Newbiewar

reminds me of a quote..."You bled with William Wallace, now Bleed with me!" "In the year of our Lord 1314. Patriots of Scotland, starving and outnumbered, charged the fields of Bannockburn. They fought like warrior poets. They fought like Scotsmen. And won their freedom." as, GM charges forth!

Toyota, Nissan issue safety recalls By KEN THOMAS ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER This undated handout photo provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows an example of a driver-side floor mat on a 2007 Lexus ES350. Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2007, it was recalling optional "all-weather" floor mats in 55,000 Lexus ES 350 and Toyota Camry passenger cars because the mat could interfere with the gas pedal and lead to a crash. (AP Photo/NHTSA) WASHINGTON -- Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday it was recalling optional "all-weather" floor mats in 55,000 Lexus ES 350 and Toyota Camry passenger cars because the mat could interfere with the gas pedal and lead to a crash. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a consumer advisory about the heavy-duty rubber floor mats, noting that if unsecured, the map could move forward and trap the gas pedal, causing the vehicle to accelerate uncontrollably. In a separate move, Nissan Motor Co. said it was recalling nearly 420,000 sport utility vehicles because of possible corrosion in the tube where motorists pump gas. The recall involves Nissan Pathfinder and Infiniti QX4 SUVs from the 1997-2001 model years. More than 370,000 of the vehicles under recall were originally sold or are currently registered in 22 "cold weather" states and the District of Columbia. Another 45,000 vehicles are in Canada. In the Toyota recall, NHTSA urged drivers of other vehicles, including the Avalon and Prius, to check the driver-side floor mats to ensure they were properly installed. NHTSA spokesman Rae Tyson said it was taking the step "because we believe potentially it is a very serious safety issue." Toyota spokesman Bill Kwong said the automaker had not received any complaints about the Avalon and Prius. In some cases, he said the floor mats - used to collect rain water, mud and snow - were stacked on top of the original carpet mats and wedged up against the accelerator. The vehicle has hooks on the floor that can only secure one mat at a time. Toyota has received 22 complaints and learned of six accidents allegedly connected to the issue. Kwong said they did not know of any injuries linked to the mats. The Japanese-based automaker plans to notify owners in early October and expects replacement mats to be available at dealerships by late November. In a statement, Toyota advised owners to regularly check that their floor mat is properly secured and said "under no circumstances should more than one floor mat ever be used in the driver's seating position." Owners can contact Toyota at (888) 270-9371 or (800) 331-4331 and Lexus owners can call (800) 255-3987 for more information. Nissan said its recall was prompted by an inadequate amount of coating on a bracket by the fuel filler tube assembly. In states that use road salt during the winter, a mixture of snow, water and salt could cause corrosion on the bare metal part of the tube and allow fuel to leak. Nissan spokesman Fred Standish said there were no reports of fires or injuries. The states covered by the recall include: Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Nissan dealers will replace the fuel filler tube assembly with a new one with an improved coating process. Owners will be notified beginning in late November. For more information, owners can contact Nissan at (800) 647-7261.

they did shake it up... didnt you see...? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5U6KmwB2LyY

you should go on a cali freeway... but... you know toyota will blame it on the highway system in cali... its not their fault but yea, my 3500 does bounce, but not to any point that visibility is hampered, just kinda uncomfortable... but i'm used to it... but if this is to a point you cant even have a conversation... we gotta major problem...

toyota is cutting their throats with certain deals they are giving... ive seen consumers asked by toyota and its dealers to turn in their leases after as little as 6 months... just to bloat sales iirc this time last year is when the camry first started to sell... but it didnt really gain much momentum just as the new tundra probably wont hit last months high of 18k? It seems as though toyota has revised its 10% gain on the U.S. sales chart to a less then 5% gain on the annual... something if GM throws down a couple good months can out do. I wonder if Toyota's sales are going to plateau for a while... without pres will their perception stedilly decline i wonder? Its very rare for Toyota to fully admit to fault... sounds weird when they say weaker then expected car market, expecially when they claim to have the most fuel efficent vehicles

it seems that GM cut another 3 billion dollars from annual (health care) expenses... while cutting starting wages as well... should make them a considerable more profitable... this sounds like another one time expense that will set profits in the red, but next year they will flurish expecially with new sedan market gaining traction

