Hard-Drivin' Man

Now, just think. If you're "lucky", you'll get to put your head down and go to work for the next 20 years, so that you can have a bunch of cry babies tell you that you ought to take your 30 years and retire. Life's a bitch, and then you die. But, it's all good; If you get another 10 years in, you'll probably be able to start thinking about buying a new Mustang. V-r-o-o-o-m! Hang in there! And thank your "lucky" stars that you work for Ford's. Peace and Love.

Thought this was funny, in a sad kinda way. It looks like our favorite strict fundamental capitalist, Alec Baldwin, will have a decision to make soon. His brother Stephen Baldwin is teetering on the edge of losing his New York house, and maybe his place in the world. Looks like Dude took out a second, third and fourth mortgage on the place. Will brother Alec bail him out, or just let him hit rock bottom, dust himself off, and look for a nice family shelter next to the local soup kitchen? Hmmm. Bitch! Got this from the detnews: "The home of actor Stephen Baldwin, 43, may hit the auction block on June 24, reports TMZ. Baldwin and his wife are reportedly more than $824,000 behind in payments on their Rockland County, N.Y. digs. The couple originally paid $515,000 for the home in 1997." :shades:

If you want to take things out of context, that's up to you. This is what I said and the parts that you left out. Concerning trade policies: The laws that allow this to happen were put in place years ago, not by Obama, but by a very small group of 435 people who run this whole country. Concerning health care: And let's not forget that the Detroit 3 were carrying the extra baggage of employee health care on their backs. The latter being no small item - which by the way, Obama is just now starting to craft a plan to relieve that burden from the automakers. One thing at a time. Wow! Talk about making it up as you go along... Now I know why I don't come on here very often. And one final note: The Japanese ate our lunch on quality. End of story. Now, we have to fight to get those customers back. And, I don't care what anyone says, the Detroit 3 should have been more forward-thinking and designed, engineered and built a quality small car to compete with Toyota and Honda, years ago. The UAW and management turned a blind eye to this because they were making money hand-over-fist on gas-guzzling land yachts.

Much to be proven by whom? Obama? 1. The UAW, not Obama, agreed to the VEBA, and we will have to live with the results. 2. If GM moves work from Canada to China, they will only be changing the place where they do their dirty work, not the percentage of work - at least not initially. The laws that allow this to happen were put in place years ago, not by Obama, but by a very small group of 435 people who run this whole country. 3. Why would the U.S. government buy military vehicles from a wholly-owned Chinese company? 4. If you're being honest with yourself, then you know that the reason we lost the 4 million jobs in the last 2 quarters is because the Japanese ate our lunch on quality, marketing decisions to build a better small car while we were busy building Expeditions and Escalades for a quick buck. And let's not forget that the Detroit 3 were carrying the extra baggage of employee health care on their backs. The latter being no small item - which by the way, Obama is just now starting to craft a plan to relieve that burden from the automakers. One thing at a time. fordworker is correct when he says that we should thank our lucky stars that Obama was elected, because I really don't think that the Republicans, ie. Corker and Friends, would really give a rat's ass what happened to those freakin' Yanks. That's us. I will throw you this bone however, Ron Paul would have been a better bet for everybody. I think. There's no way to tell for sure because in my opinion, Obama just took care of business. I am a big McCotter fan as well. I think he's got a clue. I agree with you - screw the labels. You've got to listen to the man and look at the record.

You're speaking my language here brother! This is a smooth move on Mulally's part to cash-in on the fact that the stock price just tripled over the last 40 days. This will be good for the company and the UAW, as Ford will fund the VEBA with cash that they never counted on having, at least in the near-term. Plus, Wall Street will see this as a sign of strength, because instead of diluting the stock at $2.00, Ford will sell less shares at $6.00. Also, I can't wait for Ford to the unleash the all-new 2010 Ford Taurus. It's gonna blow the doors off everything in its' way! I won't even bring up the SHO. Everybody has 30 days or less to buy Ford stock, before the media and public goes ga-ga over the new Taurus. Then comes the MKT, and then the Fiesta...

These guys have answered the bell for every round. When they're on the job, Saline works for everyone! #20-Tom Kanitz for Chairman #24-Jason Schiffman for Bargaining #22 Brandon Keatts for Bargaining #30-Jason Heath for District #1- Mark Caruso for President #5- Jeff Grimm for Vice President

I wouldn't be so sure about that. It's my understanding that the initial loan which helped Chrysler get to court, and the next loan which will get them through court(debtor-in-possession financing), will be forgiven completely. Now, the final loan, which will be given as Chrysler exits bankruptcy court, will be expected to be paid back. But, only the third and final loan, given as exit financing will repaid. I could be wrong, but that is the way I read it. Hell, Daimler forgave something like $2 billion just days ago, plus they contributed something like $600 million to the UAW VEBA. Then, the bondholders just capitulated and gave up all demands for any kind of profit off of their investments. They're all going to take a bath on this thing. Everybody is giving away the store in order to get Chrysler back in business. Also, someone(Len A?) made a good point earlier about why Ford will not take any government money, and it seemed to make sense. The Ford family would have to give up their super voting rights if the government got involved. And I don't think the Fords want the government meddling in any of their family business, unless it's absolutely necessary. Plus, Ford is gaining market share because they've got all of their ducks in a row, including working capital, quality vehicles, new models due soon, Ford Motor Credit Leasing, and the blessing of the American public because they are not taking any government money.

mac, With all due respect, yes, Ford will be making more money per vehicle than GM/Chrysler, but for how long? AND, why should it matter that GM/Chrysler would be busy paying back the government? This is all about competition on a day-to-day basis. Ford is NOT in a much better cash-flow position than their competitors. They just "borrowed" the money from the banks before they closed their doors. Ford still has to pay off their credit card too. The Glass House Gang is playing it smart right now: They are keeping their mouth shut and putting on a brave face, by investing $550M in the new MAP to make a variety of small vehicles, including a Magna Intl. made lithion-ion 2011 Battery-Electric Ford Focus, etc. Yeah, it's all good news right now, because Mulally and the Boys say it is. BUT, don't be fooled. Ford needs every bit of disposable income they can get their hands on; every $550M they can scrape together. Think about it like this: Everyone knows someone who says that they won't work overtime because all of the extra money just goes to the government in taxes. R-i-g-h-t. Uh-Huh. Sure. The real deal is that every extra dollar that that guy/gal takes home is disposable income that he/she otherwise wouldn't have. So, an extra $100. take home per week is huge for a variety of reasons. The same thing holds true for Ford. They need every extra $550M they can get their hands on, in order to stay ahead of the competition. The bottom line is that Ford, GM and Chrysler won't actually be out of the woods until they are able to start hiring the second-tier wage earners at $14.00/hour. If Ford can pick up market share over the coming months, then they just might beat everyone else to the punch on hiring new workers.

Dude, how about listing something that Joe Six-Pack can afford? Or do we have to pull the Ford GT out of the garage? Sheesh!

Smart money is on these guys. You could do worse, that's for sure. This is a solid group. Also: Keatts, Schiffman, Caruso and Grimm deserve a special mention here. They are the future of Saline and Ford Motor Company.

Yeah, the dude was the Original Santa Claus dressed up for Halloween in all-black. Billy Gibbons in penny loafers. If you didn't have time to shower, just walk past Tommy to pick up the Hai Karate Cologne waft. You'd be all set for the whole day. I'm voting Tom Deatrick too - I could use one of those campaign hair/lint tape rollers he passes out.

Don't forget to bring your ice bucket and bandana!

Ok, I'll bite. What happened? Did you sleep in yesterday, past 1:00p? Don't you know, you were supposed to be distracted by the unveiling of the new Detroit Lions logo(yes, Ford works through all available channels) at 12:30p, while BOF does their housekeeping for Ford Motor Company? Besides, you don't really want to go back to "Blue", do you? That would mean that you would be one step closer to being "Out of the Blue, and into the Black". Better to stay in the Land of Limbo, where the Blue and Orange create some kind of Purple Haze... That's my contribution for today. Now, if you don't mind, I've got things to do.

Well, it is one company. That's the way it works at MichCon and a lot of other companies. I don't see the big deal. Company seniority should rule.

Right On, deflep1! We gotta start thinkin' and acting for ourselves or we're never gonna get OUR country back. I'm going to a rally in Livonia on Wednesday, April 15th, to protest against the tax system - Yeah, it's a Tea Party: City: Livonia When: April 15th, 2009 11:30 A.M. to 1:30 P.M. Where: Stand on sidewalks on Haggerty Road between 7 & 8 Mile Road Other Info: Bring signs, cell phones to call politicians Contact: patriots04freedom@yahoo.com And then there's a rally to "End the Fed"(eral Reserve): Subject: End the Fed! Nationwide Rallies on April 25th We've gotta get involved! Make some kinda move here! Let 'em know we're out here losing our way of life! Next step: Mr. Autoworker Goes to Washington. Keep the month of June or early July open... We all gotta go Independent, and stick together. Leave the labels at home.