Keep it American! Good news.

[POINTER94]

I hope this is a good sign. I don't think that Chrysler would sell a car to me under the Chineese banner.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070405/ap_on_bi_ge/chrysler_kerkorian

 

[rolmops]

Re: Keep it American! Good news.

It sounds like Chrysler might go Canadian like OMC.
As for the Chinese banner,don't hold your breath.It is not clear where the dollars would come from,but it is clear that the Chinese have a lot of dollars to gamble with.

 

[POINTER94]

Re: Keep it American! Good news.

I like Canadians. Never met one I didn't enjoy being around. Other than the same number or percentage of nuts we have here in the good ol' USA. Even when times are bad, who could ask for better neighbors.

I am looking at buying a new car and the rumors about Chrysler has me scratching them off my list. Even though I was impressed with their lineup of vehicles I looked at a month or so ago.

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: Keep it American! Good news.

You do realize that Chrysler is a German company, right?

 

[POINTER94]

Re: Keep it American! Good news.

Sure, I like them better than the chineese. Not much, but some. They do employ a goodly amount of Americans, and their sheer mass produces ancillary jobs for other Americans.

But if you live in Michigan, you understand what can happen when you export your manufacturing base overseas. Brace yourself for a new round of taxes. They are even looking at taxing out of state products. An interstate tarriff. Socialists, you got to love um.

 

[bassman284]

Re: Keep it American! Good news.

We're already shipping parts to China for chinese built Chryslers. Thank the Germans for that.

 

[ricksrster]

My Silverado is Canadian

 

[Vlad D Impeller]

Re: Keep it American! Good news.

That express train is coming in a lot faster than we are thinking.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6530907.stm

 

[PW2]

Re: Keep it American! Good news.

Imagine that! We are in a global economy, and competion will be global, and no longer just between one company and another.

The car companies are shifting production to countries, like Canada, that don't have to deal with onerous expenses like health care premiums for their employees and their retirees.

 

[bjcsc]

Re: Keep it American! Good news.

Huh? Canada has national healthcare...

 

[PW2]

Re: Keep it American! Good news.

That's the point. Individual companies don't have to fund healthcare premiums for their employees in Canada, and most other developed countries.

 

[bjcsc]

Re: Keep it American! Good news.

OK I get it. Very true...

 

[POINTER94]

Re: Keep it American! Good news.

PW, could you please share with us the actual number of new start up automotive plants in Canada. And please provide where this "free" healthcare comes from. My research shows that Mfg'ing start ups seem to be centralized in the United States. I could be wrong but perhaps my web search is not giving me accurate info.

http://www.hondanews.com/categories/1092/releases/192

http://www.toyota.com/about/operations/manufacturing/index.html

BMW, Spartanburg SC

http://sev.prnewswire.com/auto/20070221/AQW00821022007-1.html

http://www.nissanusa.com/about/corporate_info/nissan_in_north_america.html

http://www.kia.com/031306.php

What is it that makes Canada a better location than the United States that all these companies seemed to have missed?

 

[treedancer]

Re: Keep it American! Good news.

Quote Pointer94


PW, could you please share with us the actual number of new start up automotive plants in Canada.

Im not PW pointer, but maybe I can help out a bit, here is something I came across .

<<Toyota to build 100,000 vehicles per year in Woodstock, Ont., starting 2008

WOODSTOCK, Ont. (CP) - Ontario workers are well-trained.
That simple explanation was cited as a main reason why Toyota turned its back on hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies offered from several American states in favour of building a second Ontario plant.>>


<<In addition to lower training costs, Canadian workers are also $4 to $5 cheaper to employ partly thanks to the taxpayer-funded health-care system in Canada, said federal Industry Minister David Emmerson.>>

This is also a big problem.

<<He said Nissan and Honda have encountered difficulties getting new plants up to full production in recent years in Mississippi and Alabama due to an untrained - and often illiterate - workforce. In Alabama, trainers had to use "pictorials" to teach some illiterate workers how to use high-tech plant equipment. "The educational level and the skill level of the people down there is so much lower than it is in Ontario," Fedchun said.>>

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/business/050630/b0630102.html

 

[PW2]

Re: Keep it American! Good news.

First of all, I never said their health care was free- only that it is not employer paid.

There is a complex web of trade laws that determine where new plants are located, not to mention a complex web of state laws and regulations that also affect the decision.

It is also difficult to determine what precisely constitutes an "American Made" vehicle from an imported one.

I personally sell a ton of plywood to a company that makes crates for GM to ship Canadian made auto parts to points in South America and China for assembly and distribution worldwide.

Both Ford and GM have specifically claimed that the cost of pensions and health care for their current and former employees is hurting them.

I know that Toyota and Honda need to fulfill certain criteria to economically gain access to the American market, and I have no idea what sort of benefits package they have been able to secure for their employees, but my hunch is they are not as generous as Ford and GM has provided.

It is a complex relationship between trade laws, automation, productivity, and employee costs, and certainly health care plays a role in that.

My point is we are competing in a global economy, and health care is a part of that equation. It is a dangerous situation, in my opinion, to have a situation where a companies success or failure can be determined by how little they offer their employees in the form of benefits.

 

[RubberFrog]

Re: Keep it American! Good news.

... In Alabama, trainers had to use "pictorials" to teach some illiterate workers how to use high-tech plant equipment. "The educational level and the skill level of the people down there is so much lower than it is in Ontario," Fedchun said....

That is pathetic.

 

[treedancer]

Re: Keep it American! Good news.

Quote RubberFrog

That is pathetic.


Your right on that one Frog, pathetic is an understatement. I realize that when I was in the eighth grade the we didn?t have as much technology to learn, on the other side of that coin is we didn?t have technology helping us either IE calculators. Of course the class average reading level was 12 grade.



If you take that the healthcare out of the equation, I wonder if Toyota would have taken a closer look at Michigan. Going by their statement they were in addition too looking for economy they were looking for the most experienced/trainable workers. Don?t know where there is a more experienced autoworker force than Michigan, and they surely could use the plant. To me the only reason is the four or five dollar per hour cost of healthcare, that is if you can take them at their word as per their own statements in article.

 

[KaGee]

Re: Keep it American! Good news.

Michigan has what it deserves. And it's not going to get any better given the current person occupying the statehouse in Lansing.


BTW Pointer, TOYOTA is currently the most "Made in America" car, with 70 some percent of parts originating in the USA. Beats Ford, GM and D/C.

 

[treedancer]

Re: Keep it American! Good news.

Quote KaGee

Michigan has what it deserves. And it's not going to get any better given the current person occupying the statehouse in Lansing.

Nothing against our Canadian friends, all things considered I would rather have that plant in Michigan rather than Canada, regardless of Michigan politics.

 

[i386]

Re: Keep it American! Good news.

http://www.kia.com/031306.php

That Kia plant is being built in my county (10 minutes from my house). It's a bit of a controversy right now. A good many folks made a lot of money when Kia bought out there farm land. The rest will see their rural farm land turn into an industrial area. Gotta build it somewhere I guess.

The plant will create lots of (non-union) manufacturing jobs. There's a lot of industry here, but we need more jobs. Our city and state government work deals with these companies so they pay little or no utilities for a good period of time as an incentive to get them here. That's good and bad. what I hope to see is local businesses (industrial suppliers, telecommunications, mechanical contractors, etc...) grow when Kia comes. A downside is a lot of these plants in out industrial park don't. We provide them a labor pool, and they put little money into our local economy except the employee's pay checks. Another thing is manufacturing jobs is often all these companies are interested in providing. Management, IT, etc... usually come from somewhere else. People "ascending" from the plant to the office is a rare.

It'll be interesting to see what happens. Our company is one of the ones hoping to benefit from them coming here but so far nothing.