Oh Boy, GM

Paying back their loans from the Federal Government. I like it. But, really, doesn't the Fed own a chunk of GM? It's sort of like paying themselves in a way. But! I'm pulling for them. Last night, and get ready for pathetic-ness. I pulled GM's revenue vs profit from 1955 through 2010. Man... It was like clockwork. GM is truly the best run company of the 20th century. Maybe I'll post my simpleton findings here soon, but till then, take my word for it. The gravity of GM falling out of the top 10 Fortune 500 really hits you when you spent the better part of an evening running through adjusted revenues and profits. The people affected, our history, the power, the responsibility... Robert Smith.

Build her back up GM.

NUMMI

The NUMMI automotive plant in Fremont, CA has gotten a lot of attention over the past 25 years. It is (was) where Toyota first planted its manufacturing presence in the United States back in 1984. It is important to mention that they reopened the plant after GM shut it down a year earlier. Toyota made an agreement with GM to share the plant with them. It was a landmark moment.

What GM got was hands on experience in Lean Manufacturing. Toyota gained experience in dealing with American workers (and culture).

The experiment is over. GM pulled out of the plant last year and Toyota is pulling out this March 31. The above video shows what happens as a result. While some part of me thinks it is unfair to post it another part of me thinks that it also illustrates to position the UAW has put themselves in now that there is no more money in the pot for them to take. The rank and file membership should be angry, but not just about what is happening at the moment but the path they have been taken on going back to the early 1970s.

So what did Toyota of America learn? Well, to put plants all over the South in Right to Work states. Looking at the big picture it appears bad. But I don't see it that way. The workers in Huntsville, Alabama; Georgetown, Kentucky; Princeton, Indiana; San Antonio, Texas; Buffalo, West Virginia are well paid and motivated. They helped catapult Toyota to the number one spot.

The winds of change have hit though. Toyota is facing an recall of epic proportions because of faulty equipment along with the target on their back because of being number one. It's a pile on now, folks.

What has GM learned? Not much of anything besides that Lean Manufacturing principles are just about impossible to learn and implement in a Union environment. There is good in that however. Lean Manufacturing is a great philosophy, but it isn't the be all end all. It has to work in conjunction with innovation and ingenuity. Lessons that GM is currently learning and ones that Toyota is relearning now.

I'm sure there will be a number of essays and books written after the dust settles at NUMMI that will explain all that went wrong and right there. But really the only thing that matters is that a plant running since 1962 will be shut down with 5400 employees out of work.

I'll leave it to writers much better then I to unravel what happened.

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NOTE: If you follow the link on 'writers' you'll find something much more enlightning then the article written by someone that actually worked there (scroll down and find Nick).

Auto : Looking at What's Coming

So I've got today (mostly) off work. Whilst laundry is going I'm tooling around looking at what GM has got in the oven for us coming down the road. I've never purchased a brand new General Motors car. I've had a few, but never new. I don't know anyone who has purchased a new GM, nor have can I recall if I have even seen a new one on the road, save for the new Camaro.

It's safe to say I'm a bit behind in what interiors feel like. I've been to the Columbus Auto Show every year for the past few, I guess. Exteriors are easy, you can look at them and make a determination on if you like them or not. Interiors are different. They have to be functional above anything else. I can look at an interior in photos and not have the slightest idea on if they are good or not because, mainly, the photos are usually with the side of the car or the roof stripped off.

What I'm getting at is the following: Interiors for new GM vehicles are changing radically and I feel as if they are including useless functions. Call me old or whatever, but what the heck is going on with the GMC Granite's interior? It's more of a command center for the FAA then a car dash. And the plastic bar in the middle of the bucket seat, what the bunghole is that? It's a slippery slope to climb when software is improving at an exponential rate. Once this car is a few years old the value of it will be even less.

I guess I understand you want to make a good first impression with a new car, especially at car shows, but I think they have just gone too far. Right? Am I wrong to think that GM must have too many designers with too much time?

Anyway, I went over the the official GMC Granite website to see what they had there. Maybe they would explain themselves. Turns out they do. Below is straight from the site. They listed their inspiration (prepare yourself):

1. BLOCKS-Clean, simple, solid, versatile and functional. And just so addictive to play with.

2. PINEWOOD DERBY-What makes Pinewood Derby so much fun is customizing it. Racing them is fun too, but it's really about making them your own.

