GM plant closing in Janesville

[digitaldean]

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=757761

GM closing Janesville, WI (SUV and truck plant), Moraine OH, Oshawa, ONT and Toluca, Mexico.

Surprised it hasn't happened sooner. The large SUV and truck market has imploded due to the gas prices.

Bad blow to Janesville as well to the other cities involved. Wait for the trickle down effect to all the sub-contractor firms that supply components to GM. Ditto for Ford and Chrysler, they're bound to do the same thing as GM.

Also heard that the Hummer may be discontinued.

[texaspackerbacker]

Having been born and raised in Janesville, this plant was my bread and butter--literally. My dad worked there for 37 years before retiring.

Unless there have been major earlier cuts there, though, the whole plant is not closing. GM employment in Janesville has been around 7,000, and the report is that each GM closing will affect 2,500 employees. Thus, I think the "closing" is only the shutting down of the truck and SUV line--with auto production continuing.

Who's to blame? I would think the wacko environmentalists have a lot to do with it on two levels: One being the irrational Obama-esque rants that Americans shouldn't be allowed to drive that sort of vehicle, the other being the disallowing of drilling and using available America-produced oil and driving gas prices up.

The longer term "problem" is that the great income, benefits, and retirement situation which the UAW secured for its workers has seriously harmed the financial health of GM. Having personally benefitted from that situation, I'd be a hypocrite to criticize it too much. Just the same, it is what it is.

[SkinBasket]

Don't forget those awesome pension plans. My uncle worked there for about 20 years, retired at 50, and hasn't had to work a day since.

[Zool]

How about not being able to sell a $40k+ vehicle when people are short on cash right now? Couldn't that have something to do with it? I guess that wouldn't be the fault of the lefties though.

[Deputy Nutz]

Come on Tex, Obama says not to drive SUVs and the american public reacts like robots to his order? Come on, get a grip on that one.

Oil production in the United States? As long as we can hire illegal immigrants to run the drilling otherwise it would be just as expensive!

[Freak Out]

How about not being able to sell a $40k+ vehicle when people are short on cash right now? Couldn't that have something to do with it? I guess that wouldn't be the fault of the lefties though.

A vehicle that gets 8-12 MPG on a good day.

[Zool]

How about not being able to sell a $40k+ vehicle when people are short on cash right now? Couldn't that have something to do with it? I guess that wouldn't be the fault of the lefties though.

A vehicle that gets 8-12 MPG on a good day.

So it costs $90+ dollars to fill the tank for a week. I know I have $300/mo to spend on gas.

[texaspackerbacker]

Who pays cash for a vehicle? Not many buyers, and financing is cheap right now--low interest.

8-12 mpg? Actually, it's about twice that for even large SUVs.

Nutz, I don't see your point. I don't think there would be many illegals on off-shore rigs or in THE ANWAR. nO, i'M not emphasizing Obama's influence. However, you and I both know, idiots very similar to him have been spewing this manmade global warming idiocy for quite a while, and at least a few good normal people are taken in by it.

My dad retired at age 57 and never had to work again the remaining 26 years of his life--free health care and prescriptions and generous pension all that time too. It was great for our family, but a major downer for GM's bottom line that still hasn't been alleviated.

[Zool]

8-12 mpg? Actually, it's about twice that for even large SUVs.

No...Its not.

[LL2]

I posted this earlier in the "Gas Prices..." thread. People's buying habits are changing, and high gas prices are creating truck / SUV graveyards. I used to own 2 trucks and have always been a truck person, but I can't justify dring something that gets 12 mpg at $4.12 a gallon of gas. For GM and Ford these vehicles were their "bread and butter," and they are behind the ball as compared to Toyota, Honda, VW, Nissan, and others.

[hoosier]

Who pays cash for a vehicle? Not many buyers, and financing is cheap right now--low interest.

8-12 mpg? Actually, it's about twice that for even large SUVs.

Nutz, I don't see your point. I don't think there would be many illegals on off-shore rigs or in THE ANWAR. nO, i'M not emphasizing Obama's influence. However, you and I both know, idiots very similar to him have been spewing this manmade global warming idiocy for quite a while, and at least a few good normal people are taken in by it.

My dad retired at age 57 and never had to work again the remaining 26 years of his life--free health care and prescriptions and generous pension all that time too. It was great for our family, but a major downer for GM's bottom line that still hasn't been alleviated.

Aside from the fact that "manmade global warming" doesn't fit very well with your overall view of things (the more production and consumption the merrier), what exactly qualifies you to dismiss this theory as idiocy?

[bobblehead]

Come on Tex, Obama says not to drive SUVs and the american public reacts like robots to his order? Come on, get a grip on that one.

Oil production in the United States? As long as we can hire illegal immigrants to run the drilling otherwise it would be just as expensive!

First, my Pilot gets 16 city 19 highway, and its pretty midsized, just to address that point. Hummers do indeed get like 10-13 I have been told.

Now, on to Nutz point. We are dealing with a supply and demand issue. At present the world demand for oil is 86 billion barrels a day, the supply is 84.5. The pricing you see reflects what it takes to get demand down to 84.5, so drilling for more would help. Also, OPEC is playing games, intentionally keeping supply down, drilling here would PROBABLY immediatly cause them to increase production.

Problem is with free trade out oil companies aren't obligated to sell any oil here I don't think, unless there is a law in place regarding that.

[Zool]

Check out a Dodge Durango sometime.

[GoPackGo]

^^^^^^
durango----
15mpg

[Zool]

^^^^^^
durango----
15mpg

I have 2 friends with Durango's. 15 is not 100% accurate.