Wednesday, July 28, 2010

GM File Under

I pull for GM. There are lots of things I don't like about them, but I pull for them to do well but nary a week goes by where I'm not slapping my head in disbelief in something they have done or said. I've posted some of my feelings about things on this blog. I still think the worst promotional thing I've ever seen was the Volt Dancers. I do believe that a high ranking employee was demoted after that got out (Susan Docherty).

Anywho, a couple more things to add now. First up is a question GM posted on Facebook a couple days ago, which read:

"Today's question, have you ever driven in hot
weather without air conditioning, now or even before cars were equipped with
it? Fill us in!"

I'm not going to dwell here on that because the ignorance there is striking. I know that the forum for which the post was made is for a younger crowd, but the elitism of the question is shitty. Maybe I'm overreacting I guess. But on the road after I read this post I asked Audrea to play a game with me. Whomever saw a "foreign" car with there windows down got a point. It was a hot summers day here in Columbus and we where tooling around town. We had to make it "foreign" cars because about every 5th American car had their windows down. To me, on a hot day in the mid 90s meant; windows down = no AC. We had to change the rules to foreign because we saw so many Grand Am's and Cavaliers with windows down.

The question GM asked makes the assumption that everyone is like those who work within their corporate universe. It makes me angry.

Not a scientific approach at all. We drove about an hour that day. We saw 2 foreign cars with windows down.

File #2 also stems from the web over at http://www.facesofgm.com/ where they profile exactly what it says. Today's profile is that of Ann. Ann is an intern. Ann doesn't know anything about cars but Ann is pretty. Ann must be upwardly mobile. Ann says:

"I don’t know that much technically about cars, so I can’t talk shop (yet). But I have listened to countless episodes of Car Talk on NPR and sat through a couple of Top Gear marathons on BBC, so that has to count for something."

The Hell it counts for something. It counts for horse shit (dirty word twice in this post). Personally... I'm here humping it everyday in a warehouse with 150 other folks driving rusted out 1985 Buick's, in the industrial capital of the United states, where layoffs are a part of everyday life. Where people can't walk after the age of 50 because of being on there feet everyday and have heart attacks at 60, live -

and I hear that shit.

And it doesn't stop there. Another post on the same website profiles Leroy. Leroy is a nice fellow who has been working for GM for 42 years. He had to learn what microns were, so that's good. The most telling thing about it was a response which read:

"I had to retire at 55 because of a back problem. I miss the thought of something to do but don’t miss the grind it took from my body. I had 31 years but this guy needs to retire and let some younger person raise his family on G.M. pay. There is more to life them G.M. RETIRE!!!"

Books could be written on that post. In fact books have been and are being written on it.

Pull the head out of your asses GM. You are a manufacturing company. Get your hands dirty and stop living in lala land.

It's not all bad though. I am ranting a bit and I need to simmer down. GM has yet another post profiling Carl working on LS9, LS7 and LS3 engines. Go to the link to see something great going on at GM. It only fuels my love/dislike for GM. Carl is what it is all about. Carl should be running GM. Is it that so hard GM? sheesh.

For the record. The only car I have ever owned with reliable AC is my Honda. My Honda made in your damn backyard in Marysville, OH.

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