3. LUCHADOR MASKS-Mysterious. Hilarious.

4. RUNNING SHOES-Nothing combines design, durability, style and functionality better then today's running shoes.

5. BULL DOG-Strong, sturdy, and so tough.

6. CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE-Showing how beautiful function can be.

To start with Bull Dog is one word. Bulldog. Secondly, well, jeeze... I just can't find the words. I get where they are going with it describing inspiration for some of the aspects of the car but I tend to think this the sort of stuff that would be discussed in my middle school art class. In fact I think it would get a failing grade if I listed it because it is so incomplete. Contemporary architecture can mean just about anything. I know they don't have to explain everything, but if they are going to put it out there over and above engineering (Professional Grade) then maybe they should. Why would they put that out there when no one will buy the car based those points? I think the only thing they forgot was:

7. BASKETBALL-Because it totally rulz.

Doesn't #6 cancel out #4? Wait, maybe if I think of it as having all these things then I would be satisfied as a human being. I find the inclusion of the Bulldog interesting. I would have thought it good to list a bulldog as THE inspiration, but listing it with the other things makes little sense. Is the bulldog suppose to be the engine and the shoes the interior? Does every aspect of the vehicle have a dash of all six items?

Looking at my desk here right in front of me I'll see if it stands up to what they list. Hey, why not? maybe I could design something as awesome as the Granite? Here goes:

1. MOUNTAIN DEW CAN-The throw back can. Ya-hooo! Real sugar. The real deal is always better.

2. SHARPIE PEN-Because when you say it with a Sharpie, it means something.

3. PIECE OF YELLOW NOTEPAD PAPER-Cause you have to have something to write on with that Sharpie

4. BLANK CDS-Music is just so essential.

5. COLUMBUS BREWING PALE ALE-Micro brews give you something to think about. And you'll need a few when reading this post.

6. GOOGLE ANDROID PHONE-It's a reminder of how rad technology is these days and it's just as fun as blocks.
Pretty good eh? I wonder what kind of awesome car would come out of that inspiration? Something mind blowing I'm sure.

As an added note, I notice that right below this are pictures of my z28. Me thinks that came out of a bit of my inspiration list. Just replace the micro beer with Beast Light and you are there. In fact the list would have gone 1-6 with that.

Michigan Be Damned

This is from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation website:

"Jeffrey Reed, a resident of Bridgman, Michigan, assembles vehicles for AM General. Because his workplace is unionized, he works under a monopoly bargaining agreement which forces him either to join the UAW or pay compulsory union fees to it in order to keep his job. However, Reed, a devout Catholic, believes financially supporting the UAW union violates his sincerely-held religious beliefs due to the union hierarchy’s support for special rights for homosexuals and abortion-on-demand.

Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, union officials may not force any employee to financially support a union if doing so violates the worker’s sincerely-held religious beliefs. The statute requires union officials to attempt to accommodate the worker – most often by redirecting the mandatory union fees to a mutually agreed upon charity – to avoid the conflict between an employee’s faith and a requirement to pay fees to a union he or she believes to be immoral.

However, because Reed is refraining from full dues paying union membership based on his faith, UAW union bosses forced him to pay a $100 premium and continue to pay 22 percent more than the amount workers who object on non-religious grounds must pay. Both full UAW members and secular objectors are allowed to pay an amount less than full dues if they wish to cut off the use of their union dues for political activities."

So here we go. Unions, in particular the UAW, are a polarizing group. Some critics will use broad brush strokes when tearing them down, others will get stuck in the black hole which is Union Law.

It makes me sick to hear things like the above quote. I try and search out both sides of the fence. The good and the bad. I don't see any good. All I see is a state and region that has fallen apart. If the UAW feels like they have any leverage in negotiating any sort of contract at this point in history then they have to take responsibility for what is happening. Putting the blame on "the man" doesn't fly when you are the man. Would someone please call this group out? Please? In the wise words of my father... "you live in pig slop, you're going to get dirty".

The big three also has to understand and make public the roll the UAW plays. They are your workforce, they drive your company. Don't let them hide behind a wall of sad stories because much of it has to do with the contracts they, themselves agreed to. The sad stories are on the UAW's hands. The UAW asked for more then your parents could give. Quit treating it like an endless money tree and realize that you have broken the back of not only an American institution, but an entire region. You have raped your employees and left your industry in ruins. Now that the money is gone, ask yourself... now what?

Are all Unions crooked, corrupt and greedy? No. In the past have they served the greater good? Yes. Do they now serve the greater good? No. My focus of Union dislike right now is on the shoulders of the UAW. They glory days are long gone gentlemen. 30 years gone. You've bankrupted a once proud American Auto Industry and a once proud state that is now a wasteland. A goddamn wasteland.

I know the sad stories, I've met some of the people. You got yours, now the rest are left with rebuilding the ruin you have created. Look around you - people of the Detroit UAW. Look around real good. Are you happy with what you see? Do you still think none of this is your fault?

