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Miller, NE Car Consumer Discussions

Another Malcolm Bricklin Worst Car Contender

by lokki on Tue Nov 18 10:53:25 PST 2008

The Subaru 360 - Brought here by Malcom, and sold (at least in my home town) at Department Stores. Cheap? You betcha! Deathtrap? You betcha! Right after I'd gawked at one at the Millers Department Store, I saw one on the local news that evening! It was underneath a Chevy Caprice. http://www.microcarmuseum.com/tour/subaru360.html

no title

by rockylee on Mon Nov 17 15:40:16 PST 2008

Guys, I think you guys are taking what I said and spinning it. I thought this was the no spin zone but apparently I didn't get the memo ??? :P The bottom line is if we don't bailout the Big 3 it will make the collapse of Wallstreet look like a ripple in the water in comparison !!! I think many folks don't realize just how much of a consquence the Big 3 going out of business will have on this economy. It would make the 1929' depression look like everyone is working !!! Thousands of small and large businesses will collapse and millions of folks will be unemployed. I think the american worker and the corporations who've tried to stay here in the U.S. have gotten a screw job for the last 20 or 30 years by our government and its free trade for one side policies !!! :mad: Go ahead and tell your congressman "NO" on the bailout but when desperate people take up robbery and other criminal behavior to put food on the table then don't come on here and whine because I will say told you so !!!! :mad: I have made it clear and have no doubt by looking at other economies as examples that I'm right on this subject !!! ;) Some of the most powerful economies have protectionist clauses in their trade policies to protect their standard of living at home from cheap foreign labor. Even Lou Dobbs, says if you want to avoid another great depression the bailout is neccessary. Just cutting the pay on Union people will not solve the problem because the bottom line is if they have no extra money to spend those businesses they patron will collapse anyways. ILUV, it is critical to have a class of people with disposable income pal. My father has a modest pension nothing like gagrice, gets or wages gagrice, made but he does have health benefits and does have to pay a portion of it out of his pocket. It's going to come to the point of asking how much do union members needs to sacrifice ??? Their was no 401K available for my father to invest in back in the day and if he did have one well you've seen how well those Vegas, plans have faired here lately !!!! Yes I'm very passionate about this issue as I've seen already just how many jobs in manufacturing have been lost here locally and abroad. Thousands more in furniture sectors i.e. Herman Miller, Haworth, Steelcase, and automobile suppliers like Johnson Controls, Gentex, Donnelly, Delphi, have recently announced another round of lay-offs. Some might be living in area's of comfort and swallowing down their Jelly Bismarks, and Starbucks, but reality for a quarter of the U.S. work force looks very bad and the only solution some say is to cut here and there like that is going to solve the problems ???? I feel many folks are oblivious due to their local surroundings as I've spoken with friends in the Texas, Panhandle who've asked me what in the hell is going on ???? Well when your economy is based on agriculture, oil, government, sectors that currently have seen huge investment increases and rewards due to the Bush administration well it's hard to comprehend what a reccession feels like. I think that is part of the problem because many sectors that don't know what a factory is will not feel the damage until later.... If GM, Ford, Chrysler, aren't bringing in tax revenue for Uncle Sam, those government jobs will be cut as their won't be the money coming in to fund those projects. Once the borrowing from China, to fund the war ends a lot of these government jobs will be slashed !!! If we open up South America, for free-trade you can kiss those Texas farms good-bye because the South Americans, run plantations and the american farmer won't be able to compete with slave labor !!!! :mad: Here's something related to this topic: EFCA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_zkU4rEIhQ The above link is reality for people who want to organize in this country. EFCA, will make that right easier and will help overcome employer intimidation !!! I look forward to it's passage !!!! :) Thank-you, Barack Obama !!!! :shades: -Rocky

Steve......

by rockylee on Sun Nov 16 14:47:50 PST 2008

I'm not sure where the Center of Automotive Research, is getting their information from because Steve Miller, was more accurate a few years ago when he made the quote of paying UAW workers $65 an/hr. to mow the lawn. He was of course being sarcastic but his numbers were much closer to being accurate than the C.A.R. numbers according to the people I've spoken with pertaining to the subject !!!! If you average the new hires wages and benefits it brings those numbers down by quite a bit !!!!! -Rocky

