Oddspot has spoken!

I agree... The UAW instead of standing stamping its feet and demanding this that and the other thing, should've sucked it up and took steps to insure that the employer survived to fight another day instead of looking for the bigger better deal.

On the other side of the coin, how do you tell someone making $27 an hour that because of necessary economic issues, he take a pay cut to $14. Isn't the American Dream to get a good, well-paying job.work for 40 years and then retire to the country and play with the grandkids? And now that dream is nothing but a fantasy... reality is ugly.


As I said before, there is a reason that Japanese automakers built plants in southeastern US states. The south is not union-friendly, the tax structures favor business (more people working=more taxable incomes) and the majority of the available workforce (and I am speaking from experience here) are not the sharpest tools in the shed.

Best place to build a car plant... and make sure that you discourage ANY talk of unionization!

No arguments here! If someone said i was gonna make 50% less money in 2009 then 2008.... I'd have a problem on my hands... a serious one!

My only issue with the whole situation is delay or failure to react to changing market conditions. too fucking slow LOL the whole system is based on the theory ... build more cars, sell more cars, hire more people to build more calls....to sell more cars... and on we go. but when something comes along that prevents the selling of MORE cars, such as banks stop lending money to people to buy the cars.... or gas prices skyrocket and suddenly build more trucks sell more trucks hire more people to build more trucks...well that fails and the whole thing implodes into uh oh, we have no money and lots of people to pay. welcome to 2009. in 2003ish if Unions & car companies forecasted correctly they would have seen that there was no way for "more more more" to survive for an infinite number of years.

Posted by oddspot No arguments here! If someone said i was gonna make 50% less money in 2009 then 2008.... I'd have a problem on my hands... a serious one! My only issue with the whole situation is delay or failure to react to changing market conditions. too fucking slow LOL the whole system is based on the theory ... build more cars, sell more cars, hire more people to build more calls....to sell more cars... and on we go. but when something comes along that prevents the selling of MORE cars, such as banks stop lending money to people to buy the cars.... or gas prices skyrocket and suddenly build more trucks sell more trucks hire more people to build more trucks...well that fails and the whole thing implodes into uh oh, we have no money and lots of people to pay. welcome to 2009. in 2003ish if Unions & car companies forecasted correctly they would have seen that there was no way for "more more more" to survive for an infinite number of years.

i counter with the argument, if you had walked into the boardroom of GM and told them they should stop building trucks and SUV's at the height of their sales, you'd have been beaten with a hammer and then fired.

Posted by Nismo fine go pay full retail price for your parts, i dont care, if it makes you happy go for it. Im just saying if you know the right people you can save money. Valve covert gasket kit at the dealer was 80 bucks, went to my friend small auto parts shop, 20 dollars OEM quality. So go buy over priced parts if it makes you feel better.

I've found the Volkswagen dealership is the cheapest place to get most parts for my 2000 Bug... by a fair bit too.

Lets clarify something here:

Nismo, is your friend giving you a "special" discount or is it anyone can walk in and get?

Posted by Samurai i counter with the argument, if you had walked into the boardroom of GM and told them they should stop building trucks and SUV's at the height of their sales, you'd have been beaten with a hammer and then fired.

You are 100% correct!!

Thats what I believe to be ultimate failure of Management. If you blatantly ignore the factors impacting or that will impact your business model because currently you're on an upswing, you've failed.

Posted by Agent Skelly Lets clarify something here: Nismo, is your friend giving you a "special" discount or is it anyone can walk in and get?

he gives me and my friends special discounts, some other people i know have paid 10-40 dollars more for a part, plus we save on the taxes.

Posted by Nismo he gives me and my friends special discounts, some other people i know have paid 10-40 dollars more for a part, plus we save on the taxes.

Didn't you say they were OEM products? Isn't buying OEM always cheaper?

*edit* You were referring to OEM vs Aftermarket. I was thinking of Computers OEM parts being cheaper.

Either way shop around. You don't need a *friend* to give you special discounts.

Posted by Nismo fine go pay full retail price for your parts, i dont care, if it makes you happy go for it. Im just saying if you know the right people you can save money. Valve covert gasket kit at the dealer was 80 bucks, went to my friend small auto parts shop, 20 dollars OEM quality. So go buy over priced parts if it makes you feel better.

OEM Quality? That's NOT an OEM part; your not making a fair comparison.

Nismo is just trying to look cool with his parts hookups because he thinks he knows big people in the industry. He even knows them well enough to get inside discounts from them. He calls them "my people".