If you see what I see then work to change it. Take pride in the products you build not the entitlement history has given you. Fight for a better product. Live the core values you proclaim. Don't exist to "create a success record at the bargaining table". EARN that right. Show the world that America, the great experiment, open arms to the world, can and will concept, design and produce products that are far superior to anything the rest of the world has to offer.

Earn now what your grandfathers earned for you. They are ashamed at what you have done to all their hard work. Right the ship and earn their respect. You want it? Then earn it. Now's the best time to prove it then any other time. NOW.

How's that for a broad goddamn brush stroke.

Lost and Found

I ran across this today reading up on some Harley Earl history. From the guide/book that lead to the Fisher Body Craftsman Guild.

Avert Your Eyes (and ears)

I don't quite understand. I don't know what to say. I'll let Mr Niedermeyer from The Truth About Cars take it from here.

Volt Birth Watch 179: The Mystery Dance Number
By Edward Niedermeyer on December 14, 2009

Chrysler’s new advertisements may have been replaced by this video as the automotive marketing gaffe of the moment. When asked in a Fastlane webchat why GM had approved this questionable video, Sales and Marketing supremo Susan Docherty managed to come across as even more clueless and incompetent than she would have if she’d been prancing front and center:

"I have to be honest I haven’t yet seen the Chevrolet Volt song and dance but it sounds like I need to spend some time tonight on the web viewing this. Thanks for the heads up. Do you have any suggestions for us?"

Yeah, here are some suggestions: first off, it’s not the roaring twenties, Busby Berkeley. Kill the dance numbers. Suggestion number two: if you’re the head of sales and marketing, you should at least be aware of the existence of “promotional” materials like this. Third: if GM doesn’t take the Volt seriously, nobody will. Keep that in mind when approving marketing ideas.

2011 CTS Coupe

Not bad. Impressive even. Now we are getting somewhere. Looks like they are looking back a bit to the 1970 AMC AMX. Good.

GM's Volt (woops)

I know that this is just a showcase for the new Volt. But watch around 50 seconds in for the test driver to brake. The stupid taillight is out. I dunno, it just bothers me, especially when you see it working later in the video.
Looking past this we also see that Lordstown, Ohio is pinning it's hopes on the Cruze. GM's next little car similar to the long lived Cavalier and short lived Cobalt. Want to know a little history on Lordstown? I know you do...

This is from the Detroit News Online:

Lordstown
Taking Exit 215 off the Ohio Turnpike, you can't miss the GM plant. At 5 million square feet, it overshadows the community, and at times has had more employees than Lordstown has residents.

The city has a couple of convenience stores, a gas station and a small business strip with a dollar store and a Subway shop. At Lordstown High School, where the graduating class this year had 28 students, there's no football field or outdoor track. American cars sit in the driveways. More than 70 percent of the town's tax revenue comes from workers at the plant, and the town has been forced to cut some of its part-time employees.
"It causes a lot of strain," said Chaffee, the mayor. "Three times more houses are for sale in our community (since 2008), and what used to be a number in the teens is now 75. It's kind of a slow-drip death for our whole area. Hardly a week goes by that you don't find out someone in the area is cutting 60, 70, 80 jobs. In the old days, they would always say the cuts were temporary."

California Pizza and Things pizzeria and convenience store, about a mile from the plant, gleans more than half of its business from factory workers, owner Mark McGrail said. To cope with declining income, McGrail and his wife, Rita, have cut costs: They have laid off all but one employee, picked up their goods instead of having them delivered, kept most of the lights turned off and turned the heat down in the winter. Conversation over the register is almost always the same.
"It just seems like everyone is laid off, or someone in their family is laid off, and it's not just those who work in the plant," Rita McGrail said.
The hopes of Lordstown.

Fritz Is Out

Here is a great old picture of GM designers and engineers at work. Continue on Gentlemen.

Frederick Henderson is out at GM. He helped lead them through bankruptcy but unfortunately for him the board decided it was time to move on. I don't think that is was very pretty over at GM. Henderson's daughter posted at GM's Facebook page (of which I follow). Sarah Henderson's statement is vulgar and gross. I understand that she may be upset but this is a reflection of him and how all this went down. Here is the post (read at your own risk, she hit the caps lock and unleashed the FURY):

HE F*****G GOT ASKED TO STEP DOWN ALL OF YOU F*****G IDIOTS. IM FRITZ'S F*****G DAUGHTER, AND HE DID NOT F*****G RESIGN. WHITACRE IS A SELFISH PIECE OF SHIFT, WHO CARES ABOUT HIMSELF AND NOT THE F*****G COMPANY. HAVE FUN WITH GM, I HOPE TO NEVER BUY FROM THIS GOD FORESAKEN COMPANY EVERY AGAIN. F**K ALL OF YOU.

