GM plant closing in Janesville

[GoPackGo]

I had a 2000 Dodge Dakota Quad cab with a 5.9 in it. I got about 15mpg

Now I have a 2004 Honda Pilot with a V6 and get about 19mpg

[Patler]

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.

The plant had gone through partial closings in recent years, only the truck/SUV line remained. GM was no longer even the largest employer in Janesville. On line articles from local news sources indicate this is a complete closing of the facility, which was GM's oldest still operating plant.

[Deputy Nutz]

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.

I was teasing about illegals working on the rigs because of employement costs in the US. I am not on the Global Warming bandwagon, although I am a boarderline conservationist and part of me does not want drilling in Alaska because of it. I would drive a "Green" car for the economic reason but not truly because I am worried about my little old impact on the environment. If that was the case we should be worrying more about the size of our landfills and or wasteful habbits not only in this country but throughout the world.

Anyways I was reading about a totally electric SUV that is being produced by Lotus. It can reach speeds up to 150 mph, conservatively travel 300 miles before recharge, and charging the battery is less than 4.00 dollars. Sounds great, but wait for the kicker, only 60,000 dollars for this puppy.

[Badgepack]

We just traded in our 06 Jeep Commander with a hemi, sweetest ride we ever owned, but 13 mpg in town, which is 90% of her driving, was too much.

[Scott Campbell]

I get 18 with my Tundra, 18 with my Sequoia, and I'm afraid to check with my Titan.

[Freak Out]

Nutz, I don't see your point. I don't think there would be many illegals on off-shore rigs or in THE ANWAR.

I consider Texans and Okies illegals..... Well...the Okie welders are ok.

[Kiwon]

I get 18 with my Tundra, 18 with my Sequoia, and I'm afraid to check with my Titan.

Three SUVs?!! You are almost more of an enviro-criminal then families having 3 or more children.

You're killing us all! Have you no sense of shame?

Send me some money. I'll plant some trees for you and assuage your guilty conscience.

[Freak Out]

I get 18 with my Tundra, 18 with my Sequoia, and I'm afraid to check with my Titan.

Three SUVs?!! You are almost more of an enviro-criminal then families having 3 or more children.

You're killing us all! Have you no sense of shame?

Send me some money. I'll plant some trees for you and assuage your guilty conscience.

Not only that but he is a America hating socialist who only buys foreign brands.

[Scott Campbell]

I get 18 with my Tundra, 18 with my Sequoia, and I'm afraid to check with my Titan.

Three SUVs?!! You are almost more of an enviro-criminal then families having 3 or more children.

You're killing us all! Have you no sense of shame?

Send me some money. I'll plant some trees for you and assuage your guilty conscience.

Not only that but he is a America hating socialist who only buys foreign brands.

I have no sense of shame, and my wives and I all ride skateboards to conserve precious resources.


I've also bought plenty of American vehicles in my life.

[Freak Out]

I have no sense of shame, and my wives and I all ride skateboards to conserve precious resources.

Freaking cool.....I love skater babes.

[MJZiggy]

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.

Instead of blaming environmentalists, maybe you should be blaming GM for having a shitty R&D and Marketing department in that they couldn't foresee the trend to smaller cars as gas prices started escalating. For some reason, all the other car companies have managed to figure that one out but GM thought people were going to drive their expensive gas guzzling behemoths forever.

By the way, my little car gets 30 mpg, there's no way an SUV gets 24 unless it's a hybrid.

[LL2]

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.

Instead of blaming environmentalists, maybe you should be blaming GM for having a shitty R&D and Marketing department in that they couldn't foresee the trend to smaller cars as gas prices started escalating. For some reason, all the other car companies have managed to figure that one out but GM thought people were going to drive their expensive gas guzzling behemoths forever.

By the way, my little car gets 30 mpg, there's no way an SUV gets 24 unless it's a hybrid.

The small hybrid SUV's like the Escape does around 25, but GM came out with a Tahoe hybrid that does 20 mpg. Still, that's not good enough.

[MJZiggy]

You're right. That's not good enough. It was apparent many years ago when we had another spike in gas prices (though nothing like this one) that the first thing that would happen is the market for the large, gas guzzling vehicles would implode. They didn't necessarily need to eliminate them at that point, but it was clear that they'd have to offer a smaller, more economical option and they failed to do that. Then Mercedes, Volvo and a few others started manufacturing larger panel trucks and ate into GM's share of that market as well.

[Scott Campbell]

Instead of blaming environmentalists, maybe you should be blaming GM for having a shitty R&D and Marketing department in that they couldn't foresee the trend to smaller cars as gas prices started escalating.

You can't ignore the mismanagement, but the Union certainly didn't help matters any.

[MJZiggy]

That's true. They overdid it. Instead of just protecting the worker which is what they were supposed to be there for, they got greedy.