[JWilly]

A hodge podge list of thoughts: a couple of nights ago I attended a meeting of a local
Mustang club. Members of this club include people who work in Ford plants, Ford
dealerships, independent mechanics, etc. Even though most of the attendees believe Ford to be in better financial shape than either GM or Chrysler, they all were very concerned. A couple of comments; a few of the guys are UAW guys and they said they were surprised at the $75.00/hr average wage reported for Ford workers. They all were long termers with Ford and said they made nowhere near that figure. I asked them if they thought the $75.00 amount included all of the benefits they received? They still did not think the number was accurate at all. The accountants may be adding in and including all of the benefits retired workers are making to come up with that number. Another number that was tossed out in the meeting was that for every worker GM lays off, ultimately 15 more people will lose their jobs. Dunno if that is accurate or not but I am sure there is some element of truth to it.

I have never been a big fan of the Detroit automakers. Several years ago I spent some time working in the Detroit area and I was amazed at how people who screwed door handles onto Pinto’s for a living could be so arrogant. Their salaries were outrageous in relation to the skills required for their jobs. I also remember buying a new Ford sedan in the 1970’s that rattled so badly you could hardly carry on a conversation in the thing. I asked the dealer to try and fix “some” of the rattles and he laughed at me. My next vehicle was a Nissan and it was a much better quality car than the junk I bought from Ford was. I vowed to never purchase another American made car. I am way beyond that now and I truly believe that GM, Ford and Chrysler manufacture cars as good as any now. I don’t think there are many things more complex to build than a car. The US desperately needs this industry and if we lose it, I don’t think it will be back anytime soon. I don’t know all of the answers for this vastly complex problem but I do know that we need to buy American. I don’t think anyone would regret buying an American made car now.