I agree with most except about the SHO Taurus, I think it is a phenomenal car but the price is outrageous.
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Quote: Originally Posted by al2683
One of the most realistic parts of this video is that it shows two guys riding together in the Subaru, they are in love, I think it is a touching and realistic portrayal of Subaru owners and I applaud them for it.
WASHINGTON – Chrysler LLC's financial arm turned down additional government aid after some top executives refused to accept new limits on executive pay, according to a government official with knowledge of the negotiations.
The official said Monday that the Treasury Department denied Chrysler Financial's request for more aid because some of its top 25 executives would not waive their rights to legal claims against the government and Chrysler Financial regarding new caps on executive compensation. The official did not want to be identified because the decision has not been made public.
The Washington Post reported on its Web site Monday that Chrysler Financial turned down $750 million in aid on top of $1.5 billion it already has received.
Chrysler Financial denied the allegation. It issued a statement saying it has enough private capital to meet its short-term needs of lending money to dealers and customers, and it doesn't need more money now from the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP.
Chrysler Financial received a $1.5 billion loan from the bank bailout program in January and said it would use the money to provide low-rate financing to more car buyers.
The government also restricted executive pay for federal bailout recipients at that time, but the restrictions have gotten tougher since then.
"Executives have not been presented with any new demands with regard to executive compensation. As a TARP recipient, the company remains in full compliance with current executive compensation requirements," Chrysler Financial's statement said.
The federal loan Chrysler Financial received is separate from the $4 billion the government has lent to Chrysler LLC to aid the Auburn Hills, Mich., automaker's struggling manufacturing operations. Chrysler LLC faces an April 30 deadline to restructure and ink an alliance deal with Italy's Fiat Group SpA or it won't get any more government loans.
A spokeswoman for the Treasury Department's auto task force, which is handling the Chrysler and GM restructuring plans, said it was monitoring the financing situations for both Chrysler and GM as part of talks over the future of the two automakers.
Chrysler Financial probably didn't need the government money to fuel dealer and customer financing because the automaker is selling fewer cars and trucks. U.S. sales of its Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep brands were down 46 percent in the first quarter compared with the same period last year.
This is more about Chrysler Financial, which is a completely different entity (and shady as hell) from Chrysler LLC.
Honestly, the GNx is going to be ugly, imo. And it's in China, I don't think we're going to get it here; either way the Audi wins in the looks category.
I wonder if they're actually going to make the Hornet.. <_<
I are still waiting.
Not in the US at least.
Quote: Originally Posted by suzq044
I saw a mustang today. Surprised me, they're out?
forgive the big blurry pics, but cell phone at just-past dusk; only reason there is light at all, is because of oncoming headlights.
The CAW has publicly responded to Chrysler’s and the government’s demands for $19 per hour in concessions, which culminated in Tom LaSorda’s statement that Chrysler might pull all of its manufacturing from Canada.
The CAW pointed out that Chrysler has lower hourly labor costs and higher productivity in its Canadian plants than in the U.S., and a higher market share in Canada than in the U.S. The company also benefits from socialized medicine by not having to spend billions on health care in Canada, and can tap a well educated workforce.
While some have called the CAW “inflexible,” in May 2008 the CAW agreed to a contract which they claimed saved the industry $300 million per year, re-opening the existing contract before its expiration. Later, the CAW agreed to cut labor costs for GM again, and to eliminate a billion dollars in “legacy costs.”
The CAW’s open letter to the media continued:
We could have reached a valuable new contract with Chrysler, prior to the original March 31 deadline that would have provided substantial savings to the company (including Chrysler-specific productivity and operational changes worth several dollars per hour). But the company, after accepting our offers, always wanted more; with President Obama’s announcement on March 30, our talks were put on the back burner. …
Now we face the prospect of our own federal government interfering in our negotiations, which were already complex and difficult to begin with. … Seeing our own government echoing perfectly the painful demands made on hard-working, tax-paying Canadians by the executives of multinational corporations is deeply troubling. Worse yet, by clearly taking sides in private negotiations between an employer and the union, and hence emboldening the company to keep asking for more, the federal government is making it harder to reach a deal.
- We do not accept Chrysler’s claim that the work of CAW members costs $76 per hour. This is an inflated and artificial figure that includes many non-relevant factors, such as expenses associated with retirees who have not worked at Chrysler for years, and payroll taxes which are paid to government not to workers. Perhaps most galling of all, Chrysler’s number even includes the proportional cost of downtime and lay-offs. In essence, we are being “charged” for our own unemployment. The best way to reduce that artificial $76 number is to put Chrysler workers back to work: that alone would reduce hourly costs by several dollars per hour.
- And we do not remotely accept the claim that there is cost gap of up to $19 per hour between our facilities and non-union auto assembly plants in Canada. The Canadian executives of Toyota and Honda have described many times their strategy of essentially matching wages, pensions, and core benefits to those paid in CAW-represented facilities (as a key part of their long-term effort to avoid unionization).
- The CAW has a proven track record of ensuring that Canadian plants are competitive within North America… [which is] why our share of total continental production has actually grown in recent years (despite the industry’s overall challenges).
$2000 for every car Ford, Chrysler and GM build = union overhead compared to their competition.
Guess where that $$ comes out of? Quality, reliability. Can't make $2k out of thin air.
Ever wonder why a Cobalt or Focus just seems cheaper compared to a Civic?
Ta-da. Behold; I have no rear power windows because someone negotiated an awesome pension.
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"This car is 100% sh*ts and giggles."A car can be a tool but it can also be so much more. It can be a heart-starter, it can be a drug, it can be a piece of art and it can stir your soul.
"Speed has never killed anyone. Suddenly becoming stationary... that's what gets you." Jeremy Clarkson
at some point you have to say "Let's put an aluminum block in here for the masses. Make it capable of holding ~700hp. Then have the race iron casting for those wanting 900+hp. We'll be lighter, faster, less wear and tear on other parts, save fuel, look innovative, and 90% of the customer base won't care." I bet it'd be 200lbs lighter if they did that. The people building huge power could go with the iron block. They already have the engine pulled for other work. There is no reason a car that size should be more than 3600lbs and still meet crash standards. Hell, it's not like it's the stiffest chassis out there either so you know they aren't using all that extra weight as chassis braces.
With seven days left in Chrysler's 30-day government-funded reprieve, the NYT is reporting the Auto Task Force is preparing a bankruptcy filing for the beleaguered U.S. automaker. What happened to Fiat?
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration remains focused on bringing Chrysler and Fiat into a working partnership, a U.S. official said on Thursday, dismissing a news report that the U.S. car-maker faced imminent bankruptcy.
"In a negotiation like this, everything is speculation until there's a deal. It should surprise no one that the administration is planning on contingencies, but we remain focused on the goal and engaged with all stakeholders to bring Chrysler and Fiat to a working partnership," the administration official said.
The new SVT Raptor is going to start $3k above the FX4... holy hell.
Seriously, Ford's come out of nowhere with this stuff.
Desperation has put Ford in a fight or flight mode. Ford has a lot of great products abroad but they were resting on their laurels for too long here in America. Now that their feet have been swept from under them they realize that it's either now or never. Thankfully, unlike GM, Ford is trying its best.
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and a little 
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