars all.

_{Turn back to the Constitution - and READ it.}

My three brothers, parents and I drove half way across the country many times in a white station wagon. I guess we were very Brady Bunchish. :D