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4WD VP Lease

by hondadriver5 on Mon Mar 24 16:44:29 PDT 2008

Hey everyone, Just wanted to give you guys the recent deal I got as a data point. 4WD PILOT VP $2100 down, $278/mo. This is with 6.25% sales tax (Lorain County, OH). This is with the residuals and MF stated on the webite. MSRP was as advertised on line, and my selling price was around $25,700. Hope this helps.

UAW

by rockylee on Sat Jan 12 09:38:36 PST 2008

Quality and productivity How do UAW-represented plants stack up against the competition in terms of quality and productivity? Recent studies by J.D. Power and Associates and Harbour Associates demonstrate that UAW-represented plants all over the United States are achieving impressive quality and productivity results. According to J.D. Power’s study of initial vehicle quality, UAW members build the top-ranked full-size pickup, the top-ranked full-size SUV and the top-ranked compact van. The Harbour Report, which measures factory productivity, found that four of the top 10 assembly plants in North America are UAW-represented. Ford’s Chicago plant, for example, which takes 17.71 hours to assemble a midsize car, and Ford’s Atlanta plant, which takes 17.78 hours, both outrank Toyota’s Georgetown plant, which required more than 20 hours to assemble a mid-size vehicle. Harbour found that UAW-represented plants set the benchmark in plants representing six of 14 vehicle segments: compact car, sports car, full-size SUV, minivan, large van and mid-luxury car. How did UAW plants perform in the 2003 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study (IQS)? All three of the top-rated plants in the 2003 J.D. Power and Initial Quality Study (IQS) for North and South America are union plants, rating ahead of the Asian and European automakers’ nonunion assembly plants in North America. Gold Award: GM, Oshawa #1 plant, Ontario, Canada – Chevrolet Impala, Monte Carlo (Canadian Auto Workers) Silver Award: GM, Lansing Grand River plant, Michigan – Cadillac CTS (UAW Local 652) Bronze Award: Ford, Atlanta – Ford Taurus, Mercury Sable (UAW Local 882) The 2003 J.D. Power IQS found that “the initial quality gap between Domestic, European, Japanese and Korean brands continues to narrow. While Domestics trailed their European and Japanese counterparts by at least 19 PP100 (problems per 100 vehicles) five years ago, Domestics and Europeans are now equal, and both trail the Japanese by 9 PP100.” (J.D. Power and Associates news release, May 6, 2003.) Eighteen vehicles assembled by UAW members ranked among the top three vehicles in their respective segments. Compact Car Second: Toyota Corolla – UAW Local 2244, NUMMI (GM-Toyota joint venture) Entry Midsize Car Highest ranked: Chevrolet Malibu – UAW Local 1999 Third: Pontiac Grand Am – UAW Local 602 Premium Midsize Car Highest ranked: Mercury Sable – UAW Locals 551 and 882 Full-Size Car Second: Buick LeSabre – UAW Locals 5960 and 22 Third: Pontiac Bonneville – UAW Local 5960 Entry Luxury Car Second: Cadillac CTS – UAW Local 652 Mid-Luxury Car Third: Cadillac DeVille – UAW Local 22 Sporty Car Second: Chrysler Sebring coupe – UAW Local 2488 Third: Dodge Stratus coupe – UAW Local 2488 Compact Pickup Second: Ford Ranger – UAW Locals 879 and 980 Full-Size Pickup Highest ranked: Ford F-Series LD – UAW Locals 249 and 919 Second: Chevrolet Silverado LD – UAW