Maybe I should apologize for adding that but it puts some of the pieces together about the state of GM because also on the GM Facebook page you can find many GM employees finding out ON the page about the firing of their boss. I know that it is a huge company but it goes to show you that this was hastily done.

Outing Fritz I think was do to a couple things. First, I think he has failed at unloading Saturn and Saab. These two companies were thought to be worth something but as it turns out GM got greedy. They are also having a hard time unloading Hummer to the Chinese. I'll believe that when it happens. He was successful in unloading Pontiac to, well, nobody. It is just being liquidated.

Ed Whitacre is taking over temporarily and serving as Chairman and CEO. I believe his is the right guy to be making these decisions, at least from my limited perspective. Bob Lutz is also still there too, pulling some strings behind the scenes. Bub Lutz is what the call "a car guy" and has been there since forever.

My writing here may be in futility though. GM has a long way to go before they really stabilize (if they can even achieve that). They are still spending way to much to advertise and there cars look like they were designed by a fourth grader playing with construction paper and scissors. Nap time!

Anyway, to lighten the mood, here is a response to Sarah's comment that I thought funny:

"I HOPE TO NEVER BUY FROM THIS GOD FORESAKEN COMPANY EVERY AGAIN."

Good luck with that goal, Sarah. I had similar aspirations, but you wouldn't believe the number of times I've accidentally bought a GM vehicle, even though I had no intention to.

Also, I need to find a situation where I can properly use the phrase "every again." I like the way that sounds.

I Believe, GM

I believe we can make an automobile in the United States.

I believe we can make it something the world wants because they will have a custom hand in what they order.

I believe that with the promise of a quality product, you deliver a quality product.

I believe that we can make this product as fast as they are ordered and get them to the customer within three to five days of purchase. No massive inventories of finished product. No unnecessary labor and materials put into finished goods that will sit on a lot and depreciate and cost money to store.

I believe we can retool many of our current manufacturing facilities to create this product.

I believe we can keep raw material inventory low and replenish it when demand dictates.

I believe that the labor cost can be managed with good wages and retail kept low with this product.

I believe employees will be proud and motivated of the product they make because the will help in the continuous improvement of production and product.

I believe that good companies are ran autonomously. With high regard and respect for all employees.

I believe that leadership is not a birthright. They are made through hard goddamn effort, just like everything else good in this country.

I believe that our government should stand aside and support, not finance and police, what I believe.

I believe that demand for your product should be your forecasting model and sales history only a compass.

I believe manufacturing your product on the other side of the globe is a colossal mistake.

I believe that the United States should lead through innovation, design, openness, and hard work. Not through fear.

I believe misguided, disconnected and off the mark political wrangling/suggestions are damaging, divisive, unnecessary, and counterproductive.

I believe we have the people in this country that can make this happen.

GM

A very big day is coming up for General Motors tomorrow. I have been reading off and on about GM falling in to bankruptcy over the past six months but it appears now that it is actually about to happen.

In today's Columbus Dispatch the paper has a front page article called "Shrinking Auto Giant Pains Ohio". As if anyone has to ask which auto giant. GM has a total of six factories in Ohio, according to the paper. The largest of which is the Lordstown Complex located in the the north eastern part of the state. The paper claims it has almost 4,500 employees. The smallest would be the ACDelco Distribution Center right here in my back yard. It employs less then 100.

Wired Magazine also has a good article this month called Beyond Detroit that spells out what the future might be for US automakers. In this article I discovered Ford's unbelievably large and complex River Rouge factory. You have to read about it to believe it.

I'm not 100% sure why I'm writing about this topic right now other then the fascination I have for large industrial automotive factories. I think a lot of the country shares a general fascination with US automotive companies. It is remarkable to read about how large they once where. Just looking at GM you find out that they owned 54 percent market share in 1954. From that year to 1979 it looks like the company experienced unprecedented success and stability.

You don't have to know your history all that well to know what has happened since then. The very next year the company started experiencing losses. They agreed to bad union contracts with UAW and where slow to react to new federal regulations.


The Dispatch put together 'A brief history of GM' that was very telling. While the auto giant has always has a few labor issues in its 100 year history it is unprecedented what has gone on over the past 20 years. Strikes, violence, layoffs, employee buyouts, early retirements. There is a employment stat the struck me like a brick the head... GM employed more people in the state of Ohio 15 years ago then it now does across the entire company.

Today is Sunday. If you get a moment say a little prayer for the once mighty family of GM employees. From the 50 plus year old's living on a company pension, to the thousands of nervous current employees waiting to hear their fate in the coming week.

The Giant is nearly dead... Long live the Giant.