balthazar

How would this effect the discussion at hand ?? If anything, it lends more creedence to VW for offering mostly autonomous brands as opposed to badge-engineered versions under different divisions. Toyo did not create Hino or Diahatsu... but again- origin is immaterial to how many brands a Corp "needs".

There's a pic of me on page 62... it's taken me this long to get a 2nd shot up. I try my best not to look overly happy in photographs, but here I'm just beaming at something or other.

>>"? There was a lot more redundancy in past times than now(80s-90s, for instance)..."<< I realize you can only relate to what you recall personally, but the '80s is a decade there's NO reason to revisit except as an example of what NOT to do, and there's another 70 years of business case examples before that. Don't give me any crap about 'no one remembers that'; if we as armchair analysts can only learn from what we remember- we have no business opening our mouths. '09 is as far removed from 1980 as it is from 1960. Thru the bulk of GM, back when GM was, you know; ragingly successful - there was far LESS overlap & redundancy vs. today. Isn't any of this in 'Why GM Matters' ??

TMC~ toyota, scion (numbers combined at will with toyota's to serve the purpose of the moment), lexus, hino commercial (used to build cars also) plus majority ownership of Daihatsu. That's 5, not 3. toyota, according to wiki, also has 522 subsidiaries- tho obviously those are not vehicle manufacturing entities. VW Group~ VW, audi, seat, skoda, lambo, bent, bug, VW Commercial and majority ownership of scania. There's the 9. Plus porsche owns 35% (a controlling interest, tho not exercised) of VW... making a case that that's 10 brands under 1 roof. VW definately is following the GM model, but toyota is also- just farther behind. Case has been made that scion could just as well be badged with the '3 hula hoops' logo. # of brands is not the answer to any 1 question.

I went to NAIAS in Detroit one year : I don't see the weather as much of a factor when the entire event is totally indoors, but OK.

My buddy owns an '02 Z28 convertible, but he's moreso a classic Chevy guy. I've ribbed him to get rid of it ('Too new!' I point out), but he loves it; says it'll never go unless it's replaced with a '11 Camaro convert. He's about 6'3" and I would guess a minimum of 250 lbs. He drives the snot out of it, too. I guess he finds it completely livable, somehow.

>>"The big distinction from the classic structure is (ideally) less redundancy/overlap and more focused brands."<< You're not going to have less redundancy with corporate-wide platforms & powertrains PLUS global equivalents in numerous instances, so the big distinction there goes the other way, unfortunately for casual perception...

BMW, a brand too often held up as example of 'how to do it' has been building stylistic parodies of 1 design for 40 years now- 4 round headlights and 2 plastic nostril grilles on a boxy, non-fluid body. Banglization -love it or hate it... or be apathetic toward it- has been the only change since the late '60s... yet somehow these 'heart-attacks waiting to happen fat old men' still buy them. And the one opportunity taken to do something really fresh resulted in one of the most retro designs ever seen: the mini. "People old enough to remember the Mini are not going to run out & buy Union-Jack-Roofed subcompacts to try and relive their youth". Whoops. Somehow there, retro worked.... and the basis wasn't even all that enthusiastically recieved back then. Criticize at will, but keep it consistant. If the mini had potential for success as one of the strongest retro designs based on a ho-hum tin can, there certainly is potential for a retro pop culture icon that sold nearly a quarter million and has a huge following. Another thing lacking greatly in consistancy is the useage of 'badge-engineered'. We need to get that straight, finally.

Best course of action by far, as opposed to officially discontinuing Pontiac, is to never say it's gone & offer whatever portfolio they can make a case for, even if that's only 1 model for a time period.

>>"...failed to change as Sloan's concept of GM no longer worked...."<< I know this is a partial-sentence summary, but :: Sloan's concept of GM failed to work BECAUSE it changed from that concept. IE; the concept was superceeded by other factors, rendering the concept defunct. That is, in fact, change, not failure to change. I would be interested in reading the first 60-some years of GM's history, but far too many non-automotive factors muddy up the 'car story' after the early 70s. I'll watch out for it.

Huh- my Buick has threaded bushings... Oh well, guess that's just another example of 'progress'... :wink:

Not that the trends aren't there, but the definitions of overweight & obese are far too rigid and non-analytical. The BMIndex scale is quite flawed- so while I'll recognize the trends, the hard numbers are strongly suspect.

>>"My point is, we haven't had free trade for a very very long time."<< Agreed. Over the years, I too have read snippets of the amazing requirements to enter -say- the japanese market with U.S. goods. I recall one safety test of imported rowboats- fill them to the brim with rock & see if they still float. Japanese-company boats subjected to the same test ?? Of course not. This is called a 'safety test', but it's only a protectionism law for a closed market. Yet most armchair critics - oblivious to the type of hoops importers have to jump thru - assume merely than the product is inferior. It's bullsh!t, and it's certainly not "free trade".

>>"My shifts for both change day by day, week by week."<< That's what's doing it, IMO, and that blows. Any chance of setting a schedule, at least weekly ?? Otherwise, I would try and find something else comparable money-wise, but more set time-wise, if at all possible.

>>"I'm not fat, but it seems to me that people have way too much to say about those who are."<< Agreed. Strangely, no one seems to equate unilateral "fat America" comments with having a fat mouth. I hate shopping- I treat it like a Navy Seal mission : in, secure target, get out. Tolerable clothes shopping experience: 10 minutes. And why is it always so damned hot in there ??

>>"I'm not loving the time we live in at all."< Too true on numerous fronts. Hold true to your values & principals- you owe compromise there to no one. You still have, or have access to, the products that forged your bond with GM; that is written in time and is unbreakable by all but you. Will GM, or ANY OTHER MANUFACTURER... EVER build the perfect vehicle for me? No; never. But I have a lifelong unbreakable bond with their past products... and that transfers to strong good will & good wishes for their future. If it all ends in the 101th year, my bond remains. As far as things larger than GM- the tide is beginning to turn, I believe. Meet up with those who share your views and the voices will grow stronger. It IS possible to reverse the course there- maybe moreso than in the case of GM.

>>"The Domestics would realize that they can raise prices simply because the imports now have to charge higher prices as well. ....it would severely reduce the Domestics incentive to substantially improve their products..."<< Maybe down the road, once a Return To Prosperity is realized, but not now- they need 1. profit, and 2. volume (in that order). TO clarify- they SHOULDN'T do these things; one would hope the lessons have been learned by now. >>"As for the tax breaks, you can expect governments of Germany, France, and Japan to retaliate severely, which would send us into a depression era trade war (and probably a Depression to boot)."<< Can anyone verify that any worldwide trade partner to the U.S. has any concern that 'the U.S. will retaliate' ??? It always seems to me (not based on anything tangible, mind you) that everyone else is snickering up their sleeve at us....

Idiots with closed-minds, abound.

Sharp chisel & gentle pressure, or a new blade in a utility knife. I hate working on plastic parts. Never forget Rule #1 in working on cars: If It Went Together, It'll Come Apart.

It would only make sense that the pin is 'hanging' from the top side- did you try and remove that piece from the top & see what's going on there ?

You have to pay attention to how you feel, of course. 50 hrs, in & of itself, is not a great deal... I would think the 7 days/wk thing is a lot more taxing than the hours, per say. I've worked 85 hrs a week, and on another job I worked 30 days out of 31 (that was my breaking point- I started to suffer from periodic brain fogs around day 28). But if you are functioning well, keep stackin' up dem dollars.

I just don't care for most of Barris' work, this included, and especially. Here's another that Dean Jefferies did, clean & aggressive. This one I really like: Here's a custom 2-seater : Razoredge would've loved this thread...

To be accurate, TRC also mentioned 'great marketing, great PR', which has not quite been the case with the Malibu. Quality marketing is extremely important (and I don't think the Malibu's has been necc. poor), but quantity sorely needs to be addressed, too. IMO- the car itself is quite competitive- the word just needs to get out better. I do not think 'far outclass' is really possible from anyone, esp in realistic price classes.

Damn, Chevy builds dem trucks tough- most of it is just mud & scuffs. Glass didn't even pop! Hose it down, replace the mirror and keep rollin' !! Did he roll in into a mulch pile or something else relatively soft?

It's an example, hence the thread title ("yet another"), not solely a specific complaint. The timeline has nothing to do with it, other than to allow a reasonable span for the story to circulate. Note the conclusional comparison to how well this is known vs. Chris Brown (or substitute your own celeb gossip BS). -- -- -- What is important in life, what's significant, what can we learn from and be inspired from ?? : examples of exemplary behavior and values. What does the media shove down our throats incessantly ?? : the insipid & the inane. Garbage in, garbage out.