Locals 594, 598 and 2209 Third: Dodge Ram HD – UAW Local 136 Full-Size SUV Highest ranked: Chevrolet Suburban – UAW Locals 594, 598 and 2209 Second: Chevrolet Tahoe – UAW Locals 95 and 276 Third: GMC Yukon – UAW Locals 95 and 275 Compact Van Highest ranked: Oldsmobile Silhouette – UAW Local 10 Third: Dodge Caravan/Grand Caravan – UAW Local 110 Although many people assume that quality is higher in the Japanese and German automakers’ nonunion U.S. assembly plants than in UAW-Big Three plants, several major “transplant” products didn’t rank in the top three vehicles in their respective segments in the 2003 J.D. Power ISQ, including Toyota Camry, Toyota Avalon, Toyota Tundra, Honda Accord, Honda Civic, Nissan Altima and Nissan Maxima. How did UAW plants perform in the 2003 Harbour Report study of auto plant productivity? It’s widely assumed that nonunion assembly plants invariably have higher productivity than unionized facilities – in fact, we wish we had a dollar for every time we’ve read about inflexible union work rules holding back the productivity of the Big Three U.S. automakers. In the real world, a wide range of factors affect a plant’s productivity – including vehicle design, quality of plant process engineering, condition of equipment, management, volume, steady flow of quality parts and the overall robustness of a company’s manufacturing system. Based on the Harbour Report’s standard of hours per vehicle (HPV), the top unionized assembly plants in North America compared favorably to their nonunion counterparts. The UAW represents workers at four of the top 10 assembly plants in The Harbour Report North America 2003: Ford Motor Co.’s Atlanta (UAW Local 882) and Chicago (UAW Local 551) assembly plants ranked third and fourth, respectively, and GM’s Lansing M (UAW Local 602) and Lansing C (UAW Local 652) assembly plants ranked eighth and ninth, respectively. Harbour’s second-and third-rated North American assembly plant are unionized plants as well – GM’s Oshawa #1 and Oshawa #2 plants, represented by the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW). Chrysler Group’s St. Louis North Assembly Plant (UAW Local 136) posted the greatest year-over-year improvement (28.6 percent) during the launch of the Dodge Ram heavy-duty pickup truck. And Chrysler Group’s Kokomo (Ind.) Transmission Plant (UAW Local 685) set the benchmark in the front-wheel drive transmission segment. GM’s Toledo transmission plant (UAW Local 14) was the most productive transmission plant in North America, while GM’s Romulus (Mich.) engine plant (UAW Local 163) was the top-rated V-8 engine plant. The UAW represents workers at the two most productive metal stamping plants in North America: GM Lansing (UAW Local 652) and GM Parma, Ohio (UAW Local 1005). UAW-represented assembly plants set the benchmark in six of 14 segments: Compact Car – GM, Lansing M, UAW Local 602 (Chevrolet Malibu, Pontiac Grand Am) Sports Car – Ford, Dearborn, Mich., Local 600 (Ford Mustang) Full-size SUV – GM, Arlington, Texas, UAW Local 276 (Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon, Chevrolet Suburban, GMC Yukon XL) Minivan – GM, Doraville, Ga., UAW Local 10 (Chevrolet Venture, Oldsmobile Silhouette, Pontiac Montana) Large van – Ford, Lorain, Ohio, UAW Local 425 (Ford Econoline) Luxury car – GM, Detroit/Hamtramck, UAW Local 22 (Cadillac DeVille, Cadillac Seville, Buick LeSabre) -Rocky