Toyota says may not achieve rise in Sept. U.S. sales Wednesday September 26, 2:33 am ET TOKYO (Reuters) - A top executive at Toyota Motor Corp (Tokyo:7203.T - News) said on Wednesday that achieving a rise in U.S. sales in September might be tough because of a spike in sales in the same month a year earlier. "We had an especially strong month last September, with growth of around 25 percent, so it may be difficult for sales to rise," Executive Vice President Mitsuo Kino$h!a told a small group of reporters. He repeated, however, that Toyota's U.S. sales would likely rise for the full calendar year despite a weaker overall market for cars. Earlier this month, he said the automaker was on track to grow 5 percent in the United States, its biggest market. Toyota's adjusted U.S. sales fell in July for the first time in almost three years, mainly due to difficult comparisons from the year before. They fell again in August. In Japan, President Katsuaki Watanabe said he expected Toyota's sales to grow in September from the previous year thanks to a raft of new product launches since June, including the Blade and Vanguard models. The world's most profitable carmaker unveiled on Wednesday another new car, Mark X Zio, exclusively for the domestic market with a goal of selling an average 4,000 units a month during the life of the model. For the first three months, it aims to sell 20,000 units, Watanabe said at the launch in Tokyo. Japanese carmakers are struggling to spark interest in new cars at home, where vehicle sales, excluding 660cc minivehicles, have fallen every month for more than two years. Executives declined to say what impact they expected on Toyota from a broad labor strike against General Motors Corp (NYSE:GM - News) in the United States. Toyota's unionized 50-50 joint venture plant with GM in California has not been affected by the strike. The United Auto Workers began a nationwide strike against GM on Monday for the first time in 37 years after a 10-week round of contract talks stalled. The two-day-old strike has spilled across borders, threatening production in Mexico and shutting down Canadian plants, even as the two sides resumed bargaining in Detroit.

yea, thats what i was going to say... it must be so easy for GM to say, hey you guys want our NA product... here you go! but when NA asks for global product... they are like bob lutz will get back to you on that...

GM's fighting for the workers all over the country... and those that have relied on GM for the past 40+ years... and whom are now collecting pensions GM isnt that even conglomarte toyota sometimes to appear as... its also not a little fluffy bunny either, its goal is to make cars, at a profit, for everyone(this means having funds for R&D, marketing, and develop a good value within the product)... that means satisfying investors, consumers, executives, laborers, engeneers and sales consultants... If GM was really the pig people made them out, they'd be cranking out 5 million vehicles a year out of china, and shipping them here without UAW... GM is dedicated to its health as well as the health of america. I hate to see how greedy people can be especially when they havent the slightest about whats at stake and what its costs are. whats worse is UAW knows it, and they are still greedy

I think a large number of people are in agreeance that this is just a lot of smoke to make people feel good about the deal... when in actuality, it will probably be a win win for GM and UAW... it focuses of attention to, the world, hey GM is serious now... regaurdless of why or when... GM is Serious with 38 billion in cash GM isnt exactly, falling over... its sending a message to the united states... "Hey! we've got a little control over the ecconomy still" look delphi, dana corp, drive and axel corp... America, dont forget over 3 Million americans are directly are effected by the ins and outs of GM, and over 7 Million are directly affected by the big 3... Also the world is seeing, people who are striking being quoted as to say "No one wants to see GM hurt, no one wants to see them go down the tubes" "Obviously, we did not want to strike, but that's what was required and in many ways it may be a good thing because it'll bring an end to this thing quicker, we hope" Also, UAW will soon feel this in the supply manufactures if GM continues to stop production... UAW cannot fund GM, Delphi and whoever might still have UAW and supplys GM... but as some articles have said, Teir 1 suppliers of GM, have been preparing for this for the last 9 months... if negotiations have been going on for almost the end of 3 months, who expects this to resolve quickly might be crazy... they should hire buickman to do the negotiations since he's such a good seller haha havent heard about him in a year or so.... regaurdless... i beleive it will see minimum of 7 days maximum of 10... but i could also seeing the enthusiasm of the strikers dwindle after day 3 so, if that is what its all about... then maybe it wont go past tomarrow

like i said in another thread there is a lot of advancements made since the original carrage with an internal combustion engine some what similar, the primitive chinese were the first to try to goto the moon, but there have been some major advancements in engeneering that allowed us and the russians to actually make it to outerspace let alone land on the moon. not saying that the chinese arent capable of doing so now, its just the original design of things arent always the ones to send the credit to...

