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Northstar

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Everything posted by Northstar

  1. Is it just me or does the production version look too much like the Traverse?
  2. What a pointless commercial. Waste of money. What exactly did it accomplish? Bash the C300? Or sell a Cadillac? I pick the former.
  3. It's $32,800 and change. Add in $5k bonus, $3500+ bonus, and $1k bonus, and the workers are making $42300 a year. If they work 100 hours of overtime a year, they make $44700. What does a starting engineer make at GM? $55k? And they are probably salaried, so working overtime doesn't net any extra money. Factor in that the UAW worker gets ridiculous benefits. The engineer probably pays $2k more a year in health insurance than the UAW worker. The engineer probably has to pay $5k a year in student loans. The UAW worker gets to go to college on GM's dime, or at least partly. So the engineer nets ~$47k after paying for theoretical student loans and health insurance while UAW worker probably walks out with ~$44k. What exactly is the incentive to go to college anymore? Just work for GM for a little while and they'll pay for school. Or you can make just as much working on the assembly line as you can going to school, and start your job at 18 instead of 22. People wonder why all of the manufacturing goes overseas. It's pretty simple to me. I work at a forging company and the work the union members do in the factor is way more dangerous than putting together vehicles, way more physically demanding work, and they get $14/hr and they don't get those insane bonuses. On top of that, the US is one of a few countries that actually has the equipment to build the parts we build. We have one of the few 25000 pound forging hammers in the world. In terms of automobile assembly plants, you can find those all over the world. Do people forget a major reason why GM went bankrupt in the first place?
  4. Maybe when the government has to bail GM out again in 15-20 years, this time they will get rid of the UAW. And why the hell did GM agree to these terms? Current workers get a $5000 bonus, and then at least $3500 more for profit sharing? Wow, just wow. On top of that the minimum base pay is pretty good for someone without a college degree. And of course I'm sure the health benefits are fantastic, and now GM will pay for tuition.
  5. That's absurd. $5000 signing bonus? GM will be broke again in 15 years if this crap continues.
  6. This has a lot of potential. If it gets done, I'd like to see GM get some sort of M engine for a Camaro Z/28, if possible. Something to compete directly with the Boss 302. That might be too expensive though, but I wonder if the 4.0 in the M3 can be made into a 4.6. If so, extrapolating the power figures would give a Z28 ~470HP/340lb-ft. I used 4.6 liters for 283 cubic inches. I don't think the Z/28 even had a 283, but 283 is still a recognizable number for Chevy V8s. Then again maybe it doesn't matter considering it's not a Chevy V8. And it's probably way too expensive anyways.
  7. The union is downright crazy. A signing bonus of $10000 is unheard of for any job that isn't sports related or for a top position in a company.
  8. You would think Hyundai would take notes from the Camaro and Mustang and realize that their entry level sports car should look unique from their compact cars. Apparently, Hyundai thinks the Camaro and Mustang look like angry Cruzes and Foci. You would think Hyundai would take notes from the Camaro and Mustang and realize that their entry level sports car should look unique from their compact cars. Apparently, Hyundai thinks the Camaro and Mustang look like angry Cruzes and Foci.
  9. Mercedes does not currently have a FWD vehicle in their lineup, IIRC.
  10. So what was the other vehicle? Or has the press release not happened yet?
  11. This is the most important information. What??? Concours is fast becoming introduction of higher end luxury marques, Caddy is doing the right thing. I wonder if it is ATS "concept" or super Caddy. Good catch, wonder if any embargo on press releases and press photos ends tonight at midnight EST as is pretty customary at auto shows?
  12. You should try to find used Fiesta's in your area with similar equipment and mileage as yours. Probably a lot easier said than done though. When the Maxx was totaled, the insurance offered us some amount of money, and we found 3 Maxx's with more miles and the same equipment (ours had the rear DVD) for sale for like $1200 more, showed it to them, and they came up about $1000 on their price. At least that way you should be able to have a good ballpark of what you can expect to get, because you can negotiate the claim somewhat.
  13. That's a good question, I think we asked the finance lady at the dealership that and she didn't think it would do anything to my parent's credit score. I had zero credit, I'd not sure if I had bad credit if that would have been an issue. I just googled this and this page popped up: http://askville.amazon.com/adding-credit-card-authorized-user-help/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=8097080 The person that posted the above quote claims to be a former Visa service rep, so I would think they know what they're talking about. Combine that with the finance lady at the dealership and I don't think there is any effect.
  14. Reading ocnblu's thread about a new car, this just popped into my mind so I thought I'd make a new topic about it for everyone to see. Essentially it is a loophole in the GM Card system and allows anyone to use another person's points. My parents have two cards, and my sister used one card's points on her Cruze and I used the other points on the Camaro. However, prior to the day we each bought our respective car, neither of us were on the card and thus couldn't use the points. However, we got added to the card and were able to use the points without our parents having to co-sign on the loans. Basically you simply call the GM card, tell them you are adding someone to the card, and that allows them to use the points (and they are sent a card to use as well). However, you can call the GM card right after the vehicle is bought and the points used, and take the person off the card, as if they were never even on it. Reason I am posting this is because anyone can "give" their points to anyone else. For instance, my dad's best friend has like $5k in Card credits, and he has 2 cars that he bought within the last year (neither are GM cars) so by the time he actually uses his points, if ever, he could have rebuilt to the maximum amount allowed anyways. If my dad was to buy a new GM car, he could be added to his friend's card, and use the points. The idea here is you use say $2000 worth of points, and pay the person some sum of money on the side ($1000?). Saves you money and the person makes money that they would never get out of the points because the points do not roll over after a certain number of years, and can then start accumulating points again.
  15. Just read your other thread, so now I realize what happened. Now is not a bad time to swing a good deal on a leftover 2011 if you can find one you like. A Cruze ECO with manual might be a suitable replacement, and would get you great mpgs (probably better than Fiesta). Or, you can go to dealers and see what they have coming in and put your name on the list to reserve something that fits your wants and needs. With that strategy, perhaps you could work out a deal with the dealership to drive a used vehicle until your vehicle comes in, so that you don't have to rent a car while you wait. Surely there is some dealer that's willing to let you drive the car for a week or two while you wait for a vehicle to come in in order to ensure that they get a sale from you.
  16. I guess I missed something, you got rid of the Fiesta or something? Sorry for my ignorance. I originally thought I would end up with a Cruze when I was shopping around after the LSS bit the dust. I'm really glad I ended up with the Camaro though. No, it's not as practical. Only 2 doors, tiny trunk opening, I get about 19mpg in the city vs probably 28 in the Cruze. It's back seat isn't much fun to sit in. But it's super fun to drive and I don't regret the choice at all. I do sort of wish I got the RS package, but it's not a big deal, and it was the only V6/stick within 3 hours drive, so it was the only choice. Plus I can use the money I saved from not getting the RS package to get some unique wheels, and I can always install aftermarket HID's.
  17. I wouldn't recommend a high mileage Alero or Grand Am. My sister's Alero started falling apart at 100k miles. Constantly repairing that thing. How about an old Wrangler? There's got to be tons of used parts out there for them, and with a young driver only having 2 seats that anyone would want to use for very long is good to limit the number of people in the vehicle and reduce distractions.
  18. Saw an A7 yesterday. Today a cream white ($3200 paint option) 911 Turbo S.
  19. There are 9-5's on eBay buy it now for $27k and change (not auctions, buy it now) that say the price includes everything but TTL + doc fees.
  20. Depends whether you want the extra space or extra MPG... I think it's basically that simple.
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