Cheers to the foreign car makers!

[g-hawg]

I am proud to be am American union worker as I stated in a previous post on another subject. I know that our unions have their weakness's but the good things that they do for the workers far out number those faults.

I too see that the car companies letting it be known what they donated to NYC as being a sign of pride for the members of the UAW, and they damn well should be proud of what they did for this country when it really did need it. It makes for really good PR plus it will most likely be a tax write off for them. There is nothing wrong with tooting your own horn when it's for a good cause.

So props to the auto makers and all the union brothers and sisters that had a part in this whole thing. Good going.

 

[NFLXTFAN]

Amen to that brother!

 

[Simply In The Red]

To defend Fiat.. I think they need to sell a car first
Rest is really disturbing...

UHHH.

Fiat owns Ferrari. :moon:

 

[JSMOOTH]

well, if this is turning into the "union" debate

well, if this is turning into the "union" debate

Much was said in dr. freeze's "car opinion" thread that led to unions. I found alot of the comments disturbing, to say the least.

Like NFLXTFAN said...I too hold no ill will towards those who choose to purchase foreign made vehicles....do as you wish...however,, I have not and will not ever own a vehicle that is made outside the states!

I'll take my 19 (union won) paid holidays and 5 weeks paid vacation per year, (not to mention, the 2 week, "paid corporate shutdown" every July) and be quite content.

 

[Simply In The Red]

BTW, what kinda car do you own then. Is it a Honda that is made in America or a GM that is made in Mexico?

 

[JSMOOTH]

BTW, what kinda car do you own then. Is it a Honda that is made in America or a GM that is made in Mexico?

Haha...Hondas are only assembled in America. Every peice of steel, metal and trim is brought from overseas. Thats one reason why many of our Steel workers are out of jobs. Ohio Gov. Bob Taft is heavily pursuing a new Honda plant in the state.

Yes, some GM cars and trucks are assembled in Mexico. This is Corporate Greed at its best. These Mexican workers are working for about 1.00 per hour and probably without a labor contract.

My wife liked the new Chevy Avalanche...I said forget about it, they're assembled in Mexico.

 

[SixFive]

I got this same email

I got this same email

And I did a little investigating of my own. The figures are not accurate as Toyota and Honda both have donated a lot. Can't say I disagree with the thought intended, but this falls under the category of the "urban legends" or emails that are just flat not accurate. BTW, I have a Sable (although I hate FORD=FOUND ON ROAD DEAD) and a Lumina. I also have an uncle who works for Honda who employ many, many Americans.

 

[SixFive]

I checked the urban legends page...

I checked the urban legends page...

www.snopes2.com I was right, this was not accurate info. Here's the cut and paste:

Legend: E-mail message examines various automobile manufacturers' contributions to September 11-related relief efforts.
Example: [Collected on the Internet, 2001]


Please think about this when you buy your next car!
After seeing a short news listing on "CNN Headline News" regarding Ford and GM's contributions to the relief and recovery efforts in New York City and Washington D.C., I was prompted to see what the other automotive companies were contributing. I have never worked for an automotive company -- nor has anyone in my family. It is, however, the prominent industry here in Michigan. I also feel it is important to know which companies are there for us in a crisis.

I went to (the news, press release and philanthropic areas of) each of the companies web sites. If the company had several sites, I tried to visit them all. Additionally, I visited the leading news and automotive sites. As of today, one week since the attacks, this is what I have found:

Aston Martin - Nothing.

Audi - Nothing. Audi's web site states "Audi News: Always up to the minute."

BMW - Nothing despite other press releases/postings since 09/11/01. BMW's web site states "The news service from the BMW Group: fast, informative and comprehensive."

Daewoo International - Nothing.

Daimler Chrysler (includes Dodge, Jeep, Mercedes-Benz and Plymouth) - $10 million to support the children and victims in addition to other donations from their employees, dealers and suppliers.

Fiat - Nothing.

Ford Motor Company (includes Jaguar, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercury and Volvo) - $1 million to the American Red Cross, matching employee contributions to the American Red Cross and 10 Excursions to the New York Fire Department. The company has also offered emergency response team services and office space to displaced government employees.

General Motors (includes Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Saab and Saturn) - $1 million to the American Red Cross, matching employee contributions and a fleet of vans, trucks and SUVs.

Honda (includes Acura) - Nothing. Honda's site states "If you're looking for the latest developments taking place at Honda, you've come to the right place" and "Informative. Timely. Credible. The latest news on Honda can always be found right here?" No press releases/postings since 09/04/01 when the release boasted "American Honda Motor Co., Inc. recorded its second best sales month ever in August ?" My search included: hondamotorcycle.com (other press releases posted on this site since 09/11/01), honda.com, honda2001.com, world.honda.com, acura.com and honda.co.jp.

Hyundai Motors Group (includes Kia) - $300,000 to the American Red Cross.

Isuzu - Nothing.

Mitsubishi Motors - Nothing. Mitsubishi-motors.co.jp site states "The latest news about Mitsubishi Motors." I also searched mitsubishimotors.com.

Nissan - Nothing despite other press releases/postings since 09/11/01.

Porsche - Press release with condolences posted on the Porsche web site on 09/12/01, but no contribution.

Subaru - Nothing despite other press releases/postings since 09/11/01.

Suzuki - Nothing.

Toyota (includes Lexus) - Press release with condolences posted on the Toyota web site on 09/14/01, but no contribution despite earlier press releases boasting that Toyota had high sales in July and August.

Volkswagen - The employees and management created a Foundation, funded initially with $2 million, to assist the children and victims with humanitarian help including medical and psychological assistance, rehabilitation and scholarships.

I can only hope that it is an oversight by the companies that have not made a contribution and that they will join the relief efforts. We have the freedom to choose which companies we make purchases from and I, for one, will make my purchases from and give my money the companies that are giving their money to America at this time of need. I hope that you will, too.

Please forward this e-mail -- especially to anyone you know who is thinking of purchasing a vehicle.




Origins: No, the above item did not appear on CNN Headline News; it's a piece of anonymous Internet flotsam set adrift shortly after the September 11 terrorist attacks on America. Although we don't necessarily endorse the views expressed in the message quoted above, we took on the information-gathering task of visiting the web sites of all the automobile manufacturers listed above (plus a few not on the list), looking for information about September 11-related relief efforts, and our findings are reported below.

Important points to keep in mind are:


Our inability to locate information about charitable contributions on any particular manufacturer's web site does not necessarily mean that information does not exist on the web site.

The lack of information about charitable contributions on any particular manufacturer's web site does not necessarily mean that the manufacturer has made no such contributions.

Manufacturers may also have made contributions above and beyond those listed on their web sites.

We have made no effort to validate the veracity of the information offered on manufacturers' web sites; we are simply providing links to their statements.

In every case where we were unable to find relevant information on a manufacturer's web site, we contacted the company through their web site and invited them to respond to this message.

Corrections and additional information supplied by readers and manufacturers will be applied to this page promptly upon receipt.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Aston Martin: No information found on web site. (Aston Martin is now owned by Ford.)

Audi: Includes a press release about Audi's contribution of $100,000 to the New York Fire Fighters 9-11 Disaster Relief Fund and other fundraising efforts.
(Also see the entry for Volkswagen, as the Volkswagen Group includes Audi and Volkswagen in the United States.)


BMW: Includes press release about BMW Group's donations of $1 million in cash and ten new BMW X5 Sports Activity Vehicles to the Red Cross for national relief efforts and 100 motorcycles to the New York Police Department.

Daewoo: No information found on web site.

DaimlerChrysler: Web site says they are committng $10 million to help children who have lost parents in terrorist attacks

Fiat: No information found on web site.

Ford: Includes detailed page about Ford's participation in the National Tragedy Relief Effort, including donations of $1 million each to the Red Cross and the Salvation Army and a program for matching all individual employee contributions.

General Motors: Includes GM Response To National Tragedy detailing General Motors' many contributions to organizations assisting September 11 victims, including donations of $1 million to the American Red Cross and 50 automobiles to the New York City Fire Department.

Honda: A Honda Responds page lists contributions of $1.5 million to the United Way of New York's "September 11 Fund" and the American Red Cross.

Hyundai: The Hyundai Cares page promises a $300,000 donation to the American Red Cross.

Isuzu: No information found in Isuzu News section of web site.

Mitsubishi: Page about Contributions to Relief Efforts details Mitsubishi's contributions to September 11 programs, including $200,000 raised for the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

Nissan: A page on Nissan's web site announces their $1 million donation to the American Red Cross and the Twin Towers Fund plus details other forms of support the company and its employees have put forward.

Porsche: Porsche has announced it will be donating 20% of the proceeds from its Drive For Hope Cross-Country Trek to the New York Firefighters 9-11 Disaster Relief Fund.

Subaru: A Subaru in the Community page mentions that Subaru and its parent company, Fuji Heavy Industries, Ltd. in Japan, have made combined contributions of cash and equipment totalling approximately $1 million through the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, and other relief organizations.

Suzuki: Opening page includes an American flag link to a page detailing their contributions, which include matching employees' contribution of $31,000 with $31,000 of their own and donating SUVs and ATVs at Ground Zero to aid rescue workers.

Toyota: Toyota was the one automobile company that took the initiative of contacting us, even though we had not given any indication we would be writing about this topic. Their page about Toyota's Contributions to the Relief Effort details a $1 million donation to the American Red Cross and a program to match similar employee contributions.

Volvo: Opening page of web site includes link to a letter to New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani offering the city the use of Volvo and Mack vehicles and equipment at the Volvo Group's expense. (Volvo automotive is now owned by Ford.)

Volkswagen: Includes a press release about VW's donation of 25 vans to the New York City Fire Department and another press release about the formation of a foundation to assist victims of terrorist attacks in the United States, which will be initially funded with $2 million dollars from Volkswagen.
Last updated: 30 January 2002




The URL for this page is http://www.snopes.com/rumors/cars.htm

 

[dr. freeze]

lol......looks like this donation crap was a big fat lie.......

 

[Ike Bomb]

Outstanding

Outstanding

Cheers to you SixFive, I love it when one of these ignorant mass emails can be debunked.

:toast:

I squashed one about Bin Laden, Gore, and Oliver North on here yesterday. :nono:

It's amazing what people will believe just because someone sent them an email or they saw it on the Internet.

 

[JSMOOTH]

SixFive,

SixFive,

Good going with your homework. If those statements are in fact THE TRUTH, then I say..."it's about time".

 

[selkirk]

good post six five, looks like the foreign car companies are contributing to the cause.

cannot speak for the US but Japaneese cars made in Ontario are buying more parts from Canadian suppliers, not as many as the big 3 but it is increasing.

at the end of the day the big 3 will have to compete on the quality of their products, I believe the average price for a new family car in Canada is $24,000/$27000. so the best product will be decided by the customer.

I have driven foreign and domestic cars, have a dodge truck and in general like it, like my foreign car.

like any good market place the quality of the car and the customer service will decide the future of the car companies not where they come from.


just note: had a neighbour buy brand new GM pick up fully loaded paid full price, he needed a new truck (well wanted one), bought GM his whole life, anyways nothing but troubles with the motor in the new one. local dealer just jerked him around, so he joined one of those car groups in the US (forgot the name), made a complaint. GM phoned him within 5 days, and he had work done on the truck (new engine I believe) was not charged for it, and it is now working fine. hopefully this is a sign of how they will treat the consumer in the future.

have another friend similar story but with ford and never got it resolved, sold the car and will never buy a ford again.

thanks
selkirk

 

[dawgball]

Haha...Hondas are only assembled in America. Every peice of steel, metal and trim is brought from overseas. Thats one reason why many of our Steel workers are out of jobs. Ohio Gov. Bob Taft is heavily pursuing a new Honda plant in the state.

I worked for a family-owned aluminum die-caster up until a year ago. We put parts on both Hondas and Toyotas. So once again, another false statement. We had to build a plant in Korea because GM and Delphi Automotive were heavily scaling down the products they bought from American suppliers. I had to quit the job because I did not want to move from the US.

This will be the last post from me. Congrats on giving to a good cause.

 

[ferdville]

Toyota "gave" more to Jessie Jackson for his many causes

 

[JSMOOTH]

 

[JSMOOTH]

I worked for a family-owned aluminum die-caster up until a year ago. We put parts on both Hondas and Toyotas. We had to build a plant in Korea because GM and Delphi Automotive were heavily scaling down the products they bought from American suppliers.

This will be the last post from me. Congrats on giving to a good cause.

Interesting....what parts did your company supply? If your company put parts on Hondas and Nissans, then what does GM have to do with your company relocating to Korea?

Also, you state that GM is scaling down with American suppliers...that may be so, (and you've got me curious) but the particular plant that I work in gets almost all there parts right here in Ohio.

Dashboards - Blackhawk Plastics / Salem, OH
Electrical and Wiring - Packard / Warren, OH
Tires - Goodyear / Akron, OH
Seats - Lear / Lordstown, OH (although the trim is sewn in Mexico)
Metal - GM Fabrication / Lordstown, OH

Sorry you had to quit your job...kinda explains my point about losing jobs to foreign countries.
I'll continue to buy American automobiles, gives me a little sense of pride and hopefully...more job security.

 

[nighthorse]

Re: well, if this is turning into the "union" debate

Re: well, if this is turning into the "union" debate

UAW workers are not greedy. There are conditions at factories that most would not believe. We bust our asses for the guys in suits at the top who don't know shit about what it takes to make a car, so that they can bathe their families in riches that most of us dream about.

I'll take my 19 (union won) paid holidays and 5 weeks paid vacation per year, (not to mention, the 2 week, "paid corporate shutdown" every July) and be quite content.

Where do I start??

1. With all those days off, exactly when do you bust your ass?

2. I would be quite content with that also.

3. You're right that it's hard to believe the conditions at your company. With all that down time, it's hard to believe there still is a company.

4. Life must really suck if you're that bitter about your bosses.

5. This stuff sounds like it came straight out of the Communist Manifesto.

 

[FUZZY NUTZ]

Union Pride

Union Pride

Big J Your not getting much support but believe me there are many that feel the way you do.And when the time comes that a few other markets get hit by foreign competition you'll see see some others getting the hint.

AMEN BROTHER! DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT JSMOOTH, OBVIOUSLY MOST OF THESE GUYS ARE SUITS THAT DON'T KNOW SHIT ABOUT ANYTHING. I AM IN LOCAL 1-2 UTILITY WORKERS OF AMERICA AND WE ARE ALSO PROUD ABOUT THE MONEY WE RAISED TO HELP THE VICTIMS OF 9/11.

 

[JSMOOTH]

Thanks , but I'm not worried.

Thanks , but I'm not worried.

Most of these negative thoughts are more than likely coming from salaried personel, who get held in check by the union.

 

[yyz]

No one, "Busts their ass for the suits upstairs."!

You work for yourself.......... Period.

I certainly don't "feel the plight" of the American auto worker. Christ, you guys make it sound like you're picking lettuce for 10 cents a crate! Are the guys who sweep the floor still starting at $18 an hour, or has that gone up? I'm fairly sure that you guys don't work any more or less than the next palooka in here. As a fellow "union brother", I assure you, that we have it better than a lot of folks. My co-workers and I laugh our collective asses off every payday over the fact that we make what we do for as little as we do!

I am quite happy with my 6 weeks vacation, and 15 sick days a year, too!

God bless the union! If not for them................I might really have to "bust my ass"!