U.S. Auto Firms Need One Goal: Build the Best! By JAMES B. STEWART September 26, 2007 In another life, I'd love to run a U.S. auto maker. With General Motors on strike, billions in losses, and U.S. auto makers' market share in a seemingly irreversible decline, I can understand why you'd think this is crazy. Maybe I'm an incurable optimist when it comes to American cars, rooted in a love affair that began when my father brought home a 1957 DeSoto with power windows. But Detroit's glorious past isn't the main reason. I'm convinced that all the industry needs is some bold ideas and leadership. I'd like to think that Alan Mulally at Ford is the man for the job since I own the stock myself, and have held on despite several opportunities this year to exit with a nice profit. But I have some bold ideas myself. I start with the proposition that quality is not only the most important goal, but the only goal. Quite simply, the reason I want to be chief executive of an auto maker is to make the best car in the world. I'd manage everything around that aim. That may sound simple, but consider what goals get lost as a result: market share, short-term profitability, number of employees, health care and other benefits and everything else that creates static when the auto industry is the subject. All of these problems would vanish if people were lined up to buy American cars because they were the best. And let's don't pretend that they are now. I'm tired of all the hand-wringing in Detroit about the inexplicable failure of American customers to recognize how much Detroit's products have improved. Yes, they have improved. It's impressive that Buick tied Lexus at the top of the latest J.D. Powers quality survey. But as an American, I take it as an affront that the most exciting car on the road is the Toyota Prius. The simplicity of this goal also offers a road map for labor relations. The UAW has to get on board, and will when it recognizes how a thriving, quality-based auto industry will meet its workers' needs. I have some sympathy for the union's current plight. The workers weren't responsible for the decision to stake the industry's future on trucks and SUVs. But auto workers need and should embrace incentives that align their interests with the goal of building the best cars. This may mean a more competitive, less egalitarian workplace in the short run, but the alternative is far worse. To further this effort, I'd like to see someone step up and offer a prize to the team responsible for designing and building the best new car in the world. Whoever funds the prize could define the parameters and time frame, but surely qualities would include environmental sustainability, performance, style, practicality and affordability. Google has offered a $30 million Lunar X Prize to the first team to land a vehicle on the moon by 2012. How about at least that much for a project a little closer to home? Earlier this year the X Prize Foundation proposed an automotive X Prize to "inspire a new generation of viable, superefficient vehicles that help break our addiction to oil and stem the effects of climate change." I'd prefer something a bit less polemical, but this is a good start. Guidelines are being developed and a dollar prize hasn't been announced, so there's still a Google-like opportunity for someone to step in and make this a reality. X Prize hopes to hold races in 2009 and 2010. This being a global economy, the competition would be open to anyone. It might well be won by the Japanese, Europeans or anyone else. But Americans invented the car. They thrive on competition. If I was running a U.S. auto company, we'd be in the competition -- and I'd bet on the home team. James B. Stewart, a columnist for SmartMoney magazine and SmartMoney.com, writes weekly about his personal investing strategy. Unlike Dow Jones reporters, he may have positions in the stocks he writes about. For his past columns, see: www.smartmoney.com.

as it has been aware, UAW already analyze all of GM's books to make sure the money isnt going bad places, and they already understand how critical the need is... this is unlike previous deal arrangments... because GM could claim the need, yet be hiding certain financial information that is lucrative to the UAW... but this time, UAW and GM both know how bad the situation is... and while GM is the healthiest of the big 3, its really a bunch of big 3 losers...

well as the newspapers are analyzing this deal represents the same as the 1970's strike... where GM was pushing for a massive deal, and what they got in return was a 54 day strike... I beleive the outcome was GM, didnt get what they wanted, after losing billions and the need for cuts is still present, with a much weaker UAW

if GM gets away with a considerable amount of consessions, they could probably comit a lot of new jobs to the UAW, but... they must cut deep! when was it GM said it would be the largest and most profitiable auto company in the world? 2012?

For one, I didnt accuse the Japanese of screwing anything, I'm simply quoting an author who's done far mor research into the trade practicies of the country with the largest foreign investment in our soil. I never suggested we invented the automobile, thats on Mercedies Benz, invented the original automobile in 1886ish... I'm suggesting in todays modern vehicles its a bit more complicated then a carrage with a internal combustion engine. And those advancements have come mostly from the engeneers employeed in detroit or the companies surrounding the motor city from everything to a spedometer, air bags, disc brakes, to the modern v8 engine... all of these of which GM is responsible for, or at least oldsmobile before GM was in existance... but in no way can you compare the way we've added to an existing idea, to the way, the japanese undermined an entire industry via price. like the artical suggests, as soon as we came out with the flat screen, they adjusted their product selection to conquor a new playing feild. and our country, our unions have done nothing to protest this, our citizens have rioted against toyota and honda before, but still has no actions have been seen to accomidate, adjust one of our fleeting industrys to become more competative. In short, Japan cant have an offensive military, but they can have an onslaught and the largest shift of wealth between two countries has been underway for about 20-30 years, and we can invent new stuff... well i'll rant more later gotta go back to work... And when I'm at war, and there is more damage done on the home front by globalism, you tell me how good it is for our nation...

If a long stike were to exist, since GM is taking the hit for the big 3... would the other two be willing help financially while good contracts are made?

yea, so far i've had to sign back in 3 times since i erased the cookies/temperary interenet files... dont think that did it

my feeling is in 4 years gm will be much more healthy and willing to tangle... if i were GM i'd bait them to strike once a few times a year to wear down that money they got till they cant strike no more... if they dont have such a wealth if i've done my calc correctly, it seems as though they could only last for 6 weeks at 200$ a week with 73000 people and a reserve of aproximatly 900 million that way the unions got now power come next contract

I'm sure GM doesnt want to send jobs overseas, but if it werent so expensive to do it here... GM is looking for Cost stablity, UAW is looking for job security... if UAW took a hit, but employeed more people, then we'd have something to consider, but for the mean time... GM needs a reduction in expenses

GM's labor cost for its U.S. workers, including wages and benefits, is $73.26 an hour, while Toyota Motor Corp.'s is about $48 per hour, according to an estimate from the U.S. automakers. The UAW says labor is only about 10 percent of the cost of a vehicle.

oh actually... come to think of it, they dropped them off at our "warehouse" and we took care of it from there... but the railroad wasnt more then a block away in any event...

at my old dealership we did it ourselfs, of course after you modify a truck improperly... and no one wants to buy it, what the heck get a trailer and do it yourself... but we picked them up from the rail roads and took them to the dealership, not sure what is involved for it to get to the rail roads... but from their our dealership made all the trips

I've seen reporters from Forbes, WSJ, CNN, etc. claim GM's situation is their own to blame, even my father said that Corperate america should have known that pensions, healthcare and other large benifits companies promised their workers were as unsustainable as the governments version, social security. The Unions has worked for the last century to provide the hard working laborers of america a decent wage, keeping the gap close between poor and wealthy. Within the last 20 years, globalism has taken a foot hold on America's ecconomy, and while bolstering the ecconomy of places like the Philipines, China, Japan, Korea, & etc. where workers are willing to work for much less, American jobs have been robbed. While all this is happening, the union continues to negotiate with its current iron grip on its remaining companies. The UAW membership has seen as high as 1.5 million members, and other unions such as Teamsters, CAW, etc, has also seem a might higher membership then recent times. The problem lies with the Unions ability to convince of a new audiance of its worthyness. And if elected officials are the ones who presumably goto new corperations workers and suggest they can be making higher wages, more benifits and come back empty handed; one might wonder, why were they elected for this particular task? Corperations like Walmart, Target, Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai could really benifit from said benifits. If UAW or similar unions followed companies like GM, Ford, Chrysler, Nike, Adidas, Tommy Hilfigure, etc overseas, they would be less reluctant to conduct business outside their own home front. In related electronic business dealing with Japan and Trading, I have to come with a quote While Unions are not the blame for trade policys, they must understand business, and the way it profits. And when things such as trade policys come into effect with Unions, this should raise a red flag. I'm sure most of these companies listed (Sylvania, Quasar, Admiral, Philco, RCA, Zenith, etc) we once unionized as was every company becoming after the great depression. It wasnt until recently that corperations started shaking their fingers at the thought of a union. When a union is powerful enough it can handle things on a political level, and if free trade is disrupting American industrys it is the sole responsibilty of the union to bring it to someones attention that the future of american labor, research, and development jobs are going to be lost. A Union can hold a country in an iron grip just as much as it can a corperation or an entire industry. As the Long shoreman in 2002 was said to have a financial impact of over 1 billion dollars a day they striked to the American corperations and the American economy itself. If the unions cannot convince GM's competators laborers, to join, they have no right to ask for more money from GM. In my humble opinion, the Union members are beating the fat wallets on a dead horse.

go elsewhere... i'm about to write something... regaurding fault, and globilization of the big 3 with regaurds to unions... stay tuned lol