They dont even remember him the second he walks out of the parts store.

thats why we hang out and work on each others cars, and no not OEM quality, OEM parts IE BOSCH and other VW OEM products

Posted by Nismo thats why we hang out and work on each others cars, and no not OEM quality, OEM parts IE BOSCH and other VW OEM products

Try to stopping your double talking long enough to think before you post.

I've never really had any luck with Bosch.

I've never found a parts for my car cheap.

My car just passed inspection(Been uninspected since October)
The check engine light was on so I couldnt get it inspected.
Cost me $253 to get a new o2 sensor+Inspection+Labor.

For what it could have been, I'd say that's not bad at all.

ive given up on bosch, i dont want to buy my spark plugs from the same guys who make the security cameras where i work. Anyways, even at those prices VW parts are still overpriced. If you shop around you can always find deals. Here in the montreal area we have a wrecking yard whos office looks like napa, they even have a speed shop. Ricers can get parts for pennies on the dollar. Hell i bought an OEM mag in 95% condition for my sunfire there last year for 22$! On hard parts like alternators and starters they give a 6 month warranty, thats better than some parts stores. Just saying, for parts sometimes the wrecking yards are your best bet. They are original parts, unlike some of the counters where they are jobber, and the warranties are great.

Posted by nostra-YOUPPI! ive given up on bosch, i dont want to buy my spark plugs from the same guys who make the security cameras where i work. Anyways, even at those prices VW parts are still overpriced. If you shop around you can always find deals. Here in the montreal area we have a wrecking yard whos office looks like napa, they even have a speed shop. Ricers can get parts for pennies on the dollar. Hell i bought an OEM mag in 95% condition for my sunfire there last year for 22$! On hard parts like alternators and starters they give a 6 month warranty, thats better than some parts stores. Just saying, for parts sometimes the wrecking yards are your best bet. They are original parts, unlike some of the counters where they are jobber, and the warranties are great.

Your absolutely correct n-Y!
Cars in Canada tend to see even shorter lives than their US counterparts. Moose and the harsher weather take their toll, but the good news is an abundance of good, junk parts at cheap prices!
Blackhawk has talked about starting a parts run between Canada and the mid-Atlantic states for years for reconditioned cylinder heads for rice burners. He says that Canadian vehicles have less pollution controls on them, which is something some of the US car bluffs crave. He calls it "raw Canadian power"! He had a '82 Accord with a Canadian head (larger exhaust valves and no pre-ignition chambers), and said that alone added about 15 HP to that engine.

Posted by whistlebait Your absolutely correct n-Y! Cars in Canada tend to see even shorter lives than their US counterparts. Moose and the harsher weather take their toll, but the good news is an abundance of good, junk parts at cheap prices! Blackhawk has talked about starting a parts run between Canada and the mid-Atlantic states for years for reconditioned cylinder heads for rice burners. He says that Canadian vehicles have less pollution controls on them, which is something some of the US car bluffs crave. He calls it "raw Canadian power"! He had a '82 Accord with a Canadian head (larger exhaust valves and no pre-ignition chambers), and said that alone added about 15 HP to that engine.

I find that hard to believe; I've worked on both a US-market Caravan and a Canadian market Caravan and they were basically identical. Emissions control systems were the same. Come to think of it, I know on the Impala since its the same car sent to the US and Canada (with just the metric/customary switch flipped accordingly) the emissions information says it meets requirements set by Environment Canada and also EXCEEDS US EPA standards.

Posted by Agent Skelly the emissions information says it meets requirements set by Environment Canada and also EXCEEDS US EPA standards.

You mean it gets worse? Jesus.

all that could mean, Big Dave, was a recalibration of the computer.

Down here in my neck of the Universe, there are several meccas for good parts, cheap prices and a fun experience. These two are the best.

Rustic Auto Body
85 Connors Road
Peru, New York
(518)643-8839

Rathes' Salvage
Rathe Road
Colchester, Vermont
(802) 655-0651

Posted by Agent Skelly I find that hard to believe; I've worked on both a US-market Caravan and a Canadian market Caravan and they were basically identical. Emissions control systems were the same. Come to think of it, I know on the Impala since its the same car sent to the US and Canada (with just the metric/customary switch flipped accordingly) the emissions information says it meets requirements set by Environment Canada and also EXCEEDS US EPA standards.

You may be right as I don't know this first hand. I think it applies more to the Japanese and European imports to Canada, but that may have changed in recent years. Guess it was only a matter of time.
http://www.dieselnet.com/standards/ca/
1999 seems to be the year it started in Canada.