<VV> Spyder/Corsa turbo -- fast & furious

[RoboMan91324 at aol.com]

Rodney,

I am sending this off list because I don't want to be put on moderation by 
big brother.

I have an old SUV as a tow vehicle for my toys.  It is WAY past its prime 
but is still reliable.  (So far.)  It is not likely that I will buy a new SUV 
but will probably continue to add to my Corvair collection.  They are much 
better value and will probably appreciate in value rather than depreciate.  
The last 5 of my 8 toys have all been Corvairs.  One reason that I am not 
likely to buy a new "Big 3" vehicle is the reason you state.  The Big 3 have 
been making "cheaper" cars than the transplants just to meet the price level 
set by the foreign owned manufacturers.  Granted, the Big 3 quality has 
improved but the styling and innovation have lagged behind the transplants 
because the profits were not there to invest.  

The Big 3 were not quite $30 - $40 more/hour than the transplants.  
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the hourly compensation 
package for Big 3 labor was around $75/hour as compared to a little more than 
$50/hour for the transplants.  This is a $25/hour differential.  The numbers 
include hourly pay, health benefits, etc.  Of course, also per the BLS, Big 3 
labor is 23% less productive than the transplants.  That would bring the 
differential to the $30 you state.  The average factory worker in the USA gets 
around $25/hour.  These are all American workers working in American plants. 
 What does a UAW factory worker do to deserve $50 more per hour than the 
average factory worker?  Neither quality nor productivity are the reasons.  
Assuming a 40 hour week, the average annual compensation for a UAW member is 
$156,000.  With overtime, it is more.  Of course, more senior members get 
more than the average while those with fewer years get less.  However, since 
only the wage portion of this varies by seniority, I suspect that even the 
least senior members get well into 6 figures annually.  The main reason the 
transplants pay double the US average is to keep the UAW out.  There is no 
wonder why.

Of course, some of this has changed since the Obama administration took a 
big piece of ownership away from the rightful owners (stockholders) of GM and 
Chrysler and gave it to the UAW and forced a fire sale to Fiat.  Some of 
the non-wage hourly compensation will be transferred to the union along with 
the stock ownership.  I have not seen what the hourly rates are or will be 
after these changes.

Ford has been doing quite well without the changes that were forced on GM 
and Chrysler but I believe a big part of that is due to people going with a 
winner.  It is the only alternative to government/UAW owned or foreign owned 
manufacturers.  In addition, Toyota's quality and safety problems have sent 
many buyers to other manufacturers.  Much of the quality glitter that all 
foreign manufacturers have enjoyed for decades is somewhat tarnished these 
days.  The Big 3 have benefited by this.

Have a great new year.

Doc
1960 Corvette; 1961 Rampside; 1962 Rampside; 1964 Spyder coupe; 1965 
Greenbrier; 1966 Corsa turbo coupe; 1967 Nova SS; 1968 Camaro ragtop
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In a message dated 12/26/2010 2:08:59 PM Pacific Standard Time, 
virtualvairs-request at corvair.org writes:


> Message: 4
> Date: Sun, 26 Dec 2010 12:33:55 -0800
> From: "Rodney Spooner" <rodneyspooner at corvairgarage.com>
> Subject: Re: <VV> Spyder/Corsa turbo -- fast & furious
> To: "'Jim Houston'" <jhouston001 at cfl.rr.com>,
>     <virtualvairs at corvair.org>
> Message-ID: <006601cba53c$3d0af460$b720dd20$@com>
> Content-Type: text/plain;   charset="us-ascii"
> 
> Can you say "Yugo?" ""Hundai?" "Kia?" America can make a cheap car but not 
> an inexpensive one so long as the labor costs are at least $30-$40 PER 
> HOUR (PLUS BENEFITS) more than foreign(?) competitors building here in 
> America.
> 
> But $40,000 for a Prius? $40,000 MSRP for the Chevy Volt? I can buy a 
> Corvair and truck load of fuel for that much without the mortgage payments 
> thank you very much...
> 
> I'm thinking I could even make an Electrovair III for less. But then my 
> electric bill would go up...
> 
> Rodney