Re: Rumble - feels a little unrefined [drosa]

by xyz123 on Sun Nov 16 14:38:09 PST 2008

Venture and Drosa - Maybe it has a bit to do with sensitivity, as I am may be overly aware of every sensation. Even during the test drive, a relative lack of refinement was noticed, but comfortably tolerable. Compared to the Toyota 3.5, and to a lesser extent the Honda 3.5, the Mazda 3.7 doesn't feel as smooth, refined, or quiet. Historically speaking, that's to be expected. After putting 800+ miles on the car, I'm just more familiar with the harshness. Yes, I was referring to the 1500-2000 rpm range. The rumble/perceived lack of refinement isn't just noticed only within that range. But, since that's often the rpm the engine is turning at during uneventful cruising it's easier to notice. It's much more understandable during acceleration, but I imagined cruising at low rpms wouldn't exhibit this characteristic. Engine harshness and noise is present during acceleration, and is actually a bit more pronounced in a similar rpm range. Maybe 1500 to 2500 rpm. It's a little confusing, since it feels slightly rough/rumbly with an accompanying roar. Almost as if it might be due to a deliberate attempt to have a sporty tone. It reminds me somewhat of the Nissan 3.5, but thankfully less grainy, less buzzy, and without the contrived engine note. My last Mazda with the supercharged Miller cycle V6 engine was silky smooth during acceleration, when the damned thing wasn't malfunctioning. The 3.5 in the Toyota Avalon is exceptionally refined. The inline 6 of the BMW may be an unfair comparison, since engines with this configuration are inherently balanced and of almost incomparable smoothness. It's possible I'm spoiled by recent models with unusually refined engines. But, it's still a curiosity. By the way, further driving at around 70 hwy/30 city has yielded 19 mpg.

Re: I was hired !!! [tlong]

by rockylee on Sat Nov 15 16:02:49 PST 2008

Second, do you know if the jobs bank is still in existence? Just curious. http://www.uaw.org/contracts/07/gm/gm11.php First, congrats on the almost-hire, and continued good luck on finding the right position. Thanks.....My interview went very well for the Saturn Job and I'm optomistic enough to believe I will be hired. I'm suppose to call my would be boss next tuesday. I feel my experience and knowledge will be a asset to the dealership and I like the atmosphere !!! I also want to remind everyone those UAW workers average pay with benefits is much closer to Toyota (within' a couple of dollars) per hour than before. The pay per hour was never $78 an/hr. It was somewhere between $60-65 an hour as Steve Miller, of Delphi was correct in saying !!! The Toyota, workers are 401K only and the only reason why it cost GM, so much money was because they (GM) were behind on their pension fund obligations but made up for it by successfully risking money in the stock-market and pulling out before the collapse. The pension obligations aren't the problem but the VEBA, they agreed too is....I understand some of ya'll are talking about Circuit City, etc but those folks were selling mostly stuff made out of the country and their employees don't make much money to begin with. As the UAW, said they can reward the tax payers by closing plants in Mexico, and building or keeping open american ones. Sure the employees aren't going to make much money but hey they are $14-16 an/hr. jobs and the money will stay here in the U.S. ;) ;) ;) -Rocky

Re: 'Detroit meltdown' worries Toyota, Honda [vanman1]

by duke23 on Thu Nov 13 18:39:35 PST 2008

Good post vanman1, ditto d. The supplier is a repercussion of the " They made their bed ". argument. Poor decisions have been made by the three but they have also been greatly abused by being locked into labor / health cost by the UAW. Given, that the current administration is pro union. Given, with the bail out they'll survive or some of them at least but even if they achieve future best selling brands, they'll have to work twice as hard to remain competetive. Given all that, I favor the bailout as it seems rather discriminatory to favor banks over financing divisions. But make it a loan, let's lose the bail out stigma and give enough money to survive '09 and possibly half of '10. If all three survive fine, if two or only the last man standing, Then he/they are responsible for P&I of the total package. The impact of large unemployment at this juncture is deeply worrisome. More so that US suppliers of car parts are driven out of business and we become dependent on the Chinese for aftermarket. I can almost see it,80,000 car crashes linked to use of cardboard instead of brake pads in Chinese brakes. Chinese response : well they were $11.00 cheaper per pad. Fom van's posted article: "We expect a major wave in supplier bankruptcies or a 'supplier shock,' " the analysis said. North America's roughly 6,000 auto suppliers are already under severe pressure from a collapse in U. S. sales of cars and trucks to 25-year lows, which has forced the Detroit automakers to cut output in the face of lower demand. Ford MotorCo. said yesterday it will temporarily shut down nine of its plants continent-wide this quarter as it builds 211,000 fewer vehicles than a year earlier, including Ontario assembly factories in Oakville and St. Thomas. "We're very concerned" about maintaining the stability of the supply base, said Edward Miller, spokesman for American Honda Motor Co. "Obviously this is very disruptive."