Re: Sweeping generalizations [advequityguy]

by mazda6iguy on Wed Jul 25 08:22:16 PDT 2007

If there was no delivery charge, then everybody would just buy one at bowling green instead of at their local dealership. I remember once going to a Ford dealer and looking at an Econoline van. This ford dealer was located directly across the street from the Lorain Ford plant that built the Econolines. There was still a delivery fee of $400 listed on the sticker. That for only a short trip across the street....

Michigan auto parts-maker closing Arkansas seat plant

by rockylee on Wed Jan 31 20:58:11 PST 2007

MARIANNA, Ark. -- A Novi, Mich.-based auto-parts maker says it is closing a vehicle-seat frame plant, putting 91 employees out of work. Camaco LLC produces metal seat and wire frames, brackets, reinforcements and miscellaneous small stampings for vehicle-interior systems suppliers at the 188,000-square-foot Arkansas plant. Plant manager Lenny Gschwend said the closing could be delayed if new business can be obtained, but he saw little prospect of that happening. Camaco employs about 1,100 people and also operates plants at Lorain, Ohio, and Columbus, Neb., with 2006 sales of $180 million, according to its Web site. http://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070131/UPDATE/701310433/- 1148/AUTO01 Rocky

Re: Since the company wasn't named.... [imidazol97]

by grbeck on Tue Jan 16 12:21:57 PST 2007

All of the domestics have major factories located in Ohio. I remember driving by the big Ford complex in Lorain a few years ago when visiting relatives in the area. The GM plant at Lordstown - which has built the Vega, J-Cars and Cobalt/G5 over the years - is right off the Ohio Turnpike, not too far from the Pennsylvania-Ohio border. There was also a big stink - and a court case - over state and local incentives given to DaimlerChrysler to build a new Jeep plant in the Toledo area. I don't know if Honda is larger than GM, Ford and Chrysler in the state, although it may have a higher percentage of its total American production facilities based in Ohio than those three do. If it's a large company, it could be any one of those four.

Ford buyouts trim work force

by rockylee on Wed Apr 26 15:09:08 PDT 2006

About 2,800 accept packages as automaker tries to cut U.S. factory jobs by more than a third. Around 2,800 workers at Ford Motor Co. have accepted buyout offers this year from the Dearborn automaker, which is slimming down its North American manufacturing operations. Among them are 800 workers at plants formerly owned by parts supplier Visteon Corp. that Ford took back as part of a bailout deal for its onetime subsidiary. The number of hourly workers who have agreed to take buyouts comes to 4,300 to date, including 1,500 at former Visteon plants who accepted early-retirement offers last fall. In addition, Ford has cut nearly 4,000 white-collar U.S. jobs, including contract positions, in the first quarter of this year. Like crosstown rival General Motors Corp., Ford is offering buyouts to shrink its North American hourly work force and restore its U.S. operations to profitability. Ford wants to cut the number of its U.S. factory jobs by 30,000, or more than a third, from the 87,000 now employed, over the next six years. During that time, it plans to close seven assembly plants and an equal number of parts plants. The automaker began offering five different buyout packages to workers at certain plants either slated for closure or considered overstaffed in mid-January. By the end of March, about 2,000 workers at its Edison, N.J.; Lorain, Ohio; and St. Louis assembly plants had accepted offers, Ford spokeswoman Marcey Evans said. The majority took buyouts designed for workers eligible for retirement or nearing retirement age, while 670, or about a third, opted for $100,000 lump-sum offers or packages featuring education benefits. "If you're talking three plants in a short period, it sounds like it's a pretty healthy number," said David Healy of Burnham Securities. Of the workers at former Visteon plants who have taken buyouts, 43 percent chose the lump-sum or educational buyout, said Della DiPietro, spokeswoman for Automotive Components Holdings LLC, a Ford unit. Ford has no intention of matching GM's move to offer buyouts to all of its U.S. hourly employees, as well as many of those at Delphi Corp., GM's former parts subsidiary. Ford executives say their strategy allows the automaker to target facilities that are overstaffed or slated for closure. It has announced plans to close assembly plants in Norfolk, Va.; St. Paul, Minn.; St. Louis; Atlanta; and Wixom. It is also closing Batavia Transmission in Ohio and Windsor Casting in Ontario. The automaker expects to announce the closures of two more North American assembly plants and five more parts plants. Eligible hourly workers may choose from five buyout offers. Workers 55 and older who have 30 or more years with the company can receive a $35,000 check and begin retirement with full benefits. Workers 50 or older with 10 or more years seniority receive a fixed income for life, though not as much as they would get through normal retirement. A pre-retirement program for workers with 28 years of service allows them to take leave -- during which they would receive 85 percent of their pay -- until they reach 30 years of service. This year, Ford added two buyout offers of a less traditional nature: a $100,000 payment for workers who agree to leave and forgo all benefits except pensions they have accrued, and an educational opportunity program. It provides workers with at least one year of seniority as much as $15,000 a year for tuition to an accredited school for up to four years, plus full medical benefits and half their regular pay while they attend school. Rocky