Are you kidding me? The Yugo was badass...
Check out those rust lines, absolutely classic.
Posted on 05/04/2009 9:43:03 AM PDT by Graybeard58
If there ever was any doubt about who is primarily responsible for the decline of the Big Three automakers, it disappeared when the Italian automaker Fiat demanded major union concessions to ride to Chrysler's rescue.
Big Labor is big indeed in Italy, where pensions alone gobble up 14 percent of GDP and massive strikes are common. Coming to America from this environment, Fiat executives recognized the UAW for what it is: a parasite that sucks the vitality out of the American automaking genius of which Chrysler once was a major contributor.
So the UAW had to make significant concessions to save Chrysler and its jobs. But will consumers do their part by purchasing Fiat-designed, U.S.-built minicars the Obama administration is forcing Chrysler to build?
In all the excitement over the impending merger, nobody seems to remember Americans rejected Fiat pretty emphatically when the automaker tried to grab a piece of the U.S. market with cheap, ugly, unsafe, unreliable cars during the 1970s. Or that the infamous Yugo essentially was a Fiat assembled in Yugoslavia.
Ping to a Republican-American Editorial.
If you want on or off this list, let me know.
Are you kidding me? The Yugo was badass...
Check out those rust lines, absolutely classic.
will consumers do their part by purchasing Fiat-designed, U.S.-built minicars the Obama administration is forcing Chrysler to build?
Ha!....Not a hope in hell from my perspective!
Looks like it would still keep the rain off your head. Maybe.
Bankruptcy will give it breathing room, by eliminating huge debts, but it won't fix the underlying bad business model. It won't end the stupid work rules and most of all it won't fix the resentment of the American consumers towards the special treatment that Chrysler and the UAW received.
Its the floor board I would be worried about... Hey, natural air conditioning, it was green before its time!
I drive a small car and I like it a lot.
It’s a Toyota Corolla and I’m betting it’s a damn sight better car than anything Chrysler/Fiat will ever build.
Fiat has a death wish. If Daimler Benz couldn’t fix Chrysler then what makes Fiat think it can?
I keep hearing about all the concessions the UAW have made but I have not seen any quantitative value. All I see is the UAW is getting a big share of the auto companies. That does not look like a sacrifice to me.
They learned quality control from an American.
Chrysler has long been at death’s door. The original bailout it got in 1979 only served to delay the inevitable.
Chrysler is the perfect candidate for a UAW stake ownership, when it sinks the UAW can sink along with it.
My daily driver is a smaller car too.....An 88 Toyota Camry has plenty of leg room, a large trunk and mine has a just installed newer engine. It runs great because I do all my own work. If I buy anything made in Detroit, It will be something classic, pre-1968.....
The UAW will just catch Fiat on the back end. If the ink turns black it's back to status quo anti. If the ink doesn't turn black, taxpayer money will be used to make up the difference. Lather, rinse, repeat until the machinery of America 2.0 finally seizes up. There's no real difference now between the government and the UAW.
They did actually pay the bail out money back in the 1980’s after they got back on their feet. (I think they did)
True, but look at where they are now. And I highly doubt we will ever see the money we poured down the black hole that is Chrysler ever again.
The UAW actually turns out some cars, the government only consumes the fruit of our labor.
I know what you meant.
My favorite anecdote (because I saw it with my own eyes) was on a trip to the Lordstown facility here in Ohio. I went with a bunch of Purchasing Managers on tour, pulled around the plant in a group.
We passed workers sitting in lawnchairs, reading newspapers, who, when they saw our little train go by, waved to us. There in front of these workers sitting in chairs were other people who happened to be working on the line. We also passed a few weight rooms where there were people working out. They, too, waved when we went by.
After the tour, when we were asked for comments and questions, I asked about how they staggered the break times so some can read newspapers or workout with weights, and I was told, “OH NO. THOSE PEOPLE IN LAWNCHAIRS AND IN THE WEIGHT ROOM ARE ON THE CLOCK . . . THEY HAVE SENIORITY . . . IF THE GUYS (WITH LESS SENIORITY) SCREW UP, THOSE PEOPLE IN THE CHAIRS OR IN THE WEIGHT ROOM ARE EXPECTED TO COME FORWARD TO HELP THEM.
In other words, there were TWO people getting paid at the same time, one of whom had seniority and the other of whom did not . . . two checks . . . one person working.
That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. I am still disgusted at what I saw.
I’m new around here.
Forgive me while I do a test post.
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