GM's ignition recall issue explained.

Bottom line. The ignitions failed. GM knew it, people died. They didn't warn anyone, or have a recall, They didn't care.

When beancounters were put in control of American Corporations is when the problems began nationwide! The corporate boards used to have a balance between someone from manufacturing, design, engineering, and accounting but no longer. Beancounters run the show nearly 100% now and you see the results in many cheaply made products that are cheaper to replace with new as opposed to repairing the existing. The winner are the landfills and the loser is the consumer!

gmcsmoke wrote:

Bumpyroad wrote:

BenK wrote:


Wally World anyone? First to out source and capture significant market
share via 'cheapest at any cost' mentality...along with pure bean counter
management metrics (off shore, outsourcing, etc)

nonsense. Sam Walton bought made in the USA for many years and as long as he could compete continue doing so. finally got too expensive to make it in the USA with union labor, health benefit costs, etc. that he had to outsource to compete.
bumpy

lol who was walmart competing with? the mom and pops than ran out of business?

walmart moved to china to increase profits. GM nickeled and dimed suppliers to make a profit

Walmart just did what all the big box store did, and the mom and pop's got driven out of business. You don't want to pay 35 bucks for a shovel when you can get it at a big box for 30, right? Made in American means nothing to 99% of folks, they just want the cheapest price, period. Thus the rise of China. Unions like the supermarket unions for the most part have been busted by the WalMarts, Targets, Amazon, etc. Too many cheaper choices now.

Bumpyroad wrote:

BenK wrote:


Wally World anyone? First to out source and capture significant market
share via 'cheapest at any cost' mentality...along with pure bean counter
management metrics (off shore, outsourcing, etc)

nonsense. Sam Walton bought made in the USA for many years and as long as he could compete continue doing so. finally got too expensive to make it in the USA with union labor, health benefit costs, etc. that he had to outsource to compete.
bumpy

lol who was walmart competing with? the mom and pops than ran out of business?

walmart moved to china to increase profits. GM nickeled and dimed suppliers to make a profit

You may not like the content of the article but it is true. Many blame the banking crisis on the downfall of the automotive industry. It was not. It was just the trigger. There were many years of kicking the can down the road and it was just a matter of time before the hammer fell. When you are hanging by a thread all it takes is some extra event to start the downward spiral. I am not just talking about GM but that is who I had to deal with the majority of the time.

Bumpyroad wrote:

goducks10 wrote:
This sums up why GM did what they did.
http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=BLOOM&date=20140321&id=17455509

a write up by MSN, no thanks.
bumpy

I'm sure Faux news will spin it to blame Obama:)

goducks10 wrote:
This sums up why GM did what they did.
http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=BLOOM&date=20140321&id=17455509

a write up by MSN, no thanks.
bumpy

BenK wrote:


Wally World anyone? First to out source and capture significant market
share via 'cheapest at any cost' mentality...along with pure bean counter
management metrics (off shore, outsourcing, etc)

nonsense. Sam Walton bought made in the USA for many years and as long as he could compete continue doing so. finally got too expensive to make it in the USA with union labor, health benefit costs, etc. that he had to outsource to compete.
bumpy

mich800 wrote:
Noting new. I have been saying this for 15 years. I have sat down with GM on behalf of my clients listing the escalating raw material cost on some fixed priced purchase orders. There answer was always, too bad, if we change pricing for you we would need to do it for everyone. These stamping plants were closed within several weeks. This was proceed by mandates in the prior years where GM said the new price is 15% lower. We don't care how you do it but that is the price.

So true and add that it's not just the bean counter management, but
their customers too

Wally World anyone? First to out source and capture significant market
share via 'cheapest at any cost' mentality...along with pure bean counter
management metrics (off shore, outsourcing, etc)

"Cheapest at any cost" has the ultimate 'cost' to our society and
the way we live...along with the erosion of our societal values...we
are now so much a throw-a-way society

You know it was all about the size of the hole in the key.

Too long of a hole and the weight of all what a lot of people put on their key chains tipped the key downward. Have you ever seen some of these kids keychains? Everything but the kitchen sink is on them.

All I know is back in the day and I go back a LOT of those days! I was told when I got my first car that no******on a keychain would be allowed in our household.

House key, car key. Which back then meant 2 car keys one for ignition and one for trunk. 3 keys, key ring and one of those miniature license plate dodads with your number on it that the VA mailed you for donations! (so it made it easier for a thief that found you car keys would know "exactly" which car it would start!) That's it.

Dad always said a lot of junk on a key ring puts too much weight on the ignition switch which over time loosens it. Was a mechanic and saw it happen all the time THAT many years ago.


This was the fix from GM. A plug to fit into the hole to make it round so key would not tip from all the weight the OWNER added to a key chain.
The weight being the owners problem IMHO. Just saying.