Considering a VW even though I'm a Chevy Man

Me too! We lost our VW dealership some years ago. Not sure how far I have to travel to see one.

I don't think it's a matter of GM not understanding how to transition from trucks to high mileage cars. They've been building more 30mpg cars than anyone else for a long time. Re-tooling to meet new market demands will take them some time and effort, and no time in GM's life could be worse than the present for that kind of effort, but that's not the big issue in my opinion. GM has to figure out how to get out of the old school mindset for how they run their company, and get out from underneath the unions and the obligations they have to them.

Well said.. On the stock report just a few minutes ago, GM apparently made an announcement that they think they have enough working capital for 2008, but bankruptcy is not out of the question, if I understood correctly.

Of course, a bankruptcy would not necessarily nor even probably be the end of GM. It would just put them into reorganization, I guess, and the stockholders would take the "last tango in Paris".

Buy a TDI, you won't regret it. Pretty much any modern VW feels like a luxury car next to a GM product. They really have done a great job making an inexpensive car still feel like one that you can be proud to own and drive.

nate

FWIW

Taken from

"Volkswagen, Europe's largest car-maker, tonight posted record pre-tax profits for 2007 of ?6.5bn (£5bn), easily beating market forecasts, and predicted a new milestone in earnings this year."

What's my point? Volkswagen has a UNIONIZED work force. It appears that if a company has competent management and a good product, unions are not an issue. BTW - their workers' benefits are more extensive than those of UAW members. So please, to all of you union bashers out there, stop blaming unions for Detroit's shortcomings. Have a nice day.

I have owned two Passats.. Both were spectacular cars. I have heard that some had poorer than normal electical systems, but neither of mine exhibited this characteristic.

The Jetta is supposed to be very nice.

The fact that they have a union is not the issue. It is what some (not all) unions have for wages and benefits and work rules. For many years the auto makers gave the unions many concessions to avoid a strike and just added that cost to the price of a car and the beat went on. Before making one line proclamations, do a side by side comparison of not only wages, but work rules and productivity.

But at about $1 a gallon more than gas, you have to get more mpg to have the same driving cost per mile. Be sure to factor that in for a proper comparison. At prices here in town, that diesel is 11.5¢ per mile while a gas powered car needs only 37 mpg for that same cost. So, it may or may not be a good deal.

You did not read my post very well before you got all nervous about the union comment. Instead of repeating myself, I'll just ask you to go back and read what I wrote again.

I'm the nervous one? I didn't read what you wrote? Horsefeathers. YOU introduced the union element into this discussion. Reading your comments again is unnecessary - you expressed yourself more clearly than even you realize.

Good idea. Go ahead and compare the benefits of the Big 3 unions to those of VW's workers. They will bear out the gist of my comment, which you so artfully avoided.

Reading comprehension is clearly not your strong suit.

Only because you so artfully avoided what had originally been said and seem bent on turning this into a union vs. no union battle, when that's never what the original comment was about. Go ahead though - read another page of your union manual and convince yourself that everyone around you is anti-union.

VW has moved a lot of jobs away from their most expensive UNIONIZED work force in Germany. First by introducing a lot of robots so they need a lot less people. Also moving to low wage countries.

***********

Exactly what low wage countries are you talking about?

Mexico for one.

East europe, spain, portugal, mexico etc

East europe, spain, portugal, mexico etc

As a matter of fact, they made them in Brasil as well. (That is where I lived when I owned my first Passat).

It makes sense, I guess to make those cars in countries where they are large sellers. And, as you say, the salaries and benefits to the workers in Germany are expensive.

I think VW would do better in the USA if (1) they were more client oriented and (2) some of the quality issues (mostly electrical issues) were effectively addressed.

"get out from underneath the unions and the obligations they have to them."

My response:

Volkswagen, a unionized company, is having record sales and profits. " It appears that if a company has competent management and a good product, unions are not an issue. "

I addressed your comment. You have yet to address the facts I presented.

It often happens that the people most incensed by any pro union comment are usually those who wish they were making a union level salary.

